It's On to Venice!

We had a wonderful time with Andrew and Lucinda after they returned from their holiday. We stayed in one of the rooms in their B & B, Orchard Lodge. It was a wonderful experience. If you are in the Scarborough/York area of the United Kingdom, definitely stay with Andrew and Lucinda. The room was spacious and tastefully decorated, the bed was comfortable, and the water hot and plentiful. We also had the pleasure of sharing Sunday roast with them. I do miss Sundy roasts. Soon it was time to leave for London and our flight to Venice to begin the last leg of our Grand Adventure. After we said our goodbyes, it was a drive to Heathrow Airport to return our rental and spend our last night in the United Kingdom.

This was our third trip to Venice but the first in November. Surprisingly, there were more tourists than I thought there would be and it was COLD! Luckily, both us had our caps, scarves, gloves and winter jackets. While we were in Venice, Chuck and I did lots of walking, lots and lots of walking. We booked an Airbnb apartment in a part of Venice we had not visited before. The apartment was perfect for us. It was only a 10 minute walk from the apartment to the Grand Canal where we would walk to the Rialto Bridge and San Marco Square. There was a wonderful little Italian bakery were we bought at least 2 or maybe 3 marmalade pies to have with our coffee and a supermarket within a 5 minute walk. We were very close to the Jewish section of Venice as well as the train station.

This is view from our Airbnb apartment

We truly enjoyed our 8 day stay in Venice. We had done all the touristy things before. That gave us a chance to explore the neighborhoods and other sections of Venice at our leisure. Usually, we spent the mornings after coffee walking in the direction of the Rialto Bridge, then to San Marco Square. After a warm drink and sometimes a sandwich or pastry, we would head back to the apartment for a break (most of the shops close for a couple of hours) the head back out late afternoon to experience Venice at night (the shops reopen). That was really pretty easy to do since it was dark around 4:30 p.m. Venice is a magical city, but it is especially magical at night. It is also easier to lose you way, too. Even though we thought we knew our route back to the apartment, the little streets and canals look very different in the dark. We also had the opportunity to visit the fish market, a Venetian tradition. We visited the fish market with our boys in 2000. It was fun to see it again. We also had cappuccino at a little outdoor cafe on the Grand Canal that we had visited previously with the boys and our friends Curtis and Cindee. It really hadn't changed much but the canal was much less polluted. 

Our nephew and niece, Joshua and Julia, were expecting their 5th baby at the end of December. Chuck has tried to convince them that Billy Joe Bob would be a good name for either a boy or girl. We found a vendor along the Rialto Bridge who offered embroidered items to all us tourists. We found a bib with a gondola on it and had the young man at the booth embroider the name Billy Joe Bob on it since Joshua and Julia hadn't decided on a name. (Little Henry James was born December 24, 2017! For some reason they did not choose Billy Joe Bob. 😃)

The day finally came when it was time to travel to Trieste to board our cruise ship, the MSC Seaside for our voyage HOME! MSC provided bus transportation from Marco Polo Airport to Trieste. Originally, we were supposed to sail from Venice, but the MSC Seaside was too large for the port and the Venetians are concerned about the damage the cruise ships are doing to the Grand Canal. I guess we will have to find another cruise that leaves from Venice!