A celebrity sighting today

Venice get's it's fair share of celebrities, that's for sure, but through all of our visits here, and now 2 years of living here full time, I've seen none. That's right, none, until today.

And no,it was not Johnny Depp or Angelina Jolie, who are actually IN Venice for 3 months filming The Tourist. You'd think I would have seen one of their shoots, at least.

None the less, I am happy to report that about 10 am this morning at the Rialto, I spotted Rick Steves, by himself, speaking with an Italian looking woman and making notes in a little notebook. I was sure it was Rick Steves, and confirmed that as soon as I heard his voice. I waited for a minute until they were done talking, then asked if I could interrupt for a second. I asked if he was Rick Steves, he looked a bit surprised I recognized him, then smiled, said, yes, he was, and shook my hand.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the name, Rick Steves is well known in America as a travel writer. He has published numerous books on traveling through Europe, and does many TV shows and specials. My first trip through Italy was done with one of his books in hand. OK, so not an actor or actress, or royalty, but still a celebrity.