After three days in Corfu, Greece, I took the ferry to Venice, Italy, where I had an invitation from the Hilton Molino Stucky Hotel. 

After the near constant driving of the past few weeks, having to spend 28 hours in the ferry felt even longer. It was hard to kill time... though I managed to catch up with some reading, spent some time on the internet, enjoyed some good food and made new friends. 

There is a swimming pool on deck, but if you've just come from Corfu with its beautiful beaches, you really do not want to swim in a small pool.

As the ferry got closer to shore in Venice, my eyes were drawn to a very attractive old building and a city landmark – this was the Hilton Molino Stucky Venice where I would be staying.

After getting out of the ferry, I drove the Land Rover to the car park. It will remain there for the duration of my stay in Venice, since I can use it here, in the city of gondolas.

I arrived at the hotel, with its welcoming staff and spacious rooms. After breakfast, I had a swim in the the rooftop pool from where I could also get a good view over Venice.

The French Formula One race was on, so I returned to my room to watch it, then went to the city centre (the hotel offers free water taxi rides every 20 minutes).

Later, I returned to the hotel, and caught the European Cup quarter-final between Italy and Spain before deciding to file my diary entry for the day.

More from beautiful Venice later!

Ali Mushaima