Day 5 - Venice, Burano, and Murano

Day 5 of our big European vacation found us in Italy. We had a packed day! LOTS of walking. I have to be honest, I am surprised my leg has held up as good as it has. With all the walking in the Alps and then today, it has been pretty painful (remember I just had leg surgery less than a month ago!) But alas, it is all worth it!

We started off the day with a nice breakfast in our luxurious hotel lobby...

Then headed into the Venice. This is their "city bus" They cram you in and you hope it floats!


We spent a lot of time just wondering around the city, trying to get lost. That is how you really enjoy a place, you know, get lost in it!

The Grand Canal bustling with activity.

A beautiful spiral staircase hidden away. You could only find it if you were on a paid tour (which we weren't) or if you had a handy dandy guide book and a sense of adventure (which we did!) The staircase has a cool history, but I cannot remember it...it's in the book.

On a bridge over the grand canal. What a beautiful day!

We took a boat "bus" over to the island of Murano. It is famous for its glass blowers and the beautiful "Murano Glass" that is created there.

We watched a glass blowing demonstration. It was so hot in there with the ovens! I don't know how they can stand the work, but they are amazingly talented and true artists! I, of course, had to buy a couple pieces.

Then we took another boat over to the island of Burano, which is known for its hand stitched lace. This island was much more colorful and I felt like I was back in the Caribbean.

This cute little lady (and I mean "little"! Look at her next to me! I felt so tall!) was doing some hand stitching and let me video tape her hands working. I bought one of her pieces, this little doily she is holding. I asked her permission to take a picture with her and the lace. She was happy to, but when I told her to smile at the camera, she said (in broken English) "no, the beauty is in the lace, look at the lace." So we did.

Then we headed back to Venice to wander around some more. They sure made some elaborate churches over there!

Isn't this a beautiful city?

In the evening we went to a play in an old theater that was all about the rich history of Venice. It was really quite fascinating!

After the play we went out for dinner. Here I am eating some bruschetta and I was very happy to discover that it taste just like my recipe! Nathan agreed!

We had dessert afterwards. Nathan had some Gelato (Italian ice cream)...

But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a chocolate Canoli! Yum!

Venice floods about 100 times a year. The rising sea levels, the tides, and ocean storms all are factors. And the night we were there it flooded! The water level rose even as we were standing around taking pictures. See all the reflection on the ground behind me? That is normally dry pavement for walking on, now it is all flooded! People took off their shoes (some didn't even care to) and walked right through. Nathan didn't have another pair of shoes, so we found a way around the long way.

Some nice pictures as we were getting back "the long way".

Good Night Venice!