Murano & Burano

With only one full day left in Venice, Kevin and I decided to visit the islands off of Venice, specifically Murano and Burano. Murano is known for beautiful, colorful glass which you see throughout Venice. Burano is primarily known for it's lace, however it also has colors to rival Murano's glass, though not in a form you'd usually expect. 

After leaving the hotel, we decided to do a quick morning visit to St. Mark's Square, which was near to where we would catch the public boat to Murano. As we approached the square, a very handsome Italian gentleman asks if we're interested in visiting Murano. He tells us he'll put is in a water taxi which will take us to the island for free, we get a tour of the glass making factory, and a tour of the showroom with no obligation to buy. Kev and I gave each other the same look, "is this guy for real?" After confirming he wasn't a gypsy, we asked what's the catch. It turns out the Venice Chamber of Commerce does this as a way to promote Murano and it's glass from all the fakes throughout Venice. We're in!

After boarding the private water taxi, the driver got us to the other side of Venice by driving through the various canals. I'm not sure we'll need a gondola ride anymore! We get to the island and are greeted by a representative from the factory who escorts us past the people who were already there waiting to get in, introduces us to our private guide, and escorts us into a private glass blowing demonstration. The glass artist created a beautiful horse in 2 - 3 minutes. Very cool!

Next was the showroom tour. Unfortunately, pictures are not allowed in the showroom due to copyright issues. The place is a trip with colorful, creative glass objects in 6 - 7 rooms, everything from drinking glasses and wine glasses, to vases, to chandeliers, to artwork, to the awesome wine decanter we bought (the only pic we were allowed)! 

Then we caught a public boat to Burano, the island of colorful houses. Aside from the intricate lacework that the island is known for, it's also a fishing village with "the best seafood pasta in Venice" according to our guide at the glass factory. Years ago, the wives of the town took to painting their houses very bright colors (blues, greens, reds, magenta!) so their husbands could find the right house. The story says it was because they'd be out to sea for so long, they'd forget which house was there's. What I think the unofficial story is, is that the "all the houses look the same" excuse was used a few too many times!

Sleepy on the way to Burano.