Our Italian Holiday 2016 - Part 2

Day 3 - Monday 19th September

The first day of the holiday proper and today we board the coach for the short 4km trip down to the Lake Garda shore for our first stop, on the northern lake tour, the small town of Riva Del Garda.
Riva Del Garda is a quaint town, where apparently there always seems to be something going on. When we were there a vintage car rally was going on, as car after car pulled in to the main piazza. We only had a brief look around, as we had a boat trip booked to take us from Riva Del Garda down to our next stop of Limone.



Limone is a beautiful lake side town renowned for its production of lemons, hence the town's name - although the Wikipedia page doubts that fact. Limone is small, but is one of the busiest tourist attractions on the lake, so the small streets are bustling with visitors.

We took the opportunity to avail ourselves of one of the many lakeside restaurants and ordered some lunch. It is so nice to relax, in the sunshine, with views of the lakes and mountains beyond, enjoying time together - just perfect.

Looking towards Castello Scaligero

Soon we had to board a boat again, to take us to the third town in our northern Lake Garda tour; Malcesine. Again another beautiful Lake Garda town, there are many buildings of interest to see, especially if you like Italianate architecture, there is the Castello Scaligero to the north of the town, but we spent time in the centre and sat in a park near to the Comune di Malcesine, or town hall. From here we walked down to the harbour to watch the various tourist boats come in and out, whilst eating the obligatory gelato, (ice cream).

It is such a lovely area around Limone and Malcensie, the massive mountains thrust skywards with majestic grandeur, protecting the lake nestling in the valley below. The scenery is truly stunning and photographs will never do it full justice.


Day 4 - Tuesday 20th September

Tuesday is going to be one of the longest touring days, as we have to travel for 3 hours or so to get to Venice - one of the weeks highlights for sure. An early start means an early breakfast and the hotel chimed with the removal of Steradent soaked dentures from their respective glasses and slipped into the requisite mouths, so that they can chew on the various delights at the breakfast buffet! Just to say that breakfast was a small affair, with sliced meats, cheese, cereals and yogurts. No bacon, toast or sausages to be found. There were hard boiled eggs though. It was plain and simple, but along with the squeezed (from a carton) orange juice, it set you up for the day. Plus new queues for the toaster!
The three hour drive to Venice, meant for most people, another opportunity to sleep, so it was a quiet drive in. The first views of Venice are not the picture postcards views, it is more industrial than that and there is a busy and bustling port, with a coach park to herd the thousands of tourist into the city.

Obviously, the only way into Venice is on the water, so we boarded a boat to take us away from the modern industrial area into the watery historical centre of Venice proper. It is a great chance to take photographs as the Venice skyline changes from the modern to the ancient. We dock close to the entrance to St Marks square. Our first port of call is to go from the large ferry boat, to a water taxi, to take us on a whistle stop tour of the Venetian canals and bridges.

It is an ideal way to take in the sights and is a lot cheaper than a gondola! Clearly not as romantic though. Looking at the Venetian architecture, it is stunning, but delicate in places. Areas can be a little jaded, despite the fact that Venice is clearly a rich town and attracts many thousands of tourists per day, willing to part with their cash.

Again, being relatively small, with tiny streets (yes there are some non-watery streets in Venice) and canals and bridges, alongside the multitude of tourists, Venice can be very busy and intimidating. With the winding streets and very narrow passages, there is something to see around every corner, mainly another throng of selfie-stick waving tourists! It is also extremely easy to get lost, as the narrow streets preclude you from seeing tall landmarks to get your bearings from. We took time out in St Marks square to marvel at the sight of the Basilica, not just it's beauty but the massive queue of people snaking around trying to get inside.
We sat at the foot of the Campanile and ate our packed lunch (supplied by the hotel, uninspiring, but free), and watched the thousands of tourists taking selfies. I should note that one thing surprised me about Venice, they frown about people like us eating lunch in St Marks square, but seem to allow street vendors to flog tacky tourist goods from various stalls dotted around. And that is not to mention the "Looky, looky" men on every bridge and corner trying to sell handbags, splodge balls and selfie sticks! A splodge ball for those who are wondering, is a ball that when you throw it on the floor flattens and 'splodges' itself, but then regains it's ball-like shape. If you imagine every 10 yards there's a man throwing one of these at your feet, you can see how annoying that can be! And who the hell wants to buy one in Venice anyway? Selfie-stick maybe, but a rubber shape changing ball? Sorry, I don't get it.

