Exploring around Venice…
THIRD FULL DAY…
After two and a half days in Venice, we felt like we were ready to see a bit more of the surrounding area, and so our third and fourth full days in Venice were spent taking day trips to Murano, Burano, Torcello and Verona.
We started by taking a vaporetto to the island of Murano. If the name sounds familiar, it is probably from hearing the term “Murano glass,” for which the island is famous. We arrived early and had cappuccinos and brioches in a local café and then visited the Murano Glass Museum.
We then did one of the more interesting activities of our entire trip and went to the Ellegi Murano Glass furnace and watched a demonstration of how Murano glass is made. We learned that the glass furnaces are kept at 2000 degrees Fahrenheit and are never turned off because of how long it takes them to get to that temperature, and that the glass blower has about ninety seconds to finish making the object once he pulls it out of the furnace or it hardens too much to work. The glass blower also demonstrated how hot the items are when they come out of the furnace (800 degrees!) by touching pieces of paper to them which instantly caught on fire. It was a thoroughly enjoyable activity and gave me a new appreciation of objects that we often don’t give a second thought.
After the glass blowing demonstration, we boarded another vaporetto and headed to the island of Burano. Burano is famous for its brightly colored houses, which legend has it originated from the desire of fishermen to be able to pick them out when returning home. It is also famous for its beautiful and intricate lace.
In Burano we visited the Museo del Merletto, or Lace Museum, to learn about the craft that has been practiced on the island since the 16th century. We also had a delicious lunch at Trattoria da Primo e Paolo. The food and wine were delicious, but when we asked about desserts, the waiter waxed rhapsodically about a traditional Venetian dessert that is served only around that time of year. My husband felt compelled to try it, only to have it arrive at the table and find it to be essentially fruitcake with raisins and peanuts. While we love to observe and participate in local customs when we travel, the line where we are willing to be good sports ends at eating fruitcake!
Our final stop on our day of island-hopping was Torcello. There we saw the infamous “devil’s bridge” and the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta with its ancient mosaics. The island is only about thirty minutes away from Venice by boat but feels like an entirely different world. We ended our day by returning to Venice via vaporetto and stopping at a local grocery store for supplies for a picnic dinner because we were so tired by the end of all of this that we were worried if we went out to dinner that we might fall asleep at the table!
FINAL DAY…
Our last day in Venice was spent on a day trip to the historic city of Verona, the setting of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” We caught a train out of Venice and it took about an hour to reach Verona. While there, we toured a Roman amphitheater built in 30AD that still hosts concerts and other events today. Our tour of Verona also included a visit to an outdoor market; “Juliet’s balcony,” a location of no historical or cultural significance whatsoever; lunch at a bruschetteria; and a tour of Castelvecchio, a medieval castle, with a connected bridge over the Adige River.
Our day trips were fun but none of the nearby islands or cities, or really any other place on earth, can compare with Venice. I will close with a quote from Peggy Guggenheim: “It is always assumed that Venice is the ideal place for a honeymoon. This is a grave error. To live in Venice, or even to visit it, means you fall in love with the city itself. There is nothing left over in your heart for anyone else.” Venice cannot be described or photographed. There is honestly nowhere and nothing else like it in the world. If you dream of seeing “the floating city,” please feel free to contact me. I would love nothing more than to help others experience Venice the way my family did.
