An Easy Jet to Venice

Our flight wasn't early in the morning nor was it late in the evening. We were able to get a good night's sleep, enjoy breakfast with our friend, who was working at the Embassy of Canada and had generously offered to host us in Rome, and lend us her vehicle while we were in Tuscany.

Now, she was making us breakfast before DW, the kids, and I headed to the airport. Our destination was Venice. It was Saturday, October 3, 2009.

When DW and I were in Tuscany, in May of 2004, we were celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. In Florence, we met up with our friend, Brad, who we knew in Korea, in 1997. He was newly married and was on his honeymoon, so we travelled together through northern Italy.

In Venice, we would be meeting with these friends again. It was the first time that Brad and his bride would be meeting the kids, though they had seen many photos of them over the years.

We boarded an Easy Jet flight, which should have been a short journey; however, at the Rome airport, we were delayed by more than an hour. By the time we touched down at Marco Polo Airport and took a shuttle to the Venice train station, the sun was sinking low. Our friends were still there to greet us, and we hopped on a water bus that took us down the Grand Canal to our stop, Arsenale.

Throughout the ride, I was busy with my camera, shooting the Rialto Bridge, many galleries, museums, and famous homes, and, of course, San Marco Square and San Giorgio Maggiore Church. Being late had it's benefits: the light was incredible.

Not wishing to stay among the throngs of tourists, we rented a private apartment in the Arsenale neighbourhood, in a building off Campo de Pozzi. Getting there from the water bus took a particular level of attention as we negotiated the narrow corridors and many turns. Our apartment was a small unit on the third floor. Our friends took the master bedroom; our kids took a smaller room, near the washroom; and DW and I took the living room, which had a massive sofa bed and could be blocked off from the other rooms, giving us a bit of privacy.

The Arsenale

Near our neighbourhood.

As we climbed the stairs, we earned the attention from the other residents, citizens of this fair city who seemed accustomed to strangers coming and going from this unit. They were either friendly or indifferent, and spoke no English. The many cats that roamed the hallways and stairwells were a hit with the kids.

By the time we were settled, the sun had set. We returned to the Arsenale stop and caught a water bus to the Rialto stop, where we searched for a restaurant that Brad and his wife knew from a previous trip. For dessert, we took the kids for gelato, but I have to say that the gelato in Venice (as we discovered at various tries over the following days) is the worst gelato we've ever had. It wasn't creamy and did not taste like it was made with natural ingredients. It tasted cheap, but was not inexpensive.

We wandered the Rialto area for a while, but all of us were tired so we decided to head back to our rental apartment. Again, our map from our hosts were needed to navigate the labyrinthine path.

Tomorrow, our main agenda item was to visit San Giorgio Maggiore Church and climb the tower for a view of San Marco Square, but that's not all we did.

Stay tuned...