Anyway, back to Venice - a beautiful, romantic and fascinating town - unique in many ways,

but a place of opposites as well. Definitely pleased that we went to see first hand it's uniqueness, but perhaps not a place you would return to, unless the number of tourists dropped dramatically, which will never happen. Now, where we were? Yes, Venice and more gelato, eaten from tubs with little plastic spoons, as we sidled along the back streets of Venice, looking for the Rialto bridge. Now the Ponte di Rialto was easy to find, as it spans the Grand Canal and is covered in scaffolding! Still, another landmark ticked off. We managed to get a few photos without too much trouble, but again, as with all the main points of interest it was packed!

After this we headed back to St Marks square and the water front, where we were to catch our boat back to the coach. Now the instruction was; be back at the water front no later than 3:20pm, as the boat will leave at 3:30pm - there is nothing they can do if you are late, it is a commercial boat, with other trips to do, don't be late or the boat will go without you!
Oh dear.
We weren't late, in fact we were early, but it was less populated on the water front and we could cross the several bridges between St Marks square entrance and the boat pick up point, so more sight seeing was done.
However, the boat pulled in and our drivers counted us on. Four missing and the clock ticking.........
We waited. And we waited. 3:30pm came and went. Phone calls were made. The boat captain wanted to go, the boat co-coordinator on the dockside was sympathetic and but wanted the boat to go too. So, the boat went, four passengers light.

Everyone on board was concerned, as the ramifications for those four weary (and old, it's always the old ones!) were huge. They would have to get a water taxi back to Tronchetto where the coach park is, to catch us up. This did not happen, we waited in the coach for the hour wait to be up, (official procedures state that the coach drivers must wait an hour after the allotted meeting time before leaving passengers behind).
The hour came and went, no contact had been made to the coach firm or the drivers - so the coach left and drove the three hours back to Arco, a journey our missing passengers would have to make on the train, bus or taxi.
I would not like to be in that position!

This story does have a happy ending, the four missing passengers are now selling selfie-sticks and splodge balls in Venice! Not really, they eventually turned up at the hotel 5 hours later at just after half past nine, having had to get a train from Venice to Verona, then a bus to Riva Del Garda and a lift in a private car back to the hotel, arriving to a large cheer by their fellow passengers who were sat outside the hotel enjoying the evening air, with their all inclusive drinks! A lesson for us all there, get a holiday with all inclusive drinks!
No! Make sure you know the departures times and where to be.


Travellers Tips, For Your Coach Trips

If you go on a coach trip you need to know that pick up times and departure locations are set and if you are not there, you will be left behind. Common sense states you should use your mobile phone to contact the coach firm, they have emergency numbers for that purpose, also if you are waiting where you think the pick is and you are alone- you're in the wrong place! Our missing four, or the Menace in Venice as they were dubbed, all had phones but never thought to ring. Also they said they thought they were waiting in the right place but never saw anyone, clearly the wrong place then! They looked like intelligent people, they managed to get themselves dressed, but failed to navigate the water front in Venice! Yes, it is easy to get lost, but with a party of four, you have the luxury of sending two exploring other options, rather than just waiting. So if you find yourself in a similar situation, take photographs of your departure locations to refer to later - obviously not with a film camera - the cost and time wasted getting them developed would not help! Ensure you understand the instructions, if you're not sure; ask. It's better to be thought of as someone who asks questions, rather than someone who is lost. Failing all that, if you have no confidence in navigating a foreign city, ask to hook up with someone who is. Coach trips are a collective, your fellow passengers are your friends, seriously, if they didn't want to mix with other people, they wouldn't have booked a holiday with 30 other lunatics!


Click for Part 3