(D) Another day when it’s my turn to start the writing – we both say each time “but I’ve got nothing to say” as it’s hard to start recalling and recounting our daily activities. The fact that we both know how much we’ll appreciate the efforts we’ve made as we re-read this blog in years to come really helps with the creative push though! I know Liane has blogs from many an earlier trip but my first experience was on the trip she, Gwendoline and I took to Greece three years ago….. And I know all of us have read it again and again and in that way enjoyed reliving our holiday. So, with that in mind, here I go…..
 
We got up slightly later than usual this morning so forgo the run down to request hot water for our early teas; though usually at home I wouldn’t start the day without coffee that is definitely in the too hard basket here but having a peppermint tea is an acceptable alternative that I’ve now become accustomed too. As we woke later today though, we headed straight to the breakfast around the corner that is part of our hotel charge. I think Liane has mentioned that it isn’t up to the standard of breakfast spreads we’ve enjoyed in other places – certainly doesn’t compare to the fabulous ones in Dimitsana, Millies etc in Greece – but if you pick and choose you can find something. We have settled on the bread rolls with a bit of scrambled egg and cheese, with added ham for me, and that does the trick to keep you going for a while.
 
After breakfast we took a stroll about enjoying the atmosphere as we managed to beat most of the (other!) tourists out and about. We actually got photos on the bridge looking towards the Bridge of Sighs with no people on it…… extraordinary!! We noticed the temporary walkways placed about in anticipation of the Aqua Alta had been increased and some were even necessary as the entrance to the Church was under water but unfortunately (that sounds weird but I was kind of looking forward to it!) it didn’t eventuate…. Well today at least – I said to Liane it will probably happen tomorrow when we have to get to the train station on time and actually don’t want it to happen….. We shall see! 
 
Today’s main plan was the boat cruise excursion to the islands of Murano, Burano & Torcello. When we enquired about the trip yesterday the guy suggested we book and pay on the spot as it might get busy the next day and be full, and though we did think maybe it was a sales ploy it turned out he was right so we were pleased we had booked them in advance. When we arrived, a good 15 minutes before time, the line went on for ages and ages and we ended up being virtually the last to board. Maybe he'd used the same tactic on everyone or maybe it was just busy because it was Sunday who knows. All the seats were taken so we stood in the outside “entrance area” which was fine except there really wasn’t anywhere to hang onto and you also couldn’t hear a word of what was being said over the tannoy. This turned out to be slightly problematic as when we arrived at the first stop of Murano we had no idea what was going on, where we were or how long we were to be there etc. 
 
Everyone trooped off the boat and we sort of let them overtake us as we quickly figured out we were all heading into a Murano glass factory. I guess this is like a “sponsored stop” but it didn’t matter as actually it was quite fascinating to see the glass blown and twirled like toffee into shapes etc. Those people have serious skills and it’s no wonder the guide explained that you can’t learn this at school but have to grow up with it on the job and learn as the years progress as it was definitely magical to watch how they created amazing things so quickly and seemingly easily….. No doubt it is actually incredibly difficult!!!
 
From there we went to Burano; with it’s coloured buildings and charming canals it is a very picturesque place and so like a movie set kind of feel that even with the washing hanging about the place it’s hard to remind yourself that people actually carry out their normal day to day lives there. Not too sure I’d like to live somewhere with people taking photos of my home and washing, and poking their noses around everywhere but I guess maybe it comes with the deal to them – I don’t know. Yet again we were struck with just how many tourists there are around everywhere. We are constantly saying to each other “god imagine coming here in high season as it must be AWFUL!”.
 
We remind ourselves of that all the time in also commenting to each other on the lack of genuine friendliness and welcome we have found in Venice. After Ireland, where everyone is just so “can’t do enough for you”, the blasé and almost annoyed attitude of the Venetians is quite stark. We compare it constantly to the open and caring demeanor of the all the Greek hosts we encountered three years ago and indeed that I encountered there some 12 years before that….. But yes then we remind ourselves that the Venetians must get tourists in their faces and their lives just all year, day in and day out and we both know from our own experiences of hospitality work and dealing with the general public that it can be incredibly wearing. So all in all, given their beautiful city is overrun by tourists all year long we are kind of giving them a bit of an attitude pass!
 
After returning from the boat trip and enjoying a couple of downtime hours in our room, we ventured out for an early dinner. The dinner was after some shopping Liane felt the need for, what can I say – she likes her jewellery!, but oh my God I don’t think you ever would have seen two people go into raptures over some sliced tomato and a bit of lettuce before. It’s just that we’ve been having thoroughly lovely pastas and pizzas and soups and steak (the last one me obviously) but there has been a noted dearth of honest to god salad and vegetables. So tonight we had a “starter” of a shared plate of salad….. And boy did we love it!
 
On the way back to our hotel we stopped and bought a bottle of wine to bring home to enjoy whilst doing yesterdays blog. Liane is uploading photos for that as I write this, for the first time on our trip so far we have found the internet connection is incredibly slow and difficult so it’s a frustrating process! Not to mention the pop ups that we keep getting that make doing anything on the internet so annoying that you want to throw a computer against a wall – lol! Did want to mention with the “takeaway” wine, they are never screw top lids, though that they always offer to open it for you which we found really interesting as it would certainly never happen in Australia. You’d be in trouble if caught wandering the streets with an open bottle of alcohol at home but I guess it’s another tourist thing – not every tourist carries a corkscrew with them I guess….. Though yes I must admit that we do!!

L) Deb has covered the day really well so once again I don’t have too much to add. 

We were both really pleased that we had already booked and paid for the island tour and although doing it yourself by Vaporetto may have been cheaper we felt at €20 each it was a pretty good day out as we boarded at 11am and got back to San Marco by 3.30. I would suggest if staying for awhile in Venice that you take the Vaporetto out and go to Burano for the day. Although Murano was interesting with the glass blowing that was all we saw there so probably not really a necessary stop…. Torcello was a bit the same, there is a church there that apparently has gorgeous tiles but we decided not to go see it as it was a 10 minute walk and well we went past a little bar/cafe so stopped for a gelato instead! Yes I’m sure you were all expecting me to say wine and yes, we did consider having wine however as we hadn’t had lunch we thought better of drinking on an empty stomach.

I did see a few gorgeous cats whilst strolling through Burano and stopped for a pat which started a, sort of, conversation with the cats owner… I say sort of because he didn’t seem to speak English and my Italian doesn’t stretch to discussing ones cats. We did however both whip out our phones and show each other photos of our cats…. animal lovers can speak in any language it seems! 

After our lovely day out we rested for awhile blogging and photo organising (once again.. seems to take up an inordinate amount of our time, but as Deb said well worth it). 

Yes I did want to find myself some more of the gorgeous Murano glass jewellery and even now wish I had bought some more but I only have so many fingers and places to put them!! I do think however there will be other opportunities to buy jewellery … and as my bag is already bulging “unfortunately” I can’t buy clothes and other knick knacks so have to stick to jewellery!