This is a map of Venice:

It's all well and good when you are sitting in your room,

under a bright light,

but in the real world, outside, it's pretty much useless.

Okay, if you stay in the Tourist Zone

it's almost impossible to get lost;

the city has spoiled some of the fun, having installed

big yellow signs with arrows pointing the way to all the popular spots.

But if you (like me) like to wander into the farthest reaches

of local civility,

you will get lost, that's a 100% certainty.

And it's best, in fact, not to become too familiar 

with the city, because once you 

know your way 'there and back' to a place

(restaurant, bar, café, shop) 

that was once exotic in it's hidden-ness,

some of the magic is gone.

When that happens, you can up the

excitement ante again by trying to find your way at night.

Dark, deserted streets and everything shuttered

makes for a whole new game of things.