We took a bus from the hotel to the train station also. To us it seemed so silly for the station would be a nice brisk walk from the Westin. Since the luggage went ahead of us also I would have preferred a stroll. Still love the Florence Westin. Did you get a chance to get some roof top shots from the Westin? There was a bar and outdoor walkways that we used to get some great shots of the Duomo. On Travel network the show "Bizzare Foods" with that host who travels the world eating everything goes to Florence on this upcoming show this week. I am going to watch just to see if I recognize any landmarks. Still LOVING the review....Thanks.
The Westin was absolutely beautiful. It was easily my favorite of the three rooms we stayed in during the trip. All of the hotels were beautiful and in perfect locations, but nothing beats those beds at the Westin. Heavenly! We did not end up going up to the top of the hotel while there. Bummer. I bet that would have been some gorgeous views!
Glad you are enjoying!
Yuck... sorry you had to deal with that drama at the end of the trip, but it is great to see that your guides made such an effort to try to help you out and minimize your stress.
Wow! That's just nuts! I can't believe they operate like that!
I'd be a little nervous with it stacked that high floating across the water...
I'm sure that's a full update on its own!
The guides were absolutely worth their weight in gold! They really helped us to relax and enjoy our last couple of days despite the mess of Air France and our flight.
It was really crazy not knowing where you needed to be until just a few minutes before you needed to be there. And as Dusty warned us, the train waits for NO ONE!
I didn't think about it like that, but you're totally right. It would have been awful if someone's bag ended up at the bottom of the Canal!!
Yep, hoping I can get there tonight. The new boards are still messing with my mind!
Oh my goodness, that is the weirdest thing ever with platform time posting. I wonder if they film all the crazy mad dashes that would be sure to cause. I don't think I would function very well in that environment.
I can't imagine being in Venice and not riding a gondola. What a great experience.
It was definitely NOT for me! I am an anxious person in general, but especially when it comes to traveling and knowing where to be and when to be there. So Italian train stations are not my favorite place, needless to say. I definitely wouldn't have wanted to be doing that on my own and dragging my luggage!
It was REALLY amazing, and of course so wonderful that it was included because gondola rides can be pricey. But it's so iconic to that city, you just HAVE to do it!
Oh, I had wondered if something got cut out. That makes a lot more sense now! That's really nerve-wracking that they were on strike and your flight was approaching!
Ahh, the new boards were totally getting to me with that update. Thanks again for pointing out the oversight so I could fix it!
It was definitely not a fun thing to wake up to, and so close to the end of the trip. We were lucky though that we had the guides along to help us out through the morning so we could still enjoy ourselves.
What a stressful morning for you guys
I'm glad you tried to not let it ruin your trip to Venice though.
Wow, the train stations sound so hectic, I would HATE that!!
Venice is GORGEOUS!! Every picture is just beautiful. The gondola ride must've been so awesome, a great memory to have.
Peach Bellinis, yum!!
It is just something with us and travel, it never goes totally smooth! I am glad we were able to move past it for the moment and enjoy such a beautiful city.
The train station was way too stressful for me. I totally appreciated being part of an ABD at that moment and not having to navigate the whole thing on our own.
Venice is literally breathtaking in person. I still can't even believe sometimes that a place so beautiful exists and that I was lucky enough to be able to visit there! I just wish we had more time there, two days was not nearly enough!
that is a little nutty with the train platforms! Good thing you/your group was at least aware that was the case and prepared for it.
Must be amazing to get off the train and be like right there at the water. Venice sure looks beautiful and just such a unique city! (closest I have ever come is playing one of those Tomb Raider games where she has to explore Venice). I love all the little touches with the tour - like having the belinis, etc
I can only imagine how many pictures were taken by your group in Venice as it must be so hard not to capture absolutely everything.
I recall them talking about the ABD tourguides helping with the planes and re-booking flights etc, on the DISunplugged. As stressful as that situation was for you I am sure that made it a bit easier compared to if you were totally on your own.
One of the best parts of being with ABD vs. planning and executing the trip on our own was for things just like that, the travel between cities, especially through hectic train stations!
I didn't know exactly what to expect when we got off of the train, but walking out and seeing the water spread out in front of you...GOOSEBUMPS! It was so incredible! The guides always made sure a little bit of pixie dust was following us around wherever we went.
Although we were in Venice for the shortest amount of time of the three cities, I would absolutely believe it that the most pictures were taken of that one city! You want to just capture it all so you don't forget how beautiful it is.
Absolutely. Kevin saw how stressed we were in the lobby that morning when we found out our flight could possibly be cancelled, and he reassured us that we could let the guides handle it and not to spend our day worrying. He was totally right, and it made us appreciate the guides that much more!
