Executive Summary - Venice

• Saw: Piazza San Marco and related cathedral, Rialto, Vincenza and an Iowan connection, Ghetto Nuovo, empty Murano glass factories (on a Saturday) and an exceedingly boring Murano glass museum (unless you're into the history of glass. I am not)

• Did: took a traghetto across the canal, got lost, refused to pay 12 euro for a coffee at Florian, made lots of friends at one of the best hostels, got lost again, dropped my camera several times

• Ate/Drank: a lot.

• Favourite part about Venice: the directions to get anywhere in the city - 'just go straight'

• Least favourite part about Venice: I should say the expense, but I'm going with the Murano Island glass factories for being closed on a Saturday yet still encouraging people to visit to buy things that they could purchase in town.

• Life-altering revelation which contributes to search for universal truth: Always check the histogram on your digital camera (thanks, random man from Tennessee, for unsolicited and entirely useless advice!)

• Current career thought: Undercutting gondola ride prices for backpackers (70 euro instead of 80, anyone?)