Venezia ! Arriving At The Last Nautical Mile !
Trip Start
Sep 22, 2009
1
17
Trip End
Oct 14, 2009
Where I stayed
Ruby Princess, Princess Cruise Line
Venice, Veneto, Italy
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Since leaving Athens a couple days ago, everyone waited in anticipation for their arrival in Venice! As the Ruby Princess sailed closer toward Venice, it's cruising speed got noticeably slower. Perhaps it was the foggy conditions and the numerous oil and gas rigs located in the Gulf of Venice. I'm sure the captain didn't want to be known for turning a beautiful 100,000 ton ship into scrap metal or creating a script for another Steven Segal movie! For one, I'm glad the crew took their time. There was no rush getting to Venice! Yesterday's faster is today's slower, especially as you get older! In fact, coming in 12 stories above sea level seemed impressive.
Due to the foggy conditions, we weren't sure whether we'd see Venice at all, let alone it's buildings, towers, bridges or canals. But just as we entered the islands comprising Venice lagoon, listening to the sounds of Italian opera playing throughout the decks of the Ruby, the fog lifted! And, as our shining white Princess entered the canals of Venice, passing by the district of Castello, minutes later passing by the famous Piazza San Marco amid thousands of cheering toursits, clapping and going crazy! OK! So they weren't cheering or clapping or going crazy! But I'm sure I saw a group of grade school students jumping up and down as we passed. Maybe it was for us, maybe it was for ice cream?
The sail to our final destination in the Port of Venice seemed slow but nobody complained. It seemed everyone was absorbing the sights of Venice from the 16th deck of the Ruby. And the height offered a distinct view of Venice.
Within a couple hours of docking, Elsie and I disembarked our floating castle to explore Venezia walking style. As we still had one more night on the Ruby, we were scheduled to stay in Venice for a couple more nights. So, at least this gave us an opportunity to map out our route for tomorrows departure from the Ruby to our Bed & Breakfast accommodation "Casa del Melograno" in Cannaregio, Venizia. We were told it wasn't difficult to find as it was about 50 meters from the Venice casino.
We walked down the first street from the cruise terminal and soon discovered that finding Piazza Roma wouldn't be as easy as we thought. Walk down one street. Dead end! Turn around. Down another street. Nope! Turn around. Down a different lane. Ooops! A canal! No bridge. Turn around. We're thinking....this must be the s l o w m o t i o n equivalent of driving around when you're lost.
We were told, finding the Casa del Melograno wouldn't be too difficult. Fortunately, we had three days to find it! Eventually, we found Piazza Roma. Then it was over the Ponte Calatrava bridge, and before we knew it, we found ourselves in front of the Stazione Santa Lucia (Santa Lucia train station). A short 15-20 minute walk along a pedestrian lane, lined with an abundance of shops, and crossing over two more pedestrian bridges, we located the Casa del Melograno, just as we were told, about 50 meters from Casino Di Venezia.
It was a beautiful afternoon in Venice. Lot's of people walking...shopping....sitting...relaxing....
eating...drinking...socializing...enjoying conversation. We soon felt, Venice was unique! Yet, we we're comfortable here. The outside patio's were inviting. A couple empty chairs caught our vision. Uncertain whether to have a glass of wine or beer, we chose to have our first glass of beer. We reviewed the two sizes available - large and small. Elsie, choosing her usual Midi, or as she called it in Australia, "Mini Me" and myself, going for the gusto, large! As the server brought our beer, I was overcome by the size of my beer. Comparably, it was more like a small keg! It also provided a good bicep curl as it must've weighed 5kg's. Upon receiving the bill, I thought I purchased some couple's lunch. I thought, this bill must be a mistake? I mean, 13 euros ($20) for a beer. Mind you it was a keg size beer. Must've been a least 20 ounces, possibly 22. So, being our first visit to Venice, I paid the bill like I wasn't surprised! Like I expected it! Like a Venetian would pay it! Then, as we walked away, I cried like a baby! Not really! But it was an experience worth sharing later, at some point.
For us, with late afternoon now settling in, it was time to make it back to the Ruby and complete our packing and prepare for our final night of dining and entertainment. But, minus the $20 beer, Venice had a uniqueness. Something we would search to define over the next two days!
Cheers, Rick & Elsie!
