We arrive in terminal B, but our Lufthansa flight is from Terminal A. We weren't sure if we needed to go through "Passport Control", but that is the fact. We come to the EEC Passport Control and there are two long lines. The guide tells us to head downstairs on the escalator for Terminal A. Yup, once we are down there the lines are even longer! We queue up but easy to see with the length of the lines we have no chance. Lana speaks with a control guy and he lets us jump the queues and get to the head of a new line. Pretty quickly through this control process where they check your passport and ask some questions.
We have some long hallways as we follow the signs to Terminal A. We are running as fast as we can. Weaving in and out of the fellow travellers while towing our carryon on suitcase and two knapsacks. We then get to a spot where we realize we have to go back into Security in order to access Terminal A. Yikes! Another queue and at the head of the line we pick our security line and of course pick the slowest line by far! Security is checking some passenger's bags and questioning him. The topper of this is my backpack gets picked for a swab and they can see I have a "liquid". The liquid is my deoderant! The security guy is super slow and gets nasty when I try to open my backpack to speed up the process. "Don't touch the bag sir--you are not allowed to touch the bag!"
Finally, through Security and we are running even faster down the hallways past hundreds of passengers and trying to avoid others. Eventually, my backpack zipper opens up and spills much of the contents all over the floor. Then when I bend over to pick it up more stuff falls out. Meanwhile, Lana is on the track and moving quickly ahead. More hallways and then we must get in a damn elevator! Up one floor and then out running. Lana calls this the Air Canada Workout from having it done it many times when AC delays a flight!!!
Gate A36 is pretty much the farthest gate possible from where we originally started. I am sweating pretty good by now and Lana fading fast. We make it to the gate and there are two guys standing at the desk so it is looking promising that they haven't closed boarding yet. They check their seat records and we are listed and admitted. Phew! We have made it to our flight to Venice. We collapse into a row on the plane after being told we can "just sit anywhere as there is lots of open seats". We arrived at the gate at 08:25 so that was a miracle in itself. I can only laugh about the whole experience as I use up about six napkins to wipe sweat off my forehead and face. Lana says she's still no able to laugh about it yet and is "going to throw up a lung." :)
Not a busy flight so we find a row for the two of us. Only a one hour flight in the air from Frankfurt to Venice. We are scheduled to arrive in Venice at 09:45 and we are about 10 minutes late. We have a VRBO booked in the Fundament Nuove area of lagoon Venice. Our host is Maria who we text to confirm we are on our way. She had provided excellent instructions on which water transport to take from the airport to her place where she will meet us. While we are both tired from a long day of flying and no sleep/jet lag, but eager to get to our accommodation.
We arrive at the Alilaguna Vaporetti port of Fondamenta Nuove at 11:10 and Maria is waiting for us. While she describes a four minute walk from the port point to her place that is super ambitious. Very friendly younger woman who lives in the apartment when she doesn't have it let out on VRBO. She is full of information although she had us confused with clients coming in October. Too funny! She takes us to her place and shows us around. Good orientation as well. She copies our passports for her records and then leaves us. Lana is in bed within about 10 minutes to get in a nap. She wants me to let her sleep for an hour.
These arethe water transport docks located beside the Venice airport. How many other cities around the world do you land and then have the ability to take a boat to your location? The one way ticket per person was 15Euro for about a 40 minute trip to the second stop on the route.
Venetian water transport to the airport and back.
Took a picture of this street plaque as we will need this as reference when trying to find our way back to our second floor apartment. You really need either a fantastic map/map app (which will only work if you actually get reception!) or incredible walking directions. There are NO cars in this part of Venice. Only boats.
Our VRBO apartment in Venice - panoramic view. Great layout and lots of space for us--it even has 1.5 bathrooms and a microwave and a combo washer/dryer!!
