3 days in Venice: BD A319 LHR-VCE-LHR

[9V-SIA]

Dinner at Dorsoduro

We ended up exploring briefly Dorsoduro because an Italian friend in Singapore recommended a place where only Venetians go to. Intrigued we walked there to try it.

When we asked the waiter whether we were the only tourists to eat there, he shrugged his shoulders and said. " Venice is like Disneyland".
Anyhow, it looked authentic because the menu was only in Italian and he had to translate the menu to us.

The canal along which the restaurant is found.



The Courtyard of the Restaurant



Our Starters

Prawn Salad



Tuna Carpaccio



Main Course

Seafood Pasta



Liver with Polenta



We had gelato for dessert at Paolin's on our walk back.

But we took the long way back, walking along the broadwalk by the Canale della Giudecca.
Like the Riva on San Marco but narrower. Fewer people/shops/restaurants. You can eat on pontoons over the sea though.

[9V-SIA]

Lunch at Harry's Bar

This nondescript building next to Monaco Hotel, right in front of the water bus stop, ended up being our most expensive meal in Venice!
Pleasant but don't see why it's such a highly ranked as a bar.

We were ushered in through the bar to the restaurant upstairs.

One interesting feature was that the staircase to the restaurant were only wide enough for guests.
After showing us to the stairs, the waiter rushed upstairs by the service staircase to meet us.





Upstairs restaurant



I like squid ink pasta but not done the original style ( tomato based ).
Prefer Singapore style ( cream based )



Liver and onions with polenta. Another favourite!

[9V-SIA]

Goodbye Venice

You can imagine the sadness when the 3 days passed by quickly and it was time to leave Venice. We did get to leave the hotel by water taxi.
What's more, we took the scenic route to the airport. Traffic was bad, but for once, we didn't mind.
We sat back and enjoyed the scenery ( or in my case, furiously snapped my last pictures of Venice )








Traffic jam, Venetian Style








Finally we reached Canale delle Fondamenta Nuove on the northern shore of Cannaregio.




And then the open sea. I could see planes landing at regular intervals. This one, an Alitalia MD90.
Why is it Italians can build great cars ( Ferrari, Lambos ), make great suits ( Armani ), style in abundance, but can't run an airline?




The Airport Jetty. Building is the covered car park, hiding the terminal from view

[9V-SIA]

VCE

Orientation

Venice's Marco Polo airport was opened in 2002.
It is already nearing it's maximum passenger handling capacity.
When I passed through it, most of the aircraft I saw were single aisled ( legacy and LCC ) except for EK.
The path to the jetty follows the car ramp on right.
The balcony at the top right is accessed from the business class lounge I used.



Check in

I thought check in would be a problem but the long queues were due to the SAS check in overflowing onto the BMI side.
Once checked in and bags tagged, we proceeded to security. There is a fast track lane for elites.

Business Class Lounge

Once past security, there are a lot of shops. Look for La Perla...



..from there, the escalator to the upper level can be seen




View from top of the escalalor.
Shops downstairs. Food Court and Lounges upstairs




Lounge

If you look at the first picture, the lounge is located at the top right hand corner of the terminal building.
It is L-shaped.

Looking towards entrance to lounge. Runway to right..



Rest of the Lounge. Runway behind me. Balcony on left. No smoking though!




Runway Views

Nice lounge for a/c spotting



Only twin aisled a/c I saw in VCE...



My ride home

[9V-SIA]

And finally VCE-LHR

We took off on time. The plane was not as full on our return flight.
I wised up and had my "free lunch" in the lounge. Mini pizzas IIRC.
Anyway I was looking forward to my roast duck rice when I got back to London

We took off in a northerly direction, banked right and I could see Venice then the airport.
I hoped we flew south of Venice but that was not to be.
We flew directly overhead..

It was a smooth flight. One thing I did notice were vapour trails from 2 a/c flying in front of us for most of the way.
At one point, when we banked, I saw one of the a/c in front at the edge of my window. Does this happen often?






