Venice

Bet you thought I didn't even take a summer vacation, for all I never said a word or posted a photo about it.

I meant to. The plan was to go on vacation but to leave the computer at home rather than lugging it around everywhere, and anyway I'd be way too busy mess with blogging anyway. That part worked out, only when I got home I had all that catch-up to do at work, and then I was hurrying home to play with my new cat, and then, and then, and then...

Venice? What?
Wasn't Sicily on the schedule, a week of exploring and a week of bridge?

Er, that was before my travelling companion had a stroke in June and had to spend 6 months in the clinic. She's better now, but Sicily was cancelled.

A different travelling companion, who wishes to remain unblogged about, stepped up to the plate, and said, No Bridge Please, but what about a bit of a road trip, and then a cruise up and down the Adriatic?

To which I said Oh, a cruise! Never done one of those. And I adore Venice - let's go! So I booked us B&B's for the day-before and the day-after cruising, to give us lots of time to see this fabulous city. Otherwise, the flight times in & out of Lyon were pretty tight and we would have had to go straight from the airport to the ship and back, and what's the fun in that? To have Venice -Venice- right there, and only be able to wave to it from the watertaxi?

This and the following pic are from the dining room of B&B Corner, which if you ever go to Venice you must absolutely stay there. Not only is it a real, old Venitian palace on the Grand Canal, with big rooms and a library and an excellent breakfast buffet, but the owners are the best.

Let me tell you: On the waterbus from the airport, it wasn't all that clear which stop we should get off at to reach the B&B. And as we pulled away from a stop, I realized that - wait!!!- that was it. So I rushed to gather our bags up as my companion inquired, and the boat backed up to the quay again and let us off. Then we found our way down alleys and over bridges and across squares, all laden with baggage and getting quite peckish from looking in at all the restaurants and finally found our spot.

Then we set our stuff down in the room and freshened up before heading out for lunch and it was at that point that I realized we were missing a bag - a small carryon with my camera and my knitting and my supply of 16x16 sudokus and all the paperwork for cruise. Some of those items were more precious than others, but I really like to have a sudoku over my breakfast coffee.

 

This is Italy. What chance is there that when you leave such a juicy item on a public conveyance that you will find it again? Fugeddaboudit.

But No.

Our host and his dad got right on the phone to the bus company, and told us to go on, go have some lunch, there's a bunch of places not far.

So off we went to lunch, drowning my chagrin in a succulent plate of pasta with fresh seafood and a glass of excellent wine. Seriously, with food like this who cares about losing a camera? All our réservations are online anyway.

And who is this coming down the street but our host, who has succeeded in finding my bag and who will escort me to the place it's being kept for me? But yes! We cross Venice at record speed, and there at the bus company kiosk is my bag with all its precious cargo intact!

 

Later in the day we had a somewhat more sedate adventure, walking calmly but elatedly around this most beautiful of cities. I'll never get tired of Venice, at least as long as I can get away from the crowds. The thronging masses at the major sites are enough to make me avoid places like the Rialto bridge and the Piazza St Marco, but it's easy enough to step aside into the little side streets and residential squares, and it's all good.

In the evening: more pasta and wine. Divine! Why do I not live in Italy?