July 8, 2009

This morning we were greeted with blue skies and warm sunshine again. We drove a half an hour to Locarno, located on a beautiful lake in southern Switzerland, and walked around for a while before heading south into Italy. We enjoyed a nice lunch at one of the service stops along the highway and arrived in Altavilla Vicentina near Vicenza, less than an hour west of Venice. We checked into our hotel, a Best Western, and were pleasantly surprised at how spacious it was. It is basically two separate rooms in the corner of a floor, with a common hallway. The price is very reasonable as well, which I like.

We drove into Vicenza, and after navigating the incredibly narrow streets and ending up on a pedestrian mall (the third time I have done this in Europe) we found a parking spot and explored the town. Vicenza is famous for the villas and public buildings designed by Palladio. We toured one of the villas and then grabbed some gelato, which was fantastic.

In the evening we had some laundry to catch up on, so we found a laundry nearby and did a few loads. We then grabbed a pizza ($5.00 CDN! – I’m liking Italy already) and headed back to the hotel. We also spoke with Karen’s Mom on the phone. Her parents arrived in Venice today and we will meet them tomorrow for the cruise.

Tomorrow morning we will get in to Venice early and board the ship at noon. Everyone is pretty excited.