The end of our cruise in Venice.

Saturday 28 May.

 

When we woke at 6:30 am our final bill had been pushed under the door during the night. It only showed what we had spent on the internet connection and the few beers I had purchased. There was no indication of the gratuity charges. Moira had left a deposit on our account of $300 at the start of the cruise now the bill said that we were in credit to the amount of $240. Moira had her shower and went up to settle the bill while I washed. She was soon back, the queue was too long so she decided to try again later.

 

We had to be out of the cabin by 7:30 am. The crew needed to get it cleaned out and everything ship shape for the next set of passengers boarding about mid-day. They don't mess about, 'time is money', so there is a quick turn-around. It was closer to 7:00 am when we finished the final packing of our rucksacks and headed up for breakfast. Land was in sight and the ship was turning into the channel leading to Venice as we strolled across the deck to the buffet. We had a seat by the window to watch the approaches where we had our cereal and toast.

 

4 views sailing into Venice.

 

 

When we finished we went out on the stern and watched as the ship made its way to the docks passing the entrance to the Grand Canal. There was a tug with a rope attached to the ship at the stern holding her in position going up the narrow channel. On our last cruise when we left Venice going south it was at night and dark so we could make out the various attractions only by the lights, now it was early morning with the sun not long up and everything was crystal clear. It was just a series of steeples and domes on the skyline and every now and again we would pass little canals heading off from the main channel with a delightful little bridge crossing for pedestrians. The ship passed close to St Mark's Square with the tall rectangular tower at one side and the domes of St Mark's Basilica in the corner. It was a lovely trip to the docks and even better than going on the canal buses, with the ship we had the benefit of the height.

Panorama from Venice docks

 

After we were tied up it was another 90 minutes before we were due to get off, we were one of the first as, according to Moira, we held EU passports and we wouldn't cause a delay with form filling and Visas. I got a seat at the poolside and worked on the 'Telegraph' crossword, I had time left on my WiFi and used it up downloading the paper. While I sat there Moira returned to the reception to settle our bill. She came back very happy, they refunded the $240 credit we had and no mention of the gratuity charge. Moira thought that as we had a late booking everything had been included in what we paid upfront. This was good news and made the cruise even cheaper, about £750 each, not bad for 22 days 'full board' and travel.

 

We went to the Manhattan Bar where the group we were with to disembark was to meet . There was still a bit of a delay but soon we got moving. They checked us off by our MSC ID card, no doubt to make sure every one leaves and they don't have stowaways staying for the next cruise. When we got ashore there was a perfunctory passport check by a disinterested Italian immigration officer then we had to find our case. All the luggage taken ashore was in lines and it looked like it was going to be a mission to find ours but Moira spotted it quite quickly, now we were clear and on our way into Venice.

 

It was quite a walk to get out of the dock area and we passed lots of other cruise ships in the different berths. The cruising season seems to be starting now in the northern hemisphere. When we got out of the gates there was a kiosk selling ticket for the river buses into the centre of Venice. We were going to take one but the price was about €10 each and we only wanted into the bus station not a sightseeing trip. Instead we went to the monorail 'People Mover' that did the 2 minute ride for €1:50 each. The terminus was at the bus station and we wanted to find the airport bus, the hotel Moira had booked was close to the Marco Polo airport. At the ticket kiosk the woman thought Moira wanted the direct bus to the airport costing €8 each but when she explain it was to the hotel about 1km before it she sold us tickets for the slow local bus, just €1:50 each.

 

There was a bus ready to leave when we reached the stop, we quickly got on. Moira asked the driver to put us off at the Gronda Lagunare Hotel but he gave her the Continental shrug of the shoulders indicating he had never heard of it. The bus was packed full and we stood the whole way jammed together with our case and rucksacks blocking the passageway. They don't seem to bother about how many they cram onto the buses here. Moira had the address of the hotel, 256 Orlanda Rd, Tessera. It was a long way but I spotted the town sign as we entered Tessera then it was a matter of checking the house numbers. When we came to about 240 we got off the next time the bus stopped, it was a surprise when we checked the first house number it was 150 then a little further 160. We kept going in that direction but soon we were out of the little town and reached a large roundabout where the turning for the airport was. Somehow we had gone to far and probably the wrong direction. There was a couple also going along the road wheeling their cases. They were English and I asked them if they were also looking for a hotel. The woman wasn't very happy and said they were making for the airport and had been told the quickest way was to walk. The guy asked Moira for the name and address of the hotel we were looking for and put it into a GPS app on his phone. He found it was back the way we had come and just before the Best Western hotel that I remembered passing in the bus just before we got off. It was all the way back again and soon we found the right number shops and houses but couldn't see any hotel. Moira said that the instructions said it was off the main road so we tried the street behind. Still no luck; Moira went into a little supermarket to enquire. Soon she waved to me and we were guided through the supermarket aisles to the front door, the hotel was next to it. It wasn't surprising that we missed it, it was must a doorway with the hotel name on the glass panel above. Behind the door was a steep flight of stairs up to the reception.

