Farewell, Ca’ Tessera
I woke up about 7:45AM. I was anxious about possibly sleeping in and missing my connections today, so I’d requested an 8:00AM wake-up call from the hotel’s Reception – it came through right on time (once more, Andy to the rescue). I had also set a very loud phone alarm for the same time, just to make doubly sure of getting this day started on time.
I got up, showered, then went downstairs to the hotel’s dining room for breakfast. It was not bad – quite tasty and plentiful, with a wide variety of hot and cold options. After breakfast I returned to my room and put the finishing touches on what little packing remained.
I checked out of the hotel at 10:30, and arranged with Reception (Andy, once more) to see if I could get their shuttle service to Marco Polo Airport. At this hotel, the airport shuttle service costs €15, which is really quite decent and is cheaper than Uber. My timing was perfect as the shuttle bus was just getting ready to board for a run to the airport. I boarded the van along with a young couple from the hotel. On the way to the airport I heard them talking in the back seat of the van, and their accent was unmistakable. I know that prairie accent anywhere so I asked them where they were from and – sure enough – they were from rural Saskatchewan.
Marco Polo Airport, Revisited
The shuttle driver dropped us off at Marco Polo Airport at about 11:00, and I made my way to the Arrivals area. Here, I was to meet our tour Leader, Phil (who was already in Venice), and the rest of the group who would be joining us when they arrived on a group flight from London Heathrow.
The 11:35 arrival of the group’s flight was delayed until 11:46. Phil suddenly appeared and we chatted and caught up on things while we waiting for the group’s flight to arrive. This was the third Light & Land tour I’d done with Phil as Leader, so we were already fairly well acquainted.
The Light & Land Venice Tour Officially Starts!
At about noon the rest of the group appeared and I met the individuals I was to intensely share the next 4 days with – first Jennifer, then James, Alex and Daphne; a round of introductions followed. Phil then led us through Marco Polo Airport to the docks where water transportation to/from the city centre of Venice was located. Light & Land had a pre-booked, private speedboat/water taxi waiting for us, so we all piled in – carefully – for our ride into Venice and our hotel – and what a ride it was!! The water taxis tend to go full blast across the lagoon whenever they can, so when our boat hit those big waves created by other crafts it was slightly hair-raising (but fun).
Checking In To Home Base
Reaching the centre of Venice, our boat meandered through a warren of canals, bringing us to the rear entrance of our hotel: Hotel Saturnia & International Venezia. We disembarked from the water taxi and proceeded to the front desk of the hotel to check in. We were still quite early – 12:45 – so the rooms were not ready for some of our group, mine being one of them. Phil, Daphne and I waited in the hotel’s lounge for about a half hour while our rooms were made ready.
We were finally notified that our rooms were ready, so we went up the respective floors to our rooms. I was assigned Room #74 – very nice!:
We had about 2 hours of free time in which to unpack, settle in a bit, and get some lunch. At 4:00 we met on the second floor lounge for a welcome/information session. Trip plans, details and expectations were discussed and we also met Kate, the last group member to join us. With that done, we were off to the Rialto Bridge area for our first photo location!
An Evening Shoot at Rialto
Phil led us through the twisting, winding maze which comprise the streets of Venice (so glad he knew where he was going; I sure didn’t). We reached the Rialto area, near – and on – the famous bridge, where we engaged in late afternoon and evening photography of the Grand Canal, the Rialto Bridge and the general area:
This area is mostly famed for the Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge), one of the few bridges to cross Venice’s Grand Canal, and is possibly the most celebrated of all the bridges. It was originally built of wood in the 12th century, then later converted to a stone structure between 1588 and 1591.
Here’s a short panoramic video of the Grand Canal, shot from atop the Rialto Bridge:
Evening Meal
At 6:00PM we made our way back to the hotel to drop off our gear and freshen up a bit for the evening meal ahead. We met at 7:15 in the lobby and proceeded from there to our restaurant for the evening: Osteria Al Bacareto:
In Italy, many restaurants don’t open until 8:00PM or later, but in Venice – being the tourist mecca it is – restaurants open slightly earlier at 7:30. We settled in at the restaurant, placed our orders, and enjoyed what proved to be a delicious meal. I had a large Mixed Salad, Tortellini with meat sauce, a Coke Zero (there is no such thing as “Diet Coke” in Europe, so Zero it had to be) and a Still water. When dessert time came everyone else ordered desserts. I needed no further encouragement so I indulged in an utterly obscene Apple Cake. What a great meal! 😊
That’s A Wrap For Today
We returned to the hotel, reaching it at 9:45, and everyone retired to their rooms for the night. It had been a big day so the group was ready for a good night’s rest. Also, the next morning we had a pre-dawn photo shoot, so it was to be a fairly early start for that, meeting at 6:30PM to depart.
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