We left the Sofitel and made our way to the the departure lounge at LHR Terminal 5 with plenty of time to check the suitcase, do all of the security and passport checks and then wait to board. Our boarding gate was A11 which was a short walk from where we sat. Once the flight was called it was a short walk from the gate to the plane and we made ourselves comfortable in seats 12A and 12B, with me in 12B. The pictures of the flight from the window were taken by Carole using my Insta 360 Ace Pro 2 action camera and I have selected frames from the video to display here. Once we arrived at Venice, Marco Polo airport, we cleared passport control and picked up the suitcase. We then had a long walk through the airport to the Alilaguna water bus terminus to take the hour long trip to the hotel. The boat was fairly comfortable, only rocking in the wash of other, faster boats, as they passed us. Once we arrived at Santa Maria del Giglio, our stop, we had a short walk down a very narrow alley to the hotel which was conveniently at the end of the alley, well planned by Carole. Once we had settled in we unpacked the tripods and headed for the Accademia bridge for some night shots of the lights on the Grand Canal.
Going to gate A11 to prepare for boardingGate A11, but not boarding yet.On board an Airbus A320 NEOThe view from the windowTaxiing to the runway and passing a Boeing DreamlinerAbout to turn onto the runwayTakeoff!Still climbingGetting to cloud levelNow we are above the cloudsCrossing the south coast of EnglandCruising at 33,000 feet.Starting the descent.Flying in over the Italian coastThis is the causway that connects Venice to the mainland by road and rail and is known as the ‘Ponte della Libertà’ (Liberty Bridge)Still over the seaThis is the marked lane that the water busses and taxis use to transfer people from the airport to VeniceTouchdown!Taxiing to the stand. We had to board busses to take us to the terminal.Inside the terminalSecurity checks for outbound flights, the water bus terminal is straight ahead.This is called ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ A sculpture by J. C. Farhi (2011)The Alilaguna ticket office where Carole purchased our tickets.The long corridor we had to walk down to get to the water bus stationPosters showing the Venice skyline all along the corridorDown the escalator, but still a fair way to go.Passing the Noah’s Ark sculpture (by Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen originally displayed at the 2024 Venice Biennale)Another view of the Noah’s Ark SculptureOur Alilaguna water bus goes from the very end of this walkway!Our Boat ready for boarding.Getting my ticket stampedMy ticket 18 euros per trip.Carole first onBoats at speed go past and cause a lot of washWash which we powered throughA Caorlina boat on the Grand CanalA typical GondolaA Sandolo being rowed by 2 oarsmaen.The Rialto Bridge (Ponte de Rialto) is the oldest bridge across the Grand Canal construction completed in 1591A Water Taxi these are luxury private hire boats rather than public transportThe Accademia Bridge (Ponte dell’Accademia) the only wooden bridge over the Grand Canal and has been in use since 1933.We have arrived at our stop, Santa Maria del Giglio.Having disembarked from the Alilaguna, we had to negotiate a very narrow alley to reach the hotel which was on the left as we exited the alley.Our hotel for the next four nights.Our first night shoot, it was supposed to be a sunset and night shoot but we arrived too late for sunset. We are standing on the Accedamia Bridge shooting boat light trailsBasilica Santa Maria della Salute lit up at nightA close up of the Basilica Santa Maria della SaluteThe view looking back across the bridgeBasilica Santa Maria della Salute again
JL Photos 