Today marks day 30 on the this amazing trip. Our original plan was to spend a few days in the city touring museums and cathedrals, then a few days in the country recovering from the city experience, then back to the city for another round of culture, then back to the country to clear the mind and prepare for the next onslaught. Problem is, we run and wear our selves out just as much in the countryside as we do in the city. So at day 30, we are both getting tired. Throw in the news about Joel getting injured in a motorcycle accident in Frankfurt on his way to Italy for the wedding, and we need a down day. Even though we are a 15 minute bus ride from Venice, we decided to just hang near the B&B here in Mestre. Last night we walked into the town further, to check out a hotel. We found a nice town square. Today, we decided to go to that town square, find a nice table outside a cafe and sit for the day, reading, writing and veging. Why not stay in the B&B and do the same thing? We have a bed in our B&B, but not a place to sit. Lying in bed for the day is just a little too extreme.
The Caldwells texted us this morning. They are headed for Frankfurt to see Joel in the hospital. They checked into flights from Milan, where they spent last night, but there were no direct flights and driving seems like a better option. It is about a six hour drive. Hailey sent out an email this morning calling off the wedding. In a very elegant and thoughtful letter she explained that Joel would likely be in the hospital for weeks and there was no way to hold the wedding, but invited everyone coming to the wedding to please enjoy the site. She hoped to make it down Tuesday for a dinner with everyone, depending on how Joel was progressing.
We wandered slowly down the street toward the square. Nearing the square we saw an open market. We stopped in for some fresh beans, tomatoes and onions for dinner. From there, we staggered over to the square, found a cafe with outside seating and plopped down. I nursed a frizzante water for an hour while Sally gave the same treatment to a Coke. We wandered until we found a park bench in the shade and enjoyed a picnic lunch of bread, cheese and fruit. Then it was back to the B&B. I laid out on the bed to take a break. Two and a half hours later, Sally was rudely waking me from what turned out to be a ridiculously long nap. Whew! I must be tired!
We cooked a delicious dinner of pasta, beans, onions and cheese. After dinner, we walked to a grocery store, got a few supplies, then stopped by a florist shop and bought Valentyna some flowers. We return home, texted, wrote and Facebook’d. We learned Jeff was flying into Rome in the morning, so we cancelled rooms we had reserved here in Venice and along the east coast of Italy and made plans to head for Florence in the morning to meet him. We also learned that Bill and Pat had made it to Frankfurt and had spent time with Joel. They said he looked good but couldn’t remember anything from the day of the accident. Valentyna got home about 9:30 pm. We related the story of Joel and the motorcycle accident to her and told her we were leaving in the morning.
You would think after a two and a half hour nap I would have trouble falling asleep. Nope. Dropped off like a rock. Sally, too. Low key day. The rest was good.
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