Home from Vacation - First Reflections

The Grand Canal from San Marco Square on our last night.

After an arduous trip yesterday back from Venice - we were up nearly 23 hours - which was made worse by US Airways' incompetence, we are back in Hampton and I shudder at what awaits at the office since I had extreme difficulty accessing my office e-mail while traveling.  I'd be lying if I said I was happy to be home.  If nothing else, foreign travel always highlights in my mind the many deficiencies of living in Virginia.  Going to Europe also always underscores the idiocy and unwarranted arrogance of far too many "red state" Americans, not too mention that Americans seem to be the most obese among traveling tourists.  Having some scored some great clothing purchases, one friend on the trip teased me that I was trying to look "European" - my response was why not?  With some of the "ugly Americans" to be seen, who would want to be numbered among them.

Besides reading the book "Zealot" on the trip, I also finished reading "Facing East from Indian Country," which recounts America's ugly history of lies, broken treaties, and outright genocide against America's original inhabitants.  Not surprisingly, in addition to the greed that motivated the quest to "remove" Indians from their lands, good old Christianity helped convince far too many whites that annihilating the Indians was a godly thing.  Combined with being out of the USA in generally enlightened locales, this book doesn't make one overly proud to be America.

I will get over the post-vacation funk and be posting more photos and giving further thoughts and reflections.  Here are a few photos:

An amazing room in the Dodge's Palace

The amazing Hermes by by Praxiteles in Olympia, Greece

Model of the site of the Olympic Games during Classical times

The dying Achilles - Corfu, Greece

Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge after dinner

Venice and Aboard the Norwegian Jade

Grand Canal

Our stay in Venice was wonderful and we saw as much of the city as one can in two days.  High points were a trip out to Murano to see the glass works via a water taxi and then a wonderful (and expensive) dinner at the Hotel Daneli's top floor terrace restaurant.  It's hard to describe the maze that Venice's canals and streets (some only four feet wide) comprise.  It's also an unusual experience being in a city where there literally are no cars.  As for the men, there are lots of drop dead gorgeous guys!

Water taxi to Murano

Murano glass factory

Boarding the Norwegian Jade went smoothly and we love our suite which is on deck 11 adjacent to the ship's officers' quarters.  Dinner in the Grand Pacific dining room was elegant and we completed the evening by attending the "Friends of Dorthy" gathering where we met some nice guys.  Today we will be at sea as we head to Corfu, our first port tomorrow.  I've posted a number of photos to give an idea of some of our experiences.

Safe Arrival in Venice!

It was a grueling trip, but other than making the mistake of flying on US Airways/American Airlines - which separated me and the husband at boarding since the nasty gate attendants refused to recognize us as married although straight couples had no such problems - it was largely uneventful.  The husband and I are regrouping before we go exploring.   The weather is great and I hope to put up a post or so later.  

As for US Airways, I do plan on filing a formal complaint.  To add insult to injury, the gate staff in Philadelphia, two black women named "Asia" and Chanelle," told me that only blacks faced discrimination and that since I  am white, I needed to shut my mouth.  Both acted as if they had been indoctrinated by NOM as part of its plan to drive a wedge between the black and the gay communities.  

After this trip is over, I am going to avoid US Airways like the plague.  EVERY time I fly them it is either a clusterfuck or some kind of unpleasantness takes place.

Getting some much needed alcohol before checking into our hotel!

Honeymoon Trip and Reduced Posting

Venice

In the morning, the husband and I fly out for Venice, Italy via a stop over in Philadelphia on our "honeymoon trip" of sorts. Preparing has been crazy between lining up the house/dog sitter, arranging yard care and me working most of Labor Day weekend and late tonight in an effort to keep office matters under control.  Thankfully, with the law firm merger, I now have much more backup available, but I will nevertheless be checking office e-mail regularly to keep clients happy.  We arrive in Venice on Friday morning and will spend the night before boarding the Norwegian Jade for a 7 night cruise to the Greek Islands of Corfu, Mykonos and Santorini with a stop in Olympia before returning to Venice.  As a lover of history, this trip is a dream come true for me.  I will be posting as time permits while on the trip and providing both photos of the trip and my usual commentary on whatever stories/strikes my fancy.

By sheer coincidence one of our dear and generous friends will be in Santorini while we are there and we will be meeting up with her and her wonderful husband (she was "woman of honor" at our marriage in April).  The cruise will involve two days at sea, so hopefully the husband and I will get some much needed R&R especially in the wake of losing my father-in-law last month.

Should you see stories that you think might be of interest to me, send me the link!  I haven't done so in a while, but thank you to to each and every reader!

The Jade

Santorini