March 20
We met Mike and Susan Jackson, Ed and Marcella, and Verna Rutz at O'Flaherty's pub. After convivial conversation, Mike, Susan, Steve and I adjourned to Ralph and Kakoos seafood. We had a blackened alligator appetizer and the Seafood Platter for Steve and Crawfish Platter for me. We walked around Bourbon Street, heard a little Dixieland Jazz and saw lots of interesting sights.

March 21
We had oyster muffelettos and seafood gumbo in Slidell. At the airport, we ran into Tiberius and Seraphima, so we had friends to pass the time with until we met our plane. The international flight had movies, music and games playing on the entire trip, so we didn't need any of the timewasters we had packed in our carry on luggage.

March 22
We arrived at Gatwick airport and were met by Odo. We went to the Three Brewers Pub in Marlow for lunch. I had a salmon and avocado sandwich and Steve had a club sandwich with a Scrumpy cider. We went by J's school and later ordered in for supper - English style pizza, which has corn on it, and lamb samosas. We have arrived in England at the height of daffodil season. Over the next week we would see daffodils everywhere - and not just a few, but beds of hundreds. I think I will always think of England when I see daffodils.

March 23
We had an English breakfast with tea and took the train to London. First stop was the Sherlock Holmes museum on Baker St. It was a little kitschy, but fun. We tried to listen to the tour, but it was in Russian. We had lunch at a club near the Baker Street Station and then off to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The textiles and ceramics sections were closed, but we saw everything else Medieval we could. Steve took lots of pictures. We ate dinner at Light of India. We had garlic nan (an Indian bread), Sag Lamb (lamb with spinach) and lamb Shah-jehani (lamb with mince meat, nuts and fresh cream). On the way home our connecting train broke down and we got a free taxi ride back to Marlow.

March 24
We got up in late and took the train to Maidenhead. We tried in vain to get tickets to Mary Poppins at the theatre and then went to the British Museum. There was almost too much to take in in one afternoon. We saw Roman Britain, the Sutton Hoo treasures, lots of Greek and Roman artifacts, the Rosetta stone, the stolen (i.e., Elgin) marbles and more. We found a Greek Restaurant on Coptic Street (a block from the museum) - the Konaki Greek Restaurant. We had appetizers of Reuithosalata (a hummus) and Taramosalata (a dip of cod's roe, olive oil and lemon juice) with Pita, olives and carrots. Steve had Keftedes (spicy lamb balls with rice pilaf and salad) and I had lamb mousaka. Steve had custard in philo for dessert and I had fruit salad. We had a ½ litre of red wine with the meal. Very good!

March 25
Odo took us to High Wycombe and we caught the train to London. We ate breakfast at Vittis café, which was nestled inside All Hallows Church - an English breakfast for Steve and a vegetarian breakfast for me. The vegetarian sausage was really good, much better than I imagined it would be. After eating, we were off to the Tower of London. Mick was our Yeoman Warder guide. Our tour ended at the St Peter ad Vincula Chapel Royal. We saw the Crown Jewels, White Tower, Medieval Palace, the Ravens and Wakefield Tower, which was complete with torture devices. We had dinner at Wagamama, a trendy noodle café. We had ebi gyoza (a fried prawn dumpling), kore lomen (prawns in a lemongrass and coconut milk sauce with ramon noodles) and Kai Sen Udon (prawns, leeks and other goodies over thick noodles). After dinner we met up with Mick, our yeoman warder, and about 50 other folks for a tour "From Hell" - a walking tour of Jack the Ripper's London.

March 26
Up early and off to the train station. We ate Cornish pasties at the Marlybone station. We took the tube to St Paul's Cathedral. We saw the crypt, the church with its splendid Victorian mosaics, and walked up to the Whispering Wall, an inside seating area near the ceiling. Then it was up to the Stone Gallery - lots of steps! - an outside gallery circling the dome. Next we were on to the Museum of London where we met with J. The Roman Britain exhibit was great and we spent lots of money on books. (what a surprise!) Then we were back to the British Museum where we found many more Medieval artifacts which we had missed on our first tour.

March 27
This morning we were off to the airport, courtesy of a ride from Odo. We ate on the plane and took a bus into Venice proper and walked to our hotel. We walked around Venice until 8:30 p.m. - saw dusk fall over the city from the Rialto Bridge, how romantic can you get? - and then ate at the Canale Grande. We had appetizers of zuppa di cozze (mussels soup) and antipasto misto (assorted fish). Steve had Seppie alla Venziana con polenta (cuttlefish with polenta) and I had salmone al pepe rosa dello chef (salmon in pink pepper - with a saffron colored mustard sauce) and two glasses of white wine. We crossed over the Rialto Bridge and saw the Piazzo San Marco at night and an open museum with a display of baroque instruments used by Vivaldi.

