February 11th- February 28th

Today, February 11th we took our car and went skiing with Ross and Wei on
Gemini.  It was less than a two-hour ride.  A ski pass was 8 euros and the
rental of the skis, poles and boots was 12.50 euros each.  The snow was
fantastic, but the visibility was zero.  It was so bad that Rudy did a "face
plant" on the side of the mountain into a wall of snow.  We saw some skiers
and decided to follow them down the mountain.  We knew the visibility was a
little better after lunch because we could see our skis again!!!

A few days later, we went to the Naples Museum with John and Joan from
Seascape.  This museum is one of the world's most important. It was very
interesting to see all the treasured pieces from Pompeii, Greece, Egypt, and
Turkey.  Having been to these sites, the pieces are more meaningful to me!!!

On the morning of February 20th we got into Seascape's camper along with
Jean and Bill on Soleil Sans Fin. We were all off to Venice for Carnival!!
The six of us plus Tipper (Joan and John's dog), stopped along the way and
had a picnic lunch at a beautiful on the side of the road overlooking a
valley.  We arrived at the campgrounds close to Venice before dark. We had
reserved a camping trailer and were pleasantly surprised when we saw our
home for the next few days. It was nice enough that and John and Joan
decided to join us in our trailer instead of camping in their camper van.
The campsite was adjacent to a ferry dock that has regular ferries to
Venice. The first day we walked up and over many, many, many bridges and
took a few vaporetto or waterbus to some of the 117 islands that make up
Venice!!!  It is really strange to be in a big city with not a single car.
We visited the Basilica di San Marco, the main cathedral in Venice and I
realized that every area inside had mosaic paintings on walls, ceilings and
floors.  There wasn't anyplace not covered with some artwork!! We also went
up the tower in San Marco's Square where we were awarded with a birds eye
view of Venice...FANTASTIC!!!

On Saturday the 22nd, we saw a Costume Parade in San Marco's Square.  After
the parade, the participants would pose for anyone; they were all very proud
of their beautiful costumes. We then went to visit the Peggy Guggenheim
Museum and did some more bridge climbing and walking to enjoy the sites of
Venice. (I think we visited almost every canal either by foot or
waterbus!!!)

Sunday February 23rd was the opening day of Carnival.  A person dressed in a
dove costume came floating down on a wire from the top of a tower in the
Square of San Marco.  There was a sea of people in the square and we moved
like a wave until the opening was over.  Around 4 p.m., there was a Gondola
Regatta down the Grand Canal.  (Gondolas have been a part of Venice since
the 11th century.)  Each gondola was decorated and the people wore costumes.
Some gondolas had bands and they would sing or dance to the crowd, others
had bubbles and smoke!!!  We stood on the Rialto Bridge where we watched and
took pictures!!!  We returned to our campsite and were able to enjoy a
wonderful fireworks display in our quiet setting, seeing the reflections of
the fireworks on the bay bordering our campsite!!!  BEAUTIFUL!!!

On Monday the 24th, on our last day we ferried all around the Grand Canal.
Then we went to Murano island where the world famous Venetian glass is made.
We watched the glassmakers create a glass vase and then went to the showroom
and were amazed at the beautiful work they can do with glass.

On Tuesday the 25th, we packed up the Camper Van and left beautiful Venice
and Carnival!!!  We wandered through many small villages and towns noticing
the uniqueness of each of the different areas.  We drove on to Florence
where we spent the night in a hostel. (Villa de Camerada)  That night we
found a good Internet café and a great restaurant!! (Osteria-Pizzeria
I'Giuggiolo)  The next day we drove back to Gaeta stopping for lunch
(Trattoria La Grotta) in Orvieto another walled city.  We walked around the
quiet, magnificent town.  We also visited the duomo, which is among the
greatest of all Italy's Romanesque-Gothic cathedrals.  (Took over 300 years
to build)

We are very happy with our car.  It is giving us the freedom and flexibility
of being able to go the larger grocery stores and merchants for boat parts
without taking public transportation, visit the many local sites we would
never see and enjoy skiing in the local mountains.