So today we said good bye to Venice with a morning walk, then found our own way to Chioggia, about 40 km away. A special bus was the recommended way, and although it took a little while to figure out which bus line (hint it's not the public service), where to buy tickets, and how and where to find the bus. The ride took about 1 hr and 15 minutes and cost about 7 euros per person. We are saving money for more important things! The 2nd half of today's challenge was to find the ship after getting off the bus. Phil's homework paid off.
Chioggia is a mini Venice with many canals, shopping and lovely scenery. I start with the best photo...
This morning our only hotel contact who doesn't speak English, came to tell us we owed more money, a $2 per person per day tax. So we left 8 euros on the bedside table along with the keys and left the hotel. Phil wheeled our main luggage and we each wore a back pack. The walk to the bus stop was about 15 minutes over 6-7 bridges. The bus ride was 1 hr 15 min. Lastly from the bus stop in Chioggia to the ship took about 15 minutes. We could see the ship from the distance, but there were only two bridges across the channel to get there, one for vehicles and another for pedestrians. Final timing - We left the hotel after 10 am and arrived at the ship before 12:30pm Success!
Our timing managed to coincide with passengers arriving from the airport in two Viking motorcoaches. Checking in took about another 15 minutes line included. Then on to security, another 10 - 15 minutes. Still light years better than other un-named cruise lines.
Chioggia is bike friendly, so much so that we had to look both ways before crossing any street or alley. The transports were bikes, electric bikes, scooters, etc.
Monday must be laundry day or better yet a beautiful sunny day must be laundry day. The forecast for tomorrow is not so nice.
This is Saint Andrew Clock of Chioggia (there are several clock towers), this is the oldest dating back to 1300.
Disappointing news: tomorrow is an unexpected sea day. There was a letter in our stateroom saying that the Chioggia cruise terminal will close early due to high winds and tidal issue. We set sail tonight Monday May 15 at 8:30pm (instead of late Tuesday May 16). Tuesday excursions (such as to Venice) are cancelled. Our planned excursion for tomorrow was a walking tour of Chioggia. I'm so glad we've already seen Venice and walked through most of Chioggia today. Oddly this same 'surprise' sea day happened on another recent Viking cruise...
We were scheduled to embark on the Star May 15th, Venice to Rome.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately my husband fell at the airport and is now in the hospital with fractured vertebra and a head injury. I'll be following your blog , hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.
Why are there no good surprises, like an extra stop in Monte Carlo or something like that?! Also noted the darling little motor scooter—can not believe it belonged to the man standing next to it!
ReplyDelete…and interesting to think how important those clock towers were at the time they were built…possibly the only way everyone had access to the correct time of day?
ReplyDeleteSo lucky you got your Venice day in before it was cancelled! Chiogga looks like a lovely town, did you get a chance to practice any of your Italian?
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