Day 28 - July 12 - Burano

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Sam had wanted to see the painted houses of Burano since the first day he read about them on the Internet. We decided a day off the main island would do us well, and so after a charming little breakfast at our B&B, we headed out. We took the Vaparetto#1 to the Fond Nova stop, then got on the Vaparetto to Burano. The ride was long and hot but there was so much to look at, it didn’t matter.

Finally, finally the Vaparetto hit Burano. We hopped off, with everyone else, and started walking. We walked around that whole little island, loving the little coloured houses. It was stiflingly hot, so there were a few gelato stops and a few moments of sitting in the shade under churches but I am happy to say no further heat tantrums!

We looked at the houses and the boats, and poked around the lace shops, and crossed every little bridge we saw. We were appalled to see two Italian women on their lunch break toss a sandwich bag into the canal as if they did that every day. We ate lunch at a small restaurant on the main street, overlooking a canal. Then we circled the small island of Mazorbo, where there was a cemetery, an orchard and a family sleeping on the grass.

We took the Vaparetto to Torchello, where we visited the charming Santa Maria dell’Assunta. Outside there were a few monuments and I sat down to admire them, not realizing I was sitting on the Throne of Atilla - a monument itself!

Three Vaparettos, and we were back to Sant’ Elena. As we waited for the vaparetto on Torchello, I watched a dad with his kids. They were hot, and he was carefully pouring water on the crowns of their heads and rubbing it in. We tried the trick a few days later - it is actually remarkably refreshing! A trick I will use in the future, with young ones (and myself) .

We rested in our air conditioned room for a few hours, then headed out for dinner at a local spot. It was full, but the owner said if we came back in 15 minutes he would have a table for us. We took a walk around the block and came across the most bizarre thing - three firemen standing around a smoking mattress! The best we could figure, the mattress caught fire and was tossed out a window. Someone smelled smoke and the fire department arrived to make sure the smouldering didn’t turn into anything more. Another reminder that although Venice is one of the hottest tourist spots in the world, it is also a real place, housing real people with real lives.

Our dinner was quiet and candlelit, otherwise unremarkable. Nevertheless a lovely way to end the day.

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