I chose to go to Venezia for the free day because I didn’t think I could go to Italy without visiting one of the world’s most unique cities.  The train ride was early and I found myself falling asleep for a majority of it but once we hit the last stop before Venice I was wide awake and amazed by the water on either side of the tracks; it seemed exactly like something unreal from a movie.  I thought I was entranced by that but walking outside of the train station into the main piazza was something I will never forget; the crowds of people, the boats, the grand canal and all of the amazing architecture.  We spent hours walking around just attempting to take everything in without getting lost.  It seemed like almost every shop had Venetian glass and masks, yet all were still so different from each other.  A highlight of the day was definitely taking a gondola, right as it was starting to get towards sunset.  We got lucky in that our gondolier was nice enough to point some things out as we passed by them in the boat, like the neighborhood that is one of the last to be inhabited solely by Venetians.  My favorite part though was definitely going to see the Rialto Bridge the next morning.  When I had the Shakespeare class I loved reading The Merchant of Venice, so it was an incredible feeling walking up the bridge that inspired Shakespeare himself enough to be the main point of reference for the story.  The bridge felt larger than life, it was incredible seeing all of the people going about their business on or while passing under the bridge.  I will never forget Venice and I feel like one day was simply not enough so I look forward to returning one day.