 

We were there at last but our room was in the process of being cleaned and made ready. That was all right as we were able to dump our bags there after booking in and head back into the city for some sightseeing. The registration was fairly easy, he had all our details but we were still required to hand over our passports for checking and photocopying. Those people wanting Britain to leave the EU complain about open borders and no checking don't seem to realise that you are checked and passport details recorded whenever you stop at any accommodation; hotel, B&B or campsite. I think there is more control of people movement on the continent that in the UK.

 

I emptied out my daypack into the wardrobe and put our lunch, that Moira had made before leaving the ship, in it along with the iPads. At the little supermarket next to the hotel Moira bought a couple of cans of lager to go with our picnic. The guy at the hotel told us to buy bus tickets at the tobacconist's next to the bus stop. We got return tickets there that cost a total of €6. We didn't have long to wait for the bus, they run every 15 minutes and we managed to get seats on this one and had a comfortable ride back into Venice.

 

Near the bus terminus in the city there was a copse of trees beside one of the canals and people were seated on the grass for a break but couldn't find any seats or benches. There were rocks under a tree with some flat surfaces and that was where we settled for lunch. We didn't rush and had a leisurely picnic before deciding to just spend the afternoon strolling about admiring this wonderful city. We followed the signs pointing the way to the Rialto Bridge and St Mark's. It was very busy and a lot more tourists about than the last time we were here, but that was a November. The route we took was along narrow alleyways over beautiful little bridges crossing small canals into wide piazzas with many tables and chairs full of people dining al fresco. The slightly broader streets were limed with shops selling everything from souvenirs to expensive handbags, paintings and glasswork to iced cream and pizza cafes. We bought an iced cream cone each and admired the many outstanding buildings and churches that were in abundance.

4 views on Venice meander.

 

When we reached the Rialto Bridge it was thronged with people, stopping to take in the view and record it on their cameras. We crossed over to the other side of the canal and headed up the banks, still following the signs to St Mark's. After a while the streets and small canals you cross begin to look the same and everything tends to become enclosed, so St Mark's Square came on us suddenly as the full expanse of the massive piazza opened out in front of is at the end of a narrow lane. The piazza was another mass of people, with tour groups obediently tagging along behind their leader who carried a large sunflower follow. There were lots of these groups distinguished by the different coloured flower the leader carried. The entire square was magnificent with the large tower we had seen from the ship and the domes of the Basilica but especially the cloisters with their lines of marble columns. We found a seat in one of these cloisters where it was cool and shaded, There we took in the glorious scenery snd architecture while also watching the 'world go by'. We had been inside St Mark's Basilica before and didn't fancy waiting in the long queue again so after our rest we began to make our way back towards the bus station.

The sights in St Mark's square.

 

I thought we could walk along the canal in front of the square and this would take us back to near the bus and railway stations but a short distance along the bank there was a little canal but no bridge across and the path didn't continue on the other side anyway. I wasn't too concerned and turned up the side of the little canal to follow the way the crowds were heading. On the way to the Rialto and St Mark's there had been signs pointing in the other direction to the Ferrovia, the railway station, I hoped we would soon pick up one of these. In the end we got hopelessly lost, didn't find any waymarks and came to many dead ends having to retrace our steps. In end I asked shop keepers for the 'Ferrovia' and they were all helpful and pointed the way. Unfortunately we kept coming to junctions and bridges where we had a choice of where to go and I had to ask again. Eventually we picked up direction arrows on the wall and at last got to the bus station. It had been quite an experience wandering around getting lost and we must have seen more of Venice than we had anticipated having also popped into a few lovely churches on the way for a cool spot to relax for 5 minutes.

Final views of Venice.

 

It was about 5 minutes to wait for a bus and we had seats again for the ride back to the hotel. The route took us past the docks and we had a look for the Sinfonia but couldn't see her, probably off on her next cruise already. We managed to get off the bus at the stop close to our hotel without any problem. We wanted to get some beer and wine at the little supermarket but it for closed, fortunately the Italians like the Spanish were also having a siesta and and it was open again shortly. We relaxed in the room, stretched out the bed and Moira went for beer and wine when the shop opened. Later she went and bought a pizza for our dinner that we ate in the room with the red wine.

 

I read the paper for an hour and Moira had a book on her Kindle. We were very tired after all the walking we had done today and got off to sleep early. Moira set the alarm for 5:45 am in the morning to give us plenty of time to walk the kilometre to the airport. Our flight to Bordeaux was at 9:00 am.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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