Alarm at 07:00 so we can be on the road before 08:00 for the long drive to Venice Marco Polo Airport car rental return. We are pretty much packed last night but need to ensure ensure everything is accounted for before we leave. We are in the car by 07:50 so that is a good start. Weather in San Cassiano is very cloudy and it has rained. Good timing to be leaving Alta Badia.
Our rental car is pretty decent cornering, but not much acceleration on the uphill climbs. Lots of comments from Randy like: this car sucks on acceleration, this car has absolutely no guts, etc. etc. Fortunately, there is not much traffic going our way so early in the morning. When we do come across a slow vehicle I can usually pass within a short time period. The GPS is working well. We have one diversion and a couple of construction zone red lights. The hairpin turns and constant switchbacks are with us for a good portion of our 2 hour 20 minute drive to Venice.
We pay 7.80 Euro for the Autostrade toll road. Overall, it was a relatively quick drive compared to when we drove to San Cassiano. Our first challenge is finding a gas station to fill up before dropping the rental car at Hertz. The station next to the airport is not functioning - closed and they taped over the credit card slots. Our GPS can find the closest gas station and then provides the shortest route. We do find a 24 hour gas station although nobody is physically there. Lana figures out how to link the credit card to the exact pump and we fill up with about 55 Euros worth of gas.
The car rental return is right beside the airport terminal but on level 3. It just happens that Hertz is the most difficult and the last company to find on the top floor which has a one way path for all the cars being returned and also just being rented so between cars trying to park and those pulling out, it was pretty chaotic. Plus, raining on us as we take out our luggage and queue to provide our keys and the guy checks the car. Full tank and no damage. We find an elevator with our three suitcases (heavy with wine) and two backpacks. We get to the taxi stand and find out it is a flat charge to our airport hotel of 20 Euros for a five minute ride. Lana can't find the hotel shuttle spot and we are in a hurry to ensure we make it to the train station at a decent time to get to Verona. We grab a taxi for the exorbitant fare to the Best Western Titian Inn.
Problem is Lana has mixed up our hotel so we actually are dropped off at the Marriott. In checking in she discovers we are at the wrong hotel. She thought she had booked us using Marriott points but actually booked using Aeroplan points! This means dragging our suitcases and walking down the road in the light rain for about 5 minutes. We check in (11:00) but they do not have our room available so we must leave our luggage/backpacks. The weather forecast for Verona is for showers in the mid afternoon.
Going to an Italian Serie A football match was not in our plans for Italy. It just happened that I realized our day in Venice may not be that interesting and given it was a Sunday we might find an Serie A football match. During our European travels we have been to the German Bundesliga (Frankfurt & Mainz), English Barclay's Premiership (London), Spanish La Liga (Barcelona) and Portugese Primeira Liga (Porto). The only remaining league would the French League.
Our ticket for the Hellas Verona FC vs SS Lazio (Serie A) league game at 3 pm in Verona.
The only practical way to get from our hotel near the airport to the Venice Mestre train station is to take another expensive taxi. There is a bus, but it runs once an hour and would take a long time to arrive. We decide to ask the hotel to phone for a taxi. The 'taxi' costs 40 Euros for about a 15 minute ride. We realize later that it isn't a taxi, but a private flat rate vehicle. We arrive at the train station at 11:35. The game starts at 15:00. We grab a number for the train station customer service as it is better to speak with a human rather than dealing with a machine in a foreign country. There is an older guy working and speaks good English. The cost is 72 Euros for two return tickets--high speed express going there, slower train coming home. We really have to take the far more expensive high speed train to Verona if we want to make it to the game on time. We will be in Car 9 and seats 8C/8D. The only downside is that the seats are facing the opposite direction that the train is travelling in which usually doesn't work well for Lana's motion sickness but she does ok for the trip there. The lady sitting across from us is wearing sunglasses and a pink outfit. We know she speaks english as she is reading english literature.
