Tuesday, 5th July

The Plan

9:08 Train to Venice arrive @ 10:41

16:50 Train to Desenzano arrive @ 18:21

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The News

If it's Tuesday it must be Venice.

We ducklings were marshalled for 8:40am.  We were checked for clean ears and handkerchiefs and then we were off.  It's only a few minutes to the station so we were quite early ... and then the train was 15 minutes late.  But this is Italy.

The one and a half hour journey passed quickly.  We had reserved seats and Jan and I were on our own at the back again.  That's what comes of having a surname which starts with a letter towards the end of the alphabet.

Arriving in Venice is always nice.  There is the anticipation as the train crosses the bridge onto the main island and the stunning views as you exit the station.

We had a two-minute walk around the side of the station to get to the boat to take our party to the piazza which runs in front of St. Marks Square.  We were met there by a local guide who spoke excellent English.  On the way, she told us about the history of Venice from its beginnings as a place of refuge for Romans fleeing the invasions to the present day.  

We were led down the back streets to the church where Vivaldi had been the priest.  He was called "The Red Priest" because of the colour of his hair.  It is interesting that they picked on a physical characteristic when giving him a nickname rather than, say, "The Musical Priest" to celebrate his talents.  A sad comment on human nature.

We were then led to the waiting Gondola, the part Jan was looking forward to most.  This was all part of the tour.  There was a long queue of people waiting to hire a Gondola, which we walked straight past to the next mooring along.  There was a 10-minute wait for our batch of Gondolieros to appear and then we were off.

The Gandaliero took us through the quiet waterways (and it was unusually quiet and peaceful for Venice) and out into the Grand Canal just below the Rialto Bridge.  We scooted along that for a while before turning back into the side canals.  He didn't seem interested in us and only spoke to other Gandalieros.  Most had similar experiences, but at least one boat was propelled by someone cheerful.

We were not the only ones out on the canals of Venice in a Gondola.  This photo was taken by ...

(Reproduced with the kind permission of Andrew Shipp © 2022)

We didn't see the Beckhams, though, which disappointed Jan greatly.

Our ride lasted about half an hour but seemed much shorter.

The dropping-off point was next to the Venice Hard Rock Cafe.  Now, I have to deviate into a short back-story.  The first time I took Jan out, I had promised her a meal at the Hard Rock Cafe in London.  However, there was a long queue so we decided to see Bugsy Malone instead.  Then, over the next 40 years, we kept saying that we ought to go for the meal we never had.  We finally made it when we went to Venice for our 40th wedding anniversary ... but we didn't get any momentos.

Since we were the first boatload, I had plenty of time to run into The Hard Rock Cafe and surprise Jan with a matching pair of T-shirts.  That made her smile.

Having exhausted the fun of the Gondola ride, it was back to St. Mark's Square.  Again, we were able to queue-jump and get a guided tour of St. Mark's Basilica.

The art is quite stunning, but it does all seem rather dowdy ... but then it is 1,000 years old.  I suppose that I'll look less than fresh in 1,000 years.

Class was dismissed after the tour of the Basilica and we were allowed to roam freely.  We decided to go back to the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, a department store next to the Rialto Bridge with a roof viewing gallery.  You get a superb view of the Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal ... and it's free.  But since COVID, you have to book in advance online - bother.  So we consoled ourselves by having a very nice toasted sandwich in the restaurant there instead.

It was time to get back to the boat jetty by the time we finished the meal.  So we wandered through the streets of Venice, taking in the atmosphere and the views.  There was still time to buy an ice cream before our hired boat took us back to the Venezia Santa Lucia station.  The trip back was equally scenic and we arrived refreshed in Desenzano in time for a late supper ... which was delicious.  And then to bed ...