October 6 -Venice & Burano

Wow, it just keeps getting better and better.  We spent another day in Venice and it was just an amazing experience.

The morning started out with a trip to a Murano and visited the Arti Veneziane alla Giudecca glass blowing studio on one of the outer islands.  This factory only employs master craftsmen.   To reach the level required an apprentice must work for 18 years.  After this time only 2% of the apprentices make it to first class and 5% make to second class and can work as artists in the studio.  It was amazing to watch the apprentice sculpt a horse out of heated glass in a very short period of time.  I didn’t put the clock on him but I suspect it was less than two minutes to finish the work and the final product was incredible.

Murano Glass Blowing demonstration at Arti Veneziane alla Giudecca

Most of glass pieces were very, very expensive. I was very tempted to buy a sculpture of couple embracing.  It was an interesting piece because you had to view from several directions before it becomes apparent.  The cost was 1,300€ or about $1,700.  We finally decided that we had no space to properly display the sculpture and passed on it.

On Isola della Giudecca island many famous people have acquired villas.  One of its most famous citizens is Elton John.

We then went to St. Marco Square and took a walking tour of the back canals to see how the normal citizens of Venice live.  We were told how during the 11^th through the 15^th century, Venice was the richest city in Europe, because the merchants has exclusive access to oriental spices and silk.  Their power and influence disappeared quickly when Spain discovered North America and Portugal discovered the route to the Orient via of the Cape of Good Hope.

Back canals of Venice

A friendly Venetian

Back canals of Venice

We stopped for a coffee in one the cafes, close to the square, and meet a lady from Croatia who was here with her priest and other members of her church to celebrate a mass at San Marco Basilica.  As the priest left he blessed both Marg and myself.

We then went on a visit to San Marco Basilica. The church is about a 1,000 years old.  It is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. The decorated surface is on the whole about 8000 square metres. Byzantine art is a very flat, two dimensional and lacking emotion.  They believe only God can be shown in a state of glory.  The ceiling is covered in gold mosaic.  Mosaic art is small glass pieces arranged in a desired picture and then the glass is covered to provide colour and texture.

Byzantine art in San Macro

San Macro Basilica

San Marco Square

In Venice it is not uncommon to have floods during high tides.  During a flood in SanMarco Square they will deploy a series of boardwalks to allow people to move about without getting too wet.  During an extremely high tide boats cannot get under the bridges that span the canals.

In an interesting use of private financing, many public works are sponsored by major European businesses.  For example the cleaning of San Marco Square is being paid for by an Italian designer sun glass company.

During the afternoon we went to Burano Island for lunch.  Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, and like Venice itself, it could more correctly be called an archipelago of four islands linked by bridges.  Each  house is a different colour running from earthy shades to bright pastels.  It reminded me of Curacao in the Caribbean Islands.  For lunch we had a 5 course fresh seafood dinner with endless wine.  I may never have to eat again.  After lunch, Marg went shopping in the many boutiques that line the canals in Burano.

Colourful homes in Burano

Colourful homes in Burano

Colourful homes in Burano

The young men seem to take great pleasure in flirting with the women on the tour.  Of course it is not limited to the young men.  On Burano Island, the washroom attendant was singing and Marg told him that he should be a gondolier because of his voice.  He gave her a big hug that knocked her sunglasses off her head.

During the evening we went back to the main island in Venice.  The water bus between Lido Island and San Marco Square is very expensive.  It cost 28€ for us to buy to buy a return ticket.

With all due respect to our friends Rigo V and Paul R, but why do Italian mothers allow their little boys to be such whinny little brats.  It seems that a least once a day we see some boy about 5 to 7 having a meltdown accompanied by moaning or shouting.  The girls seem to be better behaved.  As our guide says there is now a generation of “Mama Boys” in Italy.