Fill Up My Senses

Travel goal for the day: make it to at least 1-2 of the islands surrounding Venezia.
I got a much later start than planned, but still had plenty of time to hit a couple islands. My first stop was to the post office to send out postcards as this was on the way to the box stop for the water bus. When I finally found the street it was on and walked in, I realized I didn't have addresses for two of the cards. Rather than wait in line I opted to head for the island of Murano and deal with the postcards later.

Murano is the famed island where Venetian glass has its roots. All over Venice you can find shops in abundance with glass trinkets in their windows. Anything from glass bow-tie candy to ash trays to necklaces to abstract shapes to dinnerware can be found for purchase. I hoped taking a trip to Murano first before purchasing anything would enlighten me about the specialties of the glass and ensure I got authentic pieces. I started at the Glass Museum which was a bit anticlimactic. I had hoped for a bit more of a history lesson, but was only given old glass to look at. Some were exquisite and fascinating to see that glass existed in such intricate and delicate shapes well back into the BC era. The oldest piece I can remember seeing was from 1 AD. From here I started wandering the shops to see if there was anything that fit my taste. I grabbed an eggplant and meat (could have been ham or turkey) panini for lunch part way through my browsing. Most of the pieces for sale are quite large--even for necklaces the average size of the main piece was about 2-3" wide and usually 4-6 pieces total per necklace. Many were quite gaudy too. Nothing I could imagine anyone wearing except in a tourist resort. For example the lady wearing her 3" tall glass butterfly necklace. After walking back and forth about 7 times through the main sales area I finally stopped in to a place with earrings that were appealing thinking I could remove the ear piece and string the glass on a necklace. Eventually the shopkeeper came over and asked if I wanted to try anything on. I explained my predicament and she suggested I browse the loose glass beads and she would then put pendants on them for a necklace. Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that before?? I was able to find 4 artsy pieces that were simple and tasteful for E17. Most of the ugly necklaces I saw were around E20-25 and not even close to what I was looking for.

I only had time to visit one more island before needing to be back for Maundy Thursday mass. I decided to buzz over to Burano (a good 25 minute boat ride away) where venetian Lace has its roots. My interest in lace is nill, but the chance to see another interesting island sounded nice. Unfortunately it started to rain and became quite windy when I arrived. I managed to walk through town, locate the bathroom and discovered the lace museum was closed. Being so cold and icky I stopped in a cafe for a hot chocolate which is literally like drinking liquified chocolate. The frothy, thick, tasty chocolate is like no other I have tried. After I warmed up a bit I went directly back to the water bus stop and headed back to Venezia mainland.
[Old building in the middle of the water on the way back in the rain]
I had about an hour to rest and head over to the church. After a quasi nap I booked a room for my one night stay in Genova before heading to Cinque Terre. I'm glad I got this taken care of, but it also put me behind for walking time to the service. I turned what I thought would be a 20 minute walk into a 10 minute one out of necessity. I arrived just before 7pm. What a neat service. This must have been a bit more traditional parish. They processed in the cross and bible, rang bells at certain times in the service and had a choir of men sing parts of the liturgy in Latin. It's surprising how beautiful sung Latin is when done in a stone/marble building. I also better understand the purpose of vestments--heat. These churches are flippin cold even in moderately temperate weather. It was probably in the high 40s outside and I could see my breath during the service. Bbbrrrr!!! We used a book with the liturgy in it, so I could follow along and participate in Italian. The one downside was that there was actually a sermon and it was all in Italian. I caught a few words, but not enough to understand the main theme.

Quite hungry by now I headed to a new restaurant. I arrived where my guide book said the place should be, but a differently named place was there and it was a bit too pricey for me to want to try. Since my meal my first night in Venezia was so good, I went back. The lady asked if I had a reservation to which I said no (who makes reservations anymore??--not in the US). With an exasperated sigh, she finished serving up a few drinks at the bar and then decided she could find a place for me to eat. It was so worth it! I sampled the grain sausage in balsamic vinegar which apparently comes with a large side of polenta. Had I known this ahead of time I probably wouldn't have ordered the tagliatelli with amaretti biscuits and smoked mozzarella. I'm glad I did though. I was stuffed to the max, but every bite was amazing! That has to be one of the best restaurants ever. There's nothing you can do after a meal like that except plop and sleep.