Day 1 of the adventure started at around 2:00 p.m. at the airport. It actually started a bit before that – getting to the airport and all, but let’s go with 2:00 p.m. We checked in and checked our bags and we were off to the gate. Well, who knew on a Friday at Logan Airport the security lines would be short and easy. So, we made it through security and found ourselves wondering what to do. We decided to get ourselves some food and sit and chat and people watch. After a while, we got up to take a walk, and we came across the first “event” of the trip. The airport had the letters B O S O N with the T missing – so of course, Cindy and Dawn made the T to complete the word. As I said in the title, let the shenanigans begin.
We finally got to board our flight and start the trip to Madrid – the first, and only, stop on our way to Venice. This was to be a 7-hour flight, and it was. I am going to suggest two things to avoid while traveling – two things that happened during that flight:
- Do not get a migraine as even though they dim the lights, it still is not dark enough.
- Do not get your carry-on soaked with some kind of liquid while it is in the overhead compartment.
We survived both, so not too much of an issue. We met a very nice person on the plane and she gave us a suggestion of a restaurant to go to while in Venice. We are planning on trying it out when we return to Venice after the cruise. The view from the plane as we approached Madrid was beautiful. It was beautiful for two reasons, the first is just because it was beautiful, and the second was because it meant that we were that much closer to our final destination. The picture does not do it justice!
We got to Madrid and I think that we hit every corner of that airport. We had a general idea of where we were going and just trusted the process. We had a 21/2 hour layover and we thought great, this will give us plenty of time to get some food and move around before we have to get on the next plane. Well, since we had to go through a checkpoint and have our passports stamped, our expected time to get food and move around was not as long as we thought. We were not running to the next gate, but I was a little concerned that we were going to have to rush. Dawn says she was not worried at all…she is better than I am with that.
We finally boarded our last flight of the day – at this point we had been up for quite some time (we awoke at 7:00 a.m. ET on Friday, June 3, 2022, and it was now 8:45 a.m. local time (2:45 a.m. ET June 4, 2022, with little sleep had on the Boston – Madrid flight. Wheels up and we were off for the final leg. We landed in Venice early and immediately headed to baggage claim. Now was the moment of truth, did our bags make it? Will we need to shop while in Venice? Well, losing luggage would have impacted Cindy more than Dawn and I, but it still would have had an impact on our trip. I am happy to report that all luggage was accounted for so then it was off to the hotel. Our driver met us at the airport and in what felt like no time at all, we were at the hotel.
We were TIRED, but we held true to our mission and we stayed up to adjust to the local time zone. We opted to shower before heading out to the Venice proper. We also decided to do our Covid tests that are required for the cruise. We are happy to report that we are all negative and we can get on the cruise tomorrow.
After all of that, we headed to the train station – just behind the hotel – and took the 20-minute train ride to Venizia. It was during this train ride, we had the first Dawnism – it was not a full Dawnism, but it was close enough. Dawn was playing Pokemon on the train and then informed us that she discovered multiple Pokemon in her room and proudly stated that she did not turn them away. In fact, she noted that she allowed them to stay despite not offering to cover any part of the cost of the room. The train station was big, and the train reminded us of the Commuter Rail back home. When we arrived we decided that we needed to eat as we had not eaten since the Boston – Madrid leg of the trip. I called up Google Maps and found a cute little restaurant not far from the station. While we were waiting for our food (tortellini for Dawn, lasagna for Cindy, and pizza for me) Dawn looks to her left and starts to say oh there are people over at that table. Here is the thing, Dawn was looking at a mirror on the other wall and it was not a table of other people, it was us in the mirror. I will give Dawn a pass on that one as we were tired and hungry. The food was amazing and they had some interesting decor…we rather enjoyed this.
After eating, we decided to just walk around. Well, we soon discovered that Venizia is made up of many little alleys and we soon discovered that while we enjoyed seeing all the different parts of the city, we were not quite sure where we were and how to get back to the train station. So, we decided to ask Google Maps for help…big mistake. It took us around in circles. We finally decided to ask for help and Cindy asked a store owner how to get back to the train station. Best directions EVER! The person came out of the store and said, you need to cross this bridge – he tapped his hand on the railing – and then you need to follow this road along the water all the way until you see a flat iron bridge (and it was in fact a flat iron bridge). He then said we needed to turn right after crossing the bridge as going to the left would end in a dead end. He then told us we would then see a larger bridge and once we crossed it we would be at the train station and damn if he was not spot on. We were back to the train station in no time at all. Thank you sir for your amazing directions.
The following is the train station. I tried to upload more photos, but they were not cooperating and I am far too tired to try and figure out why tonight.
As always, thanks for reading. It is 9:40 p.m. local time and I am calling it quits. Tomorrow we have yet another adventure prior to getting on the ship. We have about a 3-hour bus ride to get to the ship – we will be leaving our hotel at 11:45 a.m. We cannot wait to get on the ship so that we can unpack and be settled for a few days – 7 to be exact. Be sure to check back if you want to hear more about the trip!