Venturin' in Venice

Murano Glass Factory

Today was a day of heat, walking, and food. After we got up, we jumped on a boat and set off for a small island to see Venetian glass blowing. The room we watched in was very hot due to the furnace that heated the glass. The master worked hard, putting a small piece of glass on the end of a rod and into the furnace until it glowed with heat. As it turned out, the rod was hollow, and the glass molten enough so that the master could blow through the rod and make the glass expand into a small bulb. He then crafted the glass further to give it it's final shape, a small vase. After he finished the vase, he put more glass into the furnace, and once it had melted enough, used a pair of plier-like tools to make it into a small glass horse. Once that was done, we were taken into a room filled with glass sculptures, jewelry, and drinking utensils of various shapes and sizes, and with every color one could imagine. Our guide told us that they did not paint the glass, but rather infused certain elements and compounds with the glass to bring out different colors. Once he finished, we were able to walk around to look at the glass art. Anthony and I watched another glass-blower craft a small piece with a tiny jet of flame. In the end, a few things were purchased, and my mom and aunt convinced the owner to start a new line of glass fox sculptures!

St. Marks Square, Venice

After we left, we headed for the main island of Venice again, where dad got a new hat, and Anthony a new pair of sunglasses. Items purchased, we split up, with Anthony, Michael, Emmy, and I in one group, and the others in another. Anthony believed it was his mission to get us lost, because our guide told us that that was the only way to truly discover Venice. After a bit of walking rather aimlessly, we found a little restaurant to eat at. Each of us had personal pizzas, but in Italy, apparently personal is pretty big. Each of us finished though, and set out again into the labyrinth of Venetian alleyways. After we ended up back in San Marco square, we decided to split further into groups of two, Michael and Emmy to shops, Anthony and I into more wandering. We spent most of the wandering looking for somewhere to sit, and found nothing in the shade until we noticed a stone bench on the shady side of one of the bridges. We found this, though, with only about 15 minutes until we had to get onto another boat. 

  This boat took us back to our hotel, where we had about two hours of rest. I took full advantage of this by falling asleep for the entire time. At about five we got on another, wait for it, boat. 

Burano

  This boat took us on a half hour ride to the island of Burano. The first thing we noticed was that it had its own leaning tower, a high bell tower above the city. The second thing we noticed was that the majority of the buildings were painted with the whole spectrum of vibrant colors. Once on the land, we got to take a stroll around the city to the restaurant that we would eat at. By the time we were at the restaurant, dad was lost. I volunteered to go find him, and got my own little private tour of the beautiful city. As it turns out, he found me after meeting up the rest of the family, and he and I took a short photographic expedition. Afterward, we went to dinner, where we were given a choice of fish, or a few other meats, of which I chose steak, while others had fish. We had a five course meal, which made everyone stuffed, even in between courses. After the dinner was over, we were given coffee and amaretto. It was delicious, though it reminded Anthony and Michael of medicine. Then we had a small photography session and went back to the hotel. 

  Clayton