Day 2 in Venice/Murano

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We started out the day with the classic European breakfast in our hotel - prociutto, cheeses, cappuccino, croissants and nutella, in honor of Chad who loves his nutella and croissants. From there, we hopped in a water taxi ala James Bond - right out a secret door in our hotel. Once again following Suzy Gershman’s advice, we were off to a Murano glass factory tour arranged by our hotel concierge.

The taxi was great fun and free (ha, if you believe that, I’ve got some land in Venice I’d like to sell you). This factory actually sends a taxi for you and takes you right into a dock where they demonstrate glass blowing performed by artisans who have passed this skill down from generation to generation. Each family is assigned a beautiful and fast talking Italian guide (see picture of slick looking guy in linen slacks and Italian saddle shoes) whose job is to make you feel comfortable and answer any questions regarding their 17 showrooms of incredibly expensive, but heavily discounted (just for today and for special customers, of course) glassware.

I soon found out that we had been planning to look at chandeliers all along and really needed one for our living room - who could have guessed. It really felt like Kelly and Francesca (our beautiful Italian salesperson) had pre-arranged a way to get me feel good about spending by souvenir budget for the entire trip in one place on the second day. The dialogue went something like this: “It was an investment”, of course, “to be passed down from generation to generation” (yeah, my kids will sell it in a garage sale when we’re gone). “Shipping, insurance, replacement parts, reconfiguring for US electric standards were all free!” (more free stuff, really hold on to your wallet, now). “It can be engraved, ‘Crafted for the Kim Family in honor of 25 years of wedded bliss’”. “Don’t worry that you may see cheap copies for half the price in the souvenir shops.” “Those are made by lowly apprentices and these are made by the ‘Masters’ themselves” (like we will be able to tell that hanging from our ceiling).

I actually think we negotiated a pretty good deal. We kept trying to leave to talk about it and come back later and the discounts moved from 30-40% to 50% and then finally to 65%. We had talked with Francesca forever it seemed and when she couldn’t close us, they brought in the family matriarch to seal the deal with the final “I’m not making anything on this” offer. That said, I love the chandelier and somehow moved from feeling like I had spent more that I ever thought I would spend on something I had no idea I needed, to feeling like I saved a significant sum by not getting the really exclusive, one of a kind that was Kelly’s favorite in the first place.

After they had closed us on an expensive piece, they let us go to the souvenir shop to find other items where the prices were only outrageous versus ridiculous in the factory. The glassware was gorgeous and you’ll see a couple of examples in the pictures as well as the infamous chandelier (which I hope makes it home to the US in decent shape and is not one of those cheap imitations made by an apprentice).

We spent the rest of day shopping and people watching at various spots in Piazza San Marcos and Ponte di Rialto. We were in search of souvenirs for the kids and a carnival mask, which I had lost my appetite for after purchasing the chandelier. If you see the mask hanging in our basement, you will notice it is pretty small (and not made by a master) as I was still recuperating from my great bargain in Murano.

In the evening, we ate right by the Rialto Bridge and scouted out our gondola trip. Finishing our last night in Venice on the gondola was fabulous. Our gondolier had been practicing his trade for 40 years as had his father before him and his grandfather before him. He had recently purchased a gondola for his son who was continuing the family tradition. We rode up the grand canal and then into various small little alley ways you would never think could be navigated, but he guided our boat without so much as a bump into narrow walls or oncoming fellow gondoliers. He sang a little bit of O Solo Mio, (or whatever that is) and then gave us some local flavor as he paddled us through the waterways. Even though it was a bit pricy, no one should go to Venice and skip the gondola ride - it was truly a highlight.

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Photos

Breakfast at the Kette
Kelly found a great cubby hole to disappear into while she people watched and drank tea while we ate.

View of the Rialto
The view of the Ponte de Rialto from the back of our water taxi on our way to the Murano adventure

Lighthouse on Murano
This lighthouse is a major landmark on Murano

Slick Italian Glass Salesman
Kelly's idea of a dreamy Italiano

Finished Product
A really cool glass he made while we were watching (I guess it was actally hot since it had to cool for 24 hours before it could be sold)

Glass Horse
This horse was beautiful and he fashioned it in about 5 minutes while we watched

The Infamous Heirloom
This is the chandelier we bought - they are actually adding a few little hanging things to it (for free, of course)

Kelly & Francesca
The two salespeople looking very satisfied after their conquest

View from San Marco
In the distance is a hotel that is actually its own island

St. Mark's Basilica
This is a beautiful church in the Piazza which we should have toured, but didn't

Kelly Modeling her Purchase
This is one of the silk wraps Kelly bought on the first day and it gives the best shot we have of our room at the Kette

View from the Gondola
I wanted our shoes in the picture to prove it wasn't just a postcard (you would have never known, would you?)

Dark, Narrow Canal on the Gondola Ride
Once we were off the Grande Canal, the smaller arteries were very quiet and romantic

Near the End of the Ride
Night time near Ponte de Rialto from the gondola

The Happy Couple and Gondolier
a little dark, but the best we could do