Such a bummer about your possible flight cancellation. I am sure you must have been preoccupied with that. No fun at all.
Venice is such an amazing city. It really is one of my favorite to see in pictures. The gondolas and then the narrow little walkways. Very cool.
Wow - taking special orders for your last nights dinner. Nice!
Yum to the Peach Bellini!
Travel stress is never fun, but especially in a foreign country. It was a cloud hanging over our heads, that's for sure!
I knew before the trip I would love Venice, but I had no idea that I would ABSOLUTELY FREAKING LOVE VENICE!! It's literally the most beautiful place I have ever seen.
The Bellinis were a great touch! And what a beautiful little spot to enjoy them, too.
What a fun way to start your time in Venice!! Very cool to hop right onto a Gondola ride and then a walking tour. That was so nice thye were trying to figure out the return. Reminds me of our time in Venice - when we were in Italy they had that volcano eruption which shut down flights across Europe due to the ash in the air. Up until the day of our flight home they were cancelled left and right and we were watching and waiting and worried the whole time, but our flight left right on schedule! Crazy.
Anyway, I loved our time wandering around Venice - as you said SO easy to get lost, but then also pretty easy to figure out where you are as well.
It was definitely great to get right onto a gondola, which is the absolute iconic thing to do in Venice. It was also great to hop right into the walking tour after a relaxing train ride.
Someone else on our trip was talking about the volcano eruption, I believe. Interruptions to travel plans are always stressful, but even more so being in a foreign country and having trouble getting in touch with someone who speaks English and is in your current time zone to be able to help you. lol
Venice was a strange city for me. We would wander and wander and just when I would start panicking that we were hopelessly lost, we'd figure out where we were!
Finally caught up. I'm sure I've said this before, but when I see your gorgeous nighttime photos, I know that's why I've just never really taken to cruising. I saw so much of Europe on my ABD add-on to my Med cruise, but we didn't get to see *any* of the places at night, and I think that's such a shame, and something I really miss. I so much prefer the land-based ABDs.
And I have to say, while I can't imagine how stressful the whole flight thing had to have been, you could not possibly have been in better hands than to have the ABD Guides working for you as your "concierges". If you'd arranged the trip yourselves, you'd have to have stopped everything, and just missed a part of your day in order to settle your flight. It's one of the intangibles of doing an ABD that you just can't put a price on, or properly explain to others. Waiting to hear what happened with that!
It definitely looks like I need to go back to Italy some day. Both to see it at night, and to see Venice, which looks amazing!
Sayhello
I always thought I would want to do a Med cruise and visit a bunch of different cities, but just from observing in Venice how rushed the cruisers were all day and then how the city was practically empty at night, I don't think I would enjoy it as much as I once thought. It doesn't give you nearly enough time to explore these amazing cities what really deserve to be explored!
You hit the nail on the head with this. We had already decided that ABD was more than worth the premium price, but this day and seeing Marco work so hard to help us out really cemented that fact!
Oh, absolutely. Venice is worth a trip on its own! I sincerely hope DH and I are able to get back one day. I definitely don't think we had enough time there.
Ah, Venice! Wish I was back there instead of in this miserable cold weather! I was very nervous about the gondola ride actually, and almost didn't do it. I had worked it up in my mind to the point that I was convinced that I would end up in the Grand Canal. I'm so glad I sucked it up and got in. It was amazing!!
We don't have miserable cold weather here (more like back and forth so we get to play the "how should we dress today?" game every morning!), but I would absolutely love to be back there right about now. I'm so glad you didn't talk yourself out of the gondola ride! It was so amazing, and from the pictures, it looks like you & Brian had a great time! What a wonderful memory that ride was.
The train ride to Venice looks so nice! We just took a bus…
The gondola ride looks absolutely magical, even if it wasn't a private one!
I agree, I had the hardest time navigating Venice. I was able to figure Florence out right away, not so much Venice!
It was pretty cool being able to travel through the country in different ways instead of just the bus. There was just something so cool about speeding across the Italian countryside on a high speed train!
The gondola ride was a highlight, for sure. It was fantastic, even with Rosemary & Jean joining us.
It seemed with each city our maps had less and less information on them to help us orient ourselves.
Venice was tough, but it's not so bad of a place to get a little lost in either.
So many options were given to us but still had to wait until the 24 hour make before we could move forward with any plans. Marco truly was a life saver in being able to talk to the airline for us and get all the information he could from them, while we were able to relax(as best we could) and just enjoy the train ride.
