Venice Trip May 24-31, 1998  Linda and I flew to Venice via Air
France right after graduation ceremonies and a wedding. Nice
thing about Air France is that even French airline food tastes
pretty good.  We stayed at the Europa y Regina Hotel, which is
really two hotels joined together, and extensively remodeled in
1997. Our room (256) is two floors down from the Italian flag
right on the Grand Canal, and five minutes from Piazza de San
Carlos. The view to the left down the canal, the view to the
right up the canal, and the view across the canal were each
enjoyable. The latter is a view of the Cathedral of Santa Maria
della Salute, built in 1610 to give thanks to the Virgin Mary by
those who survived the second plague.  Venice started as 108
islands, with each having its own Catholic church, connected by
400 bridges, most made of metal or brick but a few made of wood.
The combination of water, geranium flowers, green shutters, and
pastel colored buildings makes it hard to find any part of
Venice that is not eit