In Frankfurt

This was written in Frankfurt, Germany but I could not get internet café computers to allow me access to my Google account!
Travel to Venice was long and exhausting – 38hours in aircraft and airports! All of the party were wrung out by the time we got there. We were met at the airport by regatta officials and driven 1 hour to the Camping Marina de Venezia. This is a huge camping ground that can accommodate 20,000 people in the busy season. From the camp to the marina where the Optimists were kept is 18 kilometres. In this distance there are some 38 camping grounds. The other side of Jesolo (the port where the marina is) is what is known as “the Italian Riviera.” There are some 400 hotels on the beach front of the Adriatic Sea.
Venice is so different! Bruno Rizzotti (the son of the person after whom the regatta is named) made an absolute fuss of us. Before the regatta started we were taken into Venice as Bruno’s guests and treated to lunch at the Compagne Della Vela, whose clubhouse spans a small canal in the centre of Venice. Bruno also arranged a trip on gondolas round the city centre.
In the sailing our team performed reasonably well – finishing 18th out of 20. This was the first teams racing regatta for these sailors and they improved hugely during the series. The Nelson sailors were very young and inexperienced compared to all of the other teams. By the end of the regatta Mike and the children were tired out. An unwinding party after the prizegiving left the coach feeling seedy for the flight to Frankfurt. It rained lightly most of the three days we were in Frankfurt, and most of the time was spent relaxing. Wiebke, Levin and Tama Schwarzpaul, whom we met in New Zealand, came to our hotel and took us out for coffee. The restaurant at the Tryp Hotel we are staying at is Spanish and we became tired of Spanish food. We found a little corner pub a couple of blocks away where we were able to get a Chinese dinner for about half the price. On Friday the 18th May we went in to the city on bus and train to post home sailing gear which was not required on the tour. While in there we took a boat trip on the Main River through Frankfurt. Typical tourists! It was actually a good way to get a feel for the city. That evening we met the other members of our bus tour and the guide. More about this later.