Sonja: We caught a catamaran from Croatia to Venice, arriving by sea and sailing up the grand canal. The views were spectacular and made up for a hot and sticky wait in passport control and ride in the crowded vaporetto (passenger ferry system through the larger canals) to the apartment.

We spent three days exploring the alleyways and canals, visiting the major sites. We all did a bit of shopping and enjoyed some lovely meals outside in the evening together.

Elise – my favourite places were the beach we swam in on the island of Lido and the Rialto bridge especially at night when it was lit up beautifully. We ate heaps of pizza and pasta and I loved the pizza place we had lunch at on the first day. I spent lots of money buying a mask, a quill, some earrings and presents for my friends. Overall it was a nice city to stay in, and it was lovely to see all the canals and the gondolas that were very different to the places we’d stayed in before, when we were in Croatia.

Adam: Venice was a very nice city. I liked the Rialto bridge and the Bridge of Sighs especially at night when it was lit up. The Basilica of San Marco was beautiful. The San Marco square was very pretty at night. The pigeons in the square were very fun to fun even though we thought it was illegal!

Tessa: Venezia is a very pretty and unique city. I enjoyed walking around with no cars. I bought a quill, some presents for my friends and a venetian mask. I loved looking at all the different, extravagant carnival masks. We went to the glass-blowing island Murano, and watched a glassblower shape a horse and a jug and I bought some glass earrings. The city had a lot of beautiful buildings, sculptures and monuments each different and amazing in it’s own way.