Friday Field Trip: The REAL Slight Detour (Part 2)

"Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey." – Pat Conroy
Hey, Campers! Glad you could join us for the second part of the "real" Slight Detour, the backpacking trip that inspired Before Ever After.  If you missed the first part of the tour, you can hop aboard it here. I'm not sure if everyone on the van knows each other, so this might be a good time for you to say hello to  the person sitting next to you (read: why not leave a link to your blog after your comment? Sorry, I don't know how to set up those fancy linky-thingamajigs yet.)
For this trip, I thought it would be fun to let you in on some little known facts that could make you rich should you ever become a contestant on Jeopardy. If you win, no need to thank me. Cash will suffice. 
Are you ready? Follow the red umbrella!


Vienna, AustriaGood news! On this leg, we no longer have to sleep on a bridge like we did in Lucerne. Your accommodations have been upgraded to a...belfry.
Vienna, AustriaEurope's second largest cemetery, the Zentralfriedhof, can be found in Vienna.This is not the Zentralfriedhof.
Venice, ItalyVenice has less than 20 plumbers. This is not why it is sinking.
St. Mark's Square is the only place in Venice where it is legal to feed the pigeons. The pigeons are not aware of this law.

Florence, ItalyThe clock at Florence's Duomo runs counter clockwise.
The Vatican, ItalyIn Italy, it is good luck to hear a cat sneeze.
Rome, ItalyItalians invented the ice cream cone.
Athens, GreeceGreece is the leading producer of sea sponges.
Athens, Greece The word "tragedy" is Greek for "goat-song." Early Greek tragedies were held in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine. Actors in these plays wore goatskins.

Ios island, GreeceSleeping on the beach is not a good idea. Even if you are drunk. And broke. Don't do it. Don't.

Ios island, GreeceYou have to pay to sit under these umbrellas. 
(I did not believe the hairy shirtless man who told me this. He asked me if I wanted him to prove it. I snapped said yes. He told me to come with him. I agreed. I hopped on the back of his motorcycle. We sped away. Far, far away. I thought I was going to die. I didn't. On the other end of the beach was a sign. It said you had to pay to sit under the *bleep* umbrellas.) 
And that concludes our tour, dear campers. I hope you had fun. Remember, "a man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it" (George Moore) and when in doubt, PLEASE just pay the hairy shirtless man his dollar.