Scott's Arrival in Venice

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Ah, the Maro Polo airport. I confess whenever I hear the words Marco Polo, my mind reaches back to those endless summer days when I'd be playing Marco Polo at the beach.

If you've never been to the Marco Polo airport, you'll find that it's pretty well organized. At least I think so anyway. The airport is comprised of three floors, the ground floor being for arrivals such as myself. As I followed the swath of people going down the steps, I saw that there was a line of folks waiting to get thru customs. To my mind, the line was not incredibly long. Trust me, I've waited in lines at U.S. airports where there seems to be no end in sight to the line that snakes around the room as people impatiently tap their feet. That was not the case here. I could see the end of this line and it wasn't too long before more staff opened up lanes to check people's passports.

Once you get past the customs check, you hang a right and then make your way down to the baggage claim area to pick up your luggage. There was a bit of a wait but so what? My own thought was here I am waiting to pick up my dufflebag at the Marco Polo airport 5 miles from Venice. I could certainly chill out and wait if only to get my bearings. I struck up a conversation with this older American guy who was waiting to pick up his luggage. Remember what I said earlier about folks waiting in line stamping their feet. I discovered that this guy was returning to Venice with his wife. They'd both retired and moved to the Veneto. A good choice in my book if I say so myself.

As I talked to this guy however it became apparent that he was used to "things in America" and not having to wait so long for his luggage. I didn't really comment on that but I couldn't help thinking that this guy should be really grateful of the fact that he's actually living here in one of the most beautiful places on earth. A word to the wise. If you're going to travel and expect things to be exactly like they are "back home" you are going to be disappointed and you might as well stay right where you are.

My friends know I'm really big on quotes ranging on a wide variety of topics including travel. Probably one of the very best ones is by Robert Louis Stevenson who said, "There is no foreign land, it is only the traveler that is foreign."

I encourage you to stop for a moment and think about the wisdom in this one simple sentence. Only by being open to new ideas, experiences, people of different backgrounds, cultures can you hope to grow and learn. Folks that are unwilling to look beyond themselves to the horizon are truly missing out on the numerous adventures out there. All they have to do is be willing to take a chance. It's just that simple.

Fortunately for me, I collected my dufflebag and took my leave of the dubious expat walking out of the airport looking for the shuttle. I remember, when I first came to Venice, Sam sent me the schedule for the AVS shuttles that run to and from Venice. Before I could actually find the shuttle I ran into a married couple who were asking me how to get to the vaporetto which would take them from the airport to Venice. I have to confess I got a kick out of that seeing as how it's my second time here. I supposed I must look like I know what I'm doing! I did a quick scan of the signs and I was able to point them in the right direction. I admit that I was very tempted to follow right behind them but I decided not to. No, being a practical guy, I wanted to take the shuttle, get to the hotel so I could get cleaned up so I could then explore the city.

I found the place where the shuttle would pick people up and take them to Venice. I knew I had to buy a ticket but for the life of me I couldn't figure out the ticket machine. I'd changed my money ahead of time so I was fully stocked with Euros. I noticed that I wasn't the only one having difficulties so I watched an Italian dad try to figure the machine out hoping I could pick up some clues. No such luck. By then the shuttle had arrived and a young Italian girl went right over to help us all out. It wasn't but a minute later that I had myself on the shuttle and I was on my way to Venice for real.

The shuttle was airconditioned always a nice plus. I could feel my eyelids growing heavy but I wasn't going to let that stop me from look around so I could take in my surroundings. True, the Marco Polo airport isn't that far from Venice but there's so much to look at. For me, I wanted to just take it all in. I paid close attention to the roads, the streetsigns, noting the differences in the homes and the cars on the road. There's a quote from Anna Quindlen that I want to share with you,

“Life is made up of moments, small pieces of glittering mica in a long stretch of gray cement. It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won’t happen. We have to teach ourselves how to make room for them, to love them, and to live, really live.”

This particular quote comes from A Short Guide to a Happy Life. I will tell you here that this is how I choose to live my life and the way I look at the world around me. There was a time in my life where I did not have the freedom I have now. I look back on the events of my life both the good and the bad that have led me to this moment here. Remembering the past, I'm filled with nothing but gratitude for the life that I have now. A lot of doors that would not have opened for me if I had not taken a chance and changed my life. I hope as you read these words that they serve as a source of encouragement and inspiration in your own life.

Gradually, I noticed signs for Venice so I sat up straight in my seat. Venice is connected to the mainland by the Ponte della Liberta which will take you across the lagoon to the Piazzale Roma. There are very few things in life that are more awesome than seeing the city of Venice glittering, growing on the horizon as you cross the blue expanse of the lagoon to the city itself.

I came to the Piazzale Roma, where the shuttle dropped all of us off. When arriving in Venice, consider the Piazzale Roma the doorstep to the city. It is from here that you will begin your journey into the city depending on where you're going. As for me, I knew exactly where I was going which was the Hotel Tivoli.

I'd stayed at the Hotel Tivoli two years ago when I'd last traveled to Venice. This particular hotel is located in the Dorsoduro district of Venice which I'd say is about a 15 minute walk from Piazzale Roma. I'd contacted the hotel 2 months prior and I was able to get reservations for my stay this time. A word of advice to travelers. Always, book your accomodations far in advance of your actual trip. Summeris high travel season in all of Europe and I was really lucky to get accomodations at this time of year. Of course, it did help that I'd been there before and made a point of letting them know how much I'd enjoyed my stay.

Now, it's true that you have many places to stay in Venice but here's the thing. Hotel Tivoli is within walking distance of everything! Each morning they fix a complimentary breakfast which includes, pastries, cereal, fresh juice, coffee, ham, cheese, and hard boiled eggs! I mean seriously, how can you go wrong with all of that? Also, they cut me a deal by offering 10% off my hotel charges as long as I paid them cash. Word to describe? Awesome.

I arrived at Hotel Tivoli in fairly short order. Once I checked in, the first thing I did was take a much needed shower. It was then after having a shower, and getting into fresh clothes that I felt ready to go exploring Venezia once more. Once I made sure I had my camera, along with my map, I set out the door into the city itself.

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