Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird. Well, not really. It’s still dark out with a light rain, but not enough to interfere with our touristy tours of Venice.

I am on quite a roll. Our plane reservations worked out perfect. The connection time in Atlanta could have saved QC and me some anxiety, but that was out of my control.

The police woman in Charles De Gaulle had some trouble understanding where I was going and asked to see my boarding pass. I asked her if it was my accent to which she laughed and said they pronounce Venezia as Venise. Middle school French fails me yet again.

Eventually we arrived in Venice (early), I found and figured out how to use the ATVO bus ticket machine, purchased two tickets to Venezia, found the bus, validated the tickets and rode to Venezia. Much to my surprise, although it shouldn’t have been as I am on a roll, the bus stopped one block and within sight of our hotel. Wait, the roll isn’t over! The hotel had our reservation and our room was ready, and it wasn’t even noon.

We dropped out bags, and following the instructions for our Orange Holiday SIM card, swapped cards from our Cellular One card to the European card. It worked perfectly and my cell was back online

We walked to the restaurant (Osteria ae Cravate) recommended by our hotel concierge, found it (thanks to Google Maps and my European SIM,) and were welcomed by Adrian, the restaurant manager. Adrian was a very interesting fellow. A Romanian who has lived in Italy for 35 years. We had their small grilled prawns and sea bass, along with wine.

Adrian was once the chef and provided a detailed description of the preparation and process of creating these delicious options.

After our lunch walked around Venezia trying to adapt to the time change. We wandered down the canal until we found the Rialto bridge, one of my bucket list items. The bridge was built towards the end of the 1500’s by an uncle and nephew who won a design contest, which is getter than winning a low-bid contract.

It turns out there is a nice little wine bar at the foot of the Rialto Bridge. The perfect place to take a few Selfies Across Italy.

We planned to stop for dinner (and undoubtedly wine) on our way back to the hotel, but somehow fatigue, and our ages, caught up with us, so we decided to simply return to the hotel.

And that is how you stay on a roll to begin our sojourn through Italy.