A Hundred Tiny Islands

I often joke with my students back home that in Venice, you can point your camera blindly in any direction and snap a photo fit for a postcard. To say this city is picturesque is an understatement: it is more a painting, a vivid dreamscape of winding canals and whistling gondoliers. Amongst its many nicknames is La serenissima -- "the most serene" -- which is mostly true. In all honesty, you'll have to stray away from the hotbed of Piazza San Marco to find the more cozy, tranquil corners. Some 20 million tourists visit Venice every year, which when compared to its population of 200,000 citizens means the majority of people surrounding you are also just visiting. 

To arrive there from Ferrara was only an hour long train ride through the Veneto region. The train tracks stretch across the water from the mainland and drop off directly onto the lagoon itself. And immediately upon exiting the station, you're there: immersed in perhaps the most recognizable city in the world. The following photos are all from the CIEE students themselves, so please enjoy first-hand how they experienced The City of Water. 

A few students took advantage of their free time with a ride through the canals.

To become a Gondoliere is a very high honor. Not only is it a birthright passed from father to son, but it requires intense cultural and linguistic training, a custom-made gondola to fit the oarsman's weight profile, and a highly expensive taxi license (we're talking north of €700,000). Needless to say, it is a very exclusive profession.

There are no cars in Venice. There are no bicycles, either. To move about the city, you must either walk or take a vaporetto (water bus). Service vehicles like waste management, ambulances, and the police must also resort to boats as their primary mode of transportation.

After our guided tour towards St Mark's Square, we gave the students a couple hours of free time to roam about the city, always in small groups. Some found souvenirs for family back home, and others tried the local gelato while watching the crowds go by. My colleague Andrew and I took a long walk together through his old neighborhood. I mapped our route with my GPS watch: we totaled nearly 10 miles for the whole day!

Before leaving to the train station together, we met up in the piazza and discussed our day. Anthonie blew us all away with his purchase of a full-size traditional Carnival mask, which he wore for the group photo, earning my spirit award nomination for the weekend.

And just like that, another excursion in the books.