Article Photos: Twain then, us now, on Italian time travel trip

This July 17, 2012 photo shows water traffic bustling on the Grande Canale in the heart of Venice, Italy. To travel through northern Italy with a copy of Mark Twain’s 1869 ‘'The Innocents Abroad', his classic 'record of a pleasure trip'. It took him to the great sights of Europe and on to Constantinople and Jerusalem before he sailed home to New York. Such a trip would take far too big a chunk out of my holiday time. But, Milan, Florence and Venice, a mere fragment for Twain, was within my reach for a two-week vacation. (AP Photo/Raf Casert)

This July 17, 2012 photo shows water traffic bustling on the Grande Canale in the heart of Venice, Italy. To travel through northern Italy with a copy of Mark Twain’s 1869 ‘'The Innocents Abroad', his classic 'record of a pleasure trip'. It took him to the great sights of Europe and on to Constantinople and Jerusalem before he sailed home to New York. Such a trip would take far too big a chunk out of my holiday time. But, Milan, Florence and Venice, a mere fragment for Twain, was within my reach for a two-week vacation. (AP Photo/Raf Casert)