As you know we had a very safe arrival into Dubai and spent a few entertaining hours observing the hugely diversified masses in the airport. Unfortunately a misunderstanding between Qantas and Emirates about the forward flight being Emirates (not to my display Qantas which would entitle me to the lounge - why did no-one point out the ticketing anomaly to me I wonder?) saw us not ensconced in the lounge but doing an arm wrestle in Starbucks for the last table, and hence easy access to the airport wifi to demonstrate devotion to travel blogs and of course answering client emails.

Fortunately no merchandise yelled loudly to JJ or me as we perambulated up and down the concourse fuelled by a Starbucks coffee (of course) and cookies and the occasional nod to fellow / recognised travellers from oz. The only other airport comment is that some of the female loos in what appears to be a very opulent airport were shockers and in need of attention (and no mention of the squat toilets which I don't mind but they are always stinky). A smirk-evoking plus was the shop sign of the day... in a very seafood ( including caviar - does that count?) restaurant area ..see pic

The flight to Venice was flying-wise OK (other than rating the Emirates crew a generous 3/10 for service) but when just as we had completed a taxi that I was sure would bring us to the outer canals of Venice, and were just about to take off a young woman ran at full speed to the back of the plane yelling (where we were in sub-economy, 2 rows from the back) to alert of a medical emergency. The brakes went on while the crew flapped around and the driver reported that a 'customer' was in need of medical attention and we would know soon if it was a 'return to base' or 'proceed' situation, so we all got into yet another movie (gotta love on demand movies).

Fortunately all was ok with our fellow customer and we took off very (surprisingly ) quickly. I actually thought that we must have been the next cab off the rank for departure when we stopped and wondered if we caused a traffic jam.

Once we took off all seemed to be sort of OK apart from the crew taking forever to get around to starting service of any kind (I have to pause and say that we have been very unimpressed with the standard of the crew on the Emirates flights yesterday and today - only a couple would I keep on the payroll and the rest were very surly and short (not in stature) with us ducks). Once lunch got underway it was slow and by the time they got to row 48 there was no choice of the chicken or the lamb - I caught my chicken as it was chucked towards me and had to ask twice for a beer!!

Then the formerly mentioned customer (who we discovered is diabetic and unthoughtfully had not eaten this morning resulting in low sugar levels) triggered another medical emergency and any doctors, paramedics and nurses were called for. Simultaneously the crew went into mob behaviour and stood around sharing the pain, totally ignoring JJ and my next drink needs. Some time later disaster seemed to be averted and the crew cleaned up and retired to the back kitchen to chat and practice annoying looks at customers.

Oh dear, but I have maybe vented and sound a tad grumpy. Nothing to do with only a few cat naps in 32 hours travelling. But Venice is less than two hours away and hopefully a shower, horizontal bed and wine (not necessarily in that order). But just as we were landing I noticed on the 'flight path' map (see pic) that we have have more or less just flown the length of Croatia... And one it will be 24 hours before we are in Dubrovnik! There must have been a faster way - but isn't he benefit of hindsight a wonderful thing!

After landing safely we got the hotel's shuttle and transferred to the hotel - a couple of kms from the (very small) terminal. My previous visits had me remembering the few essential Italian greeting and thanks, the stylish young Italian men and women, how they aren't necessarily the most technologically advanced nation (comparing with the airport at Dubai (except for the toilets) and that holes here don't have tea and coffee making Facilities, though thins one did send a tea/ coffee making kit on request.

Quick shower and out into the sunshine for a wander about what this airport down to offer! Well... We did a sort of pub / restaurant crawl, with our first Italian drinks (see pic) and first Italian pizzas and 1l of wine. Great food, the waitressing staff should apply for Emirates crew when jobs come up for very moderate prices. The weather was great - I am determined that it will be like this for 3 + weeks. And lots of bikes (and scooters) on and off the road (see pin)

But now time for bed....first for what feels like forever. Early start and Croatia, here we come