We are headed to Venice, Italy, for this Virtual Travel idea. ??. This video will have you sailing through the famous waterways of Venice, and will give you a sense of being there. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Ciao!

Food to Serve:

• Homemade Pasta Recipe: This two-ingredient recipe would make a fun little activity while the video is playing. There’s nothing more therapeutic than making your own dough! If your residents aren’t feeling like doing the dough, then you can follow the link for other pre-made pasta goodness.
• Tiramisu: Because who can not love this classic? Delizioso!
• Wine? Sparkling Grape Juice? Get creative with something refreshing. ?

Activity Idea:

Sunglass Craft: Make fun and creative sunglasses to cruise the canals in style. ?

Venice Fun Facts!

1. Venice is built on 10 million underwater logs. You’re probably wondering how was Venice built. Well, in 402, the settlers cut down trees from the forests of Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro, and carried them to Venice. There, they made 1,106,657 wooden stakes, measuring 4 meters each (13 feet). They then sunk the logs underwater, to create a basis for the city. On top of the logs, they built wooden platforms and then constructed the buildings on top of the platforms. In total, the whole process took 2 years; pretty impressive when you think about it!
2. Venice is actually made of 118 islands. The city of Venice is not one island. It’s actually 118 small islands all linked together by bridges. The island of Lido in the south is famous for its long sandy beach and many of the islands have a different feel.
3. Venice is sinking every year. The city, built on wooden logs, is extremely heavy. This causes the city to slowly compress the mud below, and it sinks at a rate of 1 to 2 mm per year (0.04 to 0.08 inches). Since the beginning of the 20th century, it’s estimated that the city sunk about 120 mm (4.7 inches).
4. You need a professional license to be a gondolier in Venice. In the past, gondolier was a profession that was passed from father to son. Now, you need a professional license to be a gondolier. After following the gondolier course, candidates pass the final examination, rowing a gondola during a regular day in Venice. When they pass the exam, the new gondoliers are apprentice, without a license. They can then work as a substitute for a licensed gondolier (and keep 60% of the revenue). To become a fully-licensed gondolier, substitutes will have to either buy a license from a retiring gondolier (we’re talking about multiple six figures to purchase a license) or wait until the city issues more licenses (about 4 each year).
5. There’s a cursed palace in the city. The Ca’Dario, or Palazzo Dario, is a palace located along the Grand Canal in Venice. It’s known as the Cursed Palace, mainly due to its dark history. It’s said that whoever would stay in the palace would either die or go bankrupt. The curse goes back to the construction of the palace in 1487, and can be tracked back to 2002 when John Entwistle, bassist of rock band “The Who” died when renting the Ca’Dario.

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