March 28
We had breakfast at the hotel and walked around Venice some more - this time with a camera. We had lunch at the Gondola, to the east of San Marco. There were sardines with onions in a sweet and sour sauce, salad, and grilled fish for Steve and bean and pasta soup, salad, and liver and onions with polenta for me. We walked to the Arsenal, and strolled further to the gardens of Venice after lunch. At the Arsenal, we saw the Lions that Venetians had looted from Constantinople, including the one that had runes carved into it by a Varangian guardsman. We rode a traghetto, a gondola ferry. Steve found gelato and had glass snails made for me in my colors by a glass blower. We had pizza and wine for dinner - anchovie for me and a disco volante (flying saucer) of ham, mushrooms and artichokes for Steve.

March 29
We took the vaparetto, a water bus, to Murano. We saw San Maria Y Donato, a lovely church with beautiful mosaics on the floor. While we were touring the church, we could hear the choir practicing (in Italian - or was it Latin?) which provided a thoroughly idyllic ambiance. The island of Murano had long been established as the home of the Venetian glass industry, so that the inevitable fires would not damage the heart of Venice. We toured the Glass Museum and shopped among many excellent shops. We brought home our fair share of glass, but Steve resisted my pleas to buy a huge chandelier. Lunch was at Busa alla Torre. I had Spaghetti al Cozza (spaghetti with mussels) and Sogdioli al feri (grilled Sole) and Steve had a Lasagna with Bechamel and ham, and Cottoletto alla Milanesa (breaded Veal cutlet). We rode the vaparetto back to Venice and went to the Accedemia, which was featuring Carpaccio. The Rialto painting and the St Ursula cycle are the most famous works here. Next came a gondola ride. Blissful!
Dinner was at Ae Oche, a popular Venetian pizzeria. The decorations were American pop culture and the prices were reasonable. We started with a huge salad of mixed greens, fresh mozzarella, asparagus, tuna, tomato, black olives, and red and green pepper. The next course was cuttlefish and ink with polenta and then clam and mushroom pizza, all accompanied by a half litre of red wine. We ended the evening with a late night vaparetto ride.

March 30
Up early and off to San Marco to see the Bascilica. The mosaici were glorious - the golden glass ones on the ceilings and walls and the stone ones on the floor. The treasury had a huge collection of relics, including some with visible bones. Treasures, many from Byzantium, the bronze horses, textiles, the Pala d'Oro (a screen of gold, jewels and enamel work) and mosaics rescued during restoration work were some of the highlights of the bascilica.
Lunch was totally perfect. We ate in an outdoor café, the Trattoria San Toma, circled by flower boxes full of red and purple blooms. The day was sunny, but overcast enough that the temperature was pleasant and glare non-existent. A roving group of musicians played accordion (which is romantic in Venice). We had Bellinis to drink, sardines en saor (onions, pine nuts and raisins in a sweet and sour sauce) as an appetizer and the best pizza yet - spinach, salami, and gorgonzola cheese. And, might I add, my date was the perfect companion at this divine meal.
After lunch, we walked to the Casa di Carlo Goldoni. The house was built in the fifteenth century and the courtyard is described as one of the nicest in Venice - a description we happily agreed with. The house was the birthplace of the eighteenth century lawyer and comedia del Arte writer. Many marionettes used during the time he was an active writer were on display, along with an eighteenth century painting showing the marionettes being used in a play.
Next we were off to the Museo Correr. The grand Naploeonic ballrooms were a dramatic background for the picture galleries. The Two Venetian Ladies is in one of the galleries. Connected to this museum is the Museo Archeologico, a treasure trove of ancient sculpture.
We meandered back to the hotel to drop off our purchases and got gelato on the way. We bought lots of books at the Basilica and did some damage at a tapestry and lace shop. We wandered into parts of Venice we hadn't seen and found a restaurant named Dona Onesta for supper. For appetizer I had the special seafood salad - no lettuce, but lots of seafood. It had clams, octopus, muscles and squid in a light marinade. I've never had better octopus! Steve had shaved, cured raw beef with asiago cheese. Next was spaghetti al vognole (muscles) for Steve and a wonderful zuppa di pesca (fish soup in a tomato base) for me. Last, Steve has prawns al brusea (large prawns in a spicy tomato sauce) - another winner - and I had Milanese style fish. By now we figured out that Milanese means breaded and fried. We were the last customers and the owner came by our table to chat with us. He treated us to grappa after our meal - Italian fire water!

March 31
Up early and to the Doge's palace. Sigh - I knew it was time for our vacation to end when the art got overwhelming - "not another baroque ceiling with 4,000 figures and gilded beams!" We walked over the Bridge of Sighs to the prisons, which were refreshing and cool, not to mention bare of decoration.
We checked out of our hotel, did a little last minute shopping, and had our last Italian pizza and wine, along with an Insalata gigante. The wine was called Rossa Sunun; it was a really good red wine.
We got back to England and were once again met by Odo's smiling face. We went out to eat in Marlow at a Brazilian-Mexican restaurant. It wasn't your typical Mexican fare - I had lamb! All in all a mellow evening to end our European vacation.