I'm sitting in the SFO DL Crown Room waiting for my flight home after a delightful but short weekend in SFO.

I bought a book that I want to read on the return, "Death in a Strange Country", by Donna Leon. It's set in Venice, Italy. Apparently she has a series of mysteries set in Venice, including "Acqua Alta" and "Uniform Justice."

"The body floated face down in the murky water of the canal... drifting towards the open waters and freedom."

I like to read novels set in places I've been to. I'll let 'ya know how this one is.

Sounds good. Now, be sure to read "The Comfort of Strangers" by Ian, as well as his brilliant new novel, Saturday. The Comfort of Strangers was the most mesmerizing book I have read with Venice as a protaganist and a backdrop. You will never get this book out of your head. IMHO, Thomas Mann and his Death in Venice was a beautiful book, but it captured my imagination more, given the fact that at one point in the 1950's Thomas Mann lived in our house; the one we raised our kids in. He lived there before we did.

Wedding invitation from Marco Musco
 

Received a beautiful wedding invitation today for our Marco's wedding on June 18. I would love to go; just hate the thought of VCE in June. Even found a discounted Biz fare on DL. Considering going solo and back again with my Doc in late fall. Any thoughts?

Is there such a thing as too much Venice for you, obscure2k?

If not, GO!!!

Knowing you, you will regret it if you do not go. Get that discounted business class fare on Delta Air Lines.

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks, Canarsie My sweet spouse says the same thing. That Biz fare is available on Travelocity for approx $2600 and for another 4K I could book it on DL and get a 1000 mile bonus.
:rolleyes:
Probably will be ideal time for me to go (here comes rationale)..spouse going to IAD for his brother's significant birthday, which ends in zero..... will have just returned from a fun-filled "working vacation" in LAS ;) , one kid needs a little medical attention at the end of June. Seems as if I'm covered. ^

Go! You will never regret it.

Is the wedding in Verona? That would be pleasant, and the Carnerregio doesn't get crowded like the St. Mark's area even in June. If Venice were just too awful, you could spend some quality time in the bar at the hotel.

Send Marco greetings and congratulations from us all.

I am not certain when the operas begin in the Arena this summer (either in June or July) but they make the trip worthwhile even without a friend's wedding!

Forget about Venice and stay in Verona or Garda.

Go...go.....go! That would be such a joy to see darling Marco get married.

A friend has invited me to her daughter's wedding in Portofino in September. I won't know until the middle of May if I can go, but if there is any way, I will be there.

I have e-mailed Marco asking about the logistics. Jerry also knows that this trip will be good for my heart and soul. My other "darling Marco" was married in 2003 and it was such a joy. I know, for sure, that I 'll be there to see Marco and Elena celebrate their marriage. Did not take a whole lot of arm-twisting. There are some convoluted logistics involved.....Wedding is in VCE, and the reception is on the way to Cortina. :confused:

How can I possibly say no?
 

Dorlee Marco has completely convinced me that I must see him and Elena marry. I e-mailed him some of my concerns re: logistics--This is a little snippet of his response
you do not have to worry about anything :
1) I have already booked a room at Ai Mori for all your stay ;
2) People from England and France are coming at the wedding ;
3) One person will come to meet you at the Hotel, to take you to the church and from the church to the car terminal ;
4) One car will take you from Piazzale Roma to the restaurant ;
5) At the end you will be escorted form the restaurant to Venice and than to the Hotel.
Wanna go to a wedding with me, dorlee? Dr. O2K is skipping this one. Maybe he and Leonard can hang out :eek:

Finally, my photos....
 

First, I want to thank those who took photos and put them on the "FlyerTalk Venice November 2004" CD-ROM, namely, Canarsie, dedehans, Dorlee, klc, lili-dui, and Punki. And belated thanks for sending me this CD! I liked the photos so much I copied them all to my hard drive for more convenient viewing. ^

And second, I have finally edited my own photos down from 250+ to a slightly more manageable 160 ( :eek: ) and they are available here:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/s...en=1&sm=1&sl=0

Kathy...excellent and very artistic photos!! Thanks for sharing...and for re-kindling the memories once again....:).

Oh how I would love to!!! I return to the U.S. on June 15th after an 11 day cruise followed by 5 days in Paris, and Leonard and I are leaving for the Spring Florence Do on May 4, so I am afraid I will be a bit travel weary. It pains me to say no....I would have loved nothing better. Kiss the bridegroom for me ;)

I will most definitely kiss the bridegroom for you
;) Got my reservations today...last Z fare on AF/DL (phew)

Thats wonderful news about Marco. We just returned from our private Venice Meet; sorry none of you could join us :(

Marco was all that everyone has said. He took great care of us, and I can second the recommendations of the Hotel ai Mori d'oriente, http://www.morihotel.com/
Just wish they'd put in high speed wifi internet connections... that kiosk like "dsl" internet point they have is pretty limited.

As to Venice in June, go for it. So what if it's a bit crowded and warm, it's still Venice. It's like the time a few years we grabbed a discount e-fare for Paris in early February; friends questioned why we would go to Paris in February. We had to remind them that we live in Chicago; how bad could the weather be in Paris? It was well below freezing, snowy and quite windy in Chicago, Paris was a balmy 4 degrees C and a bit overcast, and we enjoyed strolling the boulevards.