a lazy day in italy

after conking out, i wake up to an empty room. the room key is sitting on a piece of paper that says, "gone to the beach, e & k." i hop up, check the time - 10:00. 10:00!?! oh, crap! i get my stuff together, then head to the bus stop. i walk down to that salty body of water that butts up against the other side of lido and start my hunt for the girls.

boy, howdy! there were girls galore! the ones i'm traveling with were knee deep in the water searching for shells, so i find out where their stuff is, put my flip flops and shirt on the mats, and head in. the water is cool, fresh, but oh, so, lovely.

now, this next part may be a little uncomfortable for some of you, because i'm going to talk about being on a beach in europe. there comes a time in every little boys life when he learns about two things: balls and titties. i not so much as get my feet in the water when kelli says, "look now!" i have no idea what the heck she's talking about, so i turn...my gaze falls upon a man in a blue speedo, legs pointing towards the sea. oh, man. this horrible, horrible sight still fills my memory. you can only imagine what was falling out of his tiny speedo...

that brings a whole new level to people watching. this place, a place of modesty, only accounts for said modesty everywhere but at the beach. i'm cool with this. it seems confusing, but, it's cool. as with anywhere you go where there is nudity or partial nudity, for some people you can't get enough, for others, a little is too much.

practically all of the ladies are wearing bikinis. only a couple were walking around topless. i was grateful for that in a couple of occasions, most definitely. but there were other times that i was not so grateful.

kelli was my partner in crime people-watching. erika went back to the hotel to get her psuedo-bathing suit (she didn't bring one, so she used her exercise clothes). we were chatting about the trip, watching everyone, listening to the conversations, laughing. what a great time.

after erika got back, we stayed in the water until we got cold, probably another hour. the girls laid out for a while, "drying off," more like enjoying the sun's rays. i went and sat in the shade. afterwards, we went for a bite to eat. we found this little shop that was really an gelateria, but served some food on its patio (so, that means that we didn't get bread with our lunch). we all got something different, kelli had risotto, erika had lasagna, and i had the tortellini.

as we were sitting there, erika said that this was one of her favorite days in italy. kelli made mention that "this is what vacation is supposed to be like." i enjoyed it, but not to that extreme. it was nice to have a lazy day, to spend time at the beach, but did not offer the sentiment of standing at the feet of the david or gazing out over either the city of florence or pisa or being guided down the canals of such an old and storied city such as venice. the relaxation was pretty fantastic, though.

after lunch, we had some gelato. the lady at the shop told us that it had been open since 1932 and that the gelato is handmade. oh. my. goodness. now, any gelato - here - is good gelato. i mean, i have never had a bad gelato. sam and i staked out a gelateria in florence that i visited while there earlier this week, vivole, which, until this gelato, was the best i had ever had. but this. mmm. scrumptious.

the girls decide to kick it on the patio for a little while longer, allowing the gimp to get in the shower and start getting ready for st. mark's square (just so you know: i'm the gimp). after i'm ready to rock, they start getting ready, so we decide to meet in front of the doge's palace at 5:30. i was going to try and sneak into st. mark's basilica before it closed, but, leaving at 4:40, didn't think i was going to make it (it closes at 5:00).

i still head over, but didn't even try to go in. i just walked the streets. yep, there i was, walking the streets of venice...how outrageous! i mean...i'm walking the streets of venice! you know...the streets...right there...the ones in venice? well, the moment wasn't lost on me, i'll tell you that much!

at 5:30 i'm waiting in front of the palace. at 5:40, i'm walking into the doors of the palace. unfortunately, the girls hadn't made it, so, i figgered that they would just meet me inside when they got there...i started walking around. the doge was a figurehead of the politics in venice. i don't quite understand it, but it seemed that business was carried on when there was a doge, an individual who served for life and was selected from the most influential families in venice, but had no real power. once a doge died, though, the whole city would shut down.

what an extravagant place! the rooms were lovely and ornate. that was cool. but nothing compared to the 14th century armory. wow. the swords, the maces, the battle axes, the pikes, the spears, the crossbows, the arrows, the armor, the chastity belt...yes, the chastity belt. that thing scared the sam hill out of me! i really, really, really don't want a piece of that!

i was very excited about this, and was thinking that sam would've got a kick out of it too. but, really, i knew that i was not nearly as geeked as some of the guys at work who play with these toys when they get the chance...amazing, though!

after being sent to and from the same room three times as they were closing and cordoning off everything, including the exits, i found my way to the exit, and there were the two lovely ladies. the boat over was taking an exceptionally long time, so they didn't make the 6:00 cut off to enter. we went looking for a couple of souvenirs we didn't pick up the night before, then to dinner.

i had a bruschetta that was sooo good! i also had a mixed salad and tartialle con carni (fettucini noodle-ish with a beef ragout), the girls shared buffalo mozzarella and a vegetable pizza (eggplant, zucchini, and yellow bell peppers, i think). we get some baked goods, walk around a little more, then head back to lido. we're going to celebrate our last night in italy with a limoncello...and erika had a bellini.

we walk to maleti's, a nice little bar, and get our drinks. the first one went down nicely, as it should, slowly. the second (this time the girls both had bellinis, but i stuck with the limoncello) was toast after toast after toast after toast until it was all gone.

all in all, not a bad day in venice, if i do say so myself...