Rising from the ashes
We started our last day in Venice, and our last day of the trip, with the yummy breakfast that the hotel serves on their beautiful patio. Fruit, pastries, tea, eggs, etc. After arranging a water taxi to take us to the airport tomorrow, we made a bee line for the Vaporetto that is very close to our hotel. Our goal was Teatro La Fenice, or the Venice Opera House.
Passing another beautiful church.
Karen has been wanting to see the Opera House and finally got to and no one in our group was disappointed.
We were able to go into this magnificent theater, which is not always possible because of rehearsals, etc. but since it was Sunday, we got to go in. Words cannot describe its interior beauty, so here are several pictures.
We enjoyed listening to the history on the audio boxes that came with our entry fee.
The opera house has a history of rising from the ashes as it has been destroyed twice by fire, the most recent in 1996 as a result of arson. It has been completely rebuilt exactly as it was originally designed.
We enjoyed our walk-through Venice both to get to the opera house and to leave it. Venice is so beautiful and unusual. We came across a group of gondolas going under a very low bridge and enjoyed the scene, and because it was a tight fit the gondolier had to tip his gondola sideways and his backpack fell into the water.
Mike wanted to see if he could find a place that he was familiar with to have Cicchetti (small open face sandwiches that are a specialty of Venice), so they went off to find it while Bill and Karen found a little place where they shared a pizza. Needed to save room for a cookie and gelato!
After eating, we decided to walk back to the hotel instead of taking the Vaporetto, so we walked to the Rialto Bridge and crossed over. We noticed several walkways along the grand canal that were getting flooded because of 'aqua alta' (exceptional high tide that occurs periodically in the northern Adriatic Sea).
The canal ends at the building on the right where the seagull is standing.
We zig zagged along the streets following Bill's map app and quickly got to the hotel just before the thunder started up. Our first and only day with potentially wet weather, but it never happened.
Mike and Carla returned to the hotel shortly after we did and they were able to find Mike's special place, but it was closed today. Disappointing, but they found another great spot serving the same thing and enjoyed their lunch.
Now we have to do something that we hate to do - pack to come home. And we must find space for the purchases, and we only do carry-on bags. Good news, we made everything fit - whew!
Last on our Sunday itinerary is dinner and of course gelato. We found a restaurant close by that has turned out to be the best near us. Bill had lasagna and Karen had spaghetti with clams. We loved the food and in fact ate here three times.
Why are we wearing jackets for the first time? It did not rain but got a little windy and cold this evening. In fact, our waiter said yesterday was May and tonight it's November!
We left Mission Viejo 21-days ago and tomorrow we head for home. That means taking a water taxi to the airport at 6 AM. It's been a beautiful, adventurous, fun filled trip and we look forward to our next adventure. Thanks for joining us along the way. God Bless.
Bill and Karen
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