Well, today was it. Our last day of real vacation before we start the journey home. My favorite part of today was how little talk there was of the end until we had finished dinner. Then it was a quick chat about how great a time we’d had and how happy we were that everything worked out.

About that. Before we even got out of the hotel this morning I’d been on the phone with both American Airlines and British Airways. Apparently at some point after we arrived in Italy our return tickets were cancelled. We weren’t notified. We weren’t rebooked. Just cancelled. We were glad to have learned that this morning rather than tomorrow morning when we showed up at the airport for our flights. Long story short: after a couple of hours on the phone, we are all rebooked. Or so we’ve been told. But we will find out for sure tomorrow.

Off to our day.

We had an 11am reservation to tour Saint Mark’s Cathedral. If you haven’t seen it, it is a giant building at one end of, you guessed it, Saint Mark’s Square. Built in 1094, it’s kind of old. The inside is adorned with gold, statutes, and a ton of artwork. There has obviously been a significant amount of work done preserving the building. At such a special place the group took the opportunity and lit candles for loved ones.

From there we headed into Saint Mark’s square with a very specific destination in mind. It was important that we delay our 12pm trip up into Saint Marks Observatory – avoiding the bell rolling at noon from an up close personal vantage point was key. On one side of the Square is a very special place, the oldest coffee shop in Italy. Open since 1720, the place looks as old as it sounds. We didn’t get anything there, €20 for a coffee seems a bit expensive. But Starbucks will get there soon enough and this will seem like a bargain.

Right after the noon bell, we jumped in the skip the line tour for the Observation Tower. A quick elevator ride and we were on top. Remembering how great the breeze was up there a few summers ago in the heat, the opposite was true up there today in the cold wind. But that didn’t stop us. We had to look for everyplace we’d been and get pictures from all four sides. This is the easiest place to stand and see just how unique Venice is.

From here a quick conversation among the group solidified the nickname for John: Gio. The Italian name Giovanni is John in English, and he has done an amazing job assimilating himself into the country and culture. If it weren’t for his striking Irish appearance and inability to speak Italian, he’d fit right in as a local.

Michelle and I headed off for a while while the others went to a museum dedicated to human punishment and torture. We felt we could safely pass. Instead we walked a bit away from the Grand Canal and found a cafe in a little sundrenched piazza away from the wind. Michelle even removed her down coat! We ordered cappuccino and biscotti to enjoy while taking a brief break from everything. It was only an hour, but it was one of the highlights of my day. There is something so special about being in Italy with my wife. Especially in Venice. It makes my heart happy.

I even tried to speak to the waiter in Italian. Michelle laughed at me and said she had no idea what I said. So he translated and chuckled. Then he said he’d heard much worse. That made me feel pretty good! I still have work to do and lots more to learn, but this made me feel better about my progress. He then took a picture of us and laughingly proceeded to make fun of me for needing Google maps to get around Venice.

We met back up with the others for the gondola ride we had reserved. This is a must in Venice. You don’t need a three hour tour around the Grand Canal. The gondoliers don’t typically sing. But a 30 minute ride for the experience is well worth it. Just make sure that you listen them when you’re told how and where to sit. It does matter. Apparently everyone was scared when I stood up to get off the boat and pushed to step up to the dock. Whatever. I have to push to stand up, not my fault boats move on water.

We took a leisurely path back to the hotel. We stopped for pistachio cannoli, so I grabbed a couple prosciutto and fromaggio arancini from the place next door. Fantastic snack for the walk back.

We had planned quite a while back, after being inspired by Golden Knights promotions featuring pictures of fans around the world, that we’d take a picture or two by the canals wearing Knights merch and send them in to the team. Who knows if they’ll get posted, but worth a shot.

We had another leisurely dinner where the blonde haired Kathy caught the eye of a young waiter. He was very attentive and made us all laugh. It was all good natured and helped close out our last dinner. But there might have been a Mrs. Robinson joke or two heading out of the restaurant.

The girls and women wanted to grab a few souvenirs before heading home, so we stopped a couple places and then celebrated the successful shopping trip with gelato. Of course.

This was an amazing trip overall, and Gio, Mrs. Robinson, and their girls were troopers and great travelers. Looking forward to more trips. I’m also looking forward to a safe trip home.