36 hours in Venice (Italy)

Pic: Piazza San Marco Venice (Apr 2012)

Pic: View on San Giorgio Maggiore Venice (Apr 2012)
Venice, my fourth Flyday trip, short but intense!  Left Brussels on Friday night 7.30pm and returned on Sunday morning 10.25am, just in time to run the Antwerp 10 Miles.  As usual with the Flyday promo, the return flight was €99.  The outbound flight on Friday was overbooked as the previous Brussels Airlines flight to Venice had been cancelled due to a technical aircraft issue.  This resulted in a Business Class upgrade (better food!) for myself and four other passengers.  At the gate, €250 vouchers were offered to passengers volunteering to take the next flight to Venice.  I declined the offer, as my original trip was only 36 hours and I was traveling with a friend.

Pic: The Doge’s Palace Venice – Palazzo Ducale (Apr 2012)
To ensure a convenient transfer to and from the airport, I chose Crowne Plaza Venice East-Quarto d’Altino,  a 10 minute shuttle ride from Venice Marco Polo Airport.  The hotel is not at the ‘island’ of Venice, instead it’s located on the mainland next to a small train station called Quarto d’Altino.  From early in the morning till late at night, at least once an hour, a train connects Quarto d’Altino with Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia.  The 20 minute ride costs less than €3 and brings your directly to Venice, without the need of taking a water taxi.  What made the hotel even more attractive, was it’s listing on the PriorityClub Point Breaks list for Mar-May 2012. Instead of the usual 25,000 Priority Club points, only 5000 were required for a free night.  As I booked last minute, the free rooms (5% of the hotel inventory) for Saturday night were already sold out.  Friday night was free, Saturday night was paid.  The best available rate for Saturday was €90, which I lowered to €75 using the Friends and Family rate.  As a PriorityClub Platinum member, I was upgraded to a superior room for both nights.  The shuttle service from the airport to the hotel was free on Friday night, but unfortunately fully booked on Sunday morning.  The private shuttle charge was €35.Pic: Piazza San Marco – Orchestra Gran Caffè Quadri (Apr 2012)
So how was our stay in Venice? Wonderful!  Sunny all day long, strolling along the canals and admiring the beautiful squares and buildings.  People spotting at San Marco square while enjoying overpriced drinks.  Listening to the Gran Caffe Quadri Orchestra for which a €6 per person ‘live music’ charge was applied to out bill.  It’s all part of the Venice experience!    All pictures in this blog post were made by my lovely travel companion, Sabrina.

Pic: Piazza San Marco – Drinks at Gran Caffè Quadri (Apr 2012)