Lara and Mom walked along a canal.
Mom read aloud from her Venice guidebook.
But Lara was too excited to listen.
"This is the Rialto Bridge," read Mom.
"It is the oldest bridge on the Grand Canal and—"
"Ooh!" Lara squealed. She pointed to a row of black boats.
"Mom, can we take a gondola ride?"
"Good idea," said Mom. "My feet are getting sore."
Mom hired a gondola to go to St. Mark's Square.
Marco, the driver, helped them into the boat.
Lara and Mom sat down on the pretty red cushions.
Marco gestured with one arm and rowed with the other.
"This is the Grand Canal. It's one of the major waterways in Venice," he said.
"It's almost four kilometers long.
And it's ninety meters wide in some places.
There are 177 canals in Venice."
A long motorboat passed by.
"That looks like a bus!" said Lara.
"That's a water bus," said Marco.
"We don't have cars in Venice.
So people have to walk.
Or they travel on the canals.
We have water buses and even water taxis!"
He pointed to a smaller motorboat.
Marco steered the gondola into a narrow canal.
"There's less traffic in this canal," Lara said.
She stared up at the tall, elegant buildings.
"Venice was a rich and powerful city during the Renaissance," Marco said.
"People built palace-like houses to show off their wealth."
They passed under a covered white bridge.
"The Doge’s Palace is on the right," Marco said.
It was a beautiful white building.
Lara wrinkled her nose.
"What's a doge?" she asked.
"The doge was the ruler of Venice," Marco said.
"The palace is a museum now."
At the end of the canal, Marco turned the gondola into an open lagoon.
"Here we are," announced Marco.
"This is St. Mark's Square!"
Marco helped Mom and Lara out of the gondola.
"Can we go see the Doge's Palace, Mom?" asked Lara.
"Be sure to see St. Mark's Church and the bell tower too!" Marco said.
"Thank you," said Mom. She turned to Lara.
"My feet feel rested now. I'm ready for more sightseeing."
Lara cheered. "Good! Let's go!"