Day 9 Glass, Lace and Mask for Carnivale, Oh my!

 

Another early morning in Italy!

After heading down for some breakfast we all walked over to where our taxi boat was waiting to take us to the Glass blowing factory on the Island of Giudecca. On our way Chris gave running commentary regarding the surrounding islands, including the fascinating hospital island where people were stopped for quarantine before arriving in Venice.
When we arrived (around 8:30am) we were greeted by a lovely, little Italian man who took us into the glass blowing room. It was absolutely fascinating to watch the first and second master create beautiful glass pieces right in front of our eyes. First, we watched the second master (the first masters' son) create a glass bottle with handles.

It literally took him 5 minutes, while the older Italian man talked us through the process. Once finished it was explained that normally they are cooled in an oven from 600 degrees to room temperature over about 2 days. The real Murano glass will stay in one piece during this cooling time, however if there are any imperfections the glass will break, and these pieces are destroyed. The pieces they were demonstrating today were made from broken Murano glass, which leads them to break very easily. The second master left his creation on the table, and within 5 minutes it had shattered into pieces. Following this demonstration, the first master (the father) created a beautiful horse standing on its back legs… in ONE MINUTE! Seriously! He started with a red hot ‘blob’ of melted sand, and within a minute he had created a stunning sculpture, that was able to stand on its own. Amazing.  

 

Following the demonstration we were escorted into the show room and had a brief lecture by the older Italian man who had greeted us at the start. He discussed the importance of buying REAL Murano, and how to tell if it is real Murano. We were then left to shop (yay!) in the amazing gallery rooms filled with stunning original, handmade glassware, jewellery and sculptures. Oh, and of course the absolutely breathtaking chandeliers adorning the roof space. After putting a bit of a dent in my wallet (yes, I bought things! It’s Murano, I’m allowed!) it was time to get back onto the taxi boat and head over to Venice proper. Here we had about 3 hours of free time to explore this fabulous city, prior to our walking tour.

Walking through the streets of Venice was amazing. I would happily come back here, to the hustle and bustle of the streets, the multiple bridges you cross to get anywhere, and the way you can easily get lost in your own world of Venice. I thankfully found a camera shop, and met a fantastic Italian guy who tried his very best to speak English to explain the cameras he had! So nice! He set everything up for me, and ensured I knew the best way to use it…. YAY! This means my photos will no longer have black lines from the lens cover not opening properly! Yay!

This city is amazing! You can easily get lost in the many alleys, and happily wander through the city past the many “glass” shops (they’re not real!) and small pizza/restaurant/tratorrias. There are only 5 places in Venice where you can buy REAL Murano glass, and they display a special (AUG) symbol in the window and on all of the tags. However, it is still fun to shop the ‘not-so-real’ glass!

I had a slice of pizza (it was delicious!) from a cute, little pizzeria which was quiet when I arrived, but suddenly filled with lots of people ordering pizza slices, wine and standing at the serving section eating. In Italy you ill generally be charged more if you plan on sitting down, therefore in the majority of places you will see the locals simply standing at the place where you are served. It is very communal in Italy. You simply find a place to set you food down and give a bit of a smile, and start eating! It’s fantastic!

I met up with the rest of the group that were doing the walking tour at a small café/bar in St. Marco’s square, where we all had an included Spritz (not as good as the one sampled in Roma). Following our drink we donned the sexy, Trafalgar red radios and red sets, and headed off to the church. It was a stunning church. In the arches of the front fascade there are images of the story of St. Marco to the Basilica. The four images are stunning, and so intricate, making a fantastic entrance to this amazing church. Inside, the roof was covered with gold. Hundreds of gold tiles (24ct) intricately arranged in pictures and designs. The floors, although now uneven due to it settling, were amazing as they were covered in mosaic designs. It was incredible. Check out the pictures!

Following our tour of the church, we walked through the less travelled (by tourists) Venice alley ways. While walking, our guide discussed the architecture of the different periods that could be seen throughout Venice as well as the many churches that could be found. The alleys wound their way through the city, and we walked over bridges and through Piazzas until, somehow, we ended up back at the taxi boat stop. Here we met up with the other tour group members and got on a boat over to the isle of Burano, a photographers dream! All the houses on this beautiful island are painted in various colours, including blues, bright pinks and yellows. Here we had a seafood meal at a local restaurant as a group. We all celebrated the 25^th anniversary of a couple on our group, including all the lights going off and special cakes with a candle in each for the happy couple coming out of the kitchen. Chris is fantastic for things like that!!!

After this Chris showed us a mask shop that makes all their masks on the premises, in the traditional way, and supplies the masks for the Venice Carnival in February. Carnival in Venice used to last for approximately 6 months of the year, and was a time when everyone wanted to be unrecognisable, allowing them to mix with lower or higher classes of people (e.g. servants could kiss the hand of a high society women, with no consequences. After putting another dent in the wallet in this amazing shop (again, totally allowed because it’s a keepsake and will be displayed at home!!! No a knick-knack!), it was time to head back through the main street of the island to the taxi boat. We went back to the hotel on the Lido and relaxed in the outdoor bar, watching the world go buy while sipping a Rossini (like a Bellini, but with strawberry and prossecco) and later having a gelato. It was a strange night though, as we had to put our bags out the front of our rooms prior to 10:30pm to be collected and loaded onto the bus, so that Michele (our fantastic driver) could get in the line for the ferry across to the mainland at 5:30-6am tomorrow morning! THANKS MICHELE!!!!

After packing my bag, getting the clothes I need for tomorrow and getting into my pjs, I put my bag out to be collected and fell onto the bed, exhausted! Early start tomorrow, off to Verona, Milan and finishing in Lake Maggiore! Ciao!