After Verona, there was....

Bolzano
This partly Austrian town is the gateway to the Italian Dolomites and it's also the home of Otzi the Iceman -- our main reason for visiting. Otzi was found about 15 years ago high in the mountain ridge by a couple on a hike. At first sight, it was thought that this was a body of a modern day hiker which had decomposed with time. However, it was soon discovered that Otzi was actually the body of a 5000 year old man! He was found complete with a copper axe, shoe, bag, stockings, and other articles of clothing. We actually saw Otzi's body in an ice room where he is exhibited to those who visit the Museum of Archeology. This was a really neat experience -- if you were unfamiliar with this story, I would highly recommend reading about it on the web.

Venice
On our last visit to Venice, Ian had seen a picture of Julia Roberts walking through a couple of feet of water on St. Mark's Square. We had heard that Venice floods in November and were hoping to experience this for ourselves. It turns out to be true! During the evening and early morning the tide rises and the water overflows some of the streets. I didn't really detect any foul smell, although I did see a rat (again) walking the empty streets at night. Wooden planks are placed to create a catwalk on which people can move around the city without having to get their pants went. St. Mark's Square gets covered in water and tourists (locals have water boots) crowd on wooden platforms as they move around. Having experienced this makes the fact that Venice is sinking actually real.