The Big Day

July 11th 2012 Well here it is... the big day! It only took us seventeen months but we’ve set a date, chosen a destination and booked the flights. Guess what!? We’re going on holiday and as you can see, I’ve decided to write a Blog about it. After spending a few days in England we set off on the next leg of our European Adventure by catching a bus to Stanstead airport. Our flight was at 6.30am and after joining the vast multitude of budget travellers who would rather lose some sleep and save a few pound we were checked in, boarded and were on our way to our first destination – Venice.

I’ve never been that in to Venice but in Casino Royale James Bond went and wrecked the place and I thought it looked quite nice. I am also a fan of Groupon and they had a hotel deal in Venice which meant that we could actually afford to stay in a four star hotel on the Grand Canal. After getting a bus from the mainland to Venice (which is an island – who knew?) we found our hotel, checked in and set about “getting lost” in Venice, which is apparently the best thing to do. Luckily for us, it is also the easiest thing to do.

After a few hours of aimlessly wandering we went back to the hotel and had our complimentary two course meal – I of course, decided to be different and opted for the rosemary and herb grilled chicken while Rory went for the beef fillet. My chicken ended up being pan friend, with bones and if that wasn’t bad enough, Rory’s beef fillet turned out to be a lovely, perfectly cooked fillet steak. After some longing looks Rory got the hint and being the gentleman he is, swapped his steak for my chicken. Girls – if you haven’t got a boyfriend, consider getting one, they’re really useful when it comes to things like this. If you can, get one like Rory, he doesn’t even like dessert, so if you’ve already eaten his main course you can help yourself to that too!

We spent the rest of the evening walking around Venice and getting used to the place. From everything I had heard about Venice I imagined tourist filled streets, so cramped that it was virtually impossible to move but I was pleasantly surprised. Yes there are lots of tourists but they don’t ruin the place. The streets aren’t overly busy (perhaps they are in Saint Mark’s Square) and if the crowds get too much you can literally step down a side street and not see a single person. My thoughts on Venice – so far, so good!