Trying to Get Out of Venice.

We spent a couple of weeks near the Venice airport yesterday. At least, it felt like a couple of weeks.

We managed to get a room at the airport Marriott, and by the time we got there and checked in, it was almost dinner time. David was just too spent at that point to go back into Venice for dinner, and I knew that if we went back, I'd have to relive the tearful goodbye I gave my favorite city last night. So we decided to stay put - get some rest - and be ready to storm the airport this morning.

The hotel staff said they had a buffet dinner there for only 20 euros a person - that sounded pretty good to us. Boy, were we horrified. For our $53, we got: sliced ham and cheese, salad fixings, bread, very mediocre lasagna and eggplant casserole, and a cake that tasted like it had been sitting in a box on the shelf for a couple of months. And wine cost extra!!! I thought it was insult to the entire country of Italy to serve such a horrible meal.

After a very good night's sleep, we took the hotel shuttle to the airport, and our 11 a.m. plane to New York was even on time. We got to the Big Apple at about 2:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. Venice time.) After fumbling with some subway and train maps, and grumbling about how lousy the mass transit system was in NYC compared to those in Italy, we got a train to Penn Station, where we bought 6:30 p.m. Amtrak tickets to Springfield.

My friend Diane and her husband Grumpy were kind enough to come pick us up at the train station, and drive us and our two little suitcases to our cars, which we had left in my parking lot at work. Only 20 more minutes and we were back in our own apartments, dazed with jet lag, and finding it hard to believe we had been in Venice only this morning.

Very sad to be home.

April Fools!

April fools day. Boy, did we get fooled.

Our plane tickets said departure at 3:10 p.m. We got to the airport at 12 noon. We went to the AirFrance check-in desk. She looked at us like we were nuts. Apparently, and without our knowledge, they had changed our flight to 10:30 this morning. Obviously, we missed it. (Oh no, it's my travel curse again; I thought we had escaped this time.)

She shook her head and wrinkled her brow for quite some time, and finally said, ''this is bad.'' There was not another flight to Paris until tomorrow, and that was full. And oh by the way, the security guards were probably going to strike tomorrow and everything would be shut down.... I know I said I didn't want to leave Venice, but I didn't mean this way.

We asked her to check flights into Hartford or New York or anywhere on the eastern seaboard of the United States. Finally, she found a flight tomorrow morning at 10 on Delta direct from here in Venice to New York. We grabbed it. We figured when we get to New York we can take a train to Hartford or Springfield. Now about tonight... not in the airport, please. ''Sorry, Air France will not cover your expenses.'' Boy, are they gonna hear from me.

We found a room at the airport Marriott, and we took it. Only 120 euros. Cab to hotel, 17 euros. Lunch snacks, 10 euros. Dinner at hotel, 40 euros. About $250. BOY, are they gonna hear from me.