This morning we set our sights on touring St. Marks early to beat the crowds. We hopped on a vaporetto at Rialto mercato to the St. Marks stop. Along the canal are lots of vendors and crowds-mostly just an obstacle to get around. Dan was started talking to someone with an “official badge” of the city who offered us a free(water) taxi ride to Murano to view the glass blowing. So- we took him up on it and put St, Peters aside for tomorrow.
The taxi zipped us through the classiest canals in San Marco and suddenly we were on open water headed for Murano. The sunny day was perfect- and what a view of Venice behind us! We were delivered to the door of the factory where a guide met us and brought us to an area where 3 master glassblowers were working. The ovens are instensely hot and it’s a wonder to see the red hot molten lump be turned and swirled into different shapes. Of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Out guide brought us to the showroom where we started at the top of the line. Exquisite vases, plates, chandeliers and massive sculptures surrounded us- all of thousands of Euro. It became apparent to him very quickly that we weren’t buying. We went from showroom to showroom, each with products less and and less expensive. The last showroom had glass candies, cherries, fruit, clearance glasses and miscellaneous jewelry. When our wallets didn’t open we were shown the back door and told “the village is on the left.” We were dumped! We actually laughed at the unceremonious way they were through with us. If we had bought the 3500
Euro vase we could have left by the front door, but oh, well…
There were many shops that we strolled through, but one thing caught Dan’s eye. A carafe and glasses with a swirled silver and colored design.
It was time for lunch and we found a delightful place with tables outside. A pitcher of Prosecco and a platter of grilled fish helped us while away a couple of hours more. After due consideration and discussion, we went back to buy the carafe and glasses. This will be a beautiful souvenir from our trip. Our high-end friends from the morning neglected to send our private water taxi back, so we had to get the public transportation boat back to Venice.
Walking these narrow streets and seeing the sights is something we love and we spent the evening strolling. We decided to splurge a little and had a light dinner at one of the places right on the grand canal. It’s very cool, but still warm enough to sit outside. It was the best view in town!
The taxi zipped us through the classiest canals in San Marco and suddenly we were on open water headed for Murano. The sunny day was perfect- and what a view of Venice behind us! We were delivered to the door of the factory where a guide met us and brought us to an area where 3 master glassblowers were working. The ovens are instensely hot and it’s a wonder to see the red hot molten lump be turned and swirled into different shapes. Of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Out guide brought us to the showroom where we started at the top of the line. Exquisite vases, plates, chandeliers and massive sculptures surrounded us- all of thousands of Euro. It became apparent to him very quickly that we weren’t buying. We went from showroom to showroom, each with products less and and less expensive. The last showroom had glass candies, cherries, fruit, clearance glasses and miscellaneous jewelry. When our wallets didn’t open we were shown the back door and told “the village is on the left.” We were dumped! We actually laughed at the unceremonious way they were through with us. If we had bought the 3500
Euro vase we could have left by the front door, but oh, well…
There were many shops that we strolled through, but one thing caught Dan’s eye. A carafe and glasses with a swirled silver and colored design.
It was time for lunch and we found a delightful place with tables outside. A pitcher of Prosecco and a platter of grilled fish helped us while away a couple of hours more. After due consideration and discussion, we went back to buy the carafe and glasses. This will be a beautiful souvenir from our trip. Our high-end friends from the morning neglected to send our private water taxi back, so we had to get the public transportation boat back to Venice.
Walking these narrow streets and seeing the sights is something we love and we spent the evening strolling. We decided to splurge a little and had a light dinner at one of the places right on the grand canal. It’s very cool, but still warm enough to sit outside. It was the best view in town!
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