Day 12: From Stresa to Venice

Lake Maggiore

We had to rise rather early for our departing train from beautiful, relaxing Stresa. 

Since Stresa is north of Venice, we actually took a train back to Milan and switched trains there.

Arriving in Venice in early afternoon, we sought out tickets for the city’s vaporetti (water boat system).  Once we had that all sorted out, we boarded a floating dock to wait for the vaporetti.  Once the water taxi docked against the floating deck, we climbed aboard.  It’s a pretty neat public transport system!

As luck would have it, we were not provided with precise instructions of how to find our hotel once we were on the island of Giudecca, part of the Southern Lagoon area of Venice.  We wandered through alleys and crossed bridges, trying to find our way.  Finally, we found the correct alley and at the end of this long, narrow alley was our hotel, Domina!

Domica is in a quiet, neighborly area and our room is cozy.

The room opens with a Juliette balcony and there are residences directly across from our 2nd floor room.  As we were unpacking, a lady was hanging her laundry out on the line from her 3rd story window.

There is a smaller canal running right behind our hotel, lined with colorful boats.  This canal provides many playful reflections.

The front desk clerk provided us with a more detailed map of Venezia (which is what they all Venice).  She recommended several local restaurants and we picked the closest one since we were famished!  Ai Cacciatori was listed in our Top 10 book for the neighborhood we were staying in Venice and we had a table canalside, fantastic for good people watching.  (Also, might I add, dog watching!)

After a bite, we walked a bit further down the canal and checked out Campo Del Santissimo Redentore and its beautiful architecture. 

We kept wandering alleys and courtyards, getting a feel for the area and finally stopped for a canalside drink.  The spot we chose seemed to be mostly locals catching up after work.  The sun was setting over Venezia as we kicked back and relaxed – what a view!

Looking forward to a full day of Venetian sites tomorrow!