We head out as we are now hungry and have some errands to do. About 20 minutes before we decide to leave the apartment there is an onset of heavy rains. Lana remembered her umbrella so that is good news for her. For me, I have my waterproof rain jacket that will keep me dry except for my head and feet. Yup, it is raining hard as we navigate the narrow streets of this part of Venice. Lana is using her google maps on her iPhone so that helps big time. So easy to get lost in this maze of lanes, streets and canals! By the time we arrive at the restaurant we are soaked and so are many other tourists caught out in the rain.
Grand Canal around Ponte di Rialto. Lots of boat traffic and so many tourists in a very small area. This place is crawling with fellow tourists so even difficult to get good pictures. It is very beautiful and centrally located. Tons of tourist shops in the area.
Grand Canal around Ponte di Rialto. Darker skies as it had poured rain earlier and the sun had not re-appeared.
Grand Canal around Ponte di Rialto. As you can see the blue skies are now happening and the sun is breaking out. Much warmer!
The famous Pont di Rialto.
Pizza at Da Mamo restaurant. They do NOT slice their pizzas. You must cut them up yourself. Super tasty though with excellent pizza sauce and cured meats/basil to finish off the perfect crust. I found this place by googling 'best pizza places in Venice". It lived up to its reputation. Only drawbacks were they build in a 12% gratuity/tip into your bill and their bathrooms have Asian toilets. This means the ceramic toilet is on the floor which you squat over.
Caprese salad at Da Mamo. As you can see this is the most unique caprese salad ever created. It looks like a dessert so it really plays with your taste perspective. It was pretty good. The top was some type of cheesy creme. The couple at the table next to ask leaned over and asked what this dish was.
Street sign for Da Mamo.
Yes, if you want to purchase a condom you will find them for sale from a vending machine on a main street.
Our apartment is very close to the Venice Emergency Hospital. Instead of regular ambulances, they have boat ambulances. Example of one of their emergency boats.
We came across this hotel in our travels this afternoon. Go Canada Go, although only 2 stars? :-)
Lana has died and gone to Meringue heaven here!! You can't tell from this photo but these are huge--at least the size of a softball.
Lana purchased a chocolate hazelnut meringue in a local pasticceria.
Yes, you can take a classic gondola ride in one of the many canals running through Venice. We think this gondola full of Chinese is taking a picture of us taking a picture of them.
Classic Venice architecture located near the lagoon.
We accomplished a lot this afternoon. We found a great place for lunch. We purchased a SIM card for my iPhone (20Euro) so we could make phone calls within Italy and use Google Maps to navigate around Venice. We finally found an ATM that worked for both our debit cards (after trying 2 others with no luck) so that was huge. We now have Euro cash for many days. Plus, there is a Coop grocery store about 7 or 8 minute walk away from the apartment to buy some juice, fruit, water and other food stuffs.
On our return to our apartment, Lana had another opportunity for a one hour nap. We then figured out our restaurant destination for dinner. It is about a 7 to 8 minute walk so pretty close. Plus, we get to explore a different neighbourhood and cross a couple of more bridges. Where we are staying is off the tourist track so much quieter and more freedom to explore.
We decided to try Enoiteca Mascareta restaurant for dinner tonight. It was highly recommended in the book "Where Chefs Eat." It was well worth the effort to get there and even without a reservation we were seated immediately. There are some cupboards on one wall close to where we are sitting where customers can make a choice of a bottle of wine and then take home or to their table. Bread and cover charge are included in the bill, but not any potential tip. Beautiful night for a walk as it was not too cold nor too warm.
An example of how complicated it is to navigate around Venice. This is a screenshot from Lana's Google Maps we utilized to find the restaurant tonight.
Appie of Tipico Veneziano comprised of Baccala mantecoto, sardines saor style and marinated anchovy. Randy loved this appetizer. So many flavours and textures. We paired a glass of white wine with this dish.
Entree of Potato Gnocchi with Duck ragu sauce. We paired a glass of Valpolicella with this pasta dish.
We purchased a bottle of the Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico 2012 for 60Euro from our server. We loved the glass we tasted based on his recommendation. Comprised of local grape varieties; Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. Like all Amarone wines the grapes are dried and then fermented. Our first bottle of Italian wine purchased on our trip!
A local Venetian canal at night.
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