Venice at Last

The day started with disembarkation from the Viking Sea followed by a 90-minute boat ride from our dock to Porto De Chioggia.  It's been in the news lately about the major changes in Venice for handling tourists, including making cruise ships dock this far out from Venice to avoid maritime accidents and just better manage the traffic.  It wasn't bad, though, as we had a Viking guide narrating fun facts about Venice and the surrounding islands on the way in.

We arrived on the island at our hotel (Hotel Excelsior) after another 20 minute ride to the heart of Venice, but the day's high tide prevented us from docking at the hotel itself; this resulted in about a 15 minute walk from where we could dock to the lobby where we queued up.  Of course we were too early to check in (Noon vs. 3 p.m. check-in time), so first we had to go through a long line to get a Viking letter telling us about leaving on Friday, and then go to another long line to let them know we're here.  Oh well, we were able to follow this bureaucracy with a nice lunch at the Beach Bar - expensive but delicious.

After that, it was time to get on the complimentary water shuttle for the 20 minute ride to the heart of Venice.  When we arrived at St. Mark's Square, we didn't have a clue about where to go, only that we had about 90 minutes before our scheduled two-hour walking tour of Venice.  We passed part of that time at a small restaurant drinking a Coke, and then set out using Google Maps (which neither of us had ever used, of course).  

I've got to hand it to Cheryl for being wonderful on a thousand dimensions, not the least of which was using this software to actually navigate the incredibly strange streets and alleys unlike any I've ever seen elsewhere in the world.  We even figured out how to take a ferry across the Grand Canal to get to the other side to continue our trek toward the meeting point.  And, by the grace of God, we made it on time where others who were there expressed the same dismay about actually making it there.

The tour itself was nothing special, mostly fun facts about Venice - how it was built, the challenges it faces (e.g., population dropping from 150,000 ten years ago to 50,000 today, the high cost of living vs. annual salaries, etc.).  Turns out the best paying job in Venice is that of gondolier and their wages are taken up about 70% or more by the cost of rent!.  Tomorrow's tour promises to be better - St. Mark's Basilica, the Doge Palace, and the Bridge of Sighs.  For the latter, even saying those words makes me think of the Robin Trower song "Bridge of Sighs" that was so popular when I  was a college freshman.

After spending 50 minutes getting to the tour point, I wasn't sure we could make it for another two hours of tour dashing street to street and alley to alley, but we made it through.  At the conclusion, it was time for two tired Ohioans to have some dinner which we did in front of a hotel facing St. Mark's Square.  It was very rejuvenating having some good food, a cold Italian beer, and listening to the big band music from the hotel.  It was really nice.

Time to retire back to the Hotel Excelsior for the night and we splurged on a water taxi ride because my Whipple surgery acted up (as it does now and then).  This put us back at the hotel in 10 minutes instead of waiting for about an hour on the hotel-provided complimentary transportation.  That's the same one we'll be taking tomorrow morning for our 11:15 tour as mentioned.

Another great day, although honestly Venice and it hordes of people and wacky navigation may be something I say I've done but not have to repeat.  Let's see what happens tomorrow.