In Venice we found ourselves an affordable wee place ran by a Chinese migrant who spoke only Italian and Mandarin, so for the first time since our arrival in Europe, Maureen was able to put her second language to good use. We found ourselves in the company of Californians, Italian speaking Koreans, French speaking Chinese, nutty Brazilians (One Brazilian girl was lugging the largest suitcase we’d ever seen), and Auzzies who kept the beer flowing. The hostel really crammed it in and there was even a shower in the kitchen.