La Bella Vita Barge Cruise Photos

From: La Bella Vita Barge Cruise Review

Day 2: Venice (departure for Alberoni)

Shortly after 4 p.m., Mattia Toninato--La Bella Vita's deckhand--removed the barge's lines from bollards along the Riva di San Biagio.

Mattia stepped on board as engineer Roger Pagnin (foreground) kept an eye on the riva.

Soon, were leaving the waterfront and our berthmate, the vintage motor yacht Marpala, behind.

We,  in turn, were left in the dust (or, more literally, in the water) by Carnival Sunshine, which passed La Bella Vita on its way to the Adriatic.

A few minutes later, we cruised past Uniworld's River Countess as we slowly motored east along the Venice waterfront.

La Bella Vita's daily program called for two hours of cruising between Venice's historic center and the village of Alberoni, at the southern end of the Lido di Venezia.

The navigation channels were marked by bricole, which are traditional clusters of wooden pilings.

As we cruised along, we passed a number of islands. Some were inhabited, while others looked abandoned.

We reached our berth in Alberoni around 6 p.m.