In Transit

Last night I learned that you can see Venice in two hours, but you can t really experience it in that time.  I caught the 8PM shuttle bus into the city and hit the ground running with someone else who also only had one night.  We followed the mildly unclear signs to the Rialto bridge and then on to Piazza San Marco, grabbed a slice of pizza and a scoop of gelato, then wandered the maze of alleyways back to catch the last shuttle back to the campsite at 10:30.

After a night of trying to block out the sounds of my cabin neighbor and his newfound post-toga party love connection (Note to the guy in Dego 4:  the walls are thin.  We heard everything.) I was up, checked out, and on the bus to Ancona.  I was so engrossed in Gladiator that I didn t even fall asleep, which is my usual order of business on the bus.  During one of our service stops, I grabbed Lucas, the guide, to ask him a few questions, so I will get that up for you to see as soon as I can.  The guides seem to have a pretty good gig – riding buses around Europe all summer, advising people on what to see and do.  I have discussed this with other passengers, and we can t quite figure out where the work part comes in.  I suspect the guides might have something to say to that.

I got off the bus in Ancona at 1:30PM.  My ferry departs at 9:00PM.  Ancona isn t exactly one of Italy s more beautiful towns.  It s not even a close contender.  So what to do in a place for 7 1/2 hours?  Not shop, because everything is closed for siesta until late afternoon.  But, across the street from the train station, I found my answer in the form of an air conditioned internet cafe.  Then I went for a wander, found a wide staircase that led up the side of a building, and sunned myself there for a while.  Now I am back at the internet cafe.  The supermarket should be open by now, so that is my next destination.  This is the glamorous part of European travel.