Day 17 - 21 July Venice

 

We got up this morning a bit unsure what to do. It isn’t easy getting into Venice from our ship’s location and there was a strike on today so the valparetti weren’t running.

In the end we did take the shuttle bus. This wound through the industrial area, across the bridge to Venice, and deposited us at the old cruise terminal on Marattima. From there we had to work out how to get to the next island. This involved wandering fenced areas and taking the main motor bridge to Santa Croce.

Western end of the Grand Canal

At least from there it felt like we were in Venice proper. We then crossed another bridge and had a rest in Giardini Papadopoli, which was cool and shaded. Having recovered we walked around for a while. Although a long way from Piazza S Marco it was crowded and there were souvenir shops everywhere. We went as far as the Basilica di Santa Maria, then had a cold drink in a café.

Scuola Grande di San Rocco




Then we circled back through islands and over bridges to Giardini Papadopoli and eventually to the shuttle bus.

Reading in Giardini Popodopoli

By the time we got back to the ship it was 1.30 and we felt we’d had a successful morning. The more so because half an hour later it got very gusty and stormy, to the extent that we were told the port was being closed temporarily and all transfers halted. So we enjoyed an afternoon of reading and a dinner in one of the restaurants.

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