December 2, 2025
Yay, we are here in Europe once again on a quick trip to Italy with Michelle (Denise’s sister) and Jeff (my great brother in law). We started our journey grabbing a red-eye flight that left Salt Lake City at 12:45 AM Monday morning heading to Newark. Because this was Thanksgiving weekend and Sunday being the craziest of travel days, our odds to get to Newark were not looking too good. However, the travel gods blessed us and for some reason, United inserted a larger plane in Newark that flew to SLC. That opened up an additional 70+ seats on the return flight from SLC back to Newark. So we had to jump on it. But doing two red-eye flights sounded horrible…and it has not been fun. We arrived at 6:45 AM in Newark and our trip to Venice, Italy did not leave until 6:50 PM…a 12 hour layover. That was no fun. We did, however, use Priority Pass to do a Minute Room thing where we got 1 hour of quiet and peace. The room did accommodate two people laying down, if wanted, and Michelle and Denise did. But 1 hour goes fast. It was 40 per 15 minutes after that. We only did the 1 hour on Priority Pass’s ticket.
The flight to Venice seemed fast, now looking back on it. Denise and Michelle did get Polaris seats. But Denise said she got bumped, since she is non-revenue flying stand-by, due to a seat not functioning electronically. She stayed in Polaris, but she got the bad seat. It just had to be move manually. I went up to see her when they were serving breakfast and she was laying flat not moving. Both she and Michelle got a nice nights sleep. Jeff and I, well we did get ‘Premium’ seats, which are like the old first class seats, wide and softer. But honestly, not very comfortable. They were like sitting in bulk head seats with fixed arms and so on. I was not impressed with them. I think I did get a couple of hours of sleep sitting upright.
Upon landing and after clearing passport control and customs, we made our way to the Alilaguna Water Taxi line. This was our mode of getting over to Venice as the world knows it. I think it took about 20 to 30 minutes to get to our stop. That boat moved as slow as any boat I’ve ever been on. But it was comfortable and easy to find and take. After landing, it was a 10 minute walk up Venice streets and crossing a couple bridges to get to Nama Boutique Residence. It is a beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 bath flat. We were able to get in around 11 AM. We all showered, unpacked a bit and then set out to see key points in Venice.
It is fun to be back in Italy and in these older towns where you’re surprised that some places that look so old are actually nice stores. The food and bakery places are nearby. Even a ‘super market’ is quite close. So that’s good. We walked a bit and eventually spotted a Gondola area. So that was the first big event that we did. The Gondoleer (boatsman) was originally from Venice Island but has since moved is family to the mainland of Venice. I would think raising teenagers here would be tough. They’d have to get stir crazy really fast. Tourism is the only real thing here honestly. Anyway, it was a nice ride listening to him while he oared the boat and messed with his cell phone. 🤓 I think we paid him for 45 minutes. After the Gondola ride we set out to see the famous Rialto bridge. It was a pretty busy place and fun to watch all the water activity on the Grand Canal. After a few pictures there, we set out to San Marcos Piazza. It’s been interesting as glass and trinket shops are every 50 meters and I get walking heading to our destination when I turn around and none of my companions are with me. Jeff keeps up but then he recognizes that we’ve lost the ladies and waits or goes back for them. I eventually say that I’ll see them at the destination point and then press on. Such was the case at San Marcos Piazza. But they weren’t too long showing up. We took pictures there and just kinda got remembrances of when we were last there. But the big event was when I heard Denise start yelling my name, saying, ‘I was pooped on! I was pooped on!’. San Marcos Piazza is full of pigeons and seagulls. I guess one of them unloaded into Denise’s hair. A nice lady nearby saw and pulled out some wipes and gave them to us and Michelle and I did our best to get the poop out. But now, as I write this, I’m not sure I want to lay down by ‘poopy hair’. 💩👩🦳
After San Marcos Piazza, I was hitting a sleep wall. I suggested we go back to the apartment and get the rest of the journey planned and booked. We headed back. But once there, we all started to get sleepy and we all went off to take a nap. This was around 4 PM. We all got going again around 6:30 PM. I was dead those 2.5 hours! Anyway, we set out again to see some of their Christmas lights on and to find some dinner. We did go to the market to grab some juice and treats. And we did find a, you won’t believe, Italian food place. And again, you won’t believe it, but I was enjoying Carbonara once again in Italy. We then retired back to our flat where I booked all the trains and rooms needed to complete this trip.
It’s been a long but fun 1.5 days since leaving SLC early Monday morning….here are some pictures:
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