After a long delay at Stansted airport because the luggage belt had broken down,we finally flew in to Treviso which was the most primitive airport I’ve ever seen! Really tiny with virtually no facilities. (Not that it mattered as it did the job perfectly adequately). A coach was laid on for all people arriving as Venice was a good 20 miles away. We started getting more and more excited the closer we got. As we crossed the main causeway into Venice we began to get an idea of what was in store! At the coach station we caught a water bus (vaporetto) and decided that, rather than go straight to our hotel, we’d take the long way round and see the whole of the Grand Canal. It really is jaw dropping stuff! And rumours of the place being smelly are totally unfounded these days. On the lagoon and around the canal there’s a lovely fresh smell.
Almost reluctantly we got off at our stop and very easily found our hotel (all those hours of scrutinising maps beforehand were well worth it!). We were delighted with our hotel which was spotlessly clean (as were all of the hotels we stayed in) and very well furbished with everything we needed.
Venice is very, very beautiful and very, very touristy. Every shop is either filled with the local Murano glass or Venetian masks, neither of which tempted me. What did tempt me though was my first cup of real Italian latte! As it was lunchtime we decided to have a snack as well…toast. Not toast like we think of toast though! More like croque monsieur or in plain English, a ham and cheese toasted sandwich! Ham is invariably spiced and garlicky in Italy and the cheese was probably mozzarella, yum.
We used two forms of transport here……vaporetto or on foot, both excellent ways of seeing as much as possible. Venice is a labyrinth of tiny alleyways and bridges going over all the little canals. We did a lot of exploring with no particular aim, just chancing upon what we might find. It was very hot away from the buildings but surprisingly cool elsewhere…a welcome relief from the unforgiving sun! After our two days in Venice we decided that it would be difficult for us to stay there for a longer period of time. Two days was perfect!
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