A very quick return trip

We had been traveling a lot this year.  Some of it had been planned, but some of it had also been more spontaneous and unexpected.  It had only been a couple of months since we had last been in Italy for our honeymoon, but I was unexpectedly called to make a trip to Italy for work.  I didn't need any convincing to go, as any trip to Italy is a good trip.  In a bizarre twist, the trip was also to Venice.  I was bit surprised that I would be going back to Venice after such a short time. I couldn't help but think that I would have planned the honeymoon a bit differently if I had known that work would be sending me to Venice this year anyway. Maybe I would have spent more time in Sicily?  Maybe I could have used that time to go to Puglia instead?  All of this thinking was completely irrelevant and purely hypothetical as I had enjoyed Venice immensely the first time, so I was more than happy to return.

With the baby soon to arrive in only a few short months, this also seemed like the perfect opportunity for one last trip with Veronica before our lives changed.  I booked the extra ticket for Veronica and arranged for a couple of extra days leave after my work engagements so that we could spend some time in Venice.  Whilst I worked, Veronica assured me that she would be more than happy to explore and enjoy the city by herself.

For this trip, the best flights I could find seemed to be via Finland on Finnair.  My previous flights on Finnair had also been work and had been very comfortable.  I was glad to be able to bring Veronica with me this time.  The stop in Helsinki was short and we rushed through the beautiful Nordic styled airport to get to our next flight.  We made it in time, and took off again just as the sun was rising over Helsinki.  Looking out of my window, it was a beautiful scene to witness.  After the last few trips, I still hadn't stepped foot outside the airport in Helsinki, something I felt I needed to rectify at some stage in the future.

Arriving at the airport in Venice, we knew our way already.  We walked downstairs to the speedboat terminal, and were ushered to the boat taking us to our hotel.  The speedboat ride through Venice is one of the most amazing trips to experience in life.  There is no faster way to feel like a celebrity or rockstar than to be speeding through the tight and narrow canals of Venice on a beautiful old wood panelled speedboat.  We had enjoyed our ride out of Venice on our last trip and being able to do this again so soon seemed like an opulent extravagance.

  

Our hotel was in Giudecca, a part of Venice we hadn't previously visited.  It was beautiful to look at from a distance, but it did seem a bit out of the way and far from the rest of Venice.  After checking into the hotel, Veronica and I quickly went searching for some lunch.  There didn't seem to be so much on the Giudecca side, so we jumped on a vaporetto and went straight to San Polo.  There had been a restaurant near the fish market we had wanted, but failed, to try so we went straight there.  It was a simple little restaurant, selling cicchetti and seafood dishes.  The fish and produce were all supplied from the market directly across the street.  With a glass of wine, it was exactly what we wanted.

   

After lunch, we went for a walk.  We had no real destination in mind.  We just wanted to enjoy the ambience of Venice before I had to go back for the beginning of my work events.  On our way back towards the vaporetto stop, we saw the cafe, Rosa Salva.  We went straight in, sitting down for coffees, cakes and biscuits.  There was a strange sense of familiarity to be back, even so soon.  Before we left, Veronica bought a bag of biscuits to take back to the hotel as snacks.

In the evening, I had the first of my work events.  Boats came to pick us up to take us across the canal and to the restaurant.  The ride on the boats in the early evening was another wonderful experience.  It was a formal event and so everyone had dressed accordingly.  Everyone looked great and it added to the atmosphere of the event.

We were taken across to one of the grand old palazzos of Venice for our evening event.  Even the journey to this location felt opulent and luxurious.  This evening, everything seemed to shimmer.  The weather was lovely and the long dusk gave a soft glowing light that brought out the best in the buildings and the canals.

  

At the event upstairs, we had a sweeping view out over Venice and towards Guidecca.  With all the lights shining, it looked as radiant as always.  It was hard to concentrate on the work event, and I found myself drifting off towards the view.  It didn't help that at this stage my jetlag was starting to kick in hard.

