Sharks in Venice

No, I really didn't see sharks in Venice. In fact, I've never been closer to Venice than the Grand Canals in The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, but I hope to see it in one of my future Italian sojourns. However, I saw this video clip about a direct to DVD film coming out in January 2009 entitled "Sharks in Venice". It appears to be a Stephen Baldwin effort at imitating Indiana Jones. But, when I saw a huge shark chomping the center of a gondola I burst out laughing. I always thought the gondoliers' singing was never that bad!! Anyway, I had to share it with you.

Monastery Stays offer affordable accommodations in historical surroundings

When I go to Rome in October I will be staying at a converted monastery not far from the Colosseum. I didn't find my accommodations through the Monastery Stays website but I had heard that monasteries were available throughout Rome. Today, I stumbled across the Monastery Stays website and was quite excited to note their widespread availability throughout Italy and Sicily. Not only do their structures offer historical interest but for a woman traveling alone, they provide security and a quiet refuge after the end of a busy day of exploration. If you are into a wild nightlife, these accommodations are probably not your cup of tea since they have curfews ranging from 11 p.m. to midnight. But, I usually am so tired by 9 or 10 p.m. that their curfew policy does not pose a problem for me. I will definitely be visiting their website to arrange future accomodations!