OH KATIA - I LOVE LOVE LOVE Venice. It is my most favorite place. sigh April is a wonderful time to go too! I don't know why but most people don't spend enough time there.

a couple of tips though - if you want to save a little money on hotels, you can always stay a little outside of Venice (but not in Maestre, its yucky). I might have a couple of nice places that are a bit less expensive.

Also, while I would do some touristy things in Venice (gondola, st. marks, etc) but don't spend your whole doing that. Go the opposite way of the tourists and really wander around the town - there are a ton of little shops with people doing their crafts and nice art in some out of the way churches. The islands are worth visiting too.

About getting around - there are no cars in Venice so its easily walked. though the streets can be a bit confusing so get a map.

I will stop now. lol My husband grew up around there and went to school at the university in Venice so if you want some links and suggestions - email me. hehe

sorry I got carried away... =) romance!

I don't think the three-pack refills are more expensive than the two-pack, on a per-refill price basis, at least not in my grocery store. I will try to remember to check this weekend.

I am lucky in that my students are old enough that I can correct their stuff with magic pens and not worry about it too much (no worries about forging grades for parents' sake etc). However, our friend who teaching math at a collège got some the other day but uh, realized later that they weren't useful for her. But yeah.

Please go to Venice! It is fanastic. I've been there many times. You can rent an apartment for way less than you can get a hotel room. You just have to stay a week, which is a wonderful amount of time to spend there. I've spent a lot of time in Firenze as well and I would prefer Venezia for a romantic holiday!

Guess I should listen to the whole podcast before I start writing. I didn't realize you only had a few days. There is a town south of Venice called Chioggia which is like a little Venice. Also cute and you can stay there and do a day trip or two to Venice. I drove from Venice to there so I don't know about the transport other than the road. Venice is so worth the money! It is one of the most romatic places. You might be able to find less expensive accomodations if you are not in the middle of things. It doesn't take long to walk anywhere so even if you are away from St. Marco's Square, you can get there via foot in about 15 minutes. Keep looking for places. Venere.com is a good booking website I've used before; I think we stayed in a hotel for three people for less than 200/night.

I've often found www.expedia.fr to be a good base for searching hotels. I've found tonnes of great deals through them so it might be worth having a look??