Day 2: Thursday, January 16

Good Morning…

About an hour out of Paris, the cabin lights gently came up, passengers started to wake up, and the breakfast service commenced. Once again Air France outdid themselves with the food. Utterly delicious.

Connecting in Paris

We landed in Paris exactly at the scheduled time of 8:15AM. It was an extremely foggy day so, unfortunately, there was no city view to speak of as we landed. Once we were at the gate and received the all-clear to deplane, I gathered my bags and coat and made my way to the plane’s exit. The very friendly Air France staff bade me farewell as I stepped out of the plane and on to the bridge. I can’t say enough positive things about the Air France staff – all in all it was a great flight with superb service from Toronto to Paris; a very pleasant Business Class experience all around.

After deplaning I walked for what felt like (and probably was) miles from Terminal 2E, where I’d landed, to Terminal 2F where my connecting flight to Venice was to board. After walking for several lifetimes along endless corridors and people movers, I had to take a shuttle train to Terminal 2F. Reaching Terminal 2F I then had to pass through another security check!! What a hassle!

I got through the security screening OK, then made my way to Border Control, passed through the eGates, then on to a live guard who stamped my passport. As I was visiting countries in the Schengen area I was now officially (and legally) in Europe, although not yet in Italy. I passed through Border Control without a hitch, though.

I walked another five miles and finally reached Gate F27 where my 10:05AM Air France flight AF1426 to Venice was to board. After making a quick pit stop in a nearby loo, I took a seat in the Zone 1 Business Class waiting area and daydreamed a bit as I awaited the boarding announcement. The plane arrived and we received the call to board at 9:40. This was a very full flight and I was awaiting the dreaded announcement that we’d have to surrender carry-on luggage to be checked in the plane’s hold, but amazingly no such request arose.

I found my Business Class seat (02F) and settled in, observing my surroundings. This was a Business Class seat and designation but you would never have known it – this plane was much smaller and much more…. down-market, shall we say, boarding on ghetto. Not even any seat-back video screens!

And, We’re Off… Once More!

At any rate I was contented, so I settled in with my Kobo while I waited for the departure information. The projected flying time from Paris to Venice was 1 hour and 40 minutes, and we were to depart at 10:05AM. Our departure was delayed, though, due to excessive baggage which had yet to be loaded in the plane’s hold. After that minor delay we pushed back from the gate at 10:25 and were on our way to Venice!

After being airborne for about 20 minutes, a light lunch was served. The meal was not quite the calibre of food we had on the Toronto-Paris flight but it was still nothing to sneeze at: lightly-seared shrimp, lobster in tarragon sauce, red rice, mushrooms and grilled buckwheat, plus a selection of cheeses (we are in France now, you know): Cantal PDO cheese and Chabichou du Poitou PDO cheeses. This was followed by a Lemon Tartlet, all prepared by Chef Michel Roth, Meilleur Ouvrier de France Bocuse d’Or. In case you’re wondering how I could possibly remember all this, I didn’t – I saved the little description card that arrived with the meal. I had no idea exactly what Meilleur Ouvrier de France Bocuse d’Or meant, so I researched this when I got home: I found out it is a competition for professional Chefs held in France every four years. The winning candidates receive a medal, and it’s a really, really big deal in France’s food world.

Venice Arrival!

The time really whizzed by and we were beginning our descent into Venice before I realized what was happening. I was absentmindedly gazing out the plane window, not looking at anything in particular, when it suddenly dawned on me that I was actually gawking at the city of Venice! It was a wonderfully clear day and I could see that magical city in the lagoon below. I quickly rummaged for my phone and got these two (not great) shots:

Marco Polo Airport

It was a smooth touchdown at Venice’s Marco Polo Airport, and I was able to leave the plane fairly quickly as I was sitting near the front exit. I retrieved my suitcase from the conveyor belt at about 12:45 and set out on my way.

Hello Uber, Where Are You?

It was 1:00 when I made my way outside the airport to try and find the Uber waiting area. I logged on to the Uber app and ordered a car to take me to the nearby hotel I had booked for that night’s stay. I had a LOT of trouble finding the Uber driver after I placed the order – I must have walked up and down the parking lot for at least 15 minutes in search of “Daniel”, the driver. After quite some time Daniel appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, calling my name; I was glad to finally find him. Also, out of nowhere appeared a weird, creepy-looking guy who tagged along with us and insisted on carrying my luggage to the Uber car. The Uber driver never said anything to, or about, this weird guy so I figured they were somehow working together. At a minimum, I was expecting the driver to tell this parasite to get lost, but he never did. As I expected, this sketchy guy demanded money for carrying my bags to the car, uninvited at that. I told him I had no Euros on me and, unsurprisingly, he became quite pissed off – I experienced my first episode of Italian invective of the trip. I couldn’t understand what he was saying but I can well imagine it…

Finding My Bed For The Night

The hotel was not far from the airport, and we reached it in under 5 minutes, maybe less. After recovering from a wrong turn, the Uber driver found the hotel and dropped me off. I was checked in to the Ca’ Tessera Venice Airport hotel by Andy, the front desk clerk, at 1:20PM. It was kind of an odd, old-fashioned place but was very clean and charming. Andy told me that due to maintenance problems the hotel water was unfit to drink and that I had to boil any water that I needed – SAY WHAT?! Andy was very helpful, though, and filled me in on all the details one expects when you check into a new hotel for the first time:

I was assigned Room #1 on the second floor (well, to North Americans it’s the second floor). Taking the small lift up I found Room #1 and plopped down on the bed, relieved to be no longer travelling. The room was fine, kind of quaint; it was nothing special but had everything I needed for the next few hours. As is my routine, I took some pictures of the room, then unpacked just a few things I’d need during my brief overnight stay here:

A Short Tour of The ‘Hood

After a brief rest I went for a walk to get my bearings in this new neighbourhood:

Part of my objective in this walk was also to seek out a potential eating spot for later that day; the hotel only had breakfast facilities, and was located in a quasi-rural area with almost no eateries in the general area. I followed Via Triestina to where it became a traffic circle, then proceeded down Via Orlanda in search of restaurants – there were plenty of hotels but precious few eating establishments, although I did note one questionable pizza place.

Time To Crash

After my meander, I returned to the hotel around 3:00. I sent Vince an iMessage to let him know I’d arrived safely and was fine. I was too tired and jet lagged to explore the neighbourhood any further so I read my book for the rest of the afternoon.

I opted not to seek out an eatery for that night’s meal; I really wasn’t hungry as the satisfying meals I’d had on the flights were still with me, for the most part. I read my book until I felt I couldn’t stay awake a minute longer, then fell into the very comfortable bed at 7:00PM – exhausted, jet lagged, but happy. It had been quite a busy travel day, but I was finally in Italy! My adventures lay ahead. 🙂