Good morning Sunday. The streets of Venice begin very early. We don’t really have an agenda while in Venice but we decide that we would like to go out to the island of Burano. Someone had told us that it is a very photographed place with all of it’s brightly colored houses. We decide that we would like to go out there and spend the majority of the day. It’s our last day in Venice and we want to see as much as we possibly can. Not really being able to figure out the public water taxi situation (we are experts now) we decide to hire a private water taxi to take us over to Burano. It cost us 100Euros to get out to the island. They weren’t kidding when they described it as an island with very brightly colored houses. I was born in Bermuda and remember my parents talking about how the houses were painted different colors. I’m sure that Burano is very similar in that respect.
Today is the birthday of my oldest grandchild, Brayden McKenzie Sexton. He is 10 years old today and I can remember seeing him for the very first time right after he was born. He was so beautiful and still is. He’s such a caring little boy and absolutely beautiful still. Of course I’m not proud or anything. Happy Birthday Brayden. I will call him later in the day since it’s still the middle of the night for them back in the states.
From far away, we can see all of the brightly colored houses that remind me of the houses that are all attached to one another in San Francisco. When we step off the boat, we realize that this little island is totally different than the big island of Venezia (Venice, in Italian). We don’t know which direction to go first. We decide to just take off like we’ve been there many times before. Everywhere you look are houses and canals with boats filling the canal. Some locals are out on the street (or sidewalk) with their children or just out taking a Sunday morning stroll. This place is so laid back and even though there are a lot of tourists there, it is still very mild compared to the big island. My camera was in full operation on this day. I just didn’t want to miss anything and especially with all the different colors everywhere.
After walking around for a while, we decide that we are hungry. Imagine that! In Italy and hungry—gee—what to eat. We found a small local restaurant with no other Americans eating there. Our kind of place. Not a tourist trap and we were sure the food would be good. It was extremely hot and our water was being deplenished by the second so Beth and I ordered a ½ Liter of the house wine which was a rose. When it arrived at our table, we were in for a surprise (a pleasant one at that) as the wine was chilled. Just what we needed on such a hot day. We enjoyed it so much, we ordered another ½ Liter. It seemed like we sat there for a couple of hours just resting and staying under the awning of shade. Not really sure how long we were there, but it sure felt nice.
A little more exploring on the island of Burano and we were ready to leave. We decided to take the actual public water taxi back to the main island. We were so proud of ourselves as we finally figured out that they are marked with their route on the sides. If only we had discovered that before we paid the 100Euros to get over there. Oh well—it was worth it and it was fun. We felt special. Our boat driver was cute and he had on the coolest green suede Italian shoes!! White shorts, white shirt with the collar up and green shoes. Yummy! (keep your eye out for this word Yummy as you’ll see it in the last blog entry as well.)
On the way back to the main island, we passed the little separate island which houses the cemetery. We decided to take the water taxi BACK over there so we could look around. Little did we realize that it was 5:30 and the cemetery gates close at 6:00. It gave us enough time to wander around though. We noticed that there were several graves that had either greek or Russian names on them. Not sure the reason behind that. I guess I’ll have to read up on that particular cemetery. On the way back, we passed the port for the island of Murano which is known for it’s Murano glass and all of the glass factories. We thought it was mainly filled with industrial stuff but we made a mistake by not stopping there. It looked like a little artists community. Next trip I will definitely make a trip over to Murano.
Back on Venice—we make our way via the long route to our hotel for our last night there. On our way, we stumbled upon the church of John and Paul. Oh my gosh!! It was absolutely beautiful inside AND they were getting ready to begin Sunday evening Mass. This church was wonderful and the next time I go to Venice, and I WILL go again, I’ll spend more time in there. I would have loved to have spent the time to attend Mass that night but we were tired and hadn’t had dinner yet.
Back at the hotel, we get cleaned up and head out for our last supper in Venice. Our intention was to eat at a place that was listed as the number 1 choice on TripAdvisor. We really wanted to eat outside but all the tables were taken. They were able to seat us inside and so we sat. All three of us looked at the menu and decided there really wasn’t anything listed on there that sounded good. So, one by one, we all got up and headed outside without saying a word to anyone. We had a good chuckle once we were out. Our wandering began again to find a restaurant where we could sit outside AND with a decent menu AND a nice price point. We ended up at a cute little restaurant right on Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square). Our food arrived quickly and was very good. Another thing with the waiter though when he brought the bill. He says to us “the tip is not included”. You don’t tell 3 American women that a tip is not included. So we left less than what we normally would have. By the way, they DID charge a 15% fee that they call a service charge just for sitting at their table. Go figure!!
The photos of my feet come with a story: before I left for Italy, the three of us bought a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. For Holly and myself it was our first pair. For Beth, well, for Beth it wasn't!! However, I had big ideas to photograph our shoes alone in each of the cities we visited. That didn't happen so I decided to take a photo of my shoes (foot) hanging over the banister of our room on our last night in Venice. "Hello Lover" as Carrie Bradshaw would say. And so is my obsession with shoes-----
It’s time for bed. We want to spend our last night there with the sounds and smell of Venice and the canal so we sleep with the window open. The sound of the church bells ringing is a sound I really miss. It’s just magical—Good night Venice!!
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