We arrived in Venice after our stop in Austria and had to leave our trusty car behind because no vehicles are allowed in the actual city. From there we took a train into Venice and had an adventure trying to locate our hotel. This city is so alive and constantly moving that dragging your luggage up and down stairs and canal walkways is actually quite difficult to do. Eventually we found where we were supposed to be staying only to find that the office was closed and the owner gone away. Luckily we begged a vendor next door to hunt down the hotel clerk so we could actually get the key to our room. After some serious anxiety over possibly not having a hotel, we were able to check in safe and sound.

The hotel was very nice, basically a small apartment with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a dinning area, and a lovely little courtyard out back surrounded by the tall walls that build up Venice. Our first order or business? Not unpacking, but mosquito hunting. We had to hunt down and kill every mosquito in the room. Like crazy people we were running all over the rooms smacking mosquitos and rejoicing in their demise. It was a satisfying experience.

After we settled for a small while we decided to go out and get a taste of Venice Nightlife and grab some real italian food by the Grand Canal. It feels like no one sleeps here, even late at night there is life everywhere. We sat right on the water and were enjoying a nice meal when all of a sudden hell broke loose. Two men started fighting right next to us. at first I thought someone had fallen into the canal and that was what the ruckus was all about. I was sorely mistaken. Two men, I believe to be opposing restaurant owners started screaming at each other in italian and get way to close to each other. One even chased the other down trying to get a good hit in. It died down as quickly as it started however and one of the men walked away in a storm. Believing it to be over, I went back to my room. Little did I know in the few minutes I was gone, the real fight broke out. Apparently as soon as I left, the guy came running back and attacked the man he was earlier fighting with in front of us. They literally attacked each other and at one point one of the waiters had to beat the guy with a stick to get him off of the other man. By the end everyone was bloody, face torn, shirts ripped, and overall, an interesting first night in Venice.

Leave the light on for the person standing next to you. Don’t leave them in the dark even if you don’t need the light anymore. Think of the light in your life. Tell me what it is. I gave away the light. To help some one else. And the gift was squandered and ignored. Don’t waste the light. Give it shape. Give it life. Give it meaning to take away the night.