Europe 2012

Well it came and went so fast.  Our wonderful 14 nights in Europe are over, and we made so many wonderful memories that I can't wait to share with you. 

But before I get into too much, I have to make a recommendation.  If you're going on a vacation, or anywhere really, that requires a lot of walking, and you have that decision to make about how to have comfortable but still attractive walking shoes, I found the solution.  Well, actually my mom found the solution and then I copied her. 

These J-41 Tribal Barfoot Mary Jane shoes were amazing.  I wore them every single day we were in ports.  I walked on cobble stones, hiked in the rain and pretty much every terrain, and I never had sore feet.  I got mine on Amazon for about $52, they're more expensive now, but they are the best pair of $52 shoes I own, and I got tons of compliments on them, I love them.

Ok, so onto the trip.  We arrived May 9th in Venice, Italy about 10:30 am.  I couldn't believe I was actually in Venice.  I was so excited getting off the plane to see what adventures would await me.  The adventure that awaited that day, wasn't quite what I was planning, however.  As you might know, Venice is an island.  The airport is not however on the island, and in reading about how to go from the airport to our hotel which was on the island, I was bit overwhelmed, there were several options and I was a bit intimated, so I asked Adam the chose our best option.  So while he went to buy our tickets for a water taxi to take us the island, I stood and waited for our luggage to come.  We have priority bags, since Adam travels so much.  So I see one bag, two bags, and yep there's our third, I grabbed them all then went to find my husband who had gotten the Euro we need and we were off to buy our tickets for the boat.  Everything was great.  We were on the boat, and just taking in the views during the 90 minute ride from the airport to the island.  A bit long after a lot of travel, but still enjoyable.

Our first glimpse of Venice Island from the boat.

  Until... we go to get off the boat and we realized that one of the bags I took, was not ours at all.  Seriously, I was a mess.  I couldn't believe it.  We were finally in Venice and this was how our vacation was starting.  Adam was honestly so sweet about it though, he just kept telling me it would be ok and that it was an honest mistake.  We went ahead and hauled the bags over 4 bridges and checked in to the hotel, so we could try and call the airport to make sure they still had the bag I left there.  Of course the line just stayed busy for at least an hour.  Randomly enough, the bag I took belonged to a woman that I actually knew, Tricia.  You see, I joined the Cruise Critic message board to read reviews and plan our tours and excursions.  I connected with a group of people who were on our same cruise and then actually booked a tour with a group of them so we could get better prices, and of all the bags to take, I took this woman's who I had spoken with and booked a tour with.  I was so upset with myself, how could I be so careless, and of course now I am causing someone else to stress out about lost luggage and I just wanted to cry.  Adam remained very calm and so sweet.  We took a minute to walk around St. Mark's Square, but it was hardly enjoyable, I was so worried about the luggage and how I had ruined our day and now someone else's day too.  So Adam had to get back on that 1.5 hour boat ride and take the bag back to the airport and hope ours was still there...  We never did get a hold of the airport to explain the situation.  While Adam was gone, I walked around the square a little bit, and pretty much just prayed for the next 4 hours that when he got back he would have our bag and everything would be resolved, and you know what, prayers were answered.  He returned at about 7:30pm with our bag in hand and let me know that the airport would be delivering the bag to Tricia.  Whew.  What a relief.  Adam was so calm about the whole thing, he never got mad at me, even though we lost 4 hours together in Venice and had to spend $30 extra euro for him to go back to the airport to make the exchange.  We tried to make the most of the evening and strolled around Venice for the next few hours, enjoyed the views and of course some pizza and gelato.  

Exhausted after a looong day travel and luggage mishaps.

Pizza makes this guy happy

I think I'll stop there for now, but there's much more to come.  So much more.