We started our day yesterday by packing up and checking out of the hotel. They had a place to store our luggage for the day, so we headed out on one more metro adventure to the neighbourhood of Montmartre. After climbing a huge spiral staircase (it felt like the Colgone Cathedral all over again) we made it out of the Abbesses metro station. A short walk down rue de Yvonne Le Tac, then a short ride up the Funiculaire de Montmartre and we were at Sacre Coeur. On our way into the church there is sign saying no photos, videos or speaking are allowed inside. It was very cool to walk through Sacre Coeur in the silence, taking in the beautiful mosaics.

Outside on the steps leading up to the church, there was gentleman playing the harp and the sun was shining through the clouds. It was an amazing moment, one of my favorites from Paris.

While walking through Montmartre, we stopped for lunch at a cafe and then made our way to the cemetery (with a couple short stops in the shops we passed). I thought the cemetary was very interesting – some of the aboveground crypts look like little churches – but it was also kind of spooky.

We headed back to the hotel and grabbed our luggage. The concierge at the hotel told us that the Gare de Bercy Paris was only 10 minute walk (everytime we got directions in Paris, we were told it was only 10 minutes). However, that didn’t account for us hauling our very heavy luggage. After slightly longer than 10 minutes, we did make it to the station.

While waiting for our train, there was an adorable little boy sitting across from us…well, he was adorable until he threw a huge crying fit. I started listening to my iPod to drown him out and once he saw me he came over to check out what I was doing. First, I gave him one earphone and started going through my songs. After a few songs, he handed the earphone back and walked away. A couple of minutes later, he climbed over Selena and our bags and up into my lap to listen to more songs. After I showed him (he only spoke Italian) how to advance to the next song, he sat with me for 5-10 minutes choosing the songs he wanted to hear. He really liked “Sexyback” by JT.

The overnight train trip to Venice was quite an experience. It was pretty close quarters with both of us and our entire luggage in out tiny cabin. Surprisingly, each of us had a pretty good sleep.

Once we arrived in Venice, we called our B&B host Lorenzo when we got off the water bus at the San Zaccaria stop. He came to meet us and led us through a labyrinth of alleys to our home for the next 3 days. He seems very ernest and even carried our suitcases up the stairs for us. It took him a while to catch his breath. We went out to explore and after taking careful note of landmarks, we even made it back without getting lost. I’ve never seen anything like Venice!

We’ve noticed that Italians are very passionate. One of our first stops was at a bank to make some change and to cash some traveller’s cheques. Selena was told to go to the next teller and may have inadvertently touched the newspaper of a guy at the ATM, on which his wallet was sitting. She backed away and said sorry, but he rattled off a long tirade in Italian. It ended with him saying “Damn Yankees” and storming out of the bank.

Apparently there are only 3 Laundromats (of which we were in dire need) in all of Venice and one of them is 10 meters away from our B&B. While waiting for our laundry, we met a lady from Michigan who is on a month long Italian holiday with 7 of her friends. Also while waiting I glanced over at the vending machine and saw one can left of something called “Hell Bier”. Needless to say, I had to give it a try. After a Hell Beer, the waiting for our laundry didn’t seem so bad.

Tomorrow we are doing a city tour and going to the Basillica di San Marco.

I’ve posted some pictures: first of my shoes, then Sacre Coeur and the cemetery, and three Venice pics – including the view from our room. Selena posted the video of the lady in the skirt suit and heels riding her bike in the bus lane in Paris. It cracks us up everytime we watch it!

Ciao,

stace