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On Tuesday, our only full day in the beautiful city of Venice, the rain came down hard. After having lucked out with amazing, sunny weather up until this point in the trip, the group was forced to don their best west coast rain gear and head out into the showers. After a short walk to the nearby train station, Stazione Mestre, we hopped on a Trenitalia train that took us across the water to Stazione Santa Lucia, which allowed us to begin our exploration of the 121 islands of Venezia, connected by 435 bridges!
The walk from the train station to our first stop, Piazza San Marco, was a 30-minute adventure that took us over multiple bridges, over top of many canals, and through narrow alleyways that were our front-rowers’ worst nightmares..! With the help of Google Maps, however, the group were able to recover from multiple navigational mishaps and gather in St. Mark’s Square to meet our tour guides for the morning.
St. Mark’s Square is the main public square located in Venice, and it is also home to Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale), a Venetian Gothic palace that served as the residence of the Doge, or Duke, of Venice beginning in the year 1340. The guided tour took us to various vantage points throughout the square that allowed us to marvel at the eclectic architecture before heading inside the palace to move through the awe-inspiring residence, room by room. Highlights included The Scarlet Chamber, The Philosopher’s Room, a weapons display that showed off some impressive (and extremely heavy..! 40kg..!) armour, and the aptly-named Bridge of Sighs that takes you across to the prison.
After the guided tour, the group had a few hours in the city centre (and yes, still in the pouring rain) to explore and grab a bite to eat for lunch. Most stuck to the classics like lasagna and pizza, but there were reports of a few intrepid travellers who experimented with dishes like octopus salad and squid ink pasta. After lunch, we were treated to 5-person gondola rides that took us on a scenic loop in and amongst the narrow canals of Venezia! While the rain could have easily put a damper on the experience, the students weathered the elements well and even belted out a few verses of That’s Amore as they passed under the bridges, entertaining a few locals in the process. The boats were manned by expert gondoliers, who somehow managed to steer us away from no short amount of obstacles and other vehicles weaving their way through traffic.
Players were encouraged to sing That's Amore while cruising through the canals, but as you can hear, enthusiasm (and maybe ability?) were a bit dampened by the weather! VIDEO Luckily, Band teacher Mr. Farish was in one of the boats to help model the way... VIDEO All in all, our day-trip to Venezia was filled with rich history, good food and amazing experiences to last a lifetime. For the writer personally (Coach Kim), it provided all the motivation to return on a sunny day for further exploration and an extra gondola ride that leaves your pants dry and your fingers un-shriveled.
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