Daphne's Drivel

Sunday Sep 29th Although we'd visited Venice before nine years ago, we were so close here in Lido that we felt we just had to take that short trip across on the water bus to experience Piazza San Marco once more. And it was worth it. Yes it was busy, but it didn't feel oppressive. We lost ourselves in the maze of narrow streets in between the canals, like you're supposed to! Found a great hidden-away restaurant for lunch. Palazzo Ducale Getting lost in the maze of streets and canals is great fun Riding the water bus through the Grand Canal Basicilica di San Marco. I'll never tire of seeing this piece of architecture - so many intricate details to take in Monday Sept 30th This was the day we would leave Venice and head to the mainland and to the conclusion of this cycle tour. We had plenty of time while in Lido to figure out the appropriate ferry that would take us and our bikes over to Tronchetto where we could then carry on riding across the causeway which I'd det...

  That long skinny island you can see to the north of Chioggia is called Pellestrina and after our first short car-ferry ride from Chioggia yesterday, we got to ride the length of it. That was like going back in time as we rode along the water-side promenade past simple colourful houses, owned by fishermen whose boats were moored right in front of their homes. We saw only locals, many of them older men, sitting having their morning glass of white wine with their buddies.  Our riding slowed to a crawl as it was the kind of place you just didn't feel any need to hurry. Around 11 am we stopped for a coffee in a bar along the dock - it was a place where everbody knew everbody. Outside a fish truck was attracting a small gathering of locals. The next short ferry ride took us across to Lido, a much more modern place with quite a different vibe, but still quite laid-back. Riding along the edge of the Venice Lagoon in Pellestrina As we approached the north end of Lido to where our cam...

 Chioggia Sep 26th The pronunciation of this town's name took a while to get right, but after hearing it several times by the locals, now I've got it - Chioggia is pronounced like Key- oh - ja. A borrowed photo of Chioggia. The top of the photo is south and we approached from that direction when we rode in and crossed the bridge to the left of centre This is where we are This really cool fishing town sits at the southern tip of the Venice Lagoon, seemingly almost suspended between the lagoon and the Adriatic sea, with its network of canals and bridges giving it the nickname of Little Venice. When we arrived here on Tuesday late afternoon after a 75 km rural ride, it was like entering a fairyland or stepping into a film set for some historical drama! It's hard to describe, and it happened quite suddenly. Anyway, it's such a great place with a laid-back vibe that we booked our little apartment for three nights to really have time to enjoy it. Corso del Popolo, the main th...