KathyWdrf...we'll have to compare notes on Guangzhou ( aka Peking historically) while in VCE. We'd normally hopscotch around the Far East, always traveling through HKG for R&R.
I was last in Guangzhou in the early 90's prior to a lot of cars and pollution. Mostly folks on bicycles. We'd drive down the streets in a huge Mercedes honking non-stop to get the bike crowd to clear a path.
When passing through HKG to other destinations, we always visited one of the many British restaurants for prime rib and a baked potato before heading off to more outrageous foods in surrounding countries.

Guangzhou was never called Peking.

Peking is another name for Beijing.

Anyhow, there were evidently enormous changes in Guangzhou between the early 90's, when you were there, and 1997, when I was there.

Correct...my bad. :o
Guangzhou was originally Canton.
I traveled to China after they had changed the names of the various cities and I was always trying to figure out what the new/old names were.

Dan, I am not sure if the Ai Mori is sold out although I imagine that most of the good bargains are gone. You might want to contact the hotel directly, tell them you are with our group, and check.

The one problem about the Ramada is that it is not in walking distance from the Ai Mori by any stretch of the imagination. Most other hotels in Venice are -- some closer, some a bit further away.

For a hotel that is within, say, a 5 minute walk, look for something near the train station, the Ghetto, or the Casino. The best of these, without a doubt, is the Principe although it runs about $250 a night. I have absolutely no doubt that a search on the internet will come up with many others running from about $75 per night and up.

If you are willing to walk about 10-15 minutes, your choices will become even larger. Only if you stay in Mestre (where the Ramada is), Lido, Murano, or one of the other outlying islands, will you need transportation to get there.

Do a search and if you have any question about how far the hotel is, PM me.

Dovster, who is 47 hours away from starting his odyssey to Venice.

Dan I urge you to contact Marco Musco at the hotel and tell him you are a member of the FT group. Marco is doing handsprings to accommodate our group in the best possible way. If the hotel is sold out you can trust him to accommodate you in a nearby facility. Marco is a true Venetian gentleman and hotelier.

totally confirmed!
 

Alitalia Flight: 343
Departs NCE November 19 11:10 am
Arrives Rome (FCO)12:20 pm
( connecting to )
Alitalia Flight: 1471
Departs Rome (FCO) November 19 1:15 pm
Arrives Venice (VCE) 2:25 pm

BTW, is there a weight limit on the sampan? I am bringing two big ones... suitcases, i.e. :o

Good question. How big are these water taxi's?? Belle, me, Mrs. Cholula, platbrownguy/platbrowndude and possibly Canarsie plan to share a water taxi. Is this possible or would it capsize shortly after leaving the VCE airport...:eek: ?

It would be a tragic start to the meet if we were to lose Belle, Mrs. Cholula, and Platbrowndude. :(

Dovster, who is 44 hours away from starting his odyssey to Venice.

Belle, on Alitalia international flights (but not not cross-Atlantic) you are allowed 23 kilos (50 pounds) in checked baggage and 5 kilos (11 pounds) in hand luggage plus one "personal item" such as your laptop computer.

That is in Coach. In Business they push it up to 30 kilos for checked baggage.

They have very high rates for overweight baggage, so think again how much you will be taking.

(If you are on a trans-Atlantic itinerary and have no more than a connection in Nice, this does not apply.)

What about a weight limit on DL flights? On their web site it doesn't seem to indicate a different weight limit than domestic flights. I am taking my carryon which must be more than 11 pounds, and my backpack which is probably more than 11 pounds.

I'm scheduled in coach on DL 144/DL 145, but my outbound flight is looking kinda full. So I'm hoping for a bump. I suppose they would bump me onto Alitalia or Air France. Could this be a problem for my luggage?

If you are flying Delta all the way, you will have no problem. If they bump you onto Alitalia or Air France, your checked luggage will present no problem.

Your hand luggage, in theory, would be restricted to the Alitalia or Air France limits.

In practical terms, I have never seen either airline check the weight of hand luggage at any time except check in.

If they don't give you a problem at JFK, they most likely won't give you a problem anywhere else -- and in the U.S. they generally don't enforce these limits.

When I fly MIA-CDG-MXP on Air France and Alitalia, I will be exceeding the weight limits for my carry on. I don't expect to run into headaches anywhere.

However, when I fly MXP-TLV two weeks later on AZ it may well be a different story.

I am flying Business, so I will be allowed 30 kilos in checked luggage. I doubt that I will be over that. My hand luggage, however, will greatly exceed my five kilos.

The Business check in at MXP usually won't bother checking the weight if the hand luggage is within "size wise" limits, as mine will be. To be extra certain, I will probably go to the airport with my UIG who will have my hand luggage with her when I check in. That way, they will never see it.

I just looked at the Alitalia website and found the charges for excess luggage for intra-European flights (and to Israel):

1 to 5 kilos: 5 Euros per kilo.

6 to 15 kilos: 7 Euros per kilo.

Over 15 kilos: 11 Euros per kilo.

So if I were to be 20 kilos over, I would pay 220 Euros ($279).

How many people will the water taxi accomodate? I think I recall 5 or 6 with moderate luggage.....

I see Lili Dui and sister arriving 5 minutes later on LH than MsEverywhere (hoping for bump...) KLC and moi on DL.....want to share the sampan if both flights arrive sort of on time?

I have emailed the hotel twice now and have only received the automated response that they have received my message. If somebody here has a better way of contacting Mr. Musco or the hotel please let me know and I will do so ASAP. Otherwise I am confirmed; I have worked out my flights and have arranged my sched in Zurich so that I may attend this event. If it is at all possible to tidy this up by Nov. 15th when I head to Zurich for work I would greatly appreciate that as I am not sure how much free time I will have there to deal with it.

I have been to Venice once before and although I was there on business and unable to really take in the sites (it was summer and Venice looked more like Disney World and less like an Italian City)I was still facinated by it. Therefore, I would really love the chance to visit Venice again this time with knowledgeable people and see the other side of Venice.

My flights are as follows. Nov. 15 EWR-ZRH(On Continental) Nov. 19 ZRH-VCE(SWISS) and Nov. 25 VCE-ZRH(SWISS)

Dan

Dan, you can call the hotel at +39 041 711001. (To call Milan, you have to use the first "0" in the area code, even when calling internationally. I am not certain about Venice, but I think it is the same.)

I suggest that you speak only to Marco Musco (there is no problem with his English). If he is not there, they can tell you when to call back.

Meanwhile, as soon as I finish this post, I will have the great pleasure of updating the first one to put you on the "definite" list.

Dovster, who is 40 hours away from starting his odyssey to Venice.