LIDO, ITALY – Chioggia is like a mini-Venice without the hoopla. To get there from our apartment on the island of Lido, the island that faces Venice in the lagoon, we took the No. 11 bus to Pellestrina. The bus drives onto a ferry after about a half-hour ride, then after a short 15-minute ride on the ferry, we transferred to a vaporetti for almost a half-hour ride. Chioggia is a fishing village located on a peninsula surrounded by marinas.

We are able to use public transportation at a very cheap rate. Because we have a fixed address, we have a special pass (not the usual tourist pass) for 81 euros that entitles us to transportation by bus and vaporetti for one month. We will be able to renew it for our final week at a very small price. The total will be less than half of what it would cost us for the regular tourist transportation pass for the same amount of time. This is something that Rick Steves does not know about!

Anne and I had visited Chioggia two years ago but we came again because Thursday is mercatino (street market) day! We browsed and shopped and bought a few small souvenir items. The highlight of our day was lunch at a small cafe. I ordered Margharita pizza (4 euros) and a half-carafe of prosecco for 3 euros. Total: 7 euros. The pizza was as big as a dinner plate, but with a very thin crust. Annie ordered a ham and cheese pannini and prosecco as well for 7 euros.

The only other refreshment we had in Chioggia was a bottle of water at a small bar next to the fish market when we first arrived. We asked permission to use the restroom.. And it turned out to be a hole in the floor! Luckily, I had visited Japan 22 years ago and had gotten quite used to this set-up. Anne had previously visited China, so we knew that when in Rome…

We returned back to Lido by 4 p.m. and arranged to meet our friend Patrizia for dinner at the only Chinese Restaurant in town. It was an enjoyable experience! Dinner for 3 people with prosecco and a pot of hot tea, 2 appetizers, 3 entrees, and tofu and a vegetable plate plus a bowl of rice (ordered separately – entrees did not come with rice) plus a side of French fries (really tasty, and the saltiest dish we had) came to 46 euros. And this was a reasonable price.. The carafe of prosecco was 9 euros and was enough for us each to have 2 – almost 3 – glasses each. Patrizia made a side trip past the pastry shop on our way back to the apartment and treated us to cannoli and other sweets along with the homemade limoncello she had first brought to us the other evening.

Another wonderful day in Italy!