Breaking Into Venice

A few years ago, I was asked by Rick Steves to go and help out a newbie guide on his European tour. It’s something I’ve done a lot of over the years and always enjoy getting to know a colleague on tour.

The tour went pretty smoothly, overall and we were having a good time with our tour members.

But then, one day, something funtastical happened. We arrived at the bus station adjacent to the main vaporetto terminus off the coast of Venice in September. Everyone was tired and it was extremely hot and humid, but we were all in great spirits. We guides organised the fares as the tour members chatted excitedly on the dockside. This was the weekend of a big regatta in Venice, so there was lots to look forward to.

Our boat arrived and we all clambered aboard with suitcases in tow.

It was a gorgeous trip…. The waters were quiet on this day and there were no large cruise ships in sight…. Splendid.

Our boat chugged across the open water as we headed towards our vaporetto stop. Our hotel was to be a new inclusion on the tour and neither of us had ever been there before. Being a UK based guide, I certainly didn’t know where I was headed….. it slowly dawned on me that my colleague, well prepared as he was, didn’t either.

Venice as you may know is a bit of a maze, and unless you live there, it’s fairly easy to get turned around. I wasn’t very familiar with the city, and my colleague ( he shall remain nameless ), had only led 4/5 tours there, using the same hotel on each occasion.

I was daydreaming over the side of the boat, with a couple of group members, when the the boat pilot shouted and pointed questioningly to a small vaporetto stop on the waters edge. My colleague responded affirmatively, and with a shrug of his shoulders, the pilot steered us into the mooring. The boat stopped and we hurriedly got everyone off. I gathered everyone together as ‘my colleague’ thanked the boat pilot…..or so I thought.

The boat chugged off.

I looked around and walked over to my colleague…I asked, ‘where are we headed?’. He looked at me in puzzlement and said that the pilot said we shouldn’t stop here…. I questioned this with a ‘why?’

He looked panicked.

I looked around again and slowly realised that we were the only people who had gotten off…. And that there were no attendants on the dock….AND that the gates were closed?

I felt panicked.

We looked at each other….. almost simultaneously we realised that because of the regatta, some of the vaporetto stations were closing for the day.

The boat that had just left was to be the last of the day, and we were locked into a vaporetto enclosure…..with no way out… !

Well…. We’re resourceful guides!

Having ascertained that there was absolutely no way out…. We got the attention of a couple of Venetians drinking beer in the bar across the street…. They were smiling and perhaps even laughing at our predicament.

One of them went inside and came out with the barman….. bearing a crowbar

They attacked the fence… creating a hole large enough for us to make our escape. One at a time we all crept through the small hole, dragging our suitcases with us. Colditz had nothing compared to this !

The barman sold us a round of beers and we headed towards our hotel.

This is the only time that I have ever broken into a city.

A great memory for everyone involved