After a little Venitian canal-side stroll and some leather shopping and souvenir browsing, we took a boat to the island of Murano sans our Canada squad as they were doing laundry and most likely sleeping the day away. Murano is known for it's glass blowing, which initially began in Venice before the trade was moved to this specific island due to it's dangerous nature as a serious fire hazard. We saw a guy blowing glass in a factory and then browsed packed glass shop after glass shop until everything looked the same. After a cafe linner we were just about to hop on a boat to Burano (another nearby island) when Kel spotted a huge chandelier hanging from a high ceiling down a long corridor. Walking down it we found ourselves in a huuge glass factory where Kelly asked an employee about tour times. This employee turned out to be the owner and master designer and he told us they were closed (when has that ever stopped us?)...so long story short, they let us in and had us try blowing our own glass creations!!
... yayy for free awesome experiences! The manager (a suave well-dressed Venetian man) sat with us and explained all of the various ways the glass is made - we have a whole new appreciation for anything glass blown! This is not a simple art form. He gave us a tour of the galleries and explained glass blowing trends through different decades. Blowing our own glass in Murano was one of the highlights of Venice, although our creations were less than impressive and the manager laughed at us and told Jenny her glass bubble looked like a giant condom (see picture). No time for Burano after this amazing twist in Murano so we boated back to our hotel. The ever so handy Facebook put us in touch with our Canadian friends, who were leaving that night on a late ferry to Germany (boo).
The three of them met us at our hostel (way to get the kids together Taite) and we strolled around and sat on some steps while they negotiated with street salesmen for pervy lighters. Haggling is one of Simons favorite activities, and he is no quitter...keep up the good work bro. The 5 of us recapped all our crazy encounters and decided there shall be more to come someday.
We said our goodbyes as they got on the train (our babies are all grown up! juuust kidding boys you can totally pass for 20 haha). So strange that we had come across these perfect strangers by chance in Rome, coincidentally come across them in Corfu, Greece for a weekend, and then amazingly spotted them in a bustling crowd in Venice. Clearly they are stalkers but we like them anyway :)
... yayy for free awesome experiences! The manager (a suave well-dressed Venetian man) sat with us and explained all of the various ways the glass is made - we have a whole new appreciation for anything glass blown! This is not a simple art form. He gave us a tour of the galleries and explained glass blowing trends through different decades. Blowing our own glass in Murano was one of the highlights of Venice, although our creations were less than impressive and the manager laughed at us and told Jenny her glass bubble looked like a giant condom (see picture). No time for Burano after this amazing twist in Murano so we boated back to our hotel. The ever so handy Facebook put us in touch with our Canadian friends, who were leaving that night on a late ferry to Germany (boo).
The three of them met us at our hostel (way to get the kids together Taite) and we strolled around and sat on some steps while they negotiated with street salesmen for pervy lighters. Haggling is one of Simons favorite activities, and he is no quitter...keep up the good work bro. The 5 of us recapped all our crazy encounters and decided there shall be more to come someday.
We said our goodbyes as they got on the train (our babies are all grown up! juuust kidding boys you can totally pass for 20 haha). So strange that we had come across these perfect strangers by chance in Rome, coincidentally come across them in Corfu, Greece for a weekend, and then amazingly spotted them in a bustling crowd in Venice. Clearly they are stalkers but we like them anyway :)
We had falafels (big surprise) as our very late night dinner as we wandered around talking about how much we love Venice. This city lived up to our expectation, and they were highhhh expectations. It has a magical element unlike anywhere else. Note to selves: plan romantic weekend with studly husbands here sans the kids circa 20 years...or just with each other if we have given up on normal life by then and remain nomads.
Bueno Notte bellas! (what? kelly never said she passed italian...)
Murano
Sticks of glass used for designing
Round one: Kel shows mad skills
(this is the owner guiding us through)
Note Jens giant glass condom creation...talent
GLASS everywhere! Good thing we didn't cart around the backpacks here...
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