The train hummed along, twisting itself through the foothills of the Alps. We stopped in Innsbruck, Austria, the site of the 1964 Olympics, for lunch and to change trains. The boy confessed that he had chosen a less direct way to reach our destination so that we could pass through the mountains. After a delicious bakery style sandwich, which of course can only be found in Europe, I felt tryptophan taking its effect, so after boarding our new train I settled in for a nap.... The next thing I know, several hours later, I wake up and to my surprise have a very different vision outside of my window... The land is lush and green. The mountains have passed, and distinctly there are rows and rows and rows of.... grapevines. Its not so bad when you go to sleep and wake up to find yourself in Italy! After and hour or so more, as I was about to loose it with excitement to see which city we would stay in, our train finally stopped in Venezia! Just when I felt that my life couldn't possibly get any sweeter, we off boarded the train, and there was a guy in his flashy designer suit and D&G sunglasses, waiting for the boy and his plus one. We followed this costra nostrati out of the train station, not to the bus stop, but to the dock where our private water taxi awaited us. Our impeccably dressed captain weaved us through the canals of what must certainly be the most beautiful city in the world.
