This morning, we got a slow start before heading out to the island of Murano, which has been famous for handmade glass for centuries. Valentina, who was one of our rowing teachers, gave us these instructions to find her father’s shop on the island.
The ride to Murano was really pretty.
We went straight there from the boat, and met Tosi. He was so nice, and showed us how he makes glass art using the traditional lamp work methods that Murano is famous for. He has been doing it for 45 years, and learned it from his father.
He started making something as he was talking, using colored glass rods melted in a blowtorch. We saw it develop bit by bit, and we were trying to guess what it was.
It turned out to be a little gondolier Christmas ornament. We usually bring home an ornament from each place we visit in our travels, so this was the perfect Venice memento.
Liam then got to try his hand at working the glass. Tosi helped him make a turtle, using clear green glass for the body and lighter opaque glass for the limbs and spots.
At the end, Tosi showed us a quick glass blowing demonstration. He said that he wasn’t going to make something, just blow a bubble so we could see.
We ordered lunch and went to a nearby park while it cooked.
We picked up our food and took it back to the park. Liam had the mixed fish grill, since fish is the local specialty. I don’t think he was expecting as many eyeballs as he found in his dish, but he ate it with gusto, and enjoyed playing with the claws.
Next, we went to a glass factory for a glass blowing demonstration. The glass master made a multi color decorative bowl.
While the glass ball was hot, he rolled it in some colored glass chips, then heated it until the colors absorbed into the other glass. We saw a similar process with Tosi, but he used colored glass rods that he heated up rather than glass chips.
He also made a horse in minutes. He heated up a ball of glass one time, and then used tongs to pull all of the limbs out and shape it into a horse.
The walk back to the vaporetto stop was gorgeous.
We stopped by a book store called Libreria Aqua Alta, or high water bookstore. They keep their books in boats and bathtubs, so when the tide rises and the streets flood, the books are safe. There was an extra high flood before Venice added the gates that went so high that they lost books anyway, and those are now used to lift things off the ground.
For dinner, we went to Osteria Cicchetteria “Aea Canevassa” and had maybe the best meal in Italy so far. Willow and River ordered pasta with butter and Parmesan, and even that was better than usual.
At first, the kids were annoyed by my taking photos of cool door knockers, but now they’re pointing them out and insisting I take photos. So, here are some more.
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