April 27 Venice, Italy

The day started cool but sunny, and after breakfast at the hotel, the four of us, Grace, Paul, Erika and Melanie, took a taxi from our hotel to the train station to catch the train to Venice. It was a two hour ride, but only cost 12.50 Euros, one way. As we arrived at the train station on the Grand Canal in Venice, the sun was still shining, and continued until mid afternoon. For 7.5 Euro we caught the public water taxi along the Grand Canal and rode it all the way to St. Mark's Square.

It all looked familiar, even though it has been about 37 years since we were there the last time. Erika enjoyed showing us around, but the first stop had to be the Hard Rock Cafe for the obligatory T-Shirt for the collection. For lunch we stopped at a small cafe where we could eat along the sidewalk off the beaten path, and most of us had pizza, which was very good. Next, Erika took us by one of the hotels she represented when working for an Italian hotel company. It was gorgeous and right along the water, just a small way beyond St. Marks Square.

During the afternoon we wandered back to the Rialto Bridge, for old times sake, and walked across (up and over). It is in scaffolding on one side, for renovation, and you can't even see out the sides. What I remember as once having been higher end gold and leather shops, are now just selling touristy stuff. During the afternoon, the clouds came in bringing some wind and sprinkles, then the sun came back out. All in all a nearly ideal day.

From the Rialto Bridge we took the water taxi back to the train station. Unfortunately, we had just missed the train back to Bologna and had to wait a full hour for the 4:42 train.

When we arrived back at the Porta San Mamolo Hotel, Benjamin, our guide greeted us. We had all heard from him before leaving the states, but it was good to meet him in person. After a short time, the four of us went to have dinner at a restaurant near the end of the street, where we enjoyed a very leisurely and good dinner to finish off a delightful first full day in Italy.

After another day on our own tomorrow, we will meet the rest of our group in the evening to begin our tour. There will be four more joining us, making for a nice small group.

More later,
Grace and Paul

For the first time we spent a winter in Green Valley, AZ, and enjoyed doing many things that the area offered. Mostly, Paul enjoyed reading and the pool while I (Grace) enjoyed participating in activities at the Camera Club. But alas, it was time to come home to Portland. We arrived in time for the long rainy Oregon winter to turn into a warm beautiful spring - at least for a while.
 
It is tulip blossom time in the area, and in Woodburn, about 45 miles south of Portland, is the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, where the owners hold a “Festival” of activities every year while their fields are a mass of blooms. We spent a delightful morning there so I could take photographs. It is unbelievable that we have not gone there before, but certainly we will go there again. I may even go back soon, but early in the morning when they allow photographers to enter before opening to the general public.
 
Here are some of the photos I shot on April 1, 2016. I used my Canon 5D Mark III camera with a 24-105mm lens and a 70-200mm lens, as well as my Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 “bridge” camera with a built-in 24-400mm lens. I developed the photos using Lightroom 6.

That is all for now,
Grace