As the event came to an end, some of my colleagues decided to continue and go out for the evening.  They were all Europeans, so it was an easy ask for them without the long flights or time changes.  I wanted to follow, but I could feel myself crashing hard.  I had had an espresso, but this hadn't helped and so it was time for me to make my escape back to the hotel.  There was still work the next day and I needed to get some rest to ensure I survived.  Others who were less interested in a late evening joined me as we walked downstairs to find the vaporetto back to Giudecca.  On our way downstairs, I was able to see the true splendour of the palazzo we were in.  There was a level of wonderful intricacy and extravagance to the decorations that was awe inspiring.  Venice was still an expensive place, but this palazzo hinted at what this city once was, a centre of commerce that dripped with wealth.

I still couldn't quite believe that I was here again, let alone here for a work event.  To have been brought to one of the most beautiful places in the world to work was a blessing that I was truly thankful for the opportunity.  As I reached the hotel, I went to find Veronica.  She was seated outside of a restaurant on facing Venice.  It was a serene and peaceful dinner for her and she had a contented smile on her face.  I shared a glass of wine with her before we made our way slowly back to the hotel for some desperately needed sleep.  

Tanah Lot

We had gotten back to the hotel very late.  Somehow, I had managed to wake the next morning feeling very rough and regretting the last few drinks of the night.

I had booked a tour for us, which now seemed to be a very brave and foolish decision.  Veronica hadn't been drinking, so she found my suffering to be hilarious.  We got in the car and the driver started our journey towards the water temple at Tanah Lot.  As we were staying in Jimbaran, we had a long drive of about an hour and a half.  I decided to treat this as a blessing and quickly fell asleep in the backseat for most of the trip.

We arrived at Tanah Lot with the tides up.  We stood near the cliff edge and looked out at this famous water temple.  With the water lapping around the island, it was an incredibly picturesque sight.  I was starting to feel myself again, the strong breeze helping to cool and refresh me.  We walked around the whole of the area, taking photos and just exploring. 

Further down the coast to the South, the whole area opened up.  The denses forests were all replaced by wide open lawns.  It seemed like it was part of some resort, though there didn't seem to be any golf courses in the areas that we were walking.  We kept wandering further South until we could see nice uninterrupted views back towards Tanah Lot.

On our way back, we decided to stop for lunch.  The whole area seemed heavily built up for mass tourism.  There were restaurants everywhere, with the cliff area completely lined with tables and chairs.  Further inland, there were rows and rows of shops selling the random tourist items you would expect.  There seemed to be a complete lack of tourists on this day though.  The tables were largely empty and the staff also seemed to be bored with the lack of action.  We found ourselves a nice table with a perfect view of the water temple.  We were in no rush so we ate our lunch in a relaxed manner, slowly eating and chatting.  As we ate we noticed a small uptick in clientele as the tables around us began to fill.   Looking out towards the water, we also noticed that the water had quite suddenly subsided.  Whereas when we arrived, it was an island, the seabed around temple was now becoming very clearly visible.

Our timing had inadvertently been perfect.

We finished our lunch and we walked down.  Most of the water was gone and the tourists who had gathered were now walking around on what was previously the seabed.  It was a surreal experience.  There were small rockpools everywhere, some still filled with marine life.  We walked up to the temple.  Reaching the upper levels required undergoing a traditional Balinese spiritual ritual that I wasn't comfortable being part of.  So instead, we remained at the lower levels.

After exploring the lower levels near the temple we walked back up and towards the Northern coast and part of the complex area.  Looking back down the coast, we once again had beautiful sweeping views of the entire area, this type with the "island" being art of the mainland.

I was tired.  The previous night and the trip had taken its toll on me.  I was still glad we had come.  The walk had been refreshing and the temple was indeed beautiful to see.  Now we had our long drive back to contend with.