Most of the other people in our group choose to have a gondola

ride...but Glen and I decided to explore this great city on our own.

We 'got lost' on purpose

Enjoy some of the back streets and canals that we experienced together

As the Grand Canal snakes through the city

 eventually

you come across it even if you 

don't intend too

I love this photo

From the must less opulent, but function connection 'bridge' from one 

row of stores to the next...

To the lovely public bridge connecting a street market to pass through / alleyway

To a private bridge connecting two family homes/business'

Look at the decorative iron bars on the
house on the left. 

 Amazing!

FREE DAY

Let's start at the beginning

Piazza San Marco

A different view of Doge's Palace

The Bridge of Sighs

It is said that the condemned could be heard sighing

as they walked from the court house (Doge's Palace) to the prison

Built from White Limestone, with stone bars over the windows

1603 

Saint Mark's Square at night
From the Tower to Saint Mark's Basilica

A closer look at the Basilica

An even closer (daytime) look

I wanted to include it so you could see how 

Amazing this cathedral truly is

One of the many wee bridges that you will see in Venice...

On our meandering way back to our ferry.

It would be Easy to get lost in this city.

What an adventure that would be...if only we had the time

Shot taken from the rear of the restaurant

How easily we forgot about the water once we were inside

We have since enjoyed a lovely meal & have ventured out into the streets of the  sleepy city

I love this photo for the colors alone.

Most if not all the private buildings in Venice have shutters and small balconies

It is very Venetian

A night time look of the Grand Canal, end of day for the shops that line the water

Gondola boats moored and their drivers on their way home

An aerial view from the Famous Rialto Bridge

Rialto Bridge

&

the Grand Canal

We arrived in St. Mark's Square at 6:30 as most of the travelers were heading back

to their ferries.

We were lucky / smart (?) enough to have picked an extra excursion into the city at night

The city full of over 400 bridges, over numerous canals connecting the

 approximately 55 thousand residents of this Great City

Above is the bell tower of St. Mark's Square

This is the promenade balcony of Doge's Palace, on the main entrance to St. Marks' Square

A gothic building created in the 14th century

Originally used as a Government House, courtroom and jail

Changed to a Museum in 1923

This building is on the far side of the square

Was once a city office, now an upscale hotel

($1900 euros a night!)

This is it folks...the 20 minute boat trip to the City of Venice

and what a ride it was...

That is the iconic tower at St. Marks' Square or the Piazza San Marco

Travelling on the lagoon towards the main city of Venice

Coming into port at Doge's Palace