June 10 - Glass and Lace

Today was a really great day. We started out planning to tour the Academia (an art museum) and then visit two near by islands: Murano and Burano. After visiting the train station, and spending a significant amount of time buying our train ticket back to Milan, we decided that instead of starting with the Academia we would visit the islands and then tour it. Murano is known for its glass. Period. The ferry ride there was about an hour and since I escaped my usually batch of light sea sickness, I stood at the side and got to watch not only the Venice coast line, but ships and islands around the way. It was a great way to spend an hour and the weather was warm and the wind felt great. I might have to start rethinking my whole aversion-to-ships thing. But back to the glass. Beautiful both in average and fantasical ways, it comes in a ridiculously wide range of colors and shapes. And even more than seeing the finished product, the three of us got to see some of the glass being made. The 'Master' started with a glass vase and then made a horse - all starting from real live molten glass on the end of a pipe. It was incredible!! I mean, I'd seen that kind of stuff on T.V. but it is so much more spectacular and mind blowing when you see it in person.

After spending too much money and time on Murano, we pushed the Academia back to tomorrow and headed off to Burano, the home of lace and incredible buildings. Burano was a surprise. I don't like lace especially and I thought quaint little villages were beyond me at this point. But in Burano the houses were small and stucco looking and stood in a 'dazzlying array' of colors. Blues and purples and reds and oranges all borded by small rivers and stone bridges. I thought that I enjoyed seeing Venice, but this little village was really breathtaking. Everything was just so nice and around the houses and businesses were little green filled parks and gardens. And just like the buildings, the plants and their flowers were also vibrant and unbelievable. The three of us stopped for lunch at this small restaurant and Laura won the food pick by ordering this pizza on bruschetta, which is not only an appetizer, but a toasted, crunchy, flavorable, crust and for toppings that was proschuitto and artichokes. Not something I would automatically associate with creamy, crunchy, goodness. But it was.

I also in the end, was impressed with the lace that Burano had to offer. I spent a little more money and got some momentos to always be with me. Sounded pretty good to me.