A Change of Scenery

Tuesday, we decided to get away from the crowds in Venice and take a trip to Murano.  It is about a 40 minute vaporetto ride away.  It was an incredibly foggy day so we could see absolutely nothing but grey out of the boat windows.  So, no scenic photos of the trip there - or back for that matter!  In fact, the fog never really lifted all day which made us realize all the more about how lucky we've been with the weather.  I cannot imagine all those fabulous costumes we've seen being out in the rain!

Of course, Murano is famous for its glass and I was on the hunt for a red glass pendant; Pedro was looking for glasses; and John wanted to visit a glass blowing factory.  We certainly picked the right place for all that.

We started at a glass factory where 5 euros got you entry into the area where glass was being blown and sculpted into various items.  We arrived just as the artisan was finishing a lovely glass horse and we stayed while the same man crafted a water pitcher.  The latter took only about 10 or 15 minutes to make.  Below are some photos of the process.

We wandered around the prolific number of stores selling glass products but I was the only one who made any purchases - a couple of glass pendants.  The streets were certainly almost deserted which was a welcome relief from the crowds in Venice.

 Later, we met up with Faye and Barry for drinks at Quadri's where we sat at a window table.  Bev and Tracy, the English gals we'd met on the pub crawl joined us and it was fun to see them again.  Many of the people passing by the café stopped and took our photos - making me feel a little like "that doggie in the window".  Later, we met up with some friends of Faye and Barry, including a number of photographers, for a fun dinner at Rosa Rosso.  There is no question that Carnival is a unique and terrific experience but having "seasoned" friends here to show us the ropes, so to speak, has made it that more special.