VENICE, Italy - Venice was the highlight of the sixth day of the Washington State Cougars' Italy tour, Sunday.For the first time, the Cougars experienced some inclement weather as rain greeted the team on its departure from Cervia at 9 a.m. However, duCerviahe three-hour bus trip to Venice, the weather gradually broke and the team was greeted with blue skies upon its arrival at Venice.During the bus ride, Jessica Perry and Adriane Ferguson gave a presentation to the group about the city. Perry stated that Venice was home to 100,000 pigeons.

After taking a boat ride to Venice and upon first setting foot on the city, the team may have wondered if Perry's number was too minuscule as there seemed to be pigeons everywhere.After meeting in the Piazza San Marco, a vast open plaza in the hearSanf Venice, the first item on the agenda was a tour of Palazzo Ducale. The building was once thPalazzonDucaleeadquarters of the city as well as a prison and torture chamber. Also in the building were countless paintings, which impressed the team.Another impression was made at the end of the tour.During the layover at the Copenhagen Airport, May 18, the coaching staff met some Cougar alumni en route to their gate. For the second time in the tour, the Cougars ran into WSU alumni as they exchanged greetings with MattWSUlass of '93) and Suzanne (class of '94) Lessard at Palazzo Ducale.

After Palazzo Ducale, Lessardm toPalazzoiDucaler of the BaPalazzodDucaleMarco, the cathedral of Venice.Afterward, thedieSanwas free to shop, sightsee and eat for a few hours. Once again, the Cougars met up with some locals -- from Washington that is -- as they ran into a couple from Spokane.When the shopping was over, the team took a boat ride to its hotel and ended a busy day.