Venice Travel Blog

Personal plug: Minnesota State Flair

ABOVE: Minnesota fairgoers settle for fried Idaho spuds instead of a fritto misto from the Venetian Lagoon.

You may wonder what the Minnesota State Fair has in common with Venice, and the answer is "Not much, except for the fact that they're both expensive" (though you'll find better deals on food in Venice, where--as a bonus--the gelato isn't deep-fried and served on a stick).

Still, Italians are big on family, and so are we--which means that we consider it both a duty and a pleasure to promote our daughter's new blog, Minnesota State Flair, a.k.a. "your year-round State Fair fix."

When we checked this morning, the lead article was "Get Ready for Greased Lightning at Andy's Grille," which is based on an interview with the restaurant's personable patriarch, Bob Andrus.

Other recent posts have covered such topics as "Canine Carny Cowboys," "Hamline Dining Hall's State Fair Ham Loaf" (from a church-sponsored eatery that's been at the Fair for 114 years), "Harness the Bear Within" (your chance to play Smokey, if you aren't too tall and can take the heat), and "Princess Kay of the Milky Way: Butter Beauties, aka 'Goodwill Ambassadors.'"

The blog is great fun even if you don't live in Minnesota, and we're especially proud of our daughter's hereditary affinity for alliteration.

URL: mnstateflair.blogspot.com

Photo: Minnesota State Fair, August 25-September 5.

An illustrated guide to Venice water buses

We've just published a four-page article titled "Vaporetto Water Buses" at our travel-planning site, Venice for Visitors. The article discusses:

• Types of ACTV public water buses.
• Traveling by vaporetto, motoscafo, or motonave (ticketing, boarding, and more).
• Tips and warnings for passengers (such as how to save money, how to avoid crowds, and where to sit for the best views).

Observant readers of the four-page guide may wonder where we got aerial photos such as these:

No, we didn't rent a helicopter or a hot-air balloon: We took the photos from an upper deck of MSC Poesia, which was leaving Venice for a 7-day Eastern Mediterranean cruise. Fortunately for us, the weather was perfect, and the light conditions made it easy to grab decent images as we passed the ACTV water buses.

Finding your way around Venice on foot

ABOVE: Don't be fazed when Venice destination signs point in two directions. (In such cases, either route will work.)

We've just published a four-page article at Venice for Visitors, our travel-planning site, titled "Finding Your Way in Venice." It offers advice on using maps, directional signs, and street signs to get from point A to point B with the least possible frustration and fuss.

The article is also packed with photos, so--if you're planning a trip to Venice soon--we suggest taking a few minutes to peruse the article by clicking here.