Hello! My name is Peter Elliott, I am a sophomore mechanical engineering student from Bloomington, Minnesota. I am writing to you on our second free day of the trip. Our group was divided among the island of Burano in Venice, the island of Murano in Venice, and Rome. I was with the group of five that went to Burano, so I will be sharing the day from the colorful island.

From left to right: Mitchell, Joe, Rachel, Nathan, and myself. On the ferry from the main island of Venice to the smaller island of Burano.

 

The day started at the Airbnb on the main island of Venice. After cleaning and checking out, the five of us went to the far side of the island to the ferry. We bought round trip tickets for 15 euros, which is a good deal considering each way was 45 minutes.  After arriving in Burano, we spent the first few hours walking around and taking pictures. Burano is less crowded than Venice and is full of brightly colored houses packed together. We walked through the narrow alleyways and along the canal, which is much clearer than in Venice.

For lunch we decided to get seafood since fishing is popular in Burano. We found a deal for a 5-course meal for 20 euros. We were skeptical, but it paid off. Lunch included bruschetta, seafood linguine, a plate of fried seafood (calamari), salad, and dessert. We were also given bread and champagne for free, which is unusual since normally nothing is free at restaurants in Italy. It was the best seafood I have ever had.

 

 

After lunch we boarded the ferry back Venice and met up with the group coming back from Murano. We boarded the train and began the 4-hour train ride back to Rome. Most of our group slept, tired from an eventful weekend.  It was a fun weekend, but now we are back to work bright and early tomorrow with class at 8am.

 

Before I go, I would like to give a very special birthday shout out to the one and only Deb Besser. I hope you had a fabulous day!

 

Ciao!

Peter