Monday in Venice, Murano and Burano

After another great breakfast at our hotel, we headed out to see the Campanile - a huge bell tower on Piazza San Marco.  The lines to get in have been really long whenever we've been in the area, so we wanted to get there early.

The Campanile is the tall red-brick building

Dark skies over Venice and the Campanile

On the way over we saw lots of people loading onto gondolas for a ride.  We were glad we'd had our gondola ride a few days ago when the weather was good.  These folks were either with a cruise ship or some other kind of big tour, and they really had no option but to take a ride in bad weather.

Gondolas rides, even in the rain!

It was cloudy and sprinkling on the way over to the Campanile - only 5 minutes from our hotel.  The Piazza San Marco looked very different in bad weather.  No one was sitting at the cafe tables, and the souvenir carts were having a hard time keeping the T-shirts and postcards dry.  I saw a waiter in a white dinner jacket squeegee off the tables out in the rain at one of the cafes.

There was no line at the Campanile, and we got right in.  We waited only a few minutes for the elevator to the top. The observation deck was open to the elements, and when we got there the wind was blowing, and it was cold.  The view from the top was great though, in spite of the cloudy skies.  As we walked around taking pictures, it started raining.  Not a fun place to be in the rain and wind.

San Giorgio Maggiore across the lagoon from St. Mark's

The rooftops of St. Mark's from the top of the Campanile

A view of the city from the top of the Campanile

When we got down from the tower, we did a little souvenir shopping along the piazza.  We've seen so many gift shops in Venice, selling much the same thing - glass, leather goods, lace - that we wonder how everyone makes a living.  We talked to an older woman, a local, outside of a Tabacci (tobacco) shop along the piazza, and she told us the prices on Murano glass at that shop were very good.  It's amazing that even the tobacco shops sell fine glasswork.  I understand that the locals have a little harder time finding the basic necessities of life, among all of the gift shops.  There seem to be lots of clothing stores too, both  high-end designer shops, and just regular stores and boutiques.

Our hope was to see the islands of Murano and Burano today, but the weather was rainy.  Laurie said, let's just go and see what happens!  We walked over to the waterfront to catch the ferry.

Colorful umbrellas going over a bridge 

The weather improved some, and it turned out to be a nice day for the ferry ride over and a walk on the islands. The island of Murano is famous for glass-blowing factories.  We saw plenty of signs on factories along the water approaching the island.  The island was scenic and very touristy.  It was still raining periodically.

Rick, Emmett and Kathy on a bridge on Murano

A canal on Murano

We had a nice lunch on Murano, and along with lunch Laurie and I had bellinis - a drink made with prosecco and apricot nectar.  The bellini was invented in Venice, and we were advised by another tourist to be sure and have one while we were there.  We're adding it to our list of favorite things in Italy!

Rick's seafood salad at lunch.  He said it was great!

We wandered through some of the shops, and the church.

The glass holy water font at the church on Murano

Then we were on to Burano, the island famous for lacemaking.  We saw lace shops along the canals, but the real attractions of this island are the colorful houses and shops.  They are an artist's delight!

Our first view of the colorful houses in Burano

The streets of Burano

We stopped for a spritz at a bar with wi-fi because I absolutely had to reserve seats for Rick and I for our homebound flight tomorrow.  British Airways won't honor seat requests more than 24 hours ahead of departure unless you pay a hefty fee.  Ridiculous.  The waitress at the bar very kindly typed the 14-digit password into my Ipad so we could use the wi-fi, and take care of this chore.  Just what every traveler wants to worry about on a trip!

Back to Venice proper on the ferry, where we enjoyed our last evening in the city with a nice dinner in our neighborhood.  We had tiramisu for dessert, and the last glasses of grappa Rick and Emmett would enjoy in Italy.

The streets were quiet on our way back to the hotel, far from the lights and crowds of the Grand Canal.