Toilet in Venice - 12/11/2023

 I woke up today around 10am so I got some affairs in order. I had Dario reserve a water taxi to pick us up from here at 2pm to take us to the train station; I checked Jarett's messages and okay'd his ideas; reached out to Rachael to star in the vide; sent pics to Cecilia, Moe, Sihan, Bounge, and Jorge; got a steak recommendation from Maylyn; requested Daniel's shuttle service for tomorrow; paid Daniel that extra fee; sent pics of our passports to Dario; asked LieAnne her availability; sent pics to Aya and that was about it. Now im on the toilet, taking my third shit in Italy, first in Venice. Man, Venice great. Leagues and leagues superior to Rome. The people are kinder here, its so much more scenic and close-knit/. The gondolas, water taxis etc are such a pleasant shock to the system. There are no cars here as essentially this is an island (manmade) over swamps, which means the only means of transport if you're not in a boat is by walking. There is no wheelchair accessiblity here, no accommodations for the physically impaired. Yesterday I helped a woman with severe edema carry her dog and belongings up the stairs of a bridge. She was delighted. I hope others help her. While on the toilet I took the opportunity to do a 1-min sketch, a self-portrait of me giving myself the peace sign in the mirror. I will soon get off the toilet, take a shower, bruh and floss my teeth, dress, pack and go outside. Hopefully the market will be right outside our door as it was yesterday. There I met a woman in her sixties named Paola who was selling trinkets, glassware, jewelry, and other goodies. She was n extremely sweet lady who despite saying she spoke English like a caveman spoke it with a very good grasp. My mom bought several things from her and I bought a ring from her--because when I tried it on it got stuck to my finger. She tried to help me remove it by rubbing wax on my finger but that didnt work. I told her not to worry and that this was just a sign that I had to buy it. She gave a great laugh. "Cuanto?" I said. The ring is now mine and with some force, I was able to take it off my finger. Its now 4:14pm and we are on the train to Florence. We went to a few souvenir shops at U.S. Lucia station and I got Sihan a key chain. I couldnt find anything suitable for the others. We got ourselves food--I got pizza, two juices, a donut, and a cake and my mom got pizza and a cannoli. My mom bought herself and Olivia and Erica stockings and I bought myself a beautiful journal from the Moleskine store--one Van Gogh edition, so the covers are decorated in the style of Van Gogh. We ate outside on the steps. There was nowhere to sit and eat inside. Venice seems to be allergic to seating. Alex last night told us there are very few benches because they want to prevent people from having picnics. Alex was a great tour guide. He was very eloquent and theatrical with his ghost stories and true crime tales. He also shared heart-warming mythologies to lighten the air. Despite being so tired to the point of nearly not being able to talk at the beginning I was so captivated and enthralled that I was quite literally roused awake and ended up engaging in a conversation with him at the end--regarding what electirc and hybrid car companies I should invest in, as he is in the electric car engineering/fixing field. Toyota, BMD, Audi >>>> Tesla, he said. It was indeed another day of great tour guides. I am quite sure I am in love with Carolina. She was so sweet and warm and caring and conscientious and accommodating and interested in/by us and was so amused and enthused and delighted by our love of Venice and our admiration for her. She was born and raised in Venice and currently lives there but will be moving away (10 min) this month. She gives great hugs and hugged each of us about 3 times at the end. I loved every moment of it. She was so into the Lorda patches we gave her and was highly enthusiastic and encouraging of my being a rapper. She said she'll come see me when I have a show in Ital and commented that she cant wait to see me in stadiums ! We have each other's number now and we follow each other on IG. She is a sweet soul and a dog person like me. Her baby Juno is so cute and sweet and regularly gets shared in her stories it seems!