St. Pancras - 22 December 2012 14:05 Hrs.
We departed St. Pancras dead on time at 14.05. The accommodation is better than an aircraft, but not a lot. The seats are wider and one has a table shared with the person across the table, and this was in first class (did the weekend upgrade). I can't find any electrical outlets and my iPhone is down to 23%. I looked for outlets but never did find them. Later on in speaking to another passenger he told me the outlets were under the top of the table. Next time I will know better, however I took out my trusty NewTrent IMP 120D backup battery, it got me up to 23% but obviously was not fully charged.
Coach 95: The Couchette
Train for Venice left on time. Next time I must book earlier so I do not end up in a six person couchette. It is rather crowded to say the least. And then you get a man with a suitcase into which he could easily hide a small adult, This he proceeds to place on an upper hand luggage rack taking up his and two other people's rack space. I am in the top bunk, and this reminds me of fourteen hours on a luggage rack from Mumbai to Belgaum in India many years age. The only difference was then I had to share the space with the largest backpack on the market at that time, which did not leave much room for me. As it was last night I ended up using my backpack as a pillow as there was no place else to put it. At some point during the night we came to a stop, perhaps in Switzerland, we were there for quite sometime, there was snow on the ground and I wondered if perhaps they were changing carriages to send some to another location.
So now in am at my hotel, not in my room yet, it will not be ready for two more hours, but I am happy to be sitting in a stationary chair. The Palazzo Odoni is just as advertised, an old building on a canal and furnished with what look like antiques. I managed to get a cappachino and some toast, cheese, butter, jam and salami as they had stopped serving breakfast. It is 1 degree C here and very high humidity. However, being built in a lake it is hardly surprising.
Once I get settled in I will see if I can do a quick tour before the sun sets.
I wondered around near the hotel and found a nice restaurant and had a very nice piece of grilled salmon with grilled vegetables.
Apart from the uncomfortable train ride, it was a great day.
