Thursday, October 4, 2012

Venice, Murano & Burano


This week our friends Mallory and Jeff came to visit us in Treviso.
We were now the tour guides rather than the tourist. Since they would only be here for 4 days we wanted them to see as many things as possible. They had travelled to Italy but had never been to Venice.
Plan was to visit not only the main tourist attractions in Venice but also the backstreets. Here are some of the places we visited on our two day tour. Our trip started at the Santa Lucia train station in Venice.
Here you see Danna with Mallory and Jeff with the Grande Canal in the background. The area in front of the station is always filled with action from travelers running to catch a train or vaporetto (water bus).
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The canals in Venice require a different method to handle things than on the mainland. All furniture, food and of course gelato has to be hauled to the various islands by boat. The resulting garbage also has to be moved in an efficient manner. We watched as a container was wheeled close to this boat, the crane picked it up and dropped the garbage into the boat. The driver then moved on to his next pickup point.
Venato Venice Murano Burano Italy Italia Italian Canon Nikon

The best way to see Venice is to take a leisurely walk to Piazza San Marco. Along the way we detoured into some of the small walkways to get a different perspective. Jeff pointed out several features on buildings that I had not noticed on previous visits. Definitely a great place to see how the architecture and design changed through the ages.

In our visit to Budapest Danna had a pigeon dropping land on her shoulder so today we wanted to look at Piazza San Marco through a pigeons eye. Everything looks pretty big from down here. No droppings on us today even though there were hundreds of pigeons in the Piazza.
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There are always gondolas plying the waters in and around the Grande Canal. I have been told that a new gondola costs between 25.000€ and 35.000€ depending on the options. On our walk we found a shop that manufactures and repairs gondolas. The gondolas are still made in a traditional manner and must follow strict rules to be allowed on the waterways.
Venato Venice Murano Burano Italy Italia Italian Canon Nikon

The term "Sea Dog" is used to describe someone that is comfortable with spending most of their life on the water. I know this term would apply to the gentleman in the picture but what about his friend?
Venato Venice Murano Burano Italy Italia Italian Canon Nikon

A few blogs ago I told you about how the bread gets rock hard if not eaten on the day it is bought. On our walk we heard a bunch of screeches and saw several sea gulls fighting over a piece of bread. This guy won the fight and flew away with his reward. After many unsuccessful attempts to swallow the chunk of hard bread he dropped it into the canal to soften up in the water. Now I know what to do with day old bread.
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Walking down a small lane way we saw this sign attached to a gate. At first we thought it was a Bed & Breakfast but then realized it was just confirming what parents throughout the world think about being parents. The lady of the house stepped outside and gave us a big smile once she realized we knew what the sign said. It translates as follows:
Restaurant
Mom and Dads
no need to book - generous portions
open 24 hours a day - free service
(kisses of thanks will be gratefully appreciated)

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Venice Italy - Pay Toilets

When we first arrived on the Island of Murano my friend needed to make a quick pit stop.
I then found out why Italian coffee cups are small. To use the WC there is a cost of 1,50€ which is more than the coffee she bought.



The islands of Murano and Burano are known for their specialized industries of glass making and lace making. To me the islands have much more to offer. Buildings are painted bright colours that make for very interesting pictures. Owners of the houses must retain the original colour and have to get permission before changing the colour scheme. Failure to do this will result in a fine.

The group of homes in this shot are representative of the homes on the islands. Laundry hanging to dry is exempt from colour regulations.
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We have had a few birds in today's blog and here is one of a canary getting his dose of vitamin D. Wonder what it thinks about all the bright colours?
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With all the water and brightly painted homes I saw some great reflections in the canals. I got a bit carried away but again thank the inventor of digital cameras. These are my favorite shots of the day.

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Venice Italy - Island of Murano - Glass Sculptures






Several glasswork sculptures were on display on Murano. LED lights have been added to illuminate them at night. We saw them under brilliant sunshine and they were fantastic. It is nice to see that they are being treated with respect. They were installed in 2007 and none of the pieces have been damaged.
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Lunch was on Murano, sitting next to the canal. After walking off our lunch we continued our walk. There was lots of walking so we took advantage of a flat area to relax for a few minutes.
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Time to say Buonanotte and Ciao to Venice.
Look forward to visiting again in a couple of years.

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"Take only memories, Leave only waves!"




1 comment:

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    The command structure in the army was different from that of the fleet. By ancient law, no nobleman could command more than twenty-five men (to prevent the possibility of sedition by private armies), and while the position of Captain General was introduced in the mid-14th century, he still had to answer to a civilian panel of twenty Savi or "wise men". Not only was efficiency not degraded, this policy saved Venice from the military takeovers that other Italian city states so often experienced. A civilian commissioner (not unlike a commissar) accompanied each army to keep an eye on things, especially the mercenaries. The Venetian military tradition also was notably cautious; they were more interested in achieving success with a minimum expense of lives and money than in the pursuit of glory.
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