Second Phase

On Saturday, June 28th, after saying goodbyes to my new paragliding friends, I was driven to the Italian town of Udine, where I caught a train for the 1 1/2 hour ride back to Mestre, near Venice.  I was to pick up Tammy, who was flying into Milan, and traveling via train it to Mestre later in the day.  Tammy is a very adventurous traveler, and she had no problem in making it by herself to Italy by plane and train to join me for two weeks of touring Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia.  All went well as I met her at the train station and took her to the hotel in Mestre (a short bus ride from Venice).  The next day we spent a long and delightful day in the most unique city I have ever been to, Venice.  We decided to see the city the best way we knew how....by walking it.  Of course, there are no cars in Venice...but plenty of boats, from large people movers, to smaller water taxis, to the gondolas.  After eight  hours of walking, looking, and eating, we hit our tourism wall and took the bus back to Mestre.  Venice is an incredible place to visit...one could spend days here without getting bored.  Tomorrow, we will train it to the Slovenian border and rent a car for our 11days of touring the Julian Alps and the Croatian coastline.  I'm so happy to be here with Tammy to explore this part of Eastern Europe with her.