The staff at the airport were very kind in getting my parents squared away and wheeling Dad through Security. Mom got a little weepy when we had to part. She was now used to seeing me all day every day and she was leaving me in a foreign country. I reassured her that I was okay by myself, I've done this many times, and I'm safe. I may be fully grown but I am still her baby. I guess I always will be. I watched them go through the security hurdles and dropped downstairs to get my new peeps.
They were two couples from Chicago, so cold weather and icy winds definitely will not phase them. I collected them and we took a cab (a car cab, not a boat taxi) overland to Piazzale Roma, then transferred to the vaporetto. I am so happy when private clients don't put on airs and are agreeable to taking the public transportation. Live semi-normally, okay? They were in an apartment in a palazzo so we offloaded at Ca'Rezzonico and I took them to meet their apartment manager to show them their digs. They are in the same apartment the drunks last fall from New Orleans were in so it was very easy. Veronica the agent was waiting for us and as they were putting their luggage in their rooms she and I briefly chatted. She told me she remembered me from those clients and apparently they were a horror show for her to work with as well. They broke a lot of things and lost their $1500 damage deposit. I told her they “forgot” to save any euros at the end and wrote me a check for a tip. Yay. Keep your drinking in check or stay home, people. Lesson learned?
Veronica and I bid them adieu – but for me I would be back in two hours to collect them. I needed to give them some time to freshen up after their flight and get settled in. I went and grabbed a coffee and checked email in the mean time. Came back and rounded them up for a walk to the sites in Piazza San Marco. We toured the Basilica San Marco, Palazzo Ducale, went up the Campanile to view the crowds down below in the Piazza. They did some shopping while I stood around and watched and I whisked them off to their dinner appointment at Hostaria da Franz. I had clearly marked a map for them so they could get back by themselves and they didn't seem particularly inept so I was sure they would be okay. They deserved their Valentine's Day dinner with their significant others and didn't need to have me hanging about as a fifth wheel.
I took myself to my friend Francesco's restaurant in Campo San Aponal. It was a lively night there as per usual. Afterward I stopped in at The Consulate to have a glass of wine with Aldo before toddling off to bed. I don't need Valentine's Day to remind me that I love my hub-unit. Hearing his voice that morning on the phone was the best gift I could have received anyway.
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