Italy 2023

#6, Murano and Burano

On Friday, 3/24 I awoke with a soar throat, but otherwise felt well. It started out foggy, as we were heading out to the islands of Murano and then Burano. It would be a full day of traveling.

These two islands are renowned for different reasons.

Murano is well known for it’s hand blown glass and Burano for it’s lace.

It was a long ride out, the sea being a little choppy and the weather overcast, but we arrived on Murano near lunch time. Here too, canals ran through the island town. Shops and homes lined outside the canals and boats were docked along the canals. No gondolas here. Of course there were many shops selling their glass products. We first went into a larger shop where we were shown around the 20 rooms filled with art glass by various artists. There were small figurines to large chandeliers, beautiful colorful pieces, some gaudy things, cups, glassware, plates and so much to see. And pricey.

Further on in a small shop I bought a small colorful bowl. There we learned how to tell if a piece was truly hand blown or mass produced elsewhere. Feel the bottom and if you can feel a rough nipple then you have a genuine blown glass piece. The nipple is from where the artist broke the work away from the blow tube.

We ate lunch and explored more of Murano, taking in a church with several hanging chandeliers before heading back to the dock and continuing on to Burano.

Burano was further that expected, where we arrived by mid afternoon. The first thing to notice are the brightly colored buildings and the canals. The clouds cleared as we arrived. The sunlit buildings shone brightly and were nicely reflected in the canal water. 

Walking along, it was a bit of a surprise to see a FedEx canal boat pull up with deliveries. I guess it is true, FedEx: “moving the world, one package at a time”.  A leaning church tower caught our eye, obviously the Leaning Tower of Pisa is not the only tilting tower in Italy. We sat and relaxed with drinks at a cafe along a canal, enjoying our libations in the perfectly cool yet sunny afternoon. Photo opportunities abounded.

Poking around in several shops, Pat and John were looking for a perfect tablecloth but not finding exactly what they wanted. Mark did find one to his liking however. Walking around, we watched children playing in the town square. It was a delight to watch them interact and play together.

The few restaurants that were there all seemed to start closing around 5 p.m. about the time we were getting a little hungry. With the shops closing up for the day we waited near the dock for the next vaporetto back to Venice. It was a long sail, arrived after dark near St. Mark’s Square. 

The weather had changed to windy and cold. Cutting through St. Mark’s Square we avoided the cold wind and had dinner near the square before leisurely walking back to the hotel.

Another eventful and fun, though long day exploring around Venice.

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