This is our hotel from the outside. This morning we had breakfast and walked to Piazza San Marcos to visit the basilica. It is decorated completely in mosaics, and most of it is gold.

Here you can see our room; the round window up top and the metal frame of the roof deck to the right.

This is the view from the round window. I can't get over it. It's so beautiful.

Between our hotel and the Piazza is the bridge of sighs. Look what they have done. It's abominable. The sides of the building are covered in advertising, so there is no way to take a picture of the bridge without taking a picture of the ads. Ick.  Bad idea, Venice.

So we got to the basilica, and there were no photos allowed. Everyone else was taking them, so I snuck a few, as well. I got caught once but they didn't throw me out.

This is the body of Saint Mark, "rescued" from a monastery in Alexandria.

Below are some pictures of the mosaics that line the ceiling. This is in natural light.

These  horses are from the second century, B.C. and were originally from the Hippodrome in Constantinople. They were outside the basilica for many years but were brought inside and replicas were placed outside.

Here is the inside of the basilica all lit up. They turn on the lights at 11:30 every day and we just happened to be there at that time. It makes a huge difference to see it all aglow. The gold is just beautiful. Plus after our visit to Orsoni yesterday, we know how they make the gold mosaic tiles.

This was our apartment building in Murano. Our apartment was the second floor, right hand side. It was very cute and comfortable. I loved that we had a washing machine. We were able to pack just half of the clothes we would need that way. Here are a couple of interior pictures.

The decor was blue and in each room, there was a beautiful chandelier.

The only thing the place lacked was internet. I think when we come back we would stay here again, only we would do something about getting a modem so I could  blog every day. It would have been much more convenient.

We had to move our suitcases in two turns. We each have one large suitcase, a smaller suitcase plus a carry-on and our handbag/daypacks. There was no way we would be able to maneuver all that luggage on and off the vaporetto and up and down the bridges we needed to cross. So we took our time and the afternoon to ride the vaporetto back and forth into Venice to check into our hotel.

When we got to the hotel, the clerk said we have the best room in the place. It's pretty cool. It is in what must have been the attic, and we have a roof terrace where we can sit and look down on the city. Here are some views of Venice and St. Mark's square in different lights from our roof:

Day 8, Monday

Today was the first day of class with Emilio Santini. He's from a long line of glassworkers from the Venice and Murano area. He brought along his teaching assistant, Alex.

Class was great. He has a slightly different style than  Lucio and it was good to see them both. My friends Lori and Paul from the Boston Chapter came to the studio. They aren't taking the class; they just happened to be here at the same time as the classes. They also know Emilio well, so it was somewhat of a reunion. I left class at 6:00, after the demonstration of pulling points in soft glass. It looked too hard to try at the end of the day. For dinner we took the vaporetto into Venice and ate at a lagoon-side restaurant which was very good.

Speaking of eating, we have been trying hard to try new things this vacation. Some of the more unusual foods we've been eating are cuttlefish, sea snails, eel, goose, sardines in saor, along with the more usual things such as clams, mussels and sole. It's fun to ask what the waiter recommends or what is the specialty of the restaurant and try that.

Day 9, Tuesday

We started the day at the Venetian mirror factory. We weren't there long, as the man who was to show us around didn't come to work that day, but we did get to see the end products. They are very beautiful and ornate. A little too fancy for my house, I think. I really did like them, though.

 

In class in the afternoon, Emilio's sister Lucia came and gave us a demonstration of how she gilds glass with gold leaf. She uses a turpentine-flux mixture, paints the design, then applies the leaf, scrapes off the excess and fires it on. It becomes permanent. She is very talented.

After class we saw a demonstration of 'batuto' which means 'beaten'. It's an engraving process where the glass ends up with a look that metal gets when it's hammered. This is master engraver Luigi Camozzo at work.

For dinner, Robert went into Venice to a pizza parlor and got take out pizza for us. I had a 4-cheese which I didn't like because it had gorgonzola on it. Who knew I wouldn't like bleu cheese on pizza? I thought I liked cheese on everything, but I guess not.

One of the main things we like about Europe is all the dogs. I haven't seen a BT yet, and I hope I don't because I'm not sure I could resist greeting it. This is a little dog we saw, bringing someone the newspaper.

Day 10, Wednesday

Today was our last day of class. We used blowpipes to blow hollow beads and vessels, or in my case, shards. :)  It was fun and I plan to do some more at home. I spent a lot of time watching Emilio work. I think you absorb a lot just by watching. I did practice some, but I felt I wanted to see more than do more.

After class we had a party to celebrate. Everyone brought something good to eat. I didn't want to cook, so we brought a meat and cheese platter from the deli. We left around 10:00, because we had to pack up and get ready to move to Venice.

Day 11, Thursday

We finished packing this morning and went out to breakfast. We had due cappuccini and a couple of  bready-type things. Then we met at the vaporetto and took it into Venice for a tour of the Orsoni mosaic works. It was incredible.

Tomorrow I'll talk about leaving our apartment, getting to Venice and our hotel.

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.

I intended to write a lot sooner, but we haven't had internet access and it wasn't until yesterday that Robert found a cafe with Wifi. So I have a lot to update.

