We started the day with the hotel breakfast, then set off for Venice again. We didn’t want to walk the same 10 miles this time so we resolved to give the ferry on the Grand Canal a try. When we left the train station I approached the ferry ticket booth and asked for 2 tickets to Salute, meaning the stop by the Basilica de Santa Maria della Salute (“Saint Mary of Health”). I chose that destination because it was at the far end of the Grand Canal and was on the other side of the canal from Piazza San Marco. Might as well see what that side has to offer.
The Salute stop is reached via the Number 1 water ferry route and the ticket seller told me to board it at Dock A. Or at least I thought that what she said. But after Marlene and I went through the Dock A turnstile, waited patiently while people boarded the Number 2 ferry and then saw the Number 1 ferry pass us by, I figured we might not be in the right place. So I exited the dock, went back to the ticket booth and asked a different seller where I should board Number 1. Dock E he said. Not A. E. Sounds similar when given with an Italian accent.
Anyway, I went back to Dock A, collected Marlene and marched down a hundred yards to Dock E. Fortunately, the ticket still worked for us there. We boarded the Number 1 ferry when it arrived a few minutes later.
We spent some time in the basilica (very impressive) then wandered the streets near it. Then we crossed the Grand Canal on a bridge and looked for a restaurant. I wanted a real Italian spaghetti meal.
We dined al fresco at a little restaurant in the Campo Santo Stefano. Marlene had spaghetti pesto with shrimp and I had spaghetti carbonara. Both excellent. We really splurged and we each had a glass of wine with the meal.
The rain started just as we were finishing. We hopped back on the Number 1 ferry. By the time we reached the train station the rain was pretty steady and was pouring by the time we reached Mestre. Fortunately we had brought our ponchos so we donned them for the 10 minute walk to the hotel.
We weren’t really hungry but had some bread and cheese in the room. Then Marlene continued her dominance in rummy, winning both games.
ATW-2 Day 18: Paris, France, to Landau, Germany
The four nights in Paris were memorable in both good and bad ways. But the hotel in which we resided for the final 3 days was very fine: Sejours and Affaires Paris Vincennes. This seems to be a hotel geared toward long-term stays by students. But it isn’t a dormitory, isn’t affiliated with a school and certainly welcomed us. So kind of an oddball, but quite comfortable. Clean bathroom, comfortable bed and a kitchenette that allowed us to actually cook meals on a stove. WAY better than the first Paris hotel.
It also had garage parking, for an additional 13 euros per day. I paid for parking but in retrospect might have skipped it as there was free parking on the street and the area seemed quite safe.
Anyway, we checked out of the hotel around 9am and embarked on a 7-hours-plus journey across France, into Germany. We made one stop, in Vitry-le-Francois, on a whim because we saw the towers of a cathedral. It was younger than the cathedrals we had visited in and near Paris, being built in the 17th century, but it was quite beautiful. We were glad we stopped. And it felt good to stretch the legs.
We wandered the town for a bit and bought a pistachio eclair – a first for us. Then we got back on the road.
The border between France and Germany has almost entirely disappeared. The only notice that we left France was a small sign with “Allemagne” (Germany in French) on it. There was a checkpoint but it appeared that no one was being stopped.
We stopped for some groceries at an Aldi in Virty-le-Francois as we knew that we would have access to a full kitchen and were craving a home-cooked meal. We got some sausage that could be pan-fried.
One difference between France and Germany became obvious pretty quickly: the speed on the roads. In France we were often frustrated by slow drivers. Almost no one traveled more than 10 kph over the limit, which made mine one of the fastest cars on the road. That flipped in Germany: I was one of the slowest. Germans drive FAST. This is encouraged by the lack of a speed limit on many sections of the expressways / autobahns.
We had dinner and played cards. Do I need to tell you who won?