One More Time

Today we visited the island of Murano and decided it's definitely blog-worthy. Our hotel offered a shuttle to the island, so reaching it was easy. Murano is the place in Italy that is famous for glass making, an art that is passed down through the family.

There we toured a glass making facility and got to see some incredible museum-quality pieces. The chandeliers and glass sculptures are in all sizes, shapes, and colors in styles from elegant to whimsical. It was like touring a museum and reminded me of the American artist Dale Chihuly's work.

The island of Murano is charming and was a nice change of pace from the more hectic pace of Venice. We strolled the main street and made a few small purchases.

We wanted to go to the island of Burano, which is famous for lace making, but the vaporetto (water bus) was just too crowded, so we decided to stay in peaceful Murano and have lunch instead. Venice and its surrounding islands are known for seafood, and Catherine had been craving zuppa di pesce (fish soup), which is similar to cioppino. We found a lovely canal-side ristorante where Catherine had her zuppe and Tricia had lobster spaghetti.

Then, we had to figure out how to get back to the hotel. It was too late to catch the hotel shuttle, so we again had to rely on the vaporetto. Thanks to the concierge at our hotel, we knew which line to take, but we could not find a place to buy a ticket. So, we just got on the boat (this one wasn't crowded) and somehow managed to make the trip for free. We have plenty of Euros and would have been happy to buy tickets, but we never saw a ticket booth and the conductor did not ask us to pay. It turns out we were lucky that we didn't get a hefty fine. Beginners' luck, I guess.

We're now getting ready to pack but had to fortify ourselves with a Bellini, a delicious, low alcohol drink of peach and champagne. We've had an amazing trip and enjoyed the two days on our own in Venice, but Catherine and I both agree that we're ready to come home. Let's just hope the water taxi is there in the morning to take us to the airport and that our flights take off on schedule. Ciao and arrivederci!