We met Lucia at 9am and walked around Venice a bit more before getting on a private boat to head to Murano. It was a beautiful boat and we all sat in the small cabin. It took all of 3 min for Abby to get sea sick. We scrambled to find a bag (our ziplock full of PBJs - ha!) - she didn’t end up needing it, but I felt bad for her. We arrived at a private dock and sat outside for a few min to let her recover. Then a nice man took us into their glass blowing studio … it was HOT. We got to watch them blow glass for a bit - he explained they had two masters with them that day - one who was 83 and making gazelles and one who was 78 and making vases. It was fascinating to watch! He apologized for not having an apprentice there that day, apparently they generally do a short demo of making a little fish or something easy. He said the masters work from 8a-noon, though the one that makes colorful glasses works 8a-4p. The gazelle is actually made in pieces - first the head, then they keep that warm while they make the body and then they work them together. Jeff and I could have watched for way longer, but he hustled us into their fine art studio. We got to look around “no pressure” but he followed us and kept making offers on pieces. They were beautiful, but 4 or 5 figures! We didn’t know that’s what we were getting into! Lucia kept the girls busy with coloring books, which was nice so we didn’t have to worry about them around the glass!
We then went downstairs and through their shop of more trinkets and jewelry. He did tell us that there are stores all over (including the airport) with a Murano label on them … but the fine print on top (and in Italian) says “made using similar techniques to those used in Murano”.
Lucia took us on a walk through Murano - which is actually several islands connected by bridges. We got to the shop of Monica Cavaletto. She showed us how to make a glass bead and then the girls got to make one with her. Abby volunteered to go first, but once she had the denim shirt (protective gear) on, she burst into tears and said she was nervous. So Lauren got geared up. She was visibly nervous too, but sat and, with Monica’s help, made her own bead! It was very cool to watch. Abby was still too nervous to try, so Monica got out some small glass beads and the girls each made a necklace.
While they did that, I looked around the shop - she had beautiful rings, earrings, and necklaces. And she’s been written up in many magazines and even a book! I bought a large ring and earrings.
Lucia left us there after showing Jeff a few restaurants and how to take a water taxi home (we thought Abby would do better on a bigger boat).
We had lunch at a place with a big menu, I ordered pizza, but then wished I’d had a sandwich- as good as it is, I am pizza and pasta’d out. Lauren had fries that were delicious and Jeff had a burger. We walked through a bunch of stores selling small glass animals, but no one could really decide what they wanted. So we decided we’d shop in Venice today instead.
We took a water taxi home - luckily they provided some guidance on which one to get on. It was a pretty quick trip which was good because it was packed! The engines on those boats must take a beating - they race right up to the docks and then throw them into reverse. And someone on the boat tosses a line, ties up, lets everyone off/on, and they race off again.
We came back to the apt for a couple of hours of down time. Lauren’s been loving the play dough. Then the girls donned their masks (gifts from Lucia!) and we walked to dinner. I could only stomach a salad and some bruschetta (really no appetite for pizza or pasta!), Jeff had spaghetti with meatballs, the girls had plain pasta.
Two days with no plans. We are thinking we’ll go shop a little and take a gondola ride. And get gelato for Abby’s half birthday today! Tomorrow looks really rainy. Considering the forecast had been for rain all day every day, we’ve really lucked out on the weather. Jeff got the number of a guy from Lucia to give us a ride to the airport on Friday morning - about 5:30am - eek.
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