The Carnival is over

Today started well...........

I was packed and ready, so I went for a walk before dawn. St Mark's Square was almost deserted apart from a few photographers with tripods. The lights went off very soon after 0700.

I walked along the front, past Arsenale and further on, until I found a deserted fun fair. Most of the rides were covered over against the weather, but these dodgems must be hardy and were open to the elements.

I could see San Giorgio in the distance and decided to use this for a post-Carnival blip.

7 of us went by water taxi to the airport. It was quite rough and I was very glad when we arrived. So far so good. Then at check-in, my passport was missing from the pocket it lives in.  After extensive investigation of all pockets and even the main suitcase, I phoned the hotel - it must be there. "No, madame", even when I called again a few minutes later!!

The mystery was solved; it was in the water taxi, discovered by the driver when he cleaned the cabin. By then, I had filled in the form at the Police Station, but was able to retrieve it before the "loss" was official.

The pilot came to the airport with my passport and I was able to get through to the gate just in time. Hot, sweaty and very relieved!


We stood at the gate for a long time before news trickled through that the flight was delayed. We were sent to a restaurant for  a bit of lunch - taking our boarding passes to prove our validity. It's the first time I've used an electronic one, and the waiter could not validate it by tearing the corner, so no free food.

Then the news that the flight was cancelled. There was no announcement, but one of our group found out that we needed to be back at the gate. From then on it was chaotic with different members of staff giving slightly different versions of reality.

I won't bore you with the > 2hour wait standing in line to be rescheduled. We are now in an airport hotel for the night and food will be provided at some point. It could be worse but it's tedious.

Back to thoughts of Venice. My extra is a quick, hand held panorama showing the lovely blues and pinks of the dawn.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS COMMENTED AND GIVEN STARS AND HEARTS DURING MY TRIP. I have had 3 images of the Popular pages for days now, so thank you. I am delighted that so many of you have enjoyed my holiday with me.