Trip to the gorgeous little islands of Murano and Burano...
After our very late night last night we got up rather late and then took the vaporetto to the little island of Murano which is quite close to Venice. Murano is the island of the glass makers and haas been for many centuries. In the 1100's the glass makers were banished from Venice to this little island because of the high risk of fire. Most of the houses in Venice then were made of wood and they feared that the glassmakers could cause a fire which would destroy the town. So all the glassmakers were sent to Murano. At the time they were not very highly regarded, but within a couple of centuries Murano glass was one of the most coveted glass in the world and then the social standing of the glassmakers improved considerably. They remained on the island though and many became very rich. There are still many on the island till this day. It is a lot like a tiny Venice with four islands and canals and bridges linking them. Very quiet and laid back though unlike Venice. And full of glass shops, with many different ornaments.
We then went on to Burano which is about another 20 minutes away. This island is very different to the others, and we loved it! All the houses are painted in very bright colours which gives the whole island a very distinct feel. Pinks, yellows, greens, blues, you name it! It is so pretty with the canals winding their way through. They also have their own leaning bell tower, which leans, if anything, more than Pisa! Burano is famous for it's lace making as well, although as we were there rather late, after 5pm we didn't see any lace shops open. A very relaxing day.