The Grand Tour - Grand Canal to Grand Palace – Venice to Bangkok January 2017 Day 8 (Venice again!)

BONZO · 26 Feb 17, 12:09 AM

The Grand Tour - Grand Canal to Grand Palace – Venice to Bangkok January - 2017

Link to trip report index: Here

Day 8 Saturday 14th January

Where were we? Ah yes, on the plan from Bangkok to Doha. We both slept quite a bit on the plane and woke up with an hour or two to go. I just had some muesli and then bread, but Alison really went for it! She had breakfast juice, cornflakes then pancakes with caramelised banana followed by bread and jam.

We both got changed back into day clothes ready for touchdown. We disembarked expecting to have to go through security again (like we did on the outbound journey) but oddly we didn’t need to. We seemed to be in a completely different part of the airport, and had to get a train.

When we got there we couldn’t see any signs for the lounge initially, then when we did find them they ran out! Finally we gave up and asked someone who pointed us in the right direction.

Once again, the airport was all sparklingly clean and modern.
We just had a soft drink and toilet break before heading back to the ‘D’ gates via the train and into the holding area. The gate staff had little control over things and despite people being asked to sit down and wait they blocked up the gate so we had to push our way through when we were due to board.

We took off on time (on an A330 – 200 this time!) and decided that we would try not to sleep for too long.

After a doze we both watched films – Alison killed off another couple of the Star Wars films with a cappuccino and I settled down with a drink and watched Miss Peregrines home for special children, well, hmm it passed the time before getting onto more serious stuff. I decided to re-live my misspent youth by listening to “Highway to hell” in its entirety as I remember buying it when it first came out

happy days!

I politely declined the food and drink options as nothing really took my fancy. The cabin crew were a bit concerned possibly worried about poor food options and asked me if there was a problem or if there were dishes I’d rather have which was a nice touch. We both said we’d have liked a sandwich and some crisps but they didn’t really have those kind of options on this leg of the journey. They have broth and noodles and things like that. It wasn’t a problem really and we had coffee and biscuits which was fine.

We landed on time back in Venice and waited for our luggage on the carousel which was cleverly advertising the local but out of town casino.

Bags collected up (which we were very grateful for as we’d packed our winter coats away as we left Venice a few days earlier!) we had the long walk again to the ferry terminal where we bought our tickets from the office before boarding. Much nicer ferry this time as although it was very cold we at least had a view! We only had to travel 2 stops on the water ferry this time before landing at Nove with the remains of ice and snow all around.

We found the hotel (Alloggi Santa Sofia) easy enough as we’d previously done a recce and found that it was conveniently near to McDonalds (set down a quiet side street). We lugged our cases up a steep set of internal stairs and made friends with the receptionist. Our room was great and surprise, surprise, we had the same chintzy furnishings that was in our previous hotel. The room was simply decorated complete with en-suite shower and toilet.

On the way out we were asked if we wanted their breakfast at a cost of 5 euros each which we said yes to and agreed to pay when we checked out. We had a stroll out to The Ponte dei Tre Archi, on the Rio Cannaregio, which is the only remaining bridge in Venice that has a structure with three arches it’s worth noting that the bridge is quite low so in the event of high water the boats can’t go under it.

We walked back to Nove stop to see if we could visit a couple of the other islands such as Isola di San Michele (Cemetery Island) but it would have cost us 20 euros each and take a very long time due to the route the ferries take! Wow – how expensive!

The island was so close….it would have cost about 10p in Bangkok!

We walked around a bit more before stopping for another coffee and cake in a local café, refreshingly expensive as always

We spotted a steak house on the way back called the Old Wild West which looked reasonable and had a further 2 x coffees, chatted with the bar staff and made reservations for evening as they said it would be popular on a Saturday evening. So that’s the meal this evening sorted out.

We wandered back to room to crash out for a while and I watched an Old Italian film called the 6th floor or something like that. We walked out to the restaurant and the place was packed to the rafters with diners and drinkers and lots of people being turned away so I’m really glad we stopped by earlier to book up.

We both had steak and chips, Alison had a Sprite and I had a lovely St.Benoit beer, food was really good and service was ok except they were woefully understaffed so a bit slow. I didn’t make a note of the cost but it was fairly reasonable (for Venice!)

More photos here from someone's blog - angsarap/2015/12/24/o...-venice-italy/

From here it was just a short walk back to the hotel - our body clocks were all over the place, we couldn't decide whether we were tired or not so decided to lay down and watch TV as it was about 10pm. As you can imagine, we were out like a light as soon as our heads hit the pillows!

Melbatb · 26 Feb 17, 06:44 AM

The weather looks a bit colder! Being able to sleep on a plane is such a luxury!

The Hulk · 5 Mar 17, 11:43 PM

Great last day in Venice. What was the name of that restaurant as it looks decent food and prices so might need to add it to our list?

BONZO · 6 Mar 17, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by The Hulk

Great last day in Venice. What was the name of that restaurant as it looks decent food and prices so might need to add it to our list?

The Old Wild West

oldwildwest.it/code/20100...a-Strada-Nuova

Really best to visit the place and make a reservation, especially at weekends.

The Hulk · 6 Mar 17, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by BONZO

The Old Wild West

oldwildwest.it/code/20100...a-Strada-Nuova

Really best to visit the place and make a reservation, especially at weekends.

