Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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Venice – Marco Polo Airport Lounge

This was my first time departing from Venice Airport and the lounge won the 2025 Priority Pass lounge of the year award, so my expectations were reasonably high. It’s the sole lounge in the airport, so it’s used by airlines and lounge access schemes.

There was quite an impressive selection of foods, although, as a slight spoiler, the quality really wasn’t there with a lot of this. The meat burek was bland and stodgy, although the cous cous and rice were rather pleasant.

The falafel was quite dry, this tasted like a lot of generic food dumped into a fryer.

It all looks exciting and decadent, but there are a lot of bland tasting stuff in this selection as well.

There’s a lot of pineapple in those containers and that was one of the stars of the show, with the pastries all being a little generic. The cakes were OK, nothing overly exciting.

In terms of decoration though, this is a very nice lounge.

All of the drinks are served by a staff member which feels like a slightly odd arrangement. Peroni was the only beer, so that was a disappointment. The food here looks good, and the pineapple was pleasant, as was the rice, but the rest was dry and not really very exciting. Although that’s not to say that I didn’t eat it all of course, as I’m quite greedy…. Those potato slices could have done with actually cooking as well.

There were lots of different rooms located around the lounge.

I choose to sit here, as I like higher tables and chairs, with the added advantage that there were plenty of power outlets here as well.

It was all perfectly pleasant and it’s a very large lounge in terms of the size, although I imagine during the summer months this can get absolutely packed when it’s in the main tourist season. The staff were all friendly and it was spotlessly clean, they had more cleaners than I can remember seeing in a lounge before.

The food and drink was a little mediocre as I’ve mentioned, I suspect they’ve tried to go for the option of having lots of selection rather than any focus on quality. However, since I gained access with my unlimited lounge card, I was pleased to ensure my devices were powered and I had some food and drink. All really rather lovely.

December 16, 2025
Venice – Novotel Venezia Mestre Castellana

Another day, another Accor hotel…. This one is the Novotel, around a thirty minute walk from Venice Mestre railway station.

I was pleased to get an upgrade to an executive room, so I felt like a proper business professional….. Or something like that.

I hate connecting rooms, but fortunately, there were no issues with noise or light on this one. The hotel had themselves put a little barricade up, which saved me doing it.

There were some free drinks in the fridge, along with a Nespresso machine.

The view from the window. The old city is off to the left in the distance.

It took 11 minutes to be served at the bar, which felt a little sub-optimal, although I was collecting a free welcome drink so it’s hard to be too annoyed. There was a very large group in the restaurant that was taking up the staff’s time, but they probably could have been more aware of the customers starting to queue at the bar. The team members were all friendly and helpful, just heavily overworked when I was there.

This was an anti-climax, a small glass of Peroni, which tasted chemical, metallic and bland. It felt a slight shame that the hotel didn’t have something similar to the nearby Mercure hotel.

The restaurant in the back might have been at capacity, but the bar wasn’t….. Here we are after the team members had served the customers at the bar.

The old part of Venice was visible by zooming in…..

Anyway, I liked this hotel as the team members were friendly, the room was clean, I got an upgrade and there were no noise issues. The hotel was dealing with a very large group of customers when I was there and that impacts service somewhat, but I was happy with my room at the end of the corridor on the top floor, away from all that frivolity. If they could just upgrade their bar options though, that would be lovely.

December 16, 2025
Venice – Mercure Venezia Marghera

I had one night at this Mercure hotel in Venice, around a twenty minute walk from the railway station although I think that there are regular buses there as well. I took this photo when leaving as my night-time photo is a little unclear.

And here’s that photo as I arrived quite late in the evening. There’s a motorway to the left and the walk here involved going down a quiet little footpath which felt slightly oppressive.

There was a very friendly welcome at reception and I went over to the bar to get my welcome drink and of course wanted a beer. I had rather expected a choice of one beer, but the helpful team member put on the bar all of the options that she had so that certainly surprised and delighted me.

I opted for this one, the Birra Dolomiti Rossa, a quite punchy red ale from Fabbrica di Pedavena brewery. There was a malty taste as well as some sweetness to the whole arrangement, very agreeable. I hadn’t expected to see so many local beers, as well as some national options, far too few hotels offer that.

It was a pleasant restaurant and bar area, my first impressions of the hotel were very positive.

These impressions were also lifted as the team member at reception had mentioned that I’d been upgraded. I liked this.

The team member mentioned that all of the drinks in the mini bar were free, so that meant that I had more welcome drinks….

And some Nespresso coffees.

And the view from the window.

As might be apparent, I very much liked this hotel and didn’t have any noise issues either internally or externally. I was put at the end of a corridor, so as I like it, with the room being clean and comfortable. The bathroom also had a bath, a feature that isn’t common enough, with the temperature in the room being appropriate for me after I had opened the window to make it cold. Definitely recommended.

December 16, 2025
Padua to Venice Mestre – Rail Journey

After a lovely few hours in Padua, it was time to get the train back to Venice. The city’s railway station opened in 1842 and around 450 trains stop here every day. The bit in the above photo is the post-war extension.

The departures hall.

This is all in the more modern extension that has been added to the station. There are plenty of ticket machines available, but there’s a customer service desk for anyone who is still confused.

I bought my ticket using the rail company’s app which saves all that faffing about validating it. I found that the platform numbering was a little confusing as they have a sensible system of I to X (well, there’s no number IV, but that’s a different matter) and they also have 2M and 3M for some Venice services. My train was scheduled to depart from platform II, so I just had to guess that they meant the usual platform numbering and, fortunately, that worked out.