Our high speed train pulling up at Verona's Mestre station track 6 about 12:02. It will be approximately a one hour trip. Of course being Italy the train doesn't stop at the designated stop area for each car number. There is a mad scramble of passengers trying to get on the proper car number. Yes, Italy can be chaotic!
OK, so a little story here. Randy needed to use the train station bathroom. Lana provides 1 Euro worth of coins for entry. Without looking, Randy starts putting the coins in the slot and Lana realizes Randy is trying to access the Ladies washroom!! Yikes. A lady in the queue gives me a 1 Euro coin and I give her the rest of my change. The bathrooms are very clean, have toilet seats, toilet paper and a warm fan for your hands. BTW you can't really sneak into the washroom as you can see from the glass doors that only open when you've paid.
Our first stop en route to Verona is Padova. The trip is mostly countryside. Forecast for Verona is 17 degrees Celsius with rain in the afternoon. We have one other stop before Verona being Vicenza. Our lunch will be on the train. We bring buns, salami, speck, mozzarella cheese and mayonnaise. Lana has a Swiss army knife to cut the buns and it is sharp. She remembers that the knife was one of her going away presents when she left KPMG in Regina back in 1995. As well, we have a leftover apple cake and a tasty German style cookie (all from San Cassiano). We vacuum down everything we have as we are both hungry. We purchased a bottle of water from a vending machine on the train platform for 2 Euros. Pretty good lunch! We arrive in Verona around 13:00.
We now need to walk to the Stadio Marc'antonio Bentegodi which is a bit of a distance. We brought our GPS unit although it provides a route using a vehicle route as there is no walking option. Despite the forecast it is a beautiful hot and sunny day in Verona! The GPS unit does get us to the stadium and we are there fairly early. Outside the southend of the stadium is an area full of food trucks and Hellas Verona football team memorabilia/swag.
The food trucks are pretty busy. You can purchase food and drinks inclusive of beer. In fact, they sell hamburgers and hot dogs. Many fans wearing the team colours of Hellas Vernona; blue and yellow. There are police at each of the entrance gates. We sit down around 13:50 to drink a bottle of water and do some people watching.
The family that sat down at our table had purchased these french fries. They use a stick to pick out their french fries. Notice they have mayonnaise for a condiment here--very French.
To gain entry you show your ticket and pull out your photo identification as it must match the ticket information (your name is on the ticket). If you are bringing in a bag that might check it. Lana had her knife in her pack safe shoulder bag, but he didn't check it. Once you are past that security then you scan your ticket to get into the stadium. You must enter at a designated gate number. Once you have entered you don't have access to other sections. Our ticket is in Italian of course so we are not fully sure on which seats we have? Lana gets a staff person who shows us Sett O Fila 7 and Posto 25 & 26. Our seats are in the direct sun and a little above ground level.
The stadium early before many fans have arrived.
The southside Hellas Verona (home team) zone.
This is our view from the seats we purchased. As you can see this yellow structure obscures our view at certain angles. Now I know why so cheap compared to the other online ticket prices.
Randy posing from our seating area. Hellas Verona warming up before the game starts. SS Lazio comes out at 14:20 to practise at the north end of the field in front of their fans. When the Lazio teams comes onto the field for their pre-game warmup the fans high in the northend of the stadium start loudly singing and chanting. Very cool.
Hellas Verona team supporter area. Check out the glass partition ringing the entire stadium. There are spikes on top of the glass in case some super tall fan tries to climb over. It is practically impossible for irate or jubilant fans to enter the soccer field.
OK, one of the reasons I love to go to European football games in person is the atmosphere and passion of the fans. It is so enjoyable. The fans are very knowledgeable and jeer at the opposing players and the ref on occasion. The Italian fans in our section are very boisterous. Constantly yelling all sorts of things and I hate to say like their stereotype constantly waving their arms when yelling/talking. You can smoke of course given we are outside and practically everyone around us is smoking.
