Venice by H

Today we went to the tower on St. Mark's square and we viewed the city from above. Then we had an early lunch at a really cool cafe. We had toast (bread without crust, filled with cheese, and then toasted). We also had a fruit juice drink that was made from fresh fruit. Then we headed to Murano island to see the glass there. We watched some glass blowers and it was very interesting. Then we had gelato, stopped and bought groceries and headed to our apartment to relax and fix dinner. Soon, we are heading out to catch a night-time gondola ride around the city.

Here are some facts that I have learned about Venice:

In every square in Italy the square slopes down into the middle towards the well. This is because in the 9th century Venetians devised a way to collect rainwater by usings town squares for a catchment system. The rain would fall into the square and flow through the pavement and onto or into the clay tub. Venice's population began to grow with safe drinking water. When an aqueduct was built, there was no need for wells anymore so they capped them all and now they just sit in the middle of each square.

In 1965, Venice's population was more than 150,000. Since the flood of 1966, the population has shrunk to 65,000.

The Grand Canal is Venice's main street. It is two miles long. It is nearly 150 feet wide and 15 feet deep.

Venice was built on the marshy islands of the former delta sittting on pilelings -- nearly 15 feet into the clay.

We went on the gondola ride around 9:00 PM tonight. It was awesome!