I was lucky enough to have been able to attend the International Conference on Avian Herpetological and Exotic mammal medicine (ICARE 2017) in Venice during May to add to my continuing education.  It was shorter than I had hoped for my first trip to Europe, but travelling with my friend and colleague, Dr Brendan Carmel, the networking with the absolute best in the world in their field, and the setting all made the trip more than worthwhile.