Day 1, Monday

We arrived in Venice after a lovely business-class flight across the ocean. It takes all of the scary away from flying when you have people waiting on you and your seats are really comfortable. We collected our luggage to find that one of the suitcases didn't make it to Italy; it was still in Spain. Luckily it wasn't one with our clothes in it. It had all kinds of electrical chargers and machines, so probably they held it aside to examine and subsequently it didn't make it onto our plane.

So we took the Alilaguna boat from the airport to Murano to go to our apartment. We were pretty tired but were determined not to go to sleep during the day. We met Lucia, our landlady who gave us the key and showed us around and how things worked. Then we went to the grocery store to buy a few things for dinner and breakfast. We bought pasta and cheese for dinner and some yogurt and rolls for breakfast.

Then we unpacked and read for a while. As we sat on the couch, my eyes kept closing and I'd force myself to open them to find Robert's were closed. I tried to stay awake but it wasn't easy. So I ended up making dinner pretty early and we went to bed around 6pm.

We woke up again around midnight, but were able to get back to sleep an hour or two later and sleep through the night.

Day 2, Tuesday

Today was kind of a bust, at least for Robert. We had a tour planned of the gold leaf factory but he couldn't come because he had to stay and wait for the suitcase.

So I went with the group to see how gold leaf is made in Venice. Factory isn't really the right word, because it's definitely a small family-run operation. I bought some silver leaf for my beads. The gold leaf is made in Titian's palace, where he lived at the end of his life. The building is really old and the marble stairs are all worn down. The process is pretty fascinating but I won't describe it here except to say that it involves hammers; heavy, heavy hammers.

After the gold leaf factory we went to see Vittorio Costantini at his studio. He makes beautiful glass animals, birds, fish and insects. They are incredibly lifelike. In front of his bench are lined up a library of field guides from which he takes his inspiration. I'm lucky that I own a hummingbird of his.

At this point I wasn't feeling very well. I hadn't eaten any breakfast as we got up late, so I bought a gelato and headed back to Murano to see if Robert had gotten the suitcase. He hadn't. So I took a nap.

Finally the suitcase arrived around 5:30 pm. At that point we went out together - which we hadn't been able to do all day - and walked around and found a restaurant for dinner. It was a pleasant evening; we sat outside next to the canal and enjoyed the ambiance.

Day 3, Wednesday

My first day of class with Lucio Bubacco. I can't describe the excellence of Lucio's work. It's simply amazing. He makes it look easy and it is so not. I tried it. I was not too successful, but at least my later attempts were always better than my earlier attempts, so I have to say the class did its job.

While I was gone, Robert explored Venice and got us monthly Vaporetto (water bus) passes, so we are free to come and go without having to worry about buying a ticket on board. I took it home from class one night just one stop, across the canal, because I could.

Class went pretty late - until almost 7:00 pm, so I met Robert and we went out to dinner. This time to another restaurant on the canal, outside. 

Day 4, Thursday

This morning we got up extra early and went to visit a friend of Ofilia's who makes blown beads at the torch. They were beautiful and the process was interesting to see. I may buy myself a mini blow-pipe just to play with.

Then more class. I'm not going to show my work but I'll tell you that the Italian-renaissance-style-goddess-head I was trying to make ended up looking like George Washington.

Robert went to San Marcos square, and went to three museums.

Another day of eating dinner at a restaurant along the canal.

The good thing about being in an apartment is that I can choose to cook or not. Monday I cooked because we were so tired, we didn't want to have to go out. But the next three nights we ate out just because we wanted to. I didn't come to Murano to cook dinner every night, but if we want to we can. We have breakfast in the apartment every day, which is very nice.

Day 5, Friday

Today was the last day of class with Lucio. Like yesterday, the day started off early with a visit to Ofilia's friends. The first visit was to a father and son team who make beautiful, heavily encased pendants. The next visit was to a hot shop. Robert and I left the hot shop a little early to go get a cappucino.

Then I went to class where I made a horse and put it on a bead, in the Lucio style. I haven't seen it yet, but I think it came out really nice, for a beginner.

After class I called Robert and had him meet me on the Vaporetto and we took a cruise around Venice and Murano, including a cruise down Venice's grand canal. We saw the hotel where we'll be staying next week; it looks really nice.

We got back around 8:00 pm and I fixed dinner; a store-bought roasted chicken, fresh asparagus and mushroom ravioli. It was yummy.

Today we go to Boston to the Red Sox game. We're spending the night at a hotel and then tomorrow we'll go to the MFA or something for lunch. Then in the evening, we fly to Venice through Madrid! I'm very excited. The dogs are in their hotels; have been since yesterday. I sure miss them, but the vacation from dog duties has been nice. I'm bringing my camera and my netbook, so I am hoping to be able to blog while I'm there, so check back. I'm taking a class with Lucio Bubacco and Emilio Santini. Have I said I'm very excited?

The robins have built their nest this year on the light right outside the kitchen door. This is not the most-used door in the house, that would be the garage door, but it's close. There is a lot less traffic at this door than at the dog door, where they built last year. Here's a close-up.

 

 

I'm looking forward to watching them bring up their babies. Mrs. Robin started sitting on the nest yesterday so I'm thinking that we'll have babies by the time we return from our trip to Murano.

 

We have fiddleheads! Not the eating kind, though.

And our beautiful cherry tree. The hummingbird was visiting it yesterday. I love spring.