quot;&gt; On the train ride over to Venice I thought I simply <i><u>had</u></i> to do the gondola thing. When I got there and saw them face to face I changed my mind. quot;&gt;

What can I say? I just could not bring myself to get into that gondola. I had cheesy images of Fabio dancing in my head serenading us with &quot;It's now or never&quot;!

I have to agree with Girlspytravel....I've spent many weeks in Venice &amp; have never taken a ride on a gondola. I also like the vaporetto...especially late at night.
Maybe you should give the vaporetto a try &amp; if you still have a yearning for a gondola ride you now have some terrific advice!

PS Girlspytravel......let us know how the apartment turns out...where is it located?

How about asking your hotel to set you up with a good gondolier? Would they know? We're going to stay at Locanda Orseolo, and Igor has been corresponding with my daughter about their mutual love of music. She has warned him to set her up with a gondolier who can really sing because &quot;you know I'll know the difference&quot; - LOL. Hopefully her strategy will work out for us!!

TinaLee

Bailey-it's in Cannaregio-(I always stay there-love it) it has a washing machine, lots of windows, third floor (important for safety reasons-there is a fair amount of theft in Venice) and a small &quot;balconcino&quot; in the master bedroom that fronts the campo (this I really like) -I'll let you know about it when I get back-

and Tina-the people who run LO-Matteo, Barbara and their group-those people are some of the finest human beings you'll ever want to meet-fantastic ambassadors for their city

I'd like to hear about the apartment, too, girlspytravel....especially since if I remember correctly we both really like the Cannaregio area.

Have fun.

Yes, Statia-we do (smile).

And by the way, I know you know Julie- I met her last year. Did Julie ever tell you about her American friend meeting up with the gondolier on her first trip to Venice a few years back, met him (while she was on another gondola, alone-and it got stuck-he came along and helped her gondolier get them off the sand bar) spent hours with him before she had to leave to go back to the US on the plane-and through the miracle of phone courtship, ending up leaving everything behind (she had her own store-sold it) to come over to Venice and marry him? It's an interesting, and not unromantic story.

Oh wow....yes, I do know Julie.

She hasn't related that story to me, however. Yes, it is romantic. Does it involve anyone I know?

I don't think so-I was introduced to her because when I walked up, she and Julie were sitting there chatting at the outdoor tables at Mickey D's there on the Strada Nuova. Then when she left, Julie told me that she was married to a gondolier, and I for sure wanted to hear THAT story!

What was funny was Julie (you know she and the BF are there in Venice for the long-haul, studying opera with a master-BF runs the internet point over there by Ca Rezzonico vaporetto stop-I found it quite interesting how they settled in there, found jobs-NO problema!) She said &quot;you know what they say about gondoliers-she said people tried to warn her about them&quot; but they aren't really like that!&quot;
(I was thinking of the calendar at that point!).

The thing is, they met due to the problem with her gondola (and she only decided at the last minute that she HAD to take a gondola before she left Venice) and in a few hours they were instantly in love, she went back, and Julie informs that he would call her EVERY DAY for a few minutes time-for the next 6 months, until she could make it back over for a &quot;proper&quot; visit-and to meet the gondolier poppa and family!

They ended up buying a house in Mestre.

Isn't that funny?

What a great story!!!

Yes...please let us know about the apartment when you return!!!
What month are you going??

I agree....what a great story Girlsyptravel. I'll have to ask Julie about it next time I'm in town.

And I have to say an added, &quot;Hey Bailey.&quot; Maybe we'll cross paths on our next trip to magical Venezia since we missed each other by one day the last time.

Sorry for hijacking your thread, bblount. Are you married? If not, you might be able to make a romantic hook-up with a gondolier from the advice on this thread.

At any rate, have a great time in our magical city.

Hey-just came back online here-noooo, I don't think I'd want to hook up with a gondolier myself, BUT, it makes for a good story! (however, Statia, I must say there are some fine looking Venetians about in that city!)

Bailey, to answer your question, I intend to leave in some weeks from now...depending on some issues... I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

ttt

This is from 2006, just so you know.

Wow so many posts by Airlawgirl > Spygirl > Girlspy. Nostalgy ? NOT.