FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Au Revoir & Buongiorno!

Today was a travel day. We left the French Alps before 8am for our drive towards Geneva. The drive was pretty but Malcolm found stretches of it stressful because of the snow and the narrow roads. We accidentally ventured into Switzerland and had to pay 40 swiss francs (just under 40 euros) in tolls...The whole family very much enjoyed their $5 per min time on the swiss side...not! We finally crossed over back to the French side, found the french side of the airport and returned our rental car.

Beautiful scenery all around

Snow for about 2/3 of the drive

Long tunnels

Not happy about having to pay nearly $50 for being on one short stretch of motorway!

Geneva airport was not pleasant. The lines to check in was horrendous and took a long time. The food selections were poor and expensive, and the eating area crowded. I was surprised as I thought everything Swiss was efficient. The flight was a necessary evil as it was the cheapest and most time efficient way to get from Valmorel to Venice. To drive would have cost a small fortune in fees and tolls. To catch a train would mean a journey of over 10 hours with 3 changes.

The flight itself was short and uneventful, and it was quick getting out of Venice Marco Polo airport. The children were excited to find Nana and Grandpa waiting for as we exited from baggage claim. We took our pre-booked private water taxi to meet up with our contact for our apartment. I love Italy and I love Venice! Unfortunately, we were taken to the wrong apartment which we only realised AFTER lugging all our suitcases up 1 flight of stairs! We finally arrived at the correct apartment just on 6pm.

We found ourselves some yummy pizza which was surprisingly cheap and delicious! Dinner for all 7 of us including drinks only cost a mere 60 euros, cheaper than the Burger King that we bought at Geneva airport in desperation! Malcolm went for a stroll after dinner to buy provisions. We're ready for a full day of sightseeing tomorrow. Buona sera!