What a neat experience! I really enjoyed riding the gondolas a couple of months ago with a friend when we were out and about (we're locals). Our gondolier was actually from Italy (well, I think she was, anyway, unless she was just telling us to make it feel more authentic), and sang beautiful Italian songs for us. She was incredibly friendly, and when I took selfie videos and pictures with her she was a great sport. I'm sure that sometime I'll do this again, since it doesn't take long, and it's a lot of fun!