The price of food

The food experience is, as we all know, a critical ingredient when organising many trips. So be warned that there are still restaurants out there that will fleece you and your group members unless you plan forward and agree prices. But this following example takes the biscuit (no pun intended).

I gather that the mayor of Venice has voiced outrage over a €1,100 bill that four Japanese tourists claim they had to pay for four steaks, a plate of fried fish, water and service. Four students visiting the city with others complained to police after getting the bill at a restaurant near St Mark’s Square.

Three more women with them fortunately chose another restaurant as an alternative - but even they ended up paying €350 for three plates of seafood pasta or at least they did according to Italian media.

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro tweeted: “If this disgraceful episode is confirmed, we’ll do all we can to punish those responsible. We are for justice - always!” Good to hear Mr Mayor.

I for one believe restaurants in Venice have been getting away with over inflated prices for years and please don’t order a coffee unless you can get a mortgage to pay for it. McDonald’s to go for me please…

On the beach

I have to be honest and admit that beach holidays are not my thing. Beaches are often dirty, windy, crowded and gritty. I simply do not like sand in my sandwich. So the fact that Bournemouth’s beach has been crowned Britain’s best beach in this year’s TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards was met with a blaze of indifference by yours truly.

Nevertheless, I know many like the beach, so I imagine this riveting news might keep people awake at night in frantic excitement planning a visit, anticipating the delights of a sand sprayed ice cream or perhaps some candy floss in a plastic bag.

Anyway, the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice thing suggests the resort is now ranked fifth in Europe and 14th worldwide, coming ahead of beaches in California, Gran Canaria and the Seychelles. Really?

Good news for Bournemouth however, a resort I like very much and have visited many times over the years. Anyway, the TripAdvisor people report that Bournemouth Beach’s ‘TripAdvisor page’ currently has over 7,000 reviews and an average rating of 4.5/5, whatever that means. And by the way, is 7,000 such a big number for a consumer website of this type?

I merely ask the question. I am of course very happy to report the good news and wish you a happy beach experience - if that is your thing.

The views expressed in this column are not necessarily the views of the publisher