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La Bella Vita Barge Cruise Photos

From: La Bella Vita Barge Cruise Review

Day 2: Alberoni

LA BELLA VITA in Alberoni

Alberoni street sign

La Bella Vita's berth was just outside the village of Alberoni, which is a holiday resort on the narrow isthmus between the Venetian Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea.


Marina in Alberoni, Italy

A marina was just a few yards from our pier.


Bicyclists from LA BELLA VITA

Within minutes of La Bella Vita's arrival, the crew had unloaded mountain bikes for a scenic ride.


Road to Alberoni beach

We skipped the guided bike tour and walked to the beach and nature reserve on the Alberoni's seaside shore, which was easy to reach over level roads. As we approached the deserted beach, we could see containerships in the Adriatic.


Driftwood on beach at Alberoni

We also saw plenty of driftwood--some of it massive. (The trees above could easily have floated all the way from Croatia or Slovenia.)


Sand dunes in Alberoni

Behind the beach, sand dunes brought back memories of a family vacation on the North Sea coast of Denmark many years earlier.


Alberoni waterfront

It was too damp a day for exploring sand dunes, so we headed for Alberoni's small downtown business district.


Alberoni vaporetto stop

On the waterfront, we discovered a vaporetto stop for water buses that connect Alberoni with Venice and the mainland port of Fusina.


Bicycles and LA BELLA VITA in Alberoni

By the time we returned to La Bella Vita, the bicyclists had returned, Mattia was loading bikes onto the barge, and it was almost time for dinner.


Sea bass on LA BELLA VITA

The main course at dinner that night was branzino or sea bass (served as a kind of muffin with potatoes underneath and surrounded by chopped zucchini.)


Chicken cordon bleu on LA BELLA VITA

For passengers who couldn't or wouldn't eat fish, Andrea and Mario (the chef and sous-chef) had prepared a tasty chicken cordon bleu.


Bus and Malamocco Car Ferry

After dinner, the two of us went ashore and walked along the seafront promenade toward the southern tip of Alberoni, where a public bus from Pellestrina was driving off a ferry or traghetto.


Malamocco car and bus ferry

Traghetto - Malamocco

The isthmus that runs from Venice's Lido to the Italian mainland is pierced by two shipping channels, making ferries a necessity for road travelers. (It's possible to go all the way from the Lido di Venezia to Chioggia, at the southern end of the Venetian lagoon, by bus and ferry.)


Seafront in Alberoni

As we walked back to La Bella Vita, we could see the lights of Venice in the distance, across the Venetian Lagoon.

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In this day-by-day photo diary:
Day 1 - Embarkation and Venice
Day 2 - Venice, Alberoni
Day 3 - Chioggia, Ca' Zen
Day 4 - Adria, Bagnoli Estate
Day 5 - Ferrara
Day 6 - Mantua
Day 7 - Disembarkation

Also see:
La Bella Vita cruise review (8 pages)
Satellite map of cruising region and high points
Venice for Visitors