Day 18 - Venice

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The morning began to the tolls of the bells of the clock tower of the Piazza San Marco. We didn’t have much planned today, just to stroll around Venice and check out the sights. As we walked through The Piazza San Marco we found out about some glass blowing demonstrations on the nearby island of Murano during the morning.

We eventually worked out where we were, found a waterbus stop and headed for Murano. After a brief stop at another island, which was the wrong one, and the local cemetery, we eventually made it over to Murano. The famous Venetian glass is mostly made by Master glass blowers on Murano. The craft is passed down from father to son over the generations, and the skill of a master glass blower is astounding. The master who provided the demonstration produced a blown vase and a glass horse within minutes.

Following the demonstration and a walk through the factory shop, we found a cafe and enjoyed a Pizza. I will miss the wonderfully simple Italian Pizzas. They are thin and crisp with none of the oil of Western pizzas, few toppings, but the mozzarella is wonderful. So different to the pizza at home.

We took the water bus back to Venice Island and began getting lost in the maze of walkways and streets which is Venice. Getting lost is not a problem, because you find wonderful shops selling Venetian glass, jewellery, baroque masks, fashion and Gelato.

We eventually made is back to the Piazza San Marco and decided to take a look inside the Basilica. This Church is very different to those of Rome. Where Roman churches would contain frescos (paintings on plaster), this church had ornate mosaic pictures on the walls.

We found the line to the Clock Tower in the Piazza was shorter than earlier in the day, so we paid our 8 Euro each and took the elevator to the top (finally a tower with an elevator instead of 800 steps). The views of Venice from up there are amazing. You are actually in the bell tower, we were happy that the bells were not chiming whilst we were up there, later in the day as the bells rang, we noted people getting a very close view.

Once we were back on the ground, we went back to a Venetian glass store in the square we had found earlier in the day to look at an item which caught our eye. We made an investment in a wonderful piece of Venetian Glass Art which will be shipped home and proceeded to wander through Venice, essentially searching for the best Gelato in town. :-)

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Photos

Isola Di San Giorgio Maggiore
view from the Clock Tower in Piazza San Marco