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When we arrived on Sunday the plan was to leave today, but a text on Monday, from friends who arrive this morning on a cruise call, meant an extra night's site fee allows us to meet them in the city this afternoon.
We are up late today as we were very late to bed last night, and catch the 13:10 bus. On the way in we see their ship dwarfed by three giant ones in the terminal. We make the now familiar trip to the biggletteria [ticket office] and board the vaporetto, intending to go all the way to the Lido, but the journey is longer than we thought so we get off at San Zaccaria just past San Marco.
We have a leisurely walk around then cross the bridge adjacent to the Bridge of Sighs and around to St. Mark's. It is so lovely to be unhurried, to just stop and watch everything around us, to just soak up the atmosphere.
The text arrangement was to meet Chris and Paul at Rialto vaporetti station at 15:30 so we go around to San Marco station just in time to see the No.1 pulling away loaded to the gunwhales, but the next No.1 is due in only 12 minutes. Then a No.2 pulls in, a quick check confirms he goes to Rialto so we scythe into the melee and get aboard. At 15:25 we pull into Rialto but not the station we expected. There is a footbridge [scene of the broken wheelchair-lift fiasco on our last trip, details on application] between No.1 and No.2 station and we're on No.2. Luckily Chris and Paul don't know the difference and as we turn around there they are!
We can't take them to Omnibus as we'd intended to, but we wander down a few alleys, excitedly swapping travel stories, until we enter Calla de la Bissa and find Bar Nostro. As is tradition when we meet everyone wants 'bubbly' so we get a bottle of prosecco and we choose a pizza with artichoke and asparagus to share. We swap news, stories and laughter until it's time for another bottle. The cork is popped and it all feels like we've be together for ages again, but they are here for only one day and must return to their ship to join a tour. The 90 minutes together has seemed like a day and as they haven't yet used the vaporetti we suggest they should experience one and we all ride back to P.Roma together before parting company. . In July we all had a day together on the Grand Union Canal, today was a reunion on The Grand Canal. We're thrilled to have shared some time in Venice with friends, especially as we had to forego coming here with other friends on a previous occasion.
This evening we have a pleasant female bus driver who asks where we want to get off and her bus has a working ramp.
Arrivederci Venice, you beautiful, chaotic enigma.
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