Italy Bellissimo Travelogue, continued

Day 7 of Tour- Venice and Island of Burano

Venice so far didn't disappoint us on our arrival day. The second day's itinerary was just as action- packed. My only wish was more time. It seemed like all the activities we did were teasers so it would give us more reasons to come back to the country someday.

Our day started with the vaporetto or water taxi taking us from our hotel on the Island of Lido to Giudecca Island for a glass blowing demonstration. Venetians are famous for their glassmaking master craftsmen who passed down their knowledge and skill to their apprentices. Our Tour Director arranged for us to go to the glass factory Arti Venezianne Alla Giudecca. We sat in awe as the master craftsman demonstrated how he made a Ferrari horse. No photography was allowed inside the shop. They showed us that Venetian glass was shatter- resistant by purposely dropping glassware on the table. They explained how their craft was endangered by "pirates" who copy their designs, pass it off as Venetian glass and sell it at half the price or less. The shop displayed beautiful pieces of glassware ranging from vases to wine glasses, chandelier and jewelry. It was a struggle to restrain myself from buying, but in the end I gave in and told myself I was buying something for the house, and not for myself.

Glass blowing demonstration in Giudecca.

We took the water taxi back to the urban jungle of St. Mark's Square. Mid-day Venice teemed with a diverse group of tourists. We were to meet with a local specialist later for the tour of the Doge's Palace after our free time. My mom opted out from the optional tour in the Doge's Palace so our Tour Director led us to a small cafe where we could leave her and pick her up later. Since we had some free time, we walked to Realto Bridge. We had to hurry back to the cafe so we still could grab some lunch before our tour started. After a long wait to be seated, we tried some tramezzino per our Tour Director's recommendation.

Photos on top L to R: Monument commemorating the unification of Venice with all the other city states as one country of Italy, the small cafe where we had lunch, Italian retail store.

Photos in bottom row L to R: View from Realto Bridge, backstreet to the Square, Tramezzino sandwich.

We met up with our local guide/specialist and she took us through the magnificent Doge's Palace- its architecture Gothic on one side and Renaissance on the other. This tour involved a significant amount of walking and stair climbing so it was a good idea for my mom to opt out of it.

Inside the Doge's Palace and crossing into the Bridge of Sighs.

After an extensive tour inside the Doge's Palace, we picked up my mom from the cafe and we rejoined the tour group.

Burano Island

Leaving the intensity of the heart of Venice was a relief. The easy water taxi ride for Burano Island was actually a welcomed respite from the day's activity. The island of Burano was known for its lace making and charming, colorful houses. Our Tour Director told us the legend in her own version that homes were painted colorfully in Burano so drunk fishermen could find their way back to their homes after a night of heavy drinking. Pisa wasn't the only city with a leaning tower. Burano itself had its own leaning bell tower.

The charming island of Burano.

We had a delicious dinner with wine at an unpretentious restaurant on the island. Once again, I wished we had more time! I would have wanted to shop more on the island after dinner before heading back to Lido.

Tags: #travelogue #italybellissimo #trafalgartours #italy #venice #tramezzino #dogespalace #stmarksquare #lagoon #burano #muranoglass #lido #vaporetto #watertaxi #lace #realtobridge #bridgeofsighs #giudeccaisland

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