At Treviso, Jomier and Judith drag their suitcases out of the barn-like terminal building to the coach waiting to take Ryanair passengers to Venice. They lift their suitcases into the belly of the coach and join the queue to get in. Jomier climbs the steps, taking out his wallet to buy a ticket. No, no. The driver waves him off. He must buy his ticket in the terminal. Jomier and Judith squeeze past the passengers standing behind them. Should they leave their bags on the bus? Jomier is afraid it might depart without them. Their suitcases are now hidden behind a wall of other suitcases, holdalls, rucksacks . . . Jomier breaks down the wall to retrieve them. They walk back into the terminal, find the ticket counter, wait in a queue to buy tickets, buy the tickets (€9 × 2 = €18), and once again make their way out of the terminal. The coach has gone. Will there be another? They return to the terminal to try and find out. ‘Si, si. Un altro . . .’ They return to the coach stop and wait.

Pale winter sunlight. From the vaporetto taking Jomier and Judith along the Grand Canal, La Serenissima looks superb. But she is incontinent. They disembark at the Ponte dell’Accademia and find, when they reach the Sestiere Dorsoduro, that they must walk on duckboards to reach their hotel. The ground floor of the Albergo Manzoni is under water but the hotel itself remains open for business. The concierge behind the desk neither apologises nor explains. He shows Jomier and Judith to their room. It is small but light with a fine view of the Giudecca and the church of San Giorgio Maggiore. There is a shower and lavatory in a windowless annexe. The concierge explains that the sala da pranzo e chuiso but breakfast can be brought to their room. The room is chilly. With a certain reluctance he stoops to switch on an electric radiator on the wall.

It is now late afternoon. The light is fading. Jomier and Judith agree that it is too late to start sightseeing. The smell of singed dust rises from the radiator. Jomier and Judith remove their damp shoes and lie under the bedclothes to rest. ‘This is no good,’ says Jomier. ‘We’ll upgrade tomorrow.’