We had a very early start to the day! We woke up and go to the train station by 7. Our train ride was 2.5 hour – many of us studied for our upcoming exams in MGMT 311 and IBUS 310. Our Florence hosts at SAI walked us around the city; we got to see the Scuola Grande Di San Rocco, several ancient bridges, and a beautiful view of the city. Venice was built on sand; it has sunk about 9 inches in the last century and combined with the rising water levels it is expected to be underwater by 2100. We sat down for a nice lunch and got to know our classmates a little bit better. We, of course, got gelato afterwards!
After, we went on a guided tour of St. Mark’s Basilica. It was beautiful! The entire inside was covered in gold plated mosaics. It had a very different style than the Vatican but still included so much history. We learned that when people were first living in Venice, they used salt as the currency. In Italian, salt is pronounced “sale,” which is where we get the word “salary” from! After, got another scoop of gelato!
It was a very rainy day, so we weren’t sure if our plans would go as expected. This entire Italy trip has taught us to be flexible and “go with the flow.” We thought our gondola tour would get canceled but we were so excited when it wasn’t. We split into groups of 5, hopped on the boat, and our boat captain (who has been rowing for 28 years!) took us on a relaxing ride around the city.
Our train was delayed so we grabbed dinner from the train station. It was a long ride home so many of us slept after a big day in Venice. We walked almost 20,000 steps! This day trip taught me about the innovation of the early settlers of Venice – they settled in the marsh lands in order to protect themselves from invasions. They lived in a peaceful city for almost 2 centuries, and were able to become a massive influence on Italy and the rest of the world.
