Language Barriers

Regardless of where you intend to travel in Europe, most people I've met speak their native tongue and English. English is very widely spoken across all the European cities I've visited so far. In Salzburg, the public service announcements on the buses are spoken in both German and English. 

Ryanair

Having now flown with them a couple of times, I can honestly say I'm a convert. Frankly, the Ryanair model is way more efficient than most other budget airlines I've flown on including Bonza and Jetstar in Australia. Some of the upgrades were definitely worthwhile but others not. 

Priority is great if you wish to take 10kg of carry-on bags plus one smaller bag to fit under the seat in front of you. Priority isn't great for boarding the plane, as they often use shuttle buses to transport you from the terminal to the plane, which is not ideal. I paid for priority but my partner didn't as we wanted to compare the different components of our flight. I had to stand in the priority queue for around 30 minutes, while my partner had free reign on the toilets and the bar. Additionally, I was shuffled off onto the bus but it didn't leave for 5 minutes, so here we all were crammed in like sardines while we waited so I can't see how, apart from getting the extra carry-on bags, that priority boarding is worth the extra expense. If you only need to take the smaller bag, then priority is not worth it. 

But if you're like me, I do like the extra legroom as far up front of the plane as you can go and with it a window seat so I can take photos or film footage of my flight. Buying an upfront seat also means you must (by default) put your hand luggage in the overhead locker anyway for no extra charge. Being upfront also guarantees that you're first off the plane so it takes less time to pass through passport control at Standsted or your destination, particularly if the airport is smaller than Standsted, like was the case for Salzburg. 

It's about a 2 hour flight from London Stansted to Marco Polo Airport. And then it's a 20 minute bus ride to the bus station on the island at the cost of 10EUR pp each way. 

Our accommodation was a junior suite but with a very hard bed located in the Jewish Ghetto part of the city. It was far from what I imagine a junior suite would be like. It had an outdoor terrace where we could enjoy some fresh air while sitting there watching the passing parade of people. With armed guards housed in an outpost across from our hotel, there was a kind of strange tension in the air during the 2 nights of our stay. It was pleasant enough for a 2 night stay but I'll stay elsewhere next time. 

I plan on returning to Venice in the not too distant future. Like with most major cities, there is more to do than can be done in just 2 days. Next time we'll go for 4 or more days so we have time to fully explore all this beautiful part of Italy has to offer. That includes the other islands like Murano, where the glass is made. 

Of course, you can't go to Italy and not try the local food. So we pigged out on fresh pasta, pizza, spritz drinks and fresh seafood as well as enjoying something super sweet like what you see above.  As our accommodation was in the Jewish area, we had freeshly baked Hungarian sweets for breakfast, along with croissants, bread and plenty of coffee and juice. It was a lovely continential breakfast, a bit different to what most of us are used to.