Taking a water taxi to or from the airport in or at Venice is an expensive luxury. In the old days the water bus went direct from Marco Polo to San Marco, threading through the canal at Arsenale. Then it re-routed to go via the Lido which takes over an hour.
On Monday evening the January timetable was in operation and we meandered to Murano and then to Fondamenta Nuove, Ospidale, the Lido, Arsenale and San Zaccaria where we were staying. After such a slow journey I was dreaming about a mini-bar moment but the hotel read my mind. A complimentary bottle of pink Prosecco in an ice bucket hit the spot.
The last holiday lunch is something to be savoured. In Venice many of the restaurants near San Marco are to be avoided. Displays of rotting fish on ice and pimps at the door presage a deeply unsatisfactory experience. This time we walked somewhat circuitously to Fondamenta Nuove, stopping for coffee, then an Aperol spritz and then lunch in a restaurant frequented by workmen. The menu was hand-written and changes daily. We had spaghetti with garlic and chilli oil to start. Then Robert had turkey in a cream sauce and I had ham and cheese. The menu was Euros 13 each but the bill came to Euros 44 after a slug of Fernet Branca and half a litre of white wine. By the way, the “t” in Fernet is pronounced in Italian.
Now we were only a short walk from the bus stop. The timetable advertised the journey as taking over an hour but the boat went at full speed and we docked at the airport after less than thirty minutes, leaving time for a glass of white wine to settle pre-flight nerves.
All your previous Venetian posts hit the spot but this last one took the tin biscuit. Fabulous.
RDN, you are generous because I thought a surfeit of grappa had made it a bit sloppy. There’s yet another lunch post tomorrow which I hope will hit the spot too.