Deep water (Riomaggiore to Venice)

Riomaggiore

The time came for us to leave the Italian Riviera and we were both OK with that. The party that never ends, to borrow a phrase from Richard Clapton's lead into the live version of Deep Water, continued last night until 3am. My fervent hope is that those inconsiderate revellers had accommodation very close to the early morning garbage trucks or, at the very least, the clunking of our bags on the cobble stoned paths woke them as we left for our train at 6:45am.

Monterosso

There is no doubt that Cinque Terre has a natural beauty and a slightly fraying charm about it. The buildings are looking, like Jayne and I at the moment, a little tired and could all do with a fresh coat of paint. After visiting four of the five villages it appeared that there was a sameness about each of them in terms of what they had to offer. While that was OK, there was nothing to really keep us there for more than the three days I had allocated.

Vernazza

No doubt I would have a different perspective if I were living over here. It is a place where you can go and sit and relax and do nothing, but not somewhere you can get sleep. The nights were very hot and if the air was still, it became more problematic because you really needed the windows open and then of course there were those dicks who sat and drank at the harbour all night and didn’t mind everyone knowing they were having a good time. I watched a few of them staggering up the hill after 2:30 this morning, shouting their goodbyes to those who continued partying, oblivious to those trying to sleep in the buildings that towered above them.

We managed to get a booking at the restaurant recommended by our hosts on our last night. It was a fitting way to end our time here and the food was excellent. We shared a plate of octopus, followed by seafood ravioli and then a mixed grill, also seafood. Well dear reader, it was a seafood restaurant.

The trip to Venice requires a couple of train changes. Our initial train was 7 minutes late arriving at Riomaggiore and 5 minutes late getting to Sestri Levante. That gave us 10 minutes to catch the connecting train to Milan. As it turned out, we needn’t have panicked - the Milan train arrived on the same platform as we did from Riomaggiore and it was also running 5 minutes late. We changed from a regional to an intercity train and from 2^nd class to 1^st for the almost 3 hour journey to Milan.

We were slightly late arriving in Milan (14 minutes) but I had allowed 45 minutes between trains so there were no concerns. We are in Business Class for the last leg of the journey to Venice. The Frecciarossa would have us there about 2:30pm. It's a long day of travel, but it is easier and far less stressful than driving. So far, all my plans have gone like clockwork. This is the fourth country in which I have enjoyed high speed train travel and I can't believe the politicians are still procrastinating about it in Australia. After all, we have the wide open spaces and vast distances. It just makes sense, so that's why you'll probably never see it - at least in my lifetime.

As mentioned, the final train was about 15 minutes late getting into Venice. We exited the station and turned left as instructed and went to the water taxi rank. Where we waited for about 10 minutes for our pre-booked taxi to arrive. It's a very busy area and Jayne learned today just how lightly we actually travel. Two Indian families turned up with a porter from the railway and a trolley to hold their bags. The first family consisted of husband and wife and they had 4 large bags between them. I glanced down at our one medium sized bag and my carry on. The next couple also had a pre-teen child and they had 6 bags! Amazing.

Into our taxi and out onto the Grande Canal. The water taxi was recommended by our hosts and while there are significantly cheaper options, it is a great way to meet the fabled Venice. The trip to our accommodation in San Marco occupied about 20 minutes and we saw all manner of interesting things that hopefully we will re-discover as we walk around and get lost in this unique city.

From the dining room window

Anna met us at the pier and walked us through to our accommodation. Another top floor unit - I just can't help myself, but we have a terrace which will provide an uninterrupted view of the fireworks on Saturday night. Don't be afraid to get lost, we were warned. It happened on our first outing, but that's OK; it just means we discovered some really interesting shops. Masks and glassware abound.

Gondolas, gondolas and ...

We found the supermarket and a wine shop. The wine shop sells wine on tap as well as the bottled stuff. You just turn up with your empty bottles: glass or plastic, it didn't appear to matter, and then you choose your wine and get a refill (I hope to get pictures). Can you imagine that in Australia? The nanny police would want to close it because it wasn't hygienic enough, or the discounted prices encourage drinking, or just because it is a bloody good idea. We didn't have any empties, having just arrived, so we purchased the more standard fare.

Venice from our terrace

Dinner was at Da Jonny, recommended by Anna. Excellent. The food was superb, so much so that we have booked for later in the week as well. Once again we shared a couple of smaller plates, scallops and ravioli before having separate mains. Jayne had fish and I had duck breast - they must have been huge birds, I could barely eat it.

Then it was back home for a glass of red on the terrace in the breeze. I think we are going to struggle adjusting to Australia's temperatures when we return. I paved the way to the terrace, or altana, as I believe it is called in Venice. The sun was setting, the seagulls were wheeling in to settle for the night. Jayne turns up and says, "I just looked out the window at the road and thought, gee, the road is wet. It must have been raining". OK, a canal can't get much wetter and it is a road (of sorts) for boats. You've gotta love her. We laughed about that until the mosquitoes tried to carry us away.

Good night dear reader.