There is no doubt that we have had a great show, and have achieved as much or more than we had hoped to. Even still, there is always that nagging thought, “Should we have stopped into one more booth? Seen one more line? Met with one more vendor?” I’m afraid it’s inevitable. By this morning, the relative gains of additional meetings would have been minimal. With that in mind, we decided we had better do something frivolous instead!

So, off to Venice on a mid-morning train. For some reason, I ended up in charge of buying tickets–and as a scrooge I wasn’t about to pay for first class. The seats were reserved, but apparently that didn’t phase the German family who were sitting in them, and so we ended up outside of the compartment sitting on these little jumpseats. Jill, who has never met a stranger, befriended a family who was getting off in Venice as well, and ended up in their compartment in one of the cushy seats. We all eventually followed her example and ended up spread throughout the car. The moment of comic relief came when Jill awoke from a nap to find that the entire family had disembarked. I won’t forget the sight of Jill running up and down the corridor frantically asking anyone who would listen, “How do I get off the train?”

Venice itself was wonderful. And after all the hype, you might think that it would be hard to live up to expectations. I imagine there are times when Venice isn’t as charming as it was today–maybe when it’s 100 degrees, or when the tide is up and the city is flooded. But for us, today, it was just right. The crowds in the Grand Plaza might have been overwhelming, but it was easy enough to amble down a side street and find relative tranquility. The pizza was delicious (I had “The Devil’s Pizza”–spicey salami, oregano, and mozarella. yum.)

We skipped the gondola ride, but that’s probably best left to the honeymooners. Just walking the winding streets was great, and allowed for us to linger at a stationery shop, stop for a bite of gelato, and otherwise relax after a hectic week.

Do you recall what you were doing last night at 3am? Sleeping? Me too. Unfortunately, at 3:01am I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone. He called–just to catch up–but didn’t realize that I was in Italy, nine hours ahead of him. He was just getting off work and wondering what I was up to. Sleeping, I said. I’m in Italy–would you mind sending me an email? Needless to say, he got a chuckle out of it, and I fell right back to sleep.

Morning came quickly, however, as we needed to be back at the show bright and early. Our schedule was packed. In fact, today we split up so we could cover more ground. There is no doubt these trips are worth the time and expense. Aside from seeing new tile lines, we also have the opportunity to see nearly all of our vendors in one place. And the dinners seem to be the most important venue. Each night we spend hours sharing great food and stories–and, in the best of cases, we become friends. Paolo and Lorella, who hosted us in their home on Monday, are truly friends–people who you’d love to spend time with even if you didn’t work together. And there are many others who I enjoy seeing each year at these events.