- Joined
- Aug 30, 2013
- Messages
- 1,108
- Location
- On the road
- Member No
- 3,082
- RV Type
- A Class
- Model
- Damon Daybreak 27P
- RV Experience
- Jan 2014
Hi there - nattering this morning it came up that the Club has planned a trip down to Venice later this year and I mentioned that I took a (flying) long weekend to Venice late last year. So to whet your appetite this is a bit about my trip
In no time at all we were over Venice and coming into land.
I hadn’t realised before booking what I imagined would be a treat for them both, that not only was Tibbo a somewhat nervous flyer, but he was afraid of water …….. and we were about to spend the weekend in Venice ?!!!!!
Having survived the plane landing Tibbo announced that there was no way he intended to get into a boat of any description.
Now, I might have seen lots of photos of Venice and I am aware it is a series of low lying islands with lots of canals, but somehow I had imagined there were some areas with vehicles. Those of you who have visited Venice with be aware of my mistake and will know that the airport is next to the railway station from the mainland, and road bridge from the mainland. At this point everything to do with land travel other than pedestrians comes to a stop, and everyone has to change to water transport.
So I suggested to Tibbo that unless he was intending to spend his entire weekend at the airport he simply HAD to get into a boat of some description.
The water buses, which travel the canals of Venice also come over to collect incoming visitors, but you can take a private water taxi.
As we were not really sure exactly where we were headed, plus the trip using water taxi was noticeably faster we decided to go for this option. Now I have to admit to thoroughly enjoying this part of the trip, but I fear that Tibbo was not of the same opinion. As I had booked for assisted travel we were ferried from the airport lounge to the water taxi stand so there was not much walking for me to do before we were at the water’s edge.
The water taxi drivers – like taxi drivers the world over – are determined to make the most of their day. So, on a fixed price trip our’s was not going to hang around.
His small speed-boat type affair was bobbing around on the water, but I was carefully handed on and settled myself in a seat. Tibbo, rather nervously got aboard and the taxi driver insisted on us all sitting so the boat was balanced and with a roar we set off. We had landed at Venice airport in the pouring rain, and to a grey and very watery day, but through the rain-flecked windows I could see that there was a channel marked out with thick poles at regular intervals, making what was, in effect, a water motorway.
Being on the continent all the traffic hugged the right, unless overtaking, and there was lots of traffic heading in the opposite direction, mostly travelling at similar speeds and producing plenty of waves in their wake, which we had to ‘ride’ when we passed. As I say, something I found quite exhilarating, though probably not a good introduction to Venice for Tibbo !!!!
<iframe width="625" height="352" src="
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And if you want to read about the weekend it starts on my blog here http://www.theworldismylobster.me.uk/?p=2086
In no time at all we were over Venice and coming into land.
I hadn’t realised before booking what I imagined would be a treat for them both, that not only was Tibbo a somewhat nervous flyer, but he was afraid of water …….. and we were about to spend the weekend in Venice ?!!!!!
Having survived the plane landing Tibbo announced that there was no way he intended to get into a boat of any description.
Now, I might have seen lots of photos of Venice and I am aware it is a series of low lying islands with lots of canals, but somehow I had imagined there were some areas with vehicles. Those of you who have visited Venice with be aware of my mistake and will know that the airport is next to the railway station from the mainland, and road bridge from the mainland. At this point everything to do with land travel other than pedestrians comes to a stop, and everyone has to change to water transport.
So I suggested to Tibbo that unless he was intending to spend his entire weekend at the airport he simply HAD to get into a boat of some description.
The water buses, which travel the canals of Venice also come over to collect incoming visitors, but you can take a private water taxi.
As we were not really sure exactly where we were headed, plus the trip using water taxi was noticeably faster we decided to go for this option. Now I have to admit to thoroughly enjoying this part of the trip, but I fear that Tibbo was not of the same opinion. As I had booked for assisted travel we were ferried from the airport lounge to the water taxi stand so there was not much walking for me to do before we were at the water’s edge.
The water taxi drivers – like taxi drivers the world over – are determined to make the most of their day. So, on a fixed price trip our’s was not going to hang around.
His small speed-boat type affair was bobbing around on the water, but I was carefully handed on and settled myself in a seat. Tibbo, rather nervously got aboard and the taxi driver insisted on us all sitting so the boat was balanced and with a roar we set off. We had landed at Venice airport in the pouring rain, and to a grey and very watery day, but through the rain-flecked windows I could see that there was a channel marked out with thick poles at regular intervals, making what was, in effect, a water motorway.
Being on the continent all the traffic hugged the right, unless overtaking, and there was lots of traffic heading in the opposite direction, mostly travelling at similar speeds and producing plenty of waves in their wake, which we had to ‘ride’ when we passed. As I say, something I found quite exhilarating, though probably not a good introduction to Venice for Tibbo !!!!
<iframe width="625" height="352" src="
And if you want to read about the weekend it starts on my blog here http://www.theworldismylobster.me.uk/?p=2086
