Venice

May 14

12 hours of sleep was an unintentional but probably much needed start to our 2^nd day in Venice. With only 4 hours of sleep scattered along the last 72 hours (give or take fifteen minutes if you count the times I nodded off mid-Tiramisu last night) we were in desperate need of some shut eye. Needless to say we got a much later start to our day than our usual 5am that we’re accustomed to at home. Wide eyed and refreshed we took a vaparetto to the island of Murano, best known for Venetian glass. We did the obligatory “furnace” tour right away and watched as glass was hand blown before our eyes. We didn’t watch long though as we both enjoyed gawking over the finished products even more. If we had all the Euro in the world we would have gone nuts buying ornate sconces and extravagant chandeliers for our home. Marcus even found a couple pieces he was imagining for our hallway. For now a lovely Brittany Blue (a name dubbed by Marcus referring to just about shade of teal) oblong Venetian glass plate will be highly coveted in my kitchen from here on out.

Feeling slightly more adventurous today our afternoon Prosecco along the canal was accompanied with a petite plate of sardines. It took eating 3 soft sardine spines before we realized how easy it was to navigate the tiny morsels and avoid their vertebrae. What doesn’t kill you only gets sardine bones stuck in your teeth!

  Our spot along the canal was straight out of a painting. We enjoyed the view and soaked up the sun until our glasses were empty and exploration was once again calling. We were off to Burano, “the lace island,” and the one I looked forward to the most. Just as promised we arrived to find brightly colored homes, resembling that of Willemstaad Curacao, dotted along the water’s edge. As we walked deeper into the island we were impressed with how beautifully and almost boutique-like each home was kept. Bright hues separted one house from another, with no two shades the ever repeating. Fresh flowers filled every windowsill as open shutters tightly hugged the cheerful walls. What impressed me the most was the detail and love put into every single home, not just in the main canal or city center. Dancing in and out of the alleys our eyes were constantly entertained by the architecture and overall story book beauty of this tiny island.  We arrived as most visitors were leaving and felt like we had the island to ourselves. Most shops and restaurants were closing up for siesta but we were able to find a table along the city center for a late afternoon Spritz: White wine, sparkling mineral water, bitter Campari, and an orange slice. We saw everyone drinking them here, especially at this time of day. Women were served a wine glass and men were served a short bucket glass, but the light tangerine colored concoction was unmistakably the same. We delightfully sipped our libations and people watched until 7:30pm rolled around. There was a beloved restaurant visited by Anthony Bourdain recently where he raved that the risotto alone was worth the boat ride from Venice, if not a plane ride halfway around the world. We eagerly arrived at Gato Nero right when they opened at 7:30pm only to find that they were closed on Mondays. We decided it wasn’t a total waste as we did get to briefly meet the owner and very much enjoyed the sights and sounds of Burano as it lived and breathed sans tourists.

 We had yet to explore the main hub of Venice so we decided that was a good alternative to eating the world’s best risotto. We took the next vaparetto back to Venice but not without enjoying gelato along the canal first. We grabbed a seat outside at the back of the Vaparetto where we watched the cherry red sun slowly fade away.

Back on land dusk had arrived and white lights illuminated the Queen of the Adriatic like a Christmas tree on the canal. We wandered aimlessly from bridge to bridge, peering into the canal every once in a while to spot a gondola paddling a loot of visitors. The streets were sparse and we were grateful to have avoided the masses. We crossed the Rialto Bridge where we stopped to take in the breathtaking view of Venice by night- probably my favorite lingering image of the City of Lights. Once on the other side of the Rialto we found a promising little spot along the Grand Canal where dined on pizza. After all, we can only have so many sardine adventures in one day. Given the more touristy location along the Grand Canal we had just decided pizza was a safe bet, it can’t really be messed up right? It was actually incredible, some of the best we’ve had. On the table was a bottle of balsamic demi glaze that we very much enjoyed utilizing. Maybe I’m naive and that’s a common thing but I’ve never seen bottled balsamic reduction at home. It’s simple enough to make but you’re telling me I can just open up a bottle and it’s already there ready to go? Sign me up!

Content with our days discoveries and full of amore we strolled back to our hotel. We head to Cinque Terre tomorrow and our train tickets don’t allow for us to sleep in until noon again tomorrow.  Buona Notte!