The platform floor has numerous little trip hazards along it.

I was pleased to see my Venice train appear on the signage.

Back on the Hitachi Rock train…..

The Vivalto train which is a rather decent arrangement for long-distance services.

The train got very busy towards Venice, not least because a group of what appeared to be Chinese people boarded. When I say a group, I mean around 80 people, but they were going to the old city and I was getting back off at Venice Mestre.

I think that’s the last Italian train that I’ll take for a while, having used them around fifteen times over just a few weeks. I’ve been very impressed, they’ve been reliable in terms of operation, they’ve been clean, comfortable and I don’t have to mess about with seat reservations.

December 16, 2025
Padua – Other Photos

And some other photos from my meanderings around Padua…..

December 16, 2025
Padua – “Lo Specchio dell’Assoluto” by Gianfranco Meggiato

There are a lot of artworks in Padua, but this one caught my eye and it’s part of the Kiss of Judas series of installations which are on show across the city between 2 October 2025 and 31 March 2026. This one is the ‘Lo Specchio dell’Assoluto’ by Gianfranco Meggiato (1963 – ) who is a Venice based sculptor. And I have absolutely no clue what it represents, which is perhaps a slightly sub-optimal position. I’ll just content myself with admiring it, blissfully untroubled by any deeper meaning that it might have.

December 15, 2025
Padua – Giardini dell’Arena Arch

I know that it’s just a gateway to a park, but I rather liked this as it’s next to the remains of the city’s amphitheatre and this whole arrangement adds to the impact of what was previously also the Scrovegni Palace grounds following the demolition of the Roman entertainment centre.

The archway was added in the nineteenth century and this is looking into the park and the remains of the old amphitheatre. There’s an old stone visible at the top of the arch, which has come from the earlier fourteenth century gateway that was located here and which was demolished in 1827.

And a view looking into the park.

December 15, 2025
Padua – Padua Cathedral

The rather beautiful Padua Cathedral and this is the third one on this same site, as the first one fell down in an earthquake and the second one wasn’t thought to be decadent enough. On the right of the photo is the Padua Baptistery, but that was closed when I visited. Michelangelo had a hand in the design of the third and current cathedral, although little from his plans was actually constructed.

Welcome to another one of my lop-sided photos (the Baptistry looks worse than the leaning Tower of Pisa), but this is the unfinished facade of the cathedral. The rose window at the top is also only there as it was added during repairs and restorations caused by a First World War bomb.

As an aside, I think it’s interesting that so many Italian churches have unfinished facades, the reality seems to me to be that they had such great plans and then rather ran out of money. There were extensive plans for the exterior here, but as it’s been like this for nearly 500 years, they might as well just leave it now.

I found this interior to be genuinely spectacular.

I also really liked the design of the flooring.

The light streaming in made it difficult to take a photo of the pulpit, but it’s of a ridiculous size and I’m not sure what they planned to go on up there. It was commissioned by Canon Selvatico and designed by Filippo Parodi (1630-1702).

There might be Baroque elements, but the whole cathedral is just so large it all feels rather moderate and calm.

Some interesting designs by the altar.

The central dome.

One of the side chapels.

I was very much impressed with this cathedral, it was bright, welcoming and felt religious which seems to me to be quite important. The design has ensured that it’s open, grand and decadent, without being overly-decorative. And I rather hope that they don’t finish the facade now, I quite like the rough and ready exterior.

December 15, 2025
Padua – Miscusi Restaurant

There were numerous locations that I looked at for lunch in the city, but they were mostly small and full. But, I discovered Miscusi which is an on-trend small chain focusing on its freshly made pasta and its eco-friendly credentials.

They have a shop on the ground floor and their restaurant area is on the first floor. I arrived just after they opened and so although it looks quiet, they were at capacity after around fifteen minutes.

All very nice and there was a friendly welcome from the team members, who helpfully spoke perfect English. The ordering system is digital, which entirely suits my needs, with customers scanning a QR code and then ordering whatever takes their fancy.

There was a rather pleasant view from the window.

This was genuinely excellent as burrata is one of my favourite things, but I want it to ooze out and not just be all firm and stubborn. This was oozed beautifully, with the Sicilian tomato sauce at the base adding juiciness, with the pistachios on the top adding texture. This was really rather lovely, one of the best burrata that I’ve had.

The beer is the Birra Messina Vicace, which is unfortunately a Heineken product, but it was light and refreshing, albeit also thin and generic. I would have rather have had a decadent craft beer to go with this, but this wasn’t a bad little arrangement.

Customers are able to entirely customise their pasta dish and this is rigatoni with a beef ragu and it was another delightful dish. Apparently the pasta is made with ancient grains, but it was light, retained some bite and the ragu had firmly embedded itself in the tubes. I also heaped on a load of black pepper as I seem to have some sort of addiction to this now.

I very much enjoyed this restaurant, the food had a real depth of taste, it felt authentic and the service was friendly. The atmosphere was upbeat and on-trend, I liked the ordering system and there was very much a younger crowd here. I’ve noticed they have venues in a few other Italian cities and I’d certainly pop in to visit another one.

December 15, 2025
Padua – Pink Fiat Topolino

This is most definitely not a car blog as I have little knowledge about anything relating to cars. But, as my friend Richard is in the market for a new car to match Liam’s decadent one (the one which cools the seats and gives massages) I did wonder whether this one might interest him. Apparently it’s a Fiat Topolino (a word in Italian which means little mouse), which is a modern electric version of an Italian classic car.

December 15, 2025