First walk in Venice

I went for a walk in Venice without a map, but I had looked at google maps of the area near our hotel before flying to Italy and had a rough idea of the geography. My aim was to stay on the dry parts (the ancient cobbled streets) and out of the wet parts (the Canals) unless I was in a boat. My walk took me away from the Grand canal which snakes it's way through the city like a , er, I guess- a snake.

I was hoping to find a place we were going to visit the next day-La Fenice, the Venice Opera house which was set on fire in 1996 but was now lovingly restored. We had bought tickets online in the USA and had time to see an afternoon performance of Il Trovatore, an opera by Guiseppe Verdi.

The first thing that struck me , once I walked 50 yards from the Grand Canal was how quiet it is in a city without cars in it's center. You hear footsteps, hear voices that you can't see yet echoing down an alleyway up ahead. It's very peaceful and human. I fell in love with the sound of Venice first.

A square less than 5 minutes ramble from our hotel on the Grand Canal

Tower in the square. Yes, it's leaning.

The big umbrellas belong to two restaurants in the square. We had dinner plans for our first evening-but not here.

I felt I must be getting closer to the Opera house and walked down a narrow alley, leading away from the square...

The alleyway took a couple of twists and turns....and I found the rear of the Opera House.

La Fenice!

Ok, I found it and now could find it again tomorrow afternoon. We would have to have lunch before the Opera as we had to go to our ship immediately afterwards. We would need to leave our hotel soon after 7 p.m. taking a water taxi to the ship. The Opera began at 3.30. and would last about 3 hours. The walk to the hotel would take 15 minutes at an easy pace. A workable plan!

There were restaurants within a few feet of the Opera House so we could always eat there I thought.

Several options.

It was soon time to start heading back to the hotel to do my own unpacking and relax for a while.
I turned to make the walk back taking photos and video along the way......