A couple of things I should mention before we continue with our story.
Driving in Europe is very different to driving in Canada. The speed is much faster and lane discipline is very apparent. Those who want to drive fast can, and those who choose not to, don't. Large distances such as the distances we were covering on this trip, (which averaged about 500
kms a day) did not take nearly as long to travel as it would of in Canada. We were usually
able to cover 500 kms in about 4 hours or less. Our average speed was 160-180 kms/hr. and we were never close to being the fastest car on the road.
As well, we had hoped to use our iPhone as our GPS, but roaming data in Europe was incredibly expensive. I ended up buying a package with my cell phone provider before I left. It cost me
$250 for 75meg plus $75 for 40 minutes talk time. That unfortunately is about enough data for one day of GPS use on the iPhone. We needed 12 more days worth. And even though I spent big
bucks to be able to use my cell phone in Europe and was assured that it would work, we only managed to get the phone to work in 3 out of the 6 country's and 2 states we travelled to. If you
are going to Europe, leave your cell phone at home. It would of been a lot cheaper to just buy a pay as you go cell phone in Europe when you get there.
And one last thing, make sure you have a good set of maps. One with the main highways across Europe and one for each city you plan to see. Road signs in most city's are terrible, and combine that with the numerous one way streets in every direction except the direction you need to go, will all contribute to you getting lost, over and over and over again. But don't worry, because its really the journey that you are after on this trip and you will be able to laugh about it, once you get home, really.
Day 4 started in Gorica, Italy, where my wife's mother was born.
We went to the church where her mother (my wife's grandmother) was married.
And then it was off to Dornberk, Sloavnia,
A half hours drive down the road to the place where my wife's grandmother was born. We met up with Nataljia and Jani,
family from my wife's grandmother's side who showed us around the little village with so much
family history.
And then we headed to Venice, Italy, approximately 153kms down the highway.
Venice is exactly like you see it on TV and everything you would imagine it to be.
We splurged and got a hotel room right on the main canal with a view of the all the
action.
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