The Venice Lion

Well, we are fully into travel mode. We arrived in Milan two days ago somewhat tired but determined to stay awake and get on Italy time. We spent our first day wondering the city and enjoying the tram which we got off two miles before we were supposed too rather than take it straight to the front door of our hotel. After being awake for 28 hours straight we were eager for sleep which did not come as easily as we hoped. Especially when Kenny thought since he was awake I should be too. Imagine this scene if you will....crabby Katie being awakened by all the lights in the room being turned on every few hours....not pretty.
We are more rested now and have moved on to Venice. We spent the day seeing lots and lots and lots of old art! For the first few hours we actually read about each piece we were looking at. However, by the end, a glance in the general direction seemed to suffice. The dogs were barking and it was time to feed the hungry art critics. We had a nice picnic lunch along one of the canals. But only after holding up the line at the grocery store while the checker went back to weigh our produce, something we were clueless about. Our first adventure in living the local life. After lunch we were ready to hit the Doge`s palace were we got lost in the dungeons but found our way back by following the sounds of the loud American tour group, just off the cruise ship. At the palace I also got stuck in the bathroom for a good few minutes and was starting to wonder how long it would be before Kenny came looking for me, when I was finally able to unlock the door. Kenny had a similar experience just a few hours later when he got locked in the bathroom at our hotel. He too had to learn the special Italian secret for getting out of the bathroom...unlocking the door.
We are on our way to Florence tomorrow where I am sure we will have more cultural faux pas and blurry eyed treks through art museums. We are having a great time, loving the food, but hating the weight of our backpacks. I have a feeling they will be getting lighter in the coming days.