Venice travelogue and etc.

Here is a brief portion of my travelogue from Venice/Milan:

Ever been to an amusement park where they try to do a global theme or the hotel, The Venetian, in Las Vegas? Well than you have gotten the best glimpse of what the real city of Venice looks like. It is something out of a person's imagination - like the song says "ain't nothing better than the real thing." Buildings that look like they belong in a children's fairy tale, painted in vibrant reds, oranges, browns, candy cane pier posts around each corner and oh the water - indescribable, green that changes throughout the day, looking more blue in the morning but giving off flecks of gold-yellow in the evening. It is exactly how I pictured it and at the same time completely beyond what I could believe. Boats take you everywhere and my sister and I rode down the Grand Canal (vaperetto #1), mouths agape, just taking it all in.

Overall, the trip was so relaxing - my sister and I made no concerted effort to do anything touristy and with the lines for St. Mark's Bascilla and the Doge's Palace ridiculously long, we were unable to get into anything. Instead we sat back and let various forms of transport show us Italy at a leisure pace, train, boats (going all the way around Venice and seeing the spot where Hilton has bought a huge swath of the city and is building a mammoth hotel), bikes and finally a car, driving us back to reality, our return flight home. Despite not knowing but four phrases of Italian (si, no, Grazi, ciao), we got by with a mix of English and Spanish!

Politics
I really, really, really want to sing that song "na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, good-bye" to Tom Delay, but I don't want to crow prematurely. I will say, "what goes around comes around!" Can't wait to see what my girl, Molly Ivins has to say about this (she has covered Texas politics as a journalist and now as a opinion columnist, for ages).

Books
Just finished "White House Nannies" by Barbara Kline. Very interesting book a la "Nannie Diaries" but not as mean. If you are from the DC area, it gives one a fascinating glimpse into the lives of those snotty mansion dwellers of Great Falls, McLean, Georgetown and Potomac. Why these 'inside the Beltway' power players want children when they spend so little time with them is beyond me! Also, why are people so cheap about compensating their child care provider - for God's sake they are taking care of your supposedly most prized possession!!! Do you nitpik when you buy that $50,000 Mercedes?

Howard Stern Discussion
Yes, yes, I listen to Howard (I'm such a quandary to stereotypes, religious but listen to Howard Stern - gasp - how is that possible, shouldn't she have her head covered and carrying a Muslim rosary!) They were discussing if porn stars should be allowed to keep their children. I don't know, if someone really loves their child and is providing great care, does it matter what the parent does - really is a porn actor worse than the CEO of a company that uses child labor and disregards basic human rights? I mean certainly there would be psychological issues that this adult actor would probably have to address with the child, but when there are so many kids out there abused or abandoned, why take away a perfectly loving parent? Am I missing something?

Anyway (fave word of a cute Englishman), have a good week-end everyone!