Andiamo Incognito

We met "promptly" in the parking lot at Ss. Simon and Jude Church. There two buses and almost 90 black shirted pilgrims were ready to make the short trip to Newark for our evening departure to Munich, Germany.

Though the skys were overcast, our spirits were bright and sunny! I'll be having a little extra sunshine with me every day in Italy this year, regardless of the weather! For the first time, my parents will be traveling with CCVA - as an early 25th wedding anniversary present. So if you see a few pictures of me with two adults in particular, now you know why.

Check in at Newark International went smoothly. The CCVA travel uniform always attracts a little attention and even results in a spontaneous, but occasionally inconvenient request for a song. I hate to admit it, but last year's orange shirts were a little more effective. As it turns out, a lot of people wear black these days.

In all my excitement I was unable to sleep on either the nearly eight hour plane ride to Munich or the short commuter flight to Venice, but before I knew it, we were finally in Italy!

At the airport we met our two tour managers, Ilaria and Stefano, who would be there with us every step of the way as we traveled across Italy. Once we all got our luggage stowed away on yet another bus, the group hopped on a taxi boat for a forty-five minute ride from the mainland to Venice, where many of my fellow performers found some valuable time to nap after taking some quick pictures of the picturesque scenery around us. (There is a long story with a happy ending about my mom's luggage, but I'll not bore you with it here. Thanks to all those who volunteered to lend a helping hand.)

It was exactly as I had imagined it would be: rustic, charming and distinctly Italian. On dry land again, we walked to our hotel, passing through Saint Mark’s Square and admiring both the Cathedral and Bell Tower. Our thoughts drifted back to our time at Disney World’s Epcot as we got ready for dinner - as close to Italy as many of us thought we would ever get. Finally it began to dawn on us that the experience we had been preparing for since January was officially underway.

Lisa and I were thrilled at the chance to finally be roommates. We spent some time checking out our lovely hotel room and relaxing, before changing out of our infamous black shirt "travel outfits’ and meeting the rest of the group in the lobby to walk to dinner.

Despite our general exhaustion, we were able to enjoy the rest of our first evening in Venice - a delicious meal - pasta first, then a small meat course, then salad and dessert. No doubt, this year we would be having the best food yet!