If you get lost in Venice

If you ever get lost in Venice and you can't get your bearings, figure out which church is closest to your destination and ask for directions to that church. Much easier than asking for street names, especially if you don't know Italian.

P.S. most people speak enough English to get the point across. The only people who didn't understand me were the ticket booth guy at the train station and the house keeper. I also noticed that many people also spoke French and Spanish.

Getting to the Hotel Scandinavia

The directions I could find were awful! We got lost and after being awake for 30 hours and trying to find the hotel, needless to say we were cranky. Here is my suggestion: Get off at the Rialto stop. Proceed to the left toward the bridge. Go up 5 steps onto bridge and you are in the middle of the walkway. Head away from the water (don't cross over the bridge to the other side of the canal) on this walkway. This is Salizzida Pio X. This street will take you to Campo San Bortolomeo (there is a man on a horse statue here). There will be a sign that says Sotoprotego de la Bissa (you will see a yellow informational sign that says Querini-Stampalia Foundation). Follow this road that zig zags and tunrs into Calle de la Bissa, then turns into Salizzada San Lio. You will cross over one canal. Turn left onto Calle Mondo Novo (there is a SUVE grocery store on the left). Follow this street over the next canal to Santa Maria Formosa. Tada!

Arriving in Venice

Very chaotic and confusing to us. Do we take the bus then the vaporetti or take the water taxi then the vaporetti? Price was cheaper to take the bus then the vaporetti (3 Euros for the bus per person, plus 6,50 for the vaporetti per person vs. 20 Euros for the water taxi per person plus the vaporetti tickets). Plus the bus was air conditioned, the water taxis are like sweat shops (and they may limit your luggage).

Amsterdam Airport

Just in case you've never been through Amsterdam (perhaps they do this in all international airports when traveling abroad), you have to proceed through Passport Control and Security before getting to your gate. We had purchased bottled water and had to toss it because we didn't know about this minor detail. Wait until you get to your gate area before wasting the money (5 Euros for 2 bottles)!

Airlines

Fly NWA/KLM for sure! Free meals, snacks, headphones, and alcholic beverages (as well as non alcoholic). The best part is they have an On Demand system in the seat in front of you! Free new and old release movies, cartoons, and TV shows. Also a great plus is free video games! Just don't sit in seats 23 H and J. Right next to the bathroom and someone is in there every 5 minutes. :)

Guide Books

We borrowed Fodor's Italy and Lonely Planet's Italy (from 2005) from a friend. After reading through several at a bookstore, we decided we wanted newer versions. We chose Insight Guides Rome and Venice for more specific info on the cities we would visit. There are a lot of great pictures of sights and information on lesser known places. The downfall is that instead of listing prices, it says "charge". We had to research each site to find out the price. Pretty good overall. Despite the 2008 edition, we did find 1 or 2 things that were incorrect, but not a big deal.