Day 6, Saturday

We started the day off at Carlo Dona's toolshop, a highlight of a trip to Murano. He makes incredible, high quality glass blowing and lampworking tools. I bought a bunch of things and I'm excited to try them out.

Then we headed to the internet cafe to post my blog. 

After a cappuccino at the cafe and a very quick perousal of Facebook, we went to Burano, a quaint little island near Murano. It could be said to be a tourist trap, but it's very pretty and is famous for its lace and embroidery. I bought a Thanksgiving tablecloth and some napkins. It's really pretty. In Burano, all the houses are painted pretty pastel colors.

It was a very warm day and we got tired so headed back to Murano and a quick nap. Our across-the-hall neighbors Pete, and Caroline, who is my class-mate, had a party. We had a nice buffet-style dinner and good conversation. All the people traveling with Ofilia were invited. It was fun.


Day 7, Sunday

Today was the first day it has rained since we've been here and boy did it rain. We had tickets for the Secret Itineraries tour of the Doge's Palace, so we made the trip into Venice. It was cold, windy and rainy. Bleah.

The tour was really cool. It was the tour of the parts of the palace related to the administration of Justice. We saw the cells where Casanova was kept and where he escaped from. I think I would have tried to escape, too. They were small and dark and creepy.

After the tour we went for lunch to Caffe Florian, where Ernest Hemingway ate once. It was pretty classy and I think it was the most expensive meal we've had here. It was so expensive because it was right in Saint Mark's square.

It was so cold and rainy that we decided to come home and relax for the afternoon. We had some laundry to do and the dishes needed washing, so home-based chores prevailed. I plan to explore Venice more while we're staying there toward the end of the week.

Now we're just hanging out, reading, and writing. I made a yummy supper of leftover chicken, tortelloni and zucchini.

The sun made an appearance at the last minute, just before setting, and gave us this incredible view of a beautiful rainbow, ending at the Church of San Pietro.