Ok...so I lied about the trains...
After an uneventful flight (except for my fashion crimes - which thankfully seem to have been left unpunished) I arrived in Venice.
It's been about 15 years or more since I was last here and I had forgotten just how beautiful it is. Stunning and unique.
I went to get my water taxi ticket at the airport stands - as my hotel had advised - and found instead that there were NO water taxis today or tomorrow. I enquired as to why and was told it was due to the Biennale and only pre-booked water taxis were available. Exactly the OPPOSITE to the information given to my PA by the hotel...
Curiously although the Venetians have worked out that the Biennale creates extra tourism and traffic, instead of responding with more water taxis and services, they shut them down instead. Smart.
I did some shouting in English, the woman just looked at me with a "f@ck you pal" expression and I wandered off muttering Italian swear words under my breath - which made me feel only moderately better...
Her last advice was to walk to the jetty and see if there was a water taxi going to my hotel that had been pre-booked by someone else and see if there was a space.
So I walked the 10 minutes to the jetty with my bags and asked at all the water taxi stations. The response was a clear cut "impossible". Great.
I am now on public transport - an experience I haven't had for some time - on my way to Piazza San Marco. I will then try and figure out where the hell my hotel is.
Once I get there and have checked in I will do some shouting at reception about the quality of their travel information and advice - and then I shall have a drink and start people watching - a massively popular sport in Italy....
But as I draw closer to Venice proper across the water I am beginning to relax already, such is her majesty and splendour...
Now if I can just get the two gay Germans next to me stop talking for five minutes, I will be truly happy...
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