Venice

We finally have an internet connection for about an hour while sitting in the lobby of our hotel in Rome. Our Venice experince was a great one. We're enjoying our vacation after our work project in France. On Friday we left Sondernach for Venice. The train ride through Switzerland was amazing. The snow covered mountains were a sight to see. The train snaked along mountains with numerous tunnels to go through. Unfortunately, when we got to Italy we learned there was a national transportation strike. The train stopped at the Swiss-Italian border where they unloaded us to a waiting bus. From there we spent 5 hours on a bus until the last train station outside of Venice. We then took a short train ride across the lagoon to Venice. Venice is built on top of water. No cars are allowed. This makes Venice unique. No cars. You either walk the narrow streets and alleys or take a boat to where you want to go. The building our fascinating and with so much water around it makes for a unique experience. Our main visits were made on Saturday to the Basillica and the Doge Palace. What a wonderful time! Doug Carr and Adam Wireman are with us and they are enjoying themselves too! The days are rapidly flying by. We home all are well at home. It's amazing the people you meet from all over the world. It is truly a global village. The people we run into have been very friendly and helpful with directions. Most speak English. Pat and I are blessed to have this time together.
These are the days my friend,
Jim "Train"