Arrivo a Venezia!

 The flight went fairly quickly ...... only 5 1/2 hours. We had a nice dinner of salad, chicken and cheesecake and tried to get some rest for a couple of hours. The flight was wonderfully smooth and a bit ahead of schedule ....... great news except we landed in Dublin at 4:30 in the morning! So crazy ...... as this was actually only 11:30 PM Boston time! Talk about getting your body clock goofed up.

The walk from the plane through passport control and to our next gate felt like a marathon walk. At least we only had to deal with light carry-on bags. It is really quite strange to see how active the airport was so early in the morning. Our flight left at 7:45 and several other larger flights to Rome, Milan and Zurich left well before us.

While we were waiting we grabbed a couple of croissants and multiple cups of coffee! Although the airport was busy, we were clearly the first ones to arrive for the Venice flight!

Made it to Venice in about 2 1/2 hours. There was not a jetway, so we got to ride a bus to the terminal! It all went smoothly and our bags came up on the baggage carousel right when we arrived there.  

We then flexed our tired muscles a bit and headed around the side of the airport to get to the water transportation center. Going by bus or even by public water ferries takes forever, so we had decided to hire a private water taxi. The trip was about 30 minutes and was absolutely fantastic! What a thrill ...... certainly moving faster than we had anticipated. We had taken the same ride with Noel and Clara ten years ago, but did not remember how much fun this was (haha, that trip was in January!)

https://photos.google.com/u/1/photo/AF1QipN-HNQgtX180pQYn2tWF1vql5pjHRpW0OdM0PHn

Finally, Isola San Giorgio is in view! Almost there........

Wonderful rosemary hedges all over the garden walkways

One of the hallways leading to our rooms

We got settled in our apartment and decided to head out around 6:00.......first for an aperol spritz at the San Giorgio Cafe, which is literally in view of our residence building.  It is the only restaurant on the island......and is charming, with great views over the marina to San Marco across the lagoon.  After than we got on the vaporetto for a 5 minute ride to Giudecca, the adjacent island, which has a more active food and retail character.

What a truly amazing day.  It is difficult to put a normal framework to when it started......but we are now shifting into an understanding of how it ends. As we go to bed at 11:00, we are starting to put aside the 5 hour time difference.  Wonderfully tired and excited, we are looking forward to tomorrow......so great to be back to Venice!

The Day of Departure

 We seemed to have found a solution to packing our bags.  It is a little like throwing ballast overboard in order to float higher and go faster.......some things will just not make the trip.  This was totally anticipated, and Andrea is my better half here.  She is quite reasonable.  Anyway, one bag and 35 pounds and the other right at the limit of 50......so hope that works. Love the tags......should be easy to find!

Chris has offered to drive us to the airport and should be here in about 30 minutes (so nice to have family around!).  Will continue today's blog later.

Chris got us to the airport right on time, despite ambulances in the Williams Tunnel.  Terminal C was a bit of a madhouse.  It took forever to get our bags checked.......and then the security line was huge.  For some reason Aer Lingus uses Terminal C, so is put in the crunch with Jet Blue.  It actually wasn't too bad, until I forgot to take out my wallet after all our 'stuff' had gone throuogh the conveyor belt.  I had to go back and start over again.......and as a result my computer, phone, shoes and jacket got pushed off the end of the conveyor, and Andrea had to get on the floor and pick it all up.......no help from the security guards.  They just said 'you better make sure your computer still works.'

We headed to the Priority Lounge, but it was already at capacity.......so we sat outside waiting to be called.......which did not happen until we were boarding the plane!  The wait was fine and the time passed quickly.  There are certainly a lot of people flying these days. Quite the crowds!

We got on early, but the flight filled up.......almost totally full.  A320-300, so 300 folks jumped on the train!

Clouds and rain moving in, but we got out well in advance.......beautiful evening for the take off!

Actually, the clouds were quite beautiful.......and the light of dusk coming from behind us made for some (too many) great shots!

And away we go........the journey begins! Buon Viaggio!

The Time Approaches......

We are fast approaching the departure day. There is an energized feeling of chaos and 'how did this day arrive so quickly?' After months of anticipation and general planning, we are now confronted with the reality of final decisions and compressed packing! 

The last two weeks have been busy ...... which is maybe why we are rushing down the home stretch. On Sunday, September 4th we had a wonderful celebration with Benny's christening at Trinity Chapel on Kennebunk Beach. It was a beautiful day and a small, intimate service ....... at a special place where Parker was also christened and where my Mom and Dad used to attend ....... with their memorial markers in the Chapel Garden. Afterwards we had a fun romp at Mother's Beach and headed home. This past weekend we returned to Kennebunk again ....... this time for a gathering to note the passing of Ann Berry.At 90 years old, she has been a surrogate grqandmother and wonderful friend to our family for almost 40 years, and she was my Dad's 'fiance' for the last 10 years of his life.

Following the 'celebration' for Ann, we all (Caroline, Alex, A, G and B) got sandwhiches and went down to the beach for a late afternoon of crab-catching and body surfing ...... Grady caught a couple of crabs, and Addie was a fanatic diving into the waves ...... and dragging me along with her. It was a long day, but a great adventure in the end.

Quite the emotional roller coaster ...... but in the end a week of 'celebrations.'

Having written this, it reminds me that this is all part of a continuum. Our trip is just a chapter in what has become a fun year with friends and family. We have had a great summer, visiting the cabin New Hampshire a couple of times, a great wedding in Lake George, Alex surviving another Iron Man in Lake Placid, all with the family ....... and have ample time to complain about the drought here in Wayland, while trying to keep the flower and vegetable gardens from wilting away. Just so we don't forget, these images will remind us of the summer of 2022!