Leaving Taree was a little tense as our travelling companions from Diamond Beach arrived just as the train was about to depart. Someone had left her glasses at home and had to go back and get them. Thank goodness a dear friend arrived to see us off with a bottle of champers to calm the nerves!
The train trip was pleasant, if not slow, but the bubbly helped considerably. A taxi to the airport was cheaper than each of us paying the exhorbitant train fare from Central to the International Terminal. There were a few concerns as to whether the taxi we chose would get us to the airport before it collapsed in a heap, but we arrived with plenty of time to spare. We checked in - no problems with excess baggage - yet!
After wandering through Duty Free and seeing how much a rip-off some of the prices are, we boarded for the 14 hour flight to Dubai. Sitting at the tail end of an A380 Airbus through several hours of turbulence is somewhat akin to a roller coaster ride, but with much more sideways movement. I am pleased to report, however, that no drinks were spilled and no food touched the cabin floor, despite the bumps and grinds and the almost absent cabin service.
Dubai International Airport is like the world in miniature - so many different nationalities, accents and dress styles. Even at 5:30am local time, the airport was teeming with travellers. Dubai Terminal makes Sydney Terminal look a bit like Newcastle (Aust) International Terminal!
The smaller Boeing 777 provide a much smoother ride for the 6 hour on-flight to Venice. One of the cabin crew - Rodrigo - a Sydney lad from the Western Suburbs noted our Aussie accents and plied us with many extras, so, needless to say, this leg of our trip was much more enjoyable!
After almost 24 hours of travelling, we finally arrived in Venice. That’s where we met James Bond’s launch driver whose task was to deliver us from the airport to our lodgings in downtown Venice. The water taxi ride was far more invigorating than either plane journey, but, unfortunately, came to the attention of the local water police who stopped us and booked the driver for speeding! He copped a 100 euro on the spot fine. Sometime later, and at considerably reduced speed, we arrived at the wharf near our hotel and manhandled our luggage through the narrow cobbled streets and up three flights of stairs to our room (Jill counted 50 stairs!).
After a hot shower and a quick unpack of essentials, we hit the streets so that we could find our way to meet and greet the final two members of our 8 strong travelling party who were coming in from Milan by train. After several SMS exchanges, we discovered that their train would be several hours late because it had developed brake problems while crossing the Italian Alps! To fill in time, we all decided that pizza, pasta and chianti were the order of the day and we enjoyed an hour’s refreshment in a small square off the Grand Canal - I know it’s tough, but someone’s gotta do it.
Finally, our latecomers arrived and we helped them enjoy their much needed refreshments before we wandered off, half asleep, to our room, up the 50 stairs and settled for our first night in Venice. We awoke this morning - Sunday local time - to the sound of church bells and the complete absence of road noise. Now for breakfast!
Happy Mother’s Day to all you mums and mother hens!
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