Stupido!

The 'best' view of my day

Venice. The city of the canals. The carnaval masks and the gondolas. Glass, expensive drinks on Piazza San Marco and Rialto Bridge. And what did I see? Right, the parking lot on the mainland, the hypermarket and more parking lot. Because I didn't quite understand what was going on and the situation had changed at the parking lot.

When I was last in Venice two years ago, you paid through the nose to cross a bridge and then you parked. Now, you still had to pay through the nose, but it was only a set-down/pick-up area. Which meant I couldn't leave my coach there. So, off I went in search of a place to park. I followed an Italian coach who knew his way around (and whose driver afterwards 'complimented' me on my driving, because after all: I am a woman...) and found a nice spot. Near a hypermarket with a restaurant and nothing else really.

It wasn't until I returned to pick up my passengers that I spoke to another Dutch driver: if I had dropped them off, driven about 100 meters/yards, I would have been able to park and go along to Venice!

As it was, I spent my afternoon getting hotter and hotter, while the temperature went up and up and up. The temperature inside the coach also got hotter, I think he wanted to move into the sauna business: it was 51 degrees Celsius when I needed to go get them! It took me an hour to get it down to 29. Mind you, the outside temperature was in the high 30's! If I was that hot, I would be staying at home, feeling very miserable.

The hotel we're staying in is a farm-hotel. It used to be a farm, but they've done the place up to become a very nice hotel. Even the sockets have the name of the hotel on them! The food was all home-made and lovely, even if the spinach came well after the main course. The main problem with this lovely hotel is the A13 motorway which is situated right outside! But having the windows closed means stifling temperatures in the room, despite the airconditioning.

Next time I go to Italy I want normal temperatures!

PS: I will stop going on about the heat, it will stay hot for the rest of our stay anyway, so think of me while I'm slowly dissolving behind the steering wheel or while walking around in Rome!