Venice

Venice - we arrived at 9:30 am after an uneventful night on the train.most of the students slept well but I can't say as much for the teachers. The train car, with 49 of us and others, had two toilets and two small rooms with sinks, so needless to say, we were not the best groomed group to arrive at the embarcadero that morning. We met our new driver, Danilo, who will be with us until we leave Rome.

Everywhere we have been there have been vendors and most of their wares have been tatty to say the least. Venice was no exception with the displays of unusual underwear.

We had a boat reserved for our ride to Venice by way of Murano. Our first stop was a glass factory and it was a real factory. We watched while three artisans worked on the project for the day - Murano glass bulls. The factory shop had wonderful displays of vases, chandeliers, and beautiful trays of jewellery. We resisted the big pieces but the small ones found their way into our suitcases!

The boat took us to Venice, docking near the Piazzo San Marco. The students had free time to find lunch and a gelato before our 2:00 tour of the Doge's Palace. The Doge was an elected official who governed the city state. The rooms we saw were mainly official meeting rooms but they were opulent. We crossed the Bridge of Sighs and then had the opportunity to explore and look for more "Gallant sun glasses", Italia jackets, masks, jewelly, ferrari stuff, postcards and more gelati!

We returned by boat to the Lido de Jesoli.