The game doesn't start well for the home team as they foul a Lazio player inside the 18 yard box leading to a penalty shot. They about 20 minutes later give up a pretty easy goal with some lax defending. It is 2-0 for Lazio at halftime. As a soccer player myself I am amazed at the skill level of these professional European players. Their dribbling skills, field awareness and overall skills on the ball are incredible. We are so near the field it makes it more fantastic for me. I sit in our seat, but Lana finds some shade standing up. At halftime I purchase a beer for 4 Euro and it tastes like a beer in any sporting event around the world.
In the second half the home team makes a couple of substitutions including a South Korean player who is clearly a fan favourite. Lazio scores again though. More yelling in Italian and waving of arms on poor plays by the home team. I wish I knew some Italian. I stand with Lana in the wheelchair section and it is a better view as the obstruction isn't in my line of vision. Also, out of the sun. Halfway through the second half the thunder happens, dark clouds and then rain. The weather prediction was correct. At the end of the game it is raining and luckily Lana has her travel umbrella. Still warm though.
Oscar Mayer weiners even in Italy.
Yes, the home team Verona loses to the Lazio team from Rome.
More thundering and rain as we walk the streets of Verona using the GPS to help navigate us to the COS store. This is one of Lana's favourite shops and while there is a store now in Vancouver's Gastown neighbourhood. There are different styles available in Europe. Given Lana has accompanied me to the soccer game, it seems only fair that she gets some time in to do a little bit of shopping which has been fairly minimal this entire holiday. It is about a 25 minute walk to the store at a pretty good pace. We arrive at 17:20. I find a spot in the corner of the store to sit on the floor and update my notes for the day. Very busy store and all the sales staff speak good English. Lana buys two items; a dress and a sweater. There is free wifi in the store so I check my emails. For Lana to get the Italian VAT refund she needs a passport. She didn't bring hers but I have mine. The sales clerk tells us about a shop that would do the refund and it is about another 10 minutes walk. We arrive and nobody there. We wait and she comes out of the bathroom. When Lana requests the VAT she indicates it is 10 minutes from closing and she has already shut off her computer for the day so cannot do the refund. Wow! Italy can be so frustrating at times with their attitude toward business and efficiency.
This is our only picture of Verona. Not sure what it is, but there was a long lineup of tourists to enter?
We take out the GPS as we need to find our way back to the Verona train station. We need to eat, but one of the restaurants we stopped at indicated they were not open. Yup, that figures... We arrive at the station around 18:45 and our train is scheduled to depart at 19:21. We grab some quick food at Spizzico. Lana has a large slice of pizza and I have a sandwich. This isn't the greatest option for our last meal in Italy, but we "have a train to catch".
There are no reserved seats. We go to the upper car area and find two seats side by side facing the direction of the train for Lana. Nobody across from us until about one minute before the train departs. A very tall young woman sits right across from me and instantly she is in my space with her knees and feet. My usual seat karma. Eventually after she steps on my feet for the third time and I gently push her foot back she moves to another seat. When we sat in our seats across the aisle was an Italian guy talking to himself. He really was crazy and very talkative. Very bizarre behaviour.
We arrive back at Venice Mestre train station and it is dark. The taxi queue spot has zero taxis. Oh oh!! We wait for at least 10 minutes and finally a taxi arrives and a second taxi. We get the second taxi and this guy rips back to our hotel. He is a true taxi with a meter and charges us 23 Euros. Not the 40 Euros charged earlier today for the same trip.
We grab our suitcases and head up to the room 123. It is around 21:30 so not too late. The room is small, but clean. The wifi works, but is brutally slow as I try to load our pictures. We have lights out around 22:30 as we will be up tomorrow before 08:00.
Our stats for today: 16,000 steps and 12 kms. Not bad considering significant parts of the day we were in a car and two trains. Tomorrow is our travel day back to Vancouver.
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