Thanks,I'll check it out

26 Feb 17, 12:09 AM	#1
	26 Feb 17, 12:09 AM BONZO Imagineer
BONZO Imagineer Join Date: Mar 02	The Grand Tour - Grand Canal to Grand Palace – Venice to Bangkok January 2017 Day 8 (Venice again!) The Grand Tour - Grand Canal to Grand Palace – Venice to Bangkok January - 2017 Link to trip report index: Here Day 8 Saturday 14th January Where were we? Ah yes, on the plan from Bangkok to Doha. We both slept quite a bit on the plane and woke up with an hour or two to go. I just had some muesli and then bread, but Alison really went for it! She had breakfast juice, cornflakes then pancakes with caramelised banana followed by bread and jam. We both got changed back into day clothes ready for touchdown. We disembarked expecting to have to go through security again (like we did on the outbound journey) but oddly we didn’t need to. We seemed to be in a completely different part of the airport, and had to get a train. When we got there we couldn’t see any signs for the lounge initially, then when we did find them they ran out! Finally we gave up and asked someone who pointed us in the right direction. Once again, the airport was all sparklingly clean and modern. We just had a soft drink and toilet break before heading back to the ‘D’ gates via the train and into the holding area. The gate staff had little control over things and despite people being asked to sit down and wait they blocked up the gate so we had to push our way through when we were due to board. We took off on time (on an A330 – 200 this time!) and decided that we would try not to sleep for too long. After a doze we both watched films – Alison killed off another couple of the Star Wars films with a cappuccino and I settled down with a drink and watched Miss Peregrines home for special children, well, hmm it passed the time before getting onto more serious stuff. I decided to re-live my misspent youth by listening to “Highway to hell” in its entirety as I remember buying it when it first came out happy days! I politely declined the food and drink options as nothing really took my fancy. The cabin crew were a bit concerned possibly worried about poor food options and asked me if there was a problem or if there were dishes I’d rather have which was a nice touch. We both said we’d have liked a sandwich and some crisps but they didn’t really have those kind of options on this leg of the journey. They have broth and noodles and things like that. It wasn’t a problem really and we had coffee and biscuits which was fine. We landed on time back in Venice and waited for our luggage on the carousel which was cleverly advertising the local but out of town casino. Bags collected up (which we were very grateful for as we’d packed our winter coats away as we left Venice a few days earlier!) we had the long walk again to the ferry terminal where we bought our tickets from the office before boarding. Much nicer ferry this time as although it was very cold we at least had a view! We only had to travel 2 stops on the water ferry this time before landing at Nove with the remains of ice and snow all around. We found the hotel (Alloggi Santa Sofia) easy enough as we’d previously done a recce and found that it was conveniently near to McDonalds (set down a quiet side street). We lugged our cases up a steep set of internal stairs and made friends with the receptionist. Our room was great and surprise, surprise, we had the same chintzy furnishings that was in our previous hotel. The room was simply decorated complete with en-suite shower and toilet. On the way out we were asked if we wanted their breakfast at a cost of 5 euros each which we said yes to and agreed to pay when we checked out. We had a stroll out to The Ponte dei Tre Archi, on the Rio Cannaregio, which is the only remaining bridge in Venice that has a structure with three arches it’s worth noting that the bridge is quite low so in the event of high water the boats can’t go under it. We walked back to Nove stop to see if we could visit a couple of the other islands such as Isola di San Michele (Cemetery Island) but it would have cost us 20 euros each and take a very long time due to the route the ferries take! Wow – how expensive! The island was so close….it would have cost about 10p in Bangkok! We walked around a bit more before stopping for another coffee and cake in a local café, refreshingly expensive as always We spotted a steak house on the way back called the Old Wild West which looked reasonable and had a further 2 x coffees, chatted with the bar staff and made reservations for evening as they said it would be popular on a Saturday evening. So that’s the meal this evening sorted out. We wandered back to room to crash out for a while and I watched an Old Italian film called the 6th floor or something like that. We walked out to the restaurant and the place was packed to the rafters with diners and drinkers and lots of people being turned away so I’m really glad we stopped by earlier to book up. We both had steak and chips, Alison had a Sprite and I had a lovely St.Benoit beer, food was really good and service was ok except they were woefully understaffed so a bit slow. I didn’t make a note of the cost but it was fairly reasonable (for Venice!) More photos here from someone's blog - angsarap/2015/12/24/o...-venice-italy/ From here it was just a short walk back to the hotel - our body clocks were all over the place, we couldn't decide whether we were tired or not so decided to lay down and watch TV as it was about 10pm. As you can imagine, we were out like a light as soon as our heads hit the pillows! __________________ http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sign...igpic534_1.gif 1988 ~ Contemporary ~ Honeymoon 1989 ~ Off site 1994 ~ EuroDisney ~ Santa Fe 1999 ~ Off site 2001 ~ CBR (Aruba) ~ Poly (Tahiti) 2003 ~ WL & HRH 2004 ~ Pop Century, RPH, CSR, PBH, Contemporary 2006 ~ DLP ~ Newport Bay 2007 ~ POR ~ HRH ~ GF 2008 ~ All star sports, BCV, RPH, Vero Beach, VWL 2010 ~ OKW ~ BCV ~ HRH ~POP Century ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL 2013 ~ AKL ~ HRH ~ BCV ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL