Gondolas have been a part of Venice for centuries, originally as a primary mode of transportation. They are hand-made, about 36 feet long and flat bottomed to navigate the shallow waters of the Venetian Lagoon. Historically, Venice had about 10,000 gondolas working in town. Today, there are less than 400, but those 400 seemed to stay pretty busy, mainly with tourists. The gondolier propels the boat with a rowing oar, in a sculling manner, and it also serves as a rudder.

We had a pleasant ride, both down quiet canals and into the Grand Canal. Our driver was also a guide, pointing out landmarks to us. I'm not sure about the romantic part as we frequently passed multiple boats and bridges were sometimes crowded with people taking our photo. I looked at it as something that we had to do in Venice, and we did it and we enjoyed it. You will see that it's really work for the gondolier.

That's it from Venice and northern Italy. We enjoyed every day of our four-week trip. We liked it all.