To - Mestre
Distance - 45km
Time - 2 hours
Total - 4031km
It didn't take long for someone to tell me that Daisy was the girl in the Dukes of Hazard, I feel better for knowing that piece of trivia! Thank you Graham.
Well Lilo di Jesolo wasn't what I quite expected. I expected that the hotel room would have a blow up bed! The karaoke bar downstairs was actually very busy and went on till about midnight. I think I must have dozed off just before then. I had a spaghetti carbonara for my evening meal with an orange coloured drink they call a 'spritz'. The orange part is a bitter aperitif similar to Campari and it is mixed with Prosecco. It seems very popular with the Italians.
I was roasting in bed, or should I say on top of it. No air con in my room and I didn't want to open the window because of the karaoke and mosquito. I did actually sleep OK in the end.
Breakfast was nice, the Italians seem to put some cake out with the breakfast, so who am I to turn down their hospitality. I reassure myself that I am burning calories each time I get up to the buffet table to refill my plate. There were a group of teenage schoolgirls staying at the hotel. I think they were eating fresh air at breakfast because they only went to the buffet once and that seemed only to be some cereal or one piece of bread. It must be horrible to have social pressure to be stick thin! I have alternative methods to cope with the social pressure its usually cycling for 5 hours!
The ride today was only just over 40km and I had agreed to enter the apartment at Mestre at 1pm but I like to be nice and early, just in case some problem occurs. I actually arrived in Mestre and found the location at 10.30am! The last section of the ride was past Marco Polo Airport and the road was very busy. I always ride fast on busy roads, partly to shorten my time on the road and also I reckon that if I get hit from behind the impact will be less if I am going fast! It's probably false logic. I nearly forgot to mention that I passed the 4000km mark, it's difficult to think that I have done so much and only Rome to go, probably another 600-700km!
I know the weather isn't too good back home so I will tell you again, the sun is scorching at about 26 or 27 degrees. I went to have a look around Mestre and must have looked bewildered because a man stopped and told me how to get to a nice park with views over to Venice. What a nice guy, he even started to tell me about the commercial area of Mestre before the causeway was built to Venice and how everything was shipped in from the canal at Mestre in the 1920's. I told him he had a good memory (he only looked in his 40's, like me!) and I think he got the joke. He mentioned that it was in Mussolini's time and I told him that Mussolini won two football World Cups for Italy. This is one of the few facts I remembered from school, not that Mussolini actually played football but the Italian team won the cup twice whist he was dictator and I think he claimed some credit! I think he could have been a good centre half, he certainly knew how to put the boot in! (Probably not politically correct, sorry!).
On the way to the park I stopped at a little bar and had a tuna and egg sandwich and a glass of vino blanco. Very nice snack at elevensies! The park area was a nice open green area with some water features and the view was nice towards Venice but it was a bit too far away to pick out much detail. On the way back I treated myself to an ice cream. Eating is such a good way to fill time!
I was waiting for the apartment owner when a got a text from Rebekah, the flight was delayed by 4 hours! There had been a French Air Controllers strike over the previous 48 hours and this was the result. Nevermind, they will get here today.
I got into the apartment and it is lovely, clean and spacious. It's not in a touristy area but it is fairly close to normal shops in Mestre and the buses run to Venice every 20 mins. I haven't done too much research on what to see in Venice. I'm expecting to see beautiful buildings and probably expecting to be ripped off on the prices. It's a pity that Bella couldn't come because I'm sure she would enjoy the Doggies Palace! I'm not sure what's in there but it must be tasty! We will probably go into Venice tomorrow as the kids will only get here after 10pm which means back to the apartment by 11. I will have something ready for them to eat if they feel like it at that time?
I have a dilemma about whether I should have the double bedroom or share the twin room with John. Having considered this conundrum I decided to have the double bedroom, I am paying after all!
Whilst I had some extra time on my hands I decided to go for a hair cut. I had spotted an old time barbers down the road and now I was showered I thought I would give it a go. It turned out to be the best 10 euros I ever spent because it was an unusual experience. The guy was an older gent and seemed to know everyone who passed the shop and if they didn't call in to say hello he stepped outside and called to them! He didn't speak any English but he had spotted me on my bike when I passed by earlier. He started on my hair, occasionally stopping to speak to people who passed the shop. He spoke to someone who he thought spoke English and told him I was English and the person said 'he's gay, he's obsessed' and started laughing very loud and then he repeated it. The barber made hand gestures to say the man is crazy and laughed as well. It was really funny. I don't think the barber was gay because he had photos of his children and grandchildren on the wall. Anyway, I got the full treatment, shears, scissors, cut throat razor on my neck and to follow it all a wash, shampoo with a blow dry to follow. The only bit of conversation I understood was that he was 70 years old and then at the end he told me I was going 'bianco', well thanks a lot! It's not a bad hair cut actually, quite short but it will help the sun bleach the bianco hair so I can claim its the sun and not my age! I told the man that I would come back for a photo because I didn't have my iPad. It's great getting your hair cut by people who can't understand what you say, you just need to take pot luck with what you get. It reminded me of having my hair cut in Barrow when I first joined the police. The old time barbers were Ernie on Risedale Road and Don on Buccleugh Street. I preferred Don, he had 'barbers snip', that's a twitchy scissor hand that can't stop snipping even though it nowhere near your hair. He could have done three hair cuts in the same time as it took for one if he only kept his scissors closer to the hair! I once listened to 'Brain of Britain' radio 4 quiz programme and when I later went to Don's for a haircut the repeat was being played. He thought I was a genius the questions I was getting right. I was pretending to be modest but I kept quiet about it being a repeat!
Rebekah and John's flight doesn't get in till nearly 11pm so I'll publish the blog now and you can presume they got here. I will go and meet them.
Photo 1, Church at Jesolo.
Photo 2, 4000km on the clock!
Photo 3, Canal at Mestre, about 100 metres from the apartment.
Photo 4, View over to Venice.
Photo 5, No introductions required.
Photo 6, Exterior of apartment, ours is on the first floor.
Photo 7, Twin room.
Photo 8, Kitchen.
Photo 9, Elevensies!
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