We arrived early in Venice this morning after our 9ish hour flight from Atlanta. This was our first time flying into Marco Polo since the opening of the new terminal. Passport control, luggage claim, and customs were all a breeze. Unfortunately, the terminal is now a decent walk (probably 5 minutes at a good pace) from the terminal. For us, it didn’t matter. But it would be a hassle if you had a lot of luggage to haul or if your mobility was limited.
We took the public transport option (a sort of water bus). It’s fairly cheap (13 euro / pp) but much more time consuming and more of a hassle than a zippy water taxi straight to the hotel (100 euro for the boat).
In this case, the Europa y Regina wasn’t ready for us yet anyway. As such, the slow boat was fine. This is our 3rd stay at the EyR. It’s a fairly swank property right on the Grand Canal. I used a couple thousand points to get a reduced rate of $99/per night.
Being summer, Venice is hot and humid today. Unfortunately, since we couldn’t check in, we ended up wandering around to pass time until 3pm when we’re able to get a room (it’s 2 as I write this post).
We did have a chance to visit the Accademia museum and generally reabsorb the elegant decay that is Venezia (having spent so much time here previously, we can safely wander without a map). We also happened upon a random Damien Hirst show sponsored by a local gallery. It was small but decent. We finished with some gelato (yum!) before heading to the hotel for a nap.
We’re now awake again and getting ready to head out for more sightseeing in the early evening (fewer crowds, more atmosphere) and to grab a bite to eat.
P.S. Important note to iPhone users (consider this a public service announcement): for some reason the folks at Apple like to ‘auto-correct’ the misspelling of the word ‘gellato’ to read as ‘fellatio’ — try that in the above sentence — not good. You’ve now been warned. 
Here’s a photo of Piazza San Marco:
You know you are my friend, but I must point out that the translation error may not have been Apples. Try spelling it Gelato (one L). Sure it wasn’t a freudian slip? Also (forgiver me) I noticed that Apple created a new pizza for CPK – Pizza San Marco.
Frank said I am only allowed one snark a day, but I am the one typing, so I took advantage of the situation and took two.
Have fun, we sure wish we were there with you.
What can I say? Blogging from a tiny screen is a challenge.