Thursday, July 12
Described by the poet Lord Byron as "a fairy city of the heart", Venice charms with romantic gondolas, intimate canals, centuries of history and an air of magic that mesh to create one of the world's most beautiful and romantic cities.
We have an overnight stop in Venice with a middayish arrival. Our plan is to catch the train to Verona for an overnight stay to see the opera Nabucco. We are a group of 8 so safety in numbers!
Unfortunately we missed our prebooked and prepaid train because the ship arrived at 1pm instead of the original itinerary time of 9am. We decided to plead our sob story at the station but no luck there so repurchased tickets for the next train to Verona. The train journey took about 80 minutes. The Italian regional trains are much better and more comfortable than in Aus.
Described by the poet Lord Byron as "a fairy city of the heart", Venice charms with romantic gondolas, intimate canals, centuries of history and an air of magic that mesh to create one of the world's most beautiful and romantic cities.
We have an overnight stop in Venice with a middayish arrival. Our plan is to catch the train to Verona for an overnight stay to see the opera Nabucco. We are a group of 8 so safety in numbers!
Unfortunately we missed our prebooked and prepaid train because the ship arrived at 1pm instead of the original itinerary time of 9am. We decided to plead our sob story at the station but no luck there so repurchased tickets for the next train to Verona. The train journey took about 80 minutes. The Italian regional trains are much better and more comfortable than in Aus.
We found our hotel and checked in without any hassles. Lucky I was the only one with a passport as the Hotel needed it. The Opera was at 9pm so we decided to hit the streets of Verona and headed to a non touristy bar that our Hotel recommended as we were famished and thirsty from our journey.
The restaurant was just what the doctor ordered and we stayed there until it was time to get ready for the Opera. The Opera was due to start at 9pm but we wanted to be there by 8.30 to soak up the ambience in the beautiful old amphitheater.
Our schedule worked to plan and we were all seated (except for Camboy Gaz as he had to take his video camera back to the hotel) with plenty of time.
The Opera, Nabucco would not have been our first choice but was the only option for our dates. It was a very hot night and the medical teams were kept very busy as the spectators were falling like flies....
There were a cast of thousands on the stage including real horses but the uncomfortable seating finally won out and we left after the second interval. The Opera was scheduled to finish after midnight and we thought we had appreciated the experience after 2 hours. Bed seemed to have a higher priority! The sound quality was not that great... probably needed microphones or needed to turn the volume up but it was handy to have subtitles on an electronic board. The only trouble with that is you tend to spend all your time reading and not watching the stage!
After a leisurely walk back to the hotel our bed was very comfortable and the air con rattled enough to mask any noise from the street.
Tomorrow is a sightseeing day before our train back to Venice at 3pm.
Venice
Region: North east coast of Italy. It is protected from the Adriatic Sea by a strip of land called the Lido. The region around Venice is called the Veneto.
Region: North east coast of Italy. It is protected from the Adriatic Sea by a strip of land called the Lido. The region around Venice is called the Veneto.
Population: 264,906 (est 2015)
Climate: Temperatures average nearly 80F in summer and 45F in winter. Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year.
Language: Italian
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Climate: Temperatures average nearly 80F in summer and 45F in winter. Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year.
Language: Italian
Currency: Euro (EUR)
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