Around Venice

Murano and Burano

The next day we used the vaporetto (water bus, 20 euros for 24 hours) to go outside Venice’s historic center and go to the island of Murano. Murano is famous for glass blowing, a centuries old art form with artisans molding glass heated in furnaces.

I carried on by vaporetto to the island of Burano, famous for its lace-making and its colorful buildings.

Back in Venice

The vaporetto took me back to San Marco square.

Back in Venice’s center, I found a nice outdoor restaurant in a square, and had a seafood appetizer with white wine and impeccable service.

Others in the group had asked me to join them for a gondola ride. I declined since I had done that before, and didn’t remember it being a stellar experience. The gondoliers exist only for tourists. They charge a standard rate of 80 euros for 20 minutes, or 100 euros if you expect them to sing!

I wandered the streets shopping, and somehow kept ending up at San Marco square. I could have gone inside the Basilica (3 euros to line up, or 6 euros to book online and skip the lineup) but it was crowded so I skipped it altogether.

End of the Trip

It was time to make my way back to the hotel, since I had a bunch of forms to fill in for my flight home the next day. I thought I had an idea where I was, so started walking. This was a mistake, since with the maze of streets and bridges confusing me I came out at the open sea! I gave up and pulled out my phone to use google maps, and saw that I was 18 minutes away from my hotel. Google even got lost at one point. I finally made it back to the hotel much later.

We had a last group meal in Venice, with lots of seafood and white wine. On the way back to our hotel we picked up a couple of bottle and wine and sat outside the hotel.

Our tour leader told us stories of the last time she was here, in November 2019. They were warned of the floods starting so she herded her group out of the hotel to the train station at 8:30. They wore rubber boots that are sold in some of the shops, and carried their bags on their heads. The hotel had water on its floor by 9:00.

Somehow I learned how to say “wtf” in Italian (che cazzo!) with a perfect pronunciation. The hotel owner sitting outside with us wondering what our tour leader was teaching us!

Some of us have early flights or trains tomorrow, so we said our goodbyes – or as my roommate always says instead, see you later!