Student Trip to Europe: Part 2 | Venice, Italy

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Continued from Student Trip to Europe: Part 1…

Check out this quick video for an overview of our first two days here in Italy:

Day 3: Sirmione, Lake Garda

Our time in Switzerland had unfortunately come to an end. The group and I met at the train station bright and early at 7 am. We took our last train ride down the mountain and hopped on the bus, where we would start our journey to Italy.

The first pit stop we took was at Lake Como, where the students were given free time to explore. Cathedral de Como was one of the must-sees, along with a famous takeout pizza-by-the-slice place right beside of it.

One of my favorite places was our next pit stop along our route to Venice — Lake Garda. We stopped at Sirmione and took a boat tour around the peninsula. It was a beautiful day out on the lake and the beach was filled with vacationers. Our boat driver took us under an incredibly tight drawbridge at the Sirmione Castle (which you can see in the video above), where only one boat could go through at a time. We were able to get a full 360-degree view of the castle from the lake.

After docking and unloading from the boat, Frank (our tour director if you haven’t read Part 1) gave us a quick tour of the town center of Sirmione and allowed us free time to shop and explore. Where do you think I went…?? To the castle!!!!

We ventured up a staircase that leads to the walkways above the walls of Sirmione Castle — a 13th-century fortress totally surrounded by water that played a huge role in the defense of Lake Garda.

After our free time ended, we headed to our next hotel in the Venice Region. Hotel Villa Giulietta was located on the outskirts of Venice, near Padua. The students were able to experience their first three-course Italian meal at the hotel, with pasta, bread, pasta, pasta, and gelato for dessert! The downside to this hotel, and what everyone quickly began to miss about Switzerland, was that there was no air conditioning (and if you did have it in your room, it was broken) — and we had to pay for WiFi. A huge adjustment from the first two days…

Day 4: Venice, Italy

Day 4 started off dreary and rainy as we began our trip to the Venice town center. By the time our bus dropped us off to meet our water taxi, it was pouring down rain and we had to purchase ponchos and umbrellas to protect our bags and phones. My shoes and socks were drenched…welcome to Venice, right? But we didn’t let that ruin our day! We took a water taxi to the island of Murano for a glass blowing demonstration, where they taught us about the history and tradition of Venetian glass. This fascinated the students as the instructor, using only a handful of tools, made a glass horse right in front of their eyes. We were allowed time to browse the Murano shop to admire all the glass. Some chandeliers for sale in the shop cost upwards of 30,000 euros…they were incredible!

Finally, it was time to head to what I consider to be the best part of Venice! We met our local guide who led us on a walking tour. She was the cutest Venetian, who hummed and sang into the microphone while she walked. As a lifetime resident of Venezia, she has seen firsthand the impact that tourism has had over the years on her city. She explained how people get around without cars, with such tight spaces, and especially how it is to live on the fourth floor of a building with no elevator. We also learned that, because there are so many people in Venice and so little space, it is common for Venetians to seem rude and pushy as they make their way hastily through the streets. She gave us a heads up on these little things so we wouldn’t be surprised later in our day.  (I’m glad she forwarned us, because we were pushed and nearly trampled by workers with their delivery carts multiple times).

Following the walking tour, we met up with Frank the tour guide, who gave us strict instructions on when to meet back at St. Mark’s Square.

I led my group to the famous Rialto Bridge that is so often seen in movies. As we made our way there, I gave my students pointers on how to read the “road” signs and markings on the buildings for directions. (We were following the signs to Per Rialto and if they got lost, they were to follow the signs back to Per San Marco.)

It was a beautiful, sunny day, which made for awesome pictures from the bridge. We ate lunch at a nearby cafeteria as a group, then split up for some shopping and exploring.

Doge’s Palace and Bridge of Sighs – one of the main landmarks in Venice – was next on my list of places to visit. The apartments and rooms in the palace were beautifully appointed with wonderful architecture and gold trim and decor. As we walked over the Bridge of Sighs toward the prison cells, we could look through peepholes at the canal below. The New Prison, also part of the Palace, was a never-ending maze of tiny cells. I thought we’d never make it out of that tiny enclosed, underground space!

While the rest of the group went on gondola rides, I continued my tour of Venice and enjoyed an afternoon Aperol Spritz (a typical for the locals).

We finished our day back in Venice at St. Mark’s Square, before heading back to the hotel for dinner and some much-needed rest. Time to pack and head out to our next destination for day 5 — Florence!

Check out this map of the territory we covered in these 2 days. Our students were real troupers for being on a bus this long!

Thanks for reading part 2 of our overseas adventure! Be sure to follow or subscribe to see what’s next 🙂

XOXO