I've lost track of who exactly will be meeting for the taxi. I THINK it's Belle, Canarsie, Mrs. Cholula, me and whoever you've got. If we have to take two water taxis we will. Or maybe the water taxi can haul a barge for the luggage and we can all get into the same one. ;)
We'll all meet in the taxi dispatch area...see O2K's note above in Milepost 1126....and go from there. I'd suggest a drop dead time of 4:00 PM to leave for the hotel from the dispatch area. Whoever isn't there by that time probably is tied up somewhere along the line and will have to come over on their own.

Calle Largo, practically next door to Prada Men.

Recommend you make your "drop dead" time a little earlier. We were already at AiMori by 1530. Very fast flt from CDG.

Problem is that everybody is coming in from various weird cities all around 2:30 or so. Plus platbrownguy will be getting stewed in the bar waiting for us. And some of us have to pick up Venice cards before we leave the airport, blah, blah, blah.
As soon as we see the whites/reds of everybody's eyes, we'll jump a watertaxi for the Ai Mori....

:eek:

Soooo glad it's not you but Cholula who's picking up the bar tab Friday and Dovster buying dinner Saturday night. These guys are SO generous. As are you NickW to do the CD burning.

BTW, a few years ago I arrived in Venice with no cash only an ATM card and popped it in the first machine I saw and got the message "Card not valid in this country" After a stunned moment, I realized the card had been working in "this country" for weeks. Xavier9, much wiser about Italian mechanical things. suggested trying a different ATM. Jackpot, Euros (Euri?) flew out with a satisfying rush.

Speaking of Euros, the dollar sure has been taking a drubbing in the last month or two. :(

1 Euro = US $1.35

US $1.00 = .80 Euro

(your actual exchange rates will probably be even worse than that)

My rate has already been worse than that. I ordered $100 worth from my bank, so I would have some in my pocket when I got there. They charged me $111 for 75 euros. Think I'll shop around a little more next time. :mad:

I heard that the rate you get from ATM over there is often best.

[QUOTE=NickW]:)...I managed to leave my wallet in the wrong coat when I flew out to Milan on Sunday./QUOTE]


When I read this post I needed to do a double-take, because it looked exactly like the kind of baloney that continually comes from the Dovster. If it didn't clearly say NickW, we certainly would have immediately fixed on the poster.

Please everybody, don't let my previous post alter the conception that everybdy here has about the Dovster's pecuniary habits. We actually are guessing that he picked up the check in the hamburger place in anticipation of maybe my getting even in a place in Venice that might certainly have a more substantial tag. Maybe he has just about given up on trying to mooch off Cholula and is looking for some new marks. He does have a reputation to uphold and certainly added to it last week by staying at the only hotel in South Florida with a telephone system that was too weak to support his modem, but it was very cheap. I'm not sure if he posted that the desk clerk was truly astounded that this place would actually attract a return guest, because nobody who had ever stayed there before had ever came back a second time.

Also, I paid what I thought was the ridiculous rate of 1.3396 the other day for my Euros, and now it doesn't look that bad anymore.

lili-dui....great choice of Dovster to pick up the dinner tab Saturday night! ^
I couldn't have come up with a better candidate if I'd thought about it all night long.
I'm sure he will be honored to buy dinner in order to thank all of us for electing him to TalkBoard. He can kind of look at this as campaign financing after the fact.

Don't believe Dovster mentioned that. ;)

BTW, I paid $1.3581 for my Euros. This was a "special" price as a "valued" customer of AMEX....:(.

My vote can be bought anytime. What are you running for that you get the Quadri bar tab? (And does anyone have an estimate about what a drink really does cost at Quadri, Florian or Harry's? I've heard 20 Euro, yikes!

I'd personally LOVE to pick up the bar tab on Friday night but I believe Canarsie volunteered earlier as penance for keeping us all in suspense over his appearance in VCE.
I'd really hate to steal his thunder.
Even though Canarsie doesn't drink alcohol, I KNOW it'll bring a smile to his lips and a twinkle to his eye as all the FT'ers raise their glasses and say SALUTE! as he buys round after round.

P.S. As a very generous gesture on MY part, I'll spring for breakfast for all FT'ers staying at the Ai Mori Saturday morning.....

Change in Schedule:

Saturday morning breakfast will be at Il Ristorante La Dolce Vita where cast member of La Traviata will be entertaining us with a medley of Puccini and Verdi arias.

Cost per person is Euro 500 and I think we all owe Cholula a big vote of thanks for his generosity.

I think ATM exchange rates are usually not bad, BUT I usually get dinged a $3 transaction fee, unless the ATM machine happens to be in the B of A network somehow (which it rarely is).

Amenities include shampoo, bath gel, emery boards, cotton balls, tooth brushes, hair dryers, alas, no conditioner or body lotion. Also, mini bar is well stocked & enough room for a bottle of wine. Also, very 2 very plush terry robes & slippers provided, in addition to large wooden hangers. Not much drawer space which is not unusual for VCE, but closet is very good size. Excellent lighting in bathroom. Perfect for makeup application. In fact, this may be the best lighting I have ever experienced in a hotel bathroom.