Venice

Johnny Jones, 21 July 1998

While we were coming home Amy said, "Mom, you'll have material for your articles for three months from this trip!"

That's true. How exciting and how different Europe was for us.

It started right away; after we met at the airport, we had to ride the shuttle to get to the train to get to the metro to get to Musee D'Orsay. There we saw incredible art. We went there because it was more accessible than the Louvre, and we didn't have a lot of time, but there was no way we could begin to do it all.

I think it was after I identified with the tired horse in an impressionist painting that we decided to move on. I had begun to focus on the wicker chairs and marble benches instead of the art. And we wanted to see Notre Dame before we got on our train for Venice.

The strained glass was beautiful, and the cathedral arched up, up, up, and made you think of the glory of God. But it wasn't only historical; people were praying there. And they were about to celebrate Mass.

We stayed for that. Amy understood, because she knows enough French. I enjoyed praying and sitting and just putting down my pack and being in such a beautiful place.

After that, it was time to get our picnic for the train. You don't buy food or water on the train, but the train stations usually had vendors that were reasonable and had very good food.

Throughout our trip, Amy was more casual about time than I was. I was concerned about getting on the train on time; we had a reservation for a couchette.

A couchette is not a sleeper. Six people, of either sex, are jammed into a small space, three bunks on each side. Amy reserved the top and the next-to-top ones, for security; there's a place to stow belongings more safely above the top bunk.

Between the hard beds there was an aisle of about three feet. Amy said, "We need to hurry and make up our beds before someone else gets here." I could see the practicality in that; no more than one person could maneuver in the area at a time.

While we were putting the sheets on the bed, another of our compartment-mates wandered in. His name was Charles, and he attended an art school in Florida. It turns out he also plays Aladdin at Walt Disney World.

Charles had friends in the next car, Kevin and Carrie. Charles and Carrie had been in a summer program together in Paris, and Kevin had come to travel with her at the end, as I did with Amy.

And it was amazing that Kevin and Carrie were Baptists. Carrie had prayed to meet some Christians on the trip. And we were all going to Venice.

We were the only ones in the compartment at the time, so we made one of the lowers couchettes into a sofa and shared the strawberries and whipped cream Carrie bought before we boarded the train. It was like a party!

After we went to bed, a young couple came on the train after a stop down towards Switzerland.

We hung around in Venice with Kevin, Carrie and Charles, and we kept running into the French couple--about six times in two days in various places around Venice.

And Kevin asked Carrie to marry him in a gondola that first night in Venice. We got to see them afterwards, and give Carrie a rose. How exciting!

We don't believe in "chance" encounters; we know the Lord arranged this, for some reason. Certainly it was a wonderful start to our trip. And we are thankful for all the good things God brings our way.