A Tale of Two Venices - (2) The Real Venice!

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My dad came to visit me over my April break and we decided to go to Venice for a week. We rented an apartment that was recommended to us by a friend of mine from work. The apartment was wonderful because as we walked out the door, we could see the water and we were just a short 10 minute walk to St. Mark's Square. The part of Venice that we were staying in was also a bit less touristy, and there were many local shops just around the corner from out apartment.
On the first day in Venice, my dad and I first stopped at a nearby cafe on the waterfront and enjoyed a delicious cappucinno. We then headed to St. Mark's Square and the Bascilica of St. Marks. It was a glorious first day in Venice and since it was so sunny and mild, my dad and I decided to take a gondola ride around the canals right away in case we didn't have this type of weather again. For the rest of the day, we just explored the city, went into different churches, shops and cafes and had a wonderful Italian dinner.
The next day we decided to go to Murano Island, where they make the glass, and Burano Island, where they make the lace. Since Venice has the most expensive form of public transportation in the world (€6.00 a ride!) we bought a day pass on the water busses and that enabled us to visit each island and also spend the evening cruising up and down the Grand Canal. Murano and Burano Islands were surprisingly very different than Venice. The houses were very colourful pastel shades and there were many glass and lace manufacterers on the islands. We went into a few glass studios and had a tour of all the artwork. It was beautiful! For the rest of the evening, we cruised up and down the Grand Canal on the water busses. For dinner, we went to a restaurant that was recommended in my travel book and we had the blind chef's menu that was themed around fish. It was one of the best meals I had in Venice!

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