We leave Rome on the fast train and travel at 250km hour to Venice via Florence and Padova. It takes almost 4 hours and we love every minute. The train is super modern, bathroom has perfumed fragrance and hand dryers. complimentary snack and no complaints.

When we arrive at St Lucia, venice we queue for 30 monutes in the heat and catch the ferry to Lido, via every stop along the grand canal, someone has graffitied Rialto Bridge and brett is horrified! At Lido we catch a taxi to our hotel, a 5 minute ride.Our hotel is a grand old homestead, dated 1954. Having missed lunch we ask directions to the main street and walk there. Along the way we discover Lido has a world famous beach........