With all the train delays on Friday evening we arrived much later into Venice than expected. The first view of the Grand Canal as we walked out of the train station in the twilight was stunning as always, and then we merged in with the crowds to find our way to the three hotels - despite booking all the hotels for the trip almost a year ago, we still couldn't fit our whole group into the same establishment. We were quite spread out too which made getting around in the already maze-like Venice even trickier. A very late first night dinner finished off the long day and we were all more than ready for a sleep.
The next morning (after Claudia indulged in some impromptu quidditch while we waited for the others) it was time to really experience Venice in the stunning sunshine. We were blessed with perfect mild weather so the first stop was the quintessential Venetian experience of a gondola ride. This was followed by a trip to the top of the Campanile for its all-encompassing view of Venice and the surrounding islands, with a few cruise ships thrown in to show the scale of the city. Much to the relief of some of the students, there was a lift to the top so the journey was much more relaxing, although some found the wind 100 metres up in air a little bit chilly. Upon our descent, the next stop was the interior of
la Basilica di San Marco, with its beautifully detailed mosaics and rippled terrazzo floor from the centuries of
acqua alta inundating the city.
With Julianne leading from the front, our next stop was to the Hard Rock Cafe as she felt an overwhelming urge to buy a tshirt which it had been weighing on her mind since her last trip. This turned into our lunch stop, with people getting a little excited at the burgers and fries on the menu. The service wasn't the most consistent, but everyone was happy at least. Having resisted most of the shops up until this point, the urge to indulge in some retail therapy once again took over so we headed to the Rialto Bridge. With a plethora of fragile purchases we made our way back to the hotels for a brief rest before dinner, followed by yet more shopping as we wound our way back for the night.
Sunday morning once again we met up in gorgeous sunshine to see the Bridge of Sighs. We then took a ferry ride down the whole length of the Grand Canal so that the beautiful architecture of the historic buildings could be appreciated. From there we ventured into the original Ghetto, where over the centuries the Jewish population had been confined through phases of persecution. In the middle of the central square is a monument to the Venetian Jews who were taken off the the concentration camps during World War II, some as young as two years old. It is quite a sobering sight, alleviated by the laughter of small children playing soccer in the square and sausage dogs chasing pigeons. Nancy practised her language skills with a local barista who thought she was North African, but was then offended when he told her she should learn more Italian. Well, I tried to convince her to do the classes at the uni!
Emerging from the Jewish Quarter we made our way back for one last shopping fling around the Rialto Bridge before plunging once more into the crowds to retrieve our luggage and make it back to the station. I think most students appreciated the fact that this is the shoulder season as they found it hard to imagine what it would be like to try and move in Venice in the height of summer. Our last stylish fast train ride back to Florence hurtled us back southwards, and on to our little regional train to Perugia, this time in the stunning sunset as we passed Lake Trasimeno. Another bus ride up the hill (much less crowded than last week's) ended our busy weekend.
With all the train delays on Friday evening we arrived much later into Venice than expected. The first view of the Grand Canal as we walked out of the train station in the twilight was stunning as always, and then we merged in with the crowds to find our way to the three hotels - despite booking all the hotels for the trip almost a year ago, we still couldn't fit our whole group into the same establishment. We were quite spread out too which made getting around in the already maze-like Venice even trickier. A very late first night dinner finished off the long day and we were all more than ready for a sleep.
The next morning (after Claudia indulged in some impromptu quidditch while we waited for the others) it was time to really experience Venice in the stunning sunshine. We were blessed with perfect mild weather so the first stop was the quintessential Venetian experience of a gondola ride. This was followed by a trip to the top of the Campanile for its all-encompassing view of Venice and the surrounding islands, with a few cruise ships thrown in to show the scale of the city. Much to the relief of some of the students, there was a lift to the top so the journey was much more relaxing, although some found the wind 100 metres up in air a little bit chilly. Upon our descent, the next stop was the interior of la Basilica di San Marco, with its beautifully detailed mosaics and rippled terrazzo floor from the centuries of acqua alta inundating the city. 
Sunday morning once again we met up in gorgeous sunshine to see the Bridge of Sighs. We then took a ferry ride down the whole length of the Grand Canal so that the beautiful architecture of the historic buildings could be appreciated. From there we ventured into the original Ghetto, where over the centuries the Jewish population had been confined through phases of persecution. In the middle of the central square is a monument to the Venetian Jews who were taken off the the concentration camps during World War II, some as young as two years old. It is quite a sobering sight, alleviated by the laughter of small children playing soccer in the square and sausage dogs chasing pigeons. Nancy practised her language skills with a local barista who thought she was North African, but was then offended when he told her she should learn more Italian. Well, I tried to convince her to do the classes at the uni!
Emerging from the Jewish Quarter we made our way back for one last shopping fling around the Rialto Bridge before plunging once more into the crowds to retrieve our luggage and make it back to the station. I think most students appreciated the fact that this is the shoulder season as they found it hard to imagine what it would be like to try and move in Venice in the height of summer. Our last stylish fast train ride back to Florence hurtled us back southwards, and on to our little regional train to Perugia, this time in the stunning sunset as we passed Lake Trasimeno. Another bus ride up the hill (much less crowded than last week's) ended our busy weekend.
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