No IFE/map to track our progress across Europe but you know you are approaching England when you look out the window...
Clouds = England
No clouds = France...




Then saw London in 5 mins, saving myself time and money

Canary Wharf




Tower of London




London Eye / Parliament




Buckingham Palace




Hyde Park and Regents Park in the distance ( Roses were lovely there as usual )




Conclusions

We thoroughly enjoyed our short trip to Venice.
It is a fascinating city with a history sharing many similarities to Singapore:

• former City State
• survived on trade, shipping and finance
• symbol is winged lion vs mer-lion!

Decline came when it was no longer a strategic geographic location:

• when Constantinople fell and
• Western nations ( Portugese, Spanish followed by the Dutch and English ) found an alternate way to the riches of the East round the tip of South Africa.

And no... it wasn't smelly! St Mark's Square didn't flood. And I shall return...

Thanks for Viewing!

THE END

[phaleesy]

Hi 9V-SIA, are these eating places recommendations from friends and hotel or just random walk-ins?

Where were these Vivaldi musicians playing? I didn't see any during the two occasions I was there!

Agree that the period after lunch to 5pm is siesta time. Too hot and too crowded. I think this applies almost everywhere!

You're absolutely right! It stops from now!

I was conditioned to bring a Swiss Army knife in my hand-carry because there was a time when they taped my checked-in bags so well, that I could not open it without a sharp knife. Now that the knife is in my checked-in bag there's no point.

Nice to have when skinning apples in the hotel room though...

I think it is a useful item to carry around. I use mine all the time - nail clipper, filing nails, cutting price tags off my shopping, cutting through labels and boxes, using the blade to unscrew or tighten various gadgets I use on my camera and tripod, haircut, etc.

[9V-SIA]

... are these eating places recommendations from friends and hotel or just random walk-ins?

All of the above. Food not Venice's attraction.
Having said that, check out Anthony Bourdain visit to Venice.

Where were these Vivaldi musicians playing? I didn't see any during the two occasions I was there!

Checked Google map. Vivaldi was playing at Interpreti Veneziani on right hand side, a stone throw from Ponte Dell'Accademia.

I think it is a useful item to carry around. I use mine all the time...

I started carrying pen knife again for the reasons you gave. I always have checked bags.

[phaleesy]

Thanks, 9V-SIA. Searched for this thread thinking I might do the Carnival next year, and perhaps a short visit sometime this year.

All of the above. Food not Venice's attraction.
Having said that, check out Anthony Bourdain visit to Venice.

One of the places that the hotel recommended was actually really good but unfortunately expensive.

Would find Anthony Bourdain's visit to Venice on dvd when I get a chance. I like him. He's very bad and rude but also terribly funny.

[9V-SIA]

Thanks, 9V-SIA. Searched for this thread thinking I might do the Carnival next year, and perhaps a short visit sometime this year.

Unfortunately, BD stop flying LHR-VCE

One of the places that the hotel recommended was actually really good but unfortunately expensive.

Restaurant in Post #31 is Antica Locanda Montin. Recommended by an Italian friend in Singapore..

So off the tourist trail that only locals eat there.

True. Locals .... plus Bill Clinton, Brad Pitt & Anthony Bourdain!!!

Would find Anthony Bourdain's visit to Venice on dvd when I get a chance. I like him. He's very bad and rude but also terribly funny.

Venice is but one episode of the series. Can't remember if it was No Reservations or not he's done so many.

Good to watch but don't know whether good to eat. This is where he worked as a chef in NYC before superstardom

We tried it. Nothing spectacular but good value

[Kyo]

It's on No Reservations, managed to watch it not too long ago, but nothing that fascinating and he had to go quite far out / have familial connections / good fixer or something to really get into Venice.

Most of which will be out of reach for the general public.

[phaleesy]

Unfortunately, BD stop flying LHR-VCE

I'd go with BA if I was going to VCE. Even when BD was flying to VCE, the flight times were not as attractive as BA's.