It was like something out of a movie as we saw a man doing a handstand on a metal boat tie-up post at a vaporetto stop in Venice. He was clearly trying to impress the woman in a red evening gown standing next to him. I’m sure that part was going swimmingly well, until he lost his balance and fell into the canal! We all laughed immediately in surprised shock. His date waited until he was safely out of the water before we saw her laugh.
Our remaining days in Venice were filled with more amazing experiences and more gelato. Carl and Amy went to Murano for a glass-blowing class. They each made a glass flower and returned to our rental sweaty and tired.
Sarah and I spent that day relaxing in our apartment. We ventured out for lunch, gelato, and to find the place where I had purchased postcard stamps before because I hadn’t realized that I had inadvertently gotten unusual stamps. I thought that if I asked for stamps at a store that sold stamps, they would be regular postage stamps. Nope. They were a privatized friendpost thing and thus the postcards had to be mailed through a special friendpost box, which we couldn’t find anywhere. Finally I thought to go back to the same store, which, miraculously, I was able to find. Sure enough, they had the magical box. If we are lucky, in a month or two, the recipients will get their postcards. Sarah also purchased some postcards to keep. Her favorites were of cats doing things around Venice, especially the cat gondolier.
After our second gondola ride, which Sarah actually found a little long for her taste, she decided she wanted to be a gondolier. She stood on a low table on our terrace with a small lamp thingie she pretended was an oar. She did this for hours at a time, only coming in to hydrate and cool off when I reminded her she needed to take care of herself in that way. Her pile of postcards is on the table by her feet.
While Carl and I got to alternate adventure days and rest days, Amy never got a day to rest. I took her to see St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace, with just a short break in the middle for some air conditioning and gelato. That day we managed to fit in two gelato stops to make up for a day when we hadn’t had any. One has to maintain the average after all! The first gelato stop was on our way to the Basilica and we got our servings in cups as usual so we wouldn’t have worry about keeping up with the drips as it melted in the hot temperature. We were tight on time so walked towards our destination, assuming that we would find a trashcan, even though we knew they were scarce. We could not find a trash can. We gave up after a few minutes of looking and decided it would be faster to walk back to our place and our own trash can. That felt ridiculous. For the second gelato stop, we reasoned that we could handle cones and then wouldn’t have to deal with trash. As we walked the last few feet in the Piazza San Marco, I felt myself beset by large wings as a seagull swooped past my head. I shrieked, and then realized that Amy was the victim of thievery! Her cone had been stolen by the gull! Luckily she had been down to the last few bites, but still. That was a shock. And then, of course, we saw tons of trash cans!
For our last day, we all took the elevator to the top of the bell tower (the stairs were closed) and then had some more gelato, of course. After an early dinner, the four of us had a rowing lesson in a batela, which is similar to a gondola, but is more stable and works for giving lessons to those who don’t know what they are doing. Sarah and Amy rowed on the Grand Canal!! Amy rowed under the Rialto Bridge!!
The next morning we were up and out early, taking a water taxi to the airport. Sarah and I sat in the shade while the taxi barreled along the water highway. Carl and Amy enjoyed the speed and the spray.
At the airport, we needed every bit of our three hours. Once we were through security, we said our goodbyes to Carl since he was going to Norway to hike with some friends from grad school. I knew that going through the automated passport control stations could be stressful for Sarah and me since each person has to go through on their own and it can be hard to coach her, so I found the line to have a real person. What I didn’t think about was that it would be a longer wait and that that would come with stress too. In hindsight, I wish I had opted for the shorter wait and the technological stress, but if we had done that maybe I would be writing, “In hindsight, next time I will find a person.” Anyway, we were behind a stroller and a cute baby, so that helped, and Sarah did well with the wait overall. We finally made it through and found a bathroom, filled our water bottles, and Sarah and I changed into pants. The flights from Pittsburgh to Venice had been freezing cold so I wanted to be prepared. Of course the flights home were not freezing. We made it to our gate just as they were boarding, but our group was last so we did have time to wait more. Then we boarded a bus that took us to the plane where we were the very last three passengers to board via the outside set of stairs.
Sarah had changed into her favorite white pants with black musical notes. She was hungry and opted for half of a brownie that I had been carting around since we left Pittsburgh. It was a crumbly brownie that left evidence on her pants. She was not pleased and wanted to change immediately. Somehow we negotiated that when we got to London Heathrow she could change back into her shorts and I could spot wash her pants and use the air dryers for hands to get her pants ready for her again. We did this, but she opted to stay in shorts, so it was good that the final plane flight wasn’t air-conditioned to be the arctic. Anyway, hurdle one was managed.
The remaining hurdles occurred throughout the next flight, which we also boarded after a bus ride and a climb up an outdoor steps, just as in Venice. I have never in all my days boarded that way in Heathrow. A surprise, but not a problem. The problem was that Sarah didn’t want the flight to be as long as it was. After a few hours she said she had a headache. I gave her Advil. Later she was very upset and screamed a bit and tried to fit under the seat in front of her. Luckily it was time for her regular evening meds because the idea of taking medication can often placate her. It is action and seems to offer the promise of relief. We also were able to get her snuggled under two blankets and against two tiny pillows with her feet in my lap. We looked at postcards. We ate. She played games. We did all of the things one normally does to pass the time, but I felt like I had to be on and ready for anything all the time. Often when she would get anxious or extra eager to be home, she wanted to be reassured that her bank card would be waiting for her in the mail pile when we got home. This query would seem to come out of nowhere, but it was a good reminder about what was most important for her.
We finally made it home to Pittsburgh and through the easy passport control with a person. While we stood in line for passport control, I checked my email and saw to my horror a message from British Airways apologizing for the delay in our suitcases reaching the baggage carousel in Heathrow. WHAT?!!!! My insides instantly turned to sheer panicked adrenaline. I knew that our luggage tags had codes all the way to Pittsburgh, but I was suddenly panicking that I had screwed things up incredibly and that we were supposed to have collected our bags in Heathrow and rechecked them. I was envisioning the massive meltdown that Sarah might have if our bags weren’t there. I am always worried that my tombstone will read that I died from feeling stupid, and this would be the absolute culmination. Somehow we made it through to the baggage carousel. Amy knew of my panic but I didn’t say anything to Sarah. After many agonizing minutes, our bags appeared. That will teach me to check my email before getting my bags. Thanks British Airways for that unnecessary email and panic. There is a reason I don’t like rollercoasters!
Anyway, wishing you all the joy of Amy and Carl on a water taxi and Sarah on her terrace gondola. Wishing you the relief I felt when I saw our bags!
And here is a glimpse of where Carl is hiking.
Leave a Reply