No cars, no roads, just water and boats.

Of all the cities in Italy we visited on our spring break trip, Venice was the least like how I had pictured it in my mind. I knew Venice was a water town, but I did not know to what extent. First of all, the islands of the cities are very spread apart and the water in between them is more like the ocean or a rough river than a gentle canal. Secondly, the only method of transportation is by boat. There are no roads and no cars, just canals and boats of all sizes. Along with no roads or cars, there were also very few areas with grass and trees. Though the islands were missing those things which I am so used to, it has a sense of calm, peace, and quiet everywhere. All you hear is the water hitting the buildings, sidewalks, or boats passing through.

We took a tour of the city islands, stopping first t Murono to see a glass-blowing demonstration. The glass they make on that island is the most beautiful and famous. After shopping in the glass factory, we went to Burono, which looked exactly like a picture. The houses on the island were painted the brightest colors, blue, purple , pink, green, and orange. When we finished exploring the piazza of Burono, we went to a tiny island called Torcello. That island had little other than a few houses, a restaurant, and a neat old church. Finally, we finished our island tour at San Marco, the main island of Venice. San Marco was must busier than the other islands but was still peaceful without the bustle of cars flying by. Here, we went on a gondola ride, who knows when we may have the chance again. The gondola ride gave us the most unique view of Venice that you could never see from the main streets. Its incredible to see how the buildings go straight into the canals. The water was much cleaner than I thought it would have been, and it was such a clear blue-green color.

The island was as beautiful as any picture of Italy I have ever seen, but more so because it was right in front of me.

For our final day in Venice, some of us stayed on our island, Judeca, and explored nearly every single back alley and canal. We spent over two hours wandering the island, getting lost several times. My favorite part of the island was that it was just as beautiful as any picture of Italy I have ever seen, but more so because it was right in front of me. It was a gorgeous day to be outside, enjoying our last full day in Italy, it was certainly sad to see the amazing trip come to an end.