Murano, Burano and Torcello

After a light breakfast in the hotel, we headed out to catch a vaporetto to Murano and then Burano.  The boat ride to Murano takes about 15 minutes.  

Murano is the island of glass, the famous Murano glass.  There are many glass factories and three times as many glass shops.  We've visited the island several times, so this time we perused only a few choice shops.  Katrina wanted another glass globe ornament.  I wanted to find some glass fish charms for a future mosaic project.  

Mosaics in Murano.  These mosaics are made from smalti, thick chunks or glass cut into small mostly rectangular pieces, then set into cement.  I have not worked with this type of glass yet, but hope to very soon.

Fruit and vegetable vendor sells his goods right off the boat.  

Many buildings are covered in fresh summer flowers.

I've posted his before.  This is a glass sculpture in one of Murano's piazzas.  

Another mosaic

From Murano, we caught another vaporetto to the island of Burano, a boat ride of about 40 minutes.  Burano is the island of brightly painted houses and of hand stitched lace.  It is one of our favorite islands, especially for Katrina.  We were hungry when we arrived, so Brandon picked a little fish and chip cafe.  It turned out to be just 'ok'.  

After lunch we wandered the island, checking out the little lanes and all the interesting homes.  

Fresh fruit and veggies are delivered to the island by boat, as is most everything.  

We love all the colorful homes.  We noticed that there were many for sale.  It would be a cute island for a B&B, as there are not many places to stay on the island.  Its mostly a day trip destination.  

I think I have posted this view each time we have visited Burano.

From Burano we caught a short 10 minute vaporetto ride to Torcello.  Torcello is the least inhabited of the islands, but it does have its own interesting character and is worth a visit.   

Sculpture garden in Torcello. 

We took some time to relax on the front steps of the chapel.  Katrina did some sketching.  Brandon played is Nintendo.  I paid 5 euro to check out the inside of the cathedral, to see the mosaics.  They are very impressive, but no photos are allowed. 

From Torcello, we island hopped our way back to Venice and our hotel for a short late afternoon nap.  

This evening we enjoyed an nice dinner on a piazza near our hotel before heading to Piazza San Marco.  My pictures from this evening would not upload due to unknown errors!?!  Anyway, we hung out in San Marco, watched the sun go down and people watched before heading back to our hotel for the night.  

Tomorrow we will visit the Biennial Contemporary Art Expo.