2015 ITALY 48 - Home is Where the Heart Is

We had a recommendation from Kalamazoo friends T&L and California friends J&S on how best to get from the hotel on the islands to the mainland airport. Options were the land taxi (30-40 euros) or the water taxi (110+ euros). We also discussed this with the house manager Sunil. They all advised the water taxi (even with its high price) was the way to go. It is much quicker and picked us up only a half block away.

We had seen taxies on the canal. These were in the form of speedboats, either white fiberglass with no character or sleek polished wood. Riding the wood style was on Mike's bucket list and seemed the height of luxury. Sunil booked the boat. He did not know which type we would get. Fingers crossed--wood, wood, wood.

Sunil thankfully helped us get the heavy luggage down the 73 stone steps and we said our good-byes. We walked the half block to the canal's edge and waited with anticipation to see what our ride would be. Several boats, mostly fiberglass, stopped to pick of various passengers. We held our breath each time hoping we would get a lovely wooden one.

Finally it was our turn and, YAY, we got the slick wooden version of a taxi ... and we were the only passengers. It was gorgeous inside and out. Mike was in heaven. We loaded our luggage and ourselves. We sat in the open air back seat, while our "chauffeur" sat in the front. It was a spectacular ride. We were at the end of our money, but we felt like a rich and famous couple. What fun!

We meandered through the Grand Canal for a last look at the lovely palazzos along the way.

When we hit the open waters of the Venice Lagoon, we had about a 20 minute race across to Marco Polo Airport on the mainland. It was a bit misty, but you absolutely could not wipe the smile off Mike's face. He was having the thrill of his life, with the wind in his face and a rooster tail behind us.

As we approached the airport you could see the planes taking off and landing, reminding us of our old jobs before we retired. Glad to be traveling as full fare passengers with no fear of being bumped off the flight.

The taxi stand was packed, boats streaming in and out with passenger drop offs and pick ups. There was quite a walk between here and the terminal, but it was covered so we did not get wet from the mist. Lots of people to follow to get to the right place without getting lost.

There was confusion on our part once we got in the terminal, as signage was not the best. We were in the wrong line at first, but asked questions and got pointed in the right direction. Check-in and boarding was smooth after that.

As we waited on the plane for take-off, we looked at the open air roof of the terminal. To our surprise people were crowded along the building top to watch the airplanes come and go. How strange in this age of super security. There was also a full-size KLM aircraft (727, we think) displayed behind them on the roof. Hmmm!

Here was our flight schedule: 

        Venice 11:40 to Amsterdam 13:40

        Amsterdam 15:00 to Detroit 17:58

We flew above the snowy Alps and through the clouds on our way home. Our connection in Amsterdam was a breeze and everything was on time. We took a cab from the Detroit airport to our traveling partners' home (Lynn & Sandy, who we had parted ways with in Florence). There we had a glass of wine to wind down, reviewed our fun times, and then headed down the road to Kalamazoo in our car.

Back in Kalamazoo, we took a van from the airport to home. How mundane!!! Bella was so happy to see us, meowing and circling between our legs. The feeling was mutual. She quickly found a spot on Mike's shoulder and they took a nap in front of the fireplace. Aah, home, sweet home!