Venice Day Two

Sorry for the lag in posting. If you cannot tell, my life has become full of writing, studying, and drinking excessive amounts of coffee again. 

On our second day in Venice, Nicole and I had pre-booked a day trip out to the islands of Murano, Burano, and Torcello. We had wanted to get the full experience of a Venetian holiday in those three short days!

View for breakfast

We started off our day having coffee and breakfast at one of the many cafes in St. Mark's Square. It's hard to beat a good cup of coffee and an amazing view to start the day. 

Glass Blowing

Our first island that we visited with the tour company was Murano. For those of you who don't know, Murano is famous for glass-blowing. There was a short glass-blowing exhibition that reminded me of Corning Glass, but still well worth the experience.  We boarded our boat again with purchases in hand ready to head to Burano. 

Burano is famous for lace making. We spent some time wandering in and out of lace stores. It was very reminiscent of my experience in Bruges, Belgium.  Burano is also famous for the multi-colored fishing cottages that are all over the island. As we learned from our tour guide as well as my Foursquare check-in tips, if you are a resident of the island, you have to request to have your house painted a certain color.  My color combination choices would have to be mint green and blue if I lived there. 

Island of Burano

Multi-colored fishing cottages

Our last stop of the day was the Island of Torcello. We learned from our tour guide that the island once had 20,000 residents. Current population: 16. Yes, 16.  It's on my list of things to research because we never did get an answer as to why everyone left. The island does have several restaurants and the remains of two different churches. Highlight of this island: me realizing about two steps early that I am almost walked into a canal...

Island of Torcello 

Returning back to the Venice, we decided to continue our day with a light, late lunch and more coffee (I really do have a problem...) at the Florian Cafe. The Florian Cafe, located in St. Mark's Square, has been in business since the 1700s. There were photos in the menu that showed how they operate when the Square floods. We enjoyed our food, the sunshine, people watching, and listening to some live music. 

Our evening plans included checking out the Rialto Bridge. We were staying close enough to the Bridge that we walked exploring numerous other plazas before arriving at the magnificent Bridge.  The Rialto Bridge is full of stores and stalls selling everything from glass to masks to the Godfather t-shirts that you are considering getting family members. 

View from the Bridge

Nicole and me on the Bridge

We dined next to the Grand Canal for dinner with the Rialto Bridge in the background.  It was our last night in Venice, so we made sure to have an extra scoop of gelato for dessert!