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We are woken at 07:30 this morning, after a really good sleep, by the rumble of engines as an AIDA cruise ship manoeuvres onto its wharf. At 08:00 the car park begins to fill again but we don't know where the people all go. At 09:50 we set off towards Venice some 110 miles north and after skirting Ravenna we join the S309. Traffic is light and the road is straight as we begin crossing the Po Delta.
Flat land below the road gives way in places to lakes and irrigation channels. On one lake is a flock of egrets or flamingos, just a bit too far away to be sure.
All the way there is a typical marshland haze hanging over the fields of crops, red rooved houses and blue water. Fishing nets are suspended over the channels on wooden poles. We take a detour into Porto Garibaldi. The main street runs along the quayside where 80-100 fishing boats are tied up, each with a stall in front. Ali queues with the locals to buy some sole for us to have this evening.
We travel a few miles on a dyke with water and marshes on both sides. This is the landscape as it was when refugees of the Roman empire sought shelter in the marshes, before their piratical existence evolved into the force that ruled the Adriatic and Mediterranean for centuries to come.
Further up we pass a large shipyard with floating docks and the front half of a cruise ship under construction.
Eventually we come to the outskirts of Venice and our arrival at Campsite Venezia at 13:15. Reception is closed for lunch and by the time it opens at 14:00 there are 5 to check in. We spend the afternoon catching up on laundry and other housekeeping through the afternoon and genearally taking it easy before the busy days ahead.
The fish Ali bought are 6 small sole, and honestly we had bigger angel fish when we kept a tropical tank. Euro-quotas? Not here! Anyway, she slices them into goujons, shallow fried in flour and served with sliced potatoes and onions baked in a butter sauce. And to celebrate reaching Venice in Mary*Lou we pop open a bottle of Champagne.
Life can be tough sometimes but who the hell cares at times like this?
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