On our second day in Venice we travelled by several vaporettos, to visit two tiny lagoon islands which lie like a string of pearls off Venice. Each has different industries waiting to be explored. We had visited Murano island with its Venitian glassworks and mavelled at the brilliant glass creations of vases, dishes, figurines and other objects on our last trip. The vibrantly colours of the glass always surprises us. Today we firstly visited San Giorgio Island and its' 16th century church which has two of Tintoretto's greatest works, hanging within its huge structure. These paintings are "The Last Supper" and "The Gathering of the Manna". As arrived at the island the church bells peeled melodically so we decided to take the lift up the bell tower to see the view that it gave over Venice. We were gob-smacked at the 360 views we enjoyed and the sky was amazingly clear and we coul see for kilometres over this watery island city and gardens, one with a maze, playgrounds and we saw bak into St Mark's Square and its' even higher tower.
We explored the kids playground area which was made of large coloured glass bricks, look through hedges at the hedge-maze and watched yacht enthusiasts packing their food supplies on board their crafts in preparation for a month week long sailing expedition around Italy. Their yachts were tiny in comparison with our ship and we could only imagine the tiny sleeping quarters on board but for seasoned sailors it the challenge of mastering the seas that outstrips the comforts that a cruise ship offers.
Burano was the second island that we visited next. It was a long trip out to the island and involved using 2 different vaporetto routes which Ken had navigated so expertly. If it was up to me I'd be still working it out. Burano Island is a quaint little fishing village with it's street canals lined with brightly coloured houses, small shops and outdoor cafes. Burano is renowned and revered for its lace making, a Venetian speciality and now a thriving industry. It was started years ago by the wives of fishermen who were absent for months on end and as a means of passing the time and supplementing the unreliable and dangerous income made from fishing, the women would sit together and create lace furnishings which they sold in the market place in Venice. Their lace making skills have been passed down through generations and their lace table cloths, doilies, table centres and clothing and other mementoes are sold all over the world today. We had seen some of their work in many of the ports we'd visited prior to coming to Venice.
The first thing we did was to stop for a coffee at the little cafe beside the vaporetto stop. It was really flavoursome and kept us going for the rest of the day- which is amazing! The day was very warm and we sipped water often but the coffee here is so tasty that it satisfies even in the heat. We loved the quirkiness of walking around the tiny village with its' twisting canal walkways, arched bridges and ever so brightly coloured houses that add to the attraction of the island. I did some window shopping and even tried on a lace dress or two. I had not planned to buy anything as we are in decluttering mode, but guess what! I ended up buying 2 outfits. A lovely white lace dress and a grey cotten top with grey lace trimmings. They were both made here on the island and Ken loved them and bought them for my 73rd birthday which we will celebrate on the ship on August 4 in a few weeks time. We spent the rest of the daty watching men mending their nets, preparing to sail out to sea or serving food at one of the cafe restaurants found in small plazas across the island village.
We head for the ship at about 3pm as we had co-ordinate several vaporettos to arrive back at the ship before it set sail at 6pm.
What else can I say but another day full of adventure and surprises. Another day to praise God for his goodness and for the experiencies and challenges we had today. Enjoy the photographs.
