Bryan kept a journal of our trip. Here are his first entries:
The end of September has arrived and Eleanor and I are preparing to leave Comox for
our visit to three Balkan countries on the cruise ship, Azamara Quest. This is the first
time in many years that we have taken a vacation with just the two of us. Initially, we
had invited other family members from both sides as well as an acquaintance of
Eleanor’s to join us but they all declined for various reasons.
We felt fortunate when we booked the trip last year because the cost kept rising as we
approached the day of departure. What we had not anticipated was the final cost (after
some expensive revisions) of the airfare and the last minute complications regarding our
shuttle service from the airport to the cruise ship. There were many e-mails and
telephone calls to Azamara and to our booking agent, Wyatt, at Vacations To Go.
Saturday, September 30
We had booked the 12:45 pm ferry from Duke Point to Tsawwassen to anticipate any
unforeseen delays (eg storms, mechanical problems) and to spend some time with
Nestor and Diana in Surrey.
We were treated to two suppers: at Nestor’s on Saturday
and at Diana’s on Sunday. Eleanor found a good pair of rain boots to take on our trip.
We had expected cool weather and some rain showers during our Balkan sojourn.
Monday, October 20, 2023
The morning began with a drizzly rain. Nevertheless we walked to a local coffee shop
where Nestor treated us to breakfast after which we packed up for our drive to
Vancouver International Airport. We parked our RAV 4 at Value Long Term Parking
(which we had booked in advance). We collected a small green token to be used when
we returned to pick up or vehicle. (It would later become a source of some anxiety.)
We boarded the Sky-train rapid transit at nearby Templeton station (The Ticket to the
airport is free.) to take the 8 minute ride to the airport.
We proceeded to the Lufthansa check-in in the international departures area. Already
there was a line-up
but we eventually were able to check in our luggage and to obtain our
boarding passes. (We were able to sit together but we could not obtain an aisle seat.)
We boarded a Boeing 747-400
and took off a bit later than our 4:25 pm departure for a
10-hour flight to Frankfurt International Airport. The plane was full; there were very few
children on board. We were stuck between two burly chaps. Lufthansa provided a
supper in the evening and a breakfast next morning. Long-distance flying is no fun for
old folks like us.
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
We arrived in Frankfurt at 11:40 am and had a few hours to locate the gate for the final
leg of our journey to Marco Polo Airport, the international airport situated some 8 Km
north of Venice.
We were supposed to lift off at 4:25 pm but again there was a delay
and, after a 1.5 hour flight on an Airbus 320 we arrived close to 6 pm. With the shifting
time zones our biological clocks were becoming a bit confused.
We hailed a taxi which took us to the Titian Inn (Best Western) in Tessera about ten
minutes away for 20 Euros.
So far there was no rain. In fact it was quite warm and humid.
After settling in to our hotel room, we walked down to the Bar La Sosta
where we sat at an outdoor table and ordered pasta dinners.
The busy local restaurant was run by an Italian-speaking Asian family. While we were there we met an older couple who hailed from Aberystwyth, Wales. They seemed to be avid travellers and we were comfortable enough to share our experiences.
Although our room was fine, we both spent a restless night still trying to adjust to the
time change.
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
We woke up early to gray skies but there was no rain. We walked up the road to a small
bakery, Pancaffé da Ely, to have a coffee and a croissant.
This establishment serves
mostly local workers especially shuttle drivers. The staff were quite friendly. [Eleanor
had forgotten her water bottle at the bakery. When Bryan went back the staff had kept it
for her.]
We had a problem with Azamara regarding our transfer to the cruise ship which was
located in Chioggia about 51 Km from Venice. [Venice no longer allows cruise ships to
dock there.] They would not allow us to pick up a shuttle from the airport. Instead, we
had to first go to the rail station on Tronchetto, an artificial island in the Venetian lagoon
where tourists park their vehicles which are not allowed in the city.
This morning we met an elderly woman at the hotel who was confused as to where she
should go to take a shuttle to the ship. In the end she opted for the airport (because she
had vouchers to do so) and did mange to reach the ship.
We, on the other hand, were forced to take a more circuitous and expensive route to the
ship.
Our shuttle driver who was to take us to Tronchetto asked to pick us up earlier than
planned because a serious accident in Mestre might very well tie up traffic. [It was a
serious accident. A bus carrying foreign tourists toppled off an overpass on to train
tracks below. Severed electric power lines ignited fuel from the bus’ ruptured tanks
killing 21 people including 3 children.] We did arrive at Tronchetto but there was no train
station which was located some distance away (we had envisioned eating a leisurely
breakfast in the station) and no sign of a bus to take us to the cruise ship. After
wandering about looking anxious and lost (we met an Asian group in a similar
quandary), some kind official took pity on us and directed us to the Azamara
representatives who happened to be in another parking lot on the other side of some
kiosks selling tourist merchandize. After much waiting (thank goodness it was cloudy
but not raining) we boarded a bus for the one hour journey to the cruise ship terminal at
Chioggia. On our way, we did pass the scene of that accident.
Next time: Lots more Bryan wrote on the Azamara Quest
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Wednesday, October 4 |
5:00pm |
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Thursday, October 5 |
8:00am |
10:30pm |
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Friday, October 6 |
9:00am |
6:00pm |
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Saturday, October 7 |
8:00am |
8:00pm |
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Sunday, October 8 |
8:00am |
9:00pm |
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Monday, October 9 |
8:00am |
10:00pm |
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Tuesday, October 10 |
9:30am |
6:00pm |
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Wednesday, October 11 |
8:00am |
3:00pm |
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Thursday, October 12 |
7:00am |
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