Fabulous glass, a lesson in lace, we buy dresses (of course we do), and then we have $25 aperitifs

We scrambled across canal bridges and navigated our way down narrow Venetian streets to make the 10 am start of our tour to two of Venice’s islands.

The tour guide was born, raised and married in Venice, and also went to university and had her kids here. So she knew her stuff.

About 16 of us climbed into the belly of a narrow wooden boat (lots of windows) and made our way to Murano which is Venice’s glass-making island. Along the way, the guide gave a great account of the history of Venice, how it came to be and how it managed to fend off invaders.

Neither Cyn nor I are in the market for a chandelier, and neither of us had $30,000 to buy one in Venice, so the Murano stop was all about gawking and not buying. But, man, this stuff is fabulous - vases and figurines and plates and chandeliers in all colors and sizes.

A glassblower showed us how it is done.

The we wandered through the showrooms where the store manager kept asking me to pick up pieces. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the showroom but … holy. Anyone who knows me knows that my picking up glass is a recipe for disaster. But I managed not to break anything, or buy anything, until just as we were leaving we passed through the room they set aside for tourists who need gifts for people back home.

I was lured by a lovely rose gold bead with a small rose gold chain and it is now among my possessions.

Cyn bought her own beads and a bobble. The woman behind the counter was British and just full of love for us, And we were totally charmed by her!

We wandered the island a bit. I had the best coffee I have had in Italy - which is not saying much. And we got back on the boat for Burano.

This is a completely charming island where the houses are all painted different vibrant colors (supposedly so drunk fishermen could find their way home a night) and people leave their doors wide open and covered with curtains so neighbours can always drop in the chat.

We watched a lace making demonstration - lace is a big export here and Cyn and I agreed that, if we ever find the men who can keep us in the style to which we are becoming accustomed on this trip, we will come back here for our wedding gowns. We bought scarfs this time instead.

We jumped off the tour at this point and had lunch at a cafe on one of Burano’s canals sidewalks.

At Cy’s suggestion, we had fritto misto which is essentially a lot of fish and seafood fried in a tempura batter … and it was amazing. Paired with Caprese salad and the classic spritz of Venice which mixes Campari with Aperol, we were very very happy.

Then we strolled the Burano boardwalk and bought the linen dresses we have been coveting this whole trip - two for me, three for Cyn.

Burano done, we took a hot and crowded water bus back to to main group of islands and it dropped us a five-minute walk to our door.

We were both exhausted but it was only 6 pm And decided we could not call it quits yet. So we set out again down Venice’s streets which are an amazing rabbit warren of restaurants, bakeries, clothing stores, tourist shops and candy sellers. This is a pasta shop - by no means the best.

We strolled to the Piazza San Marco where we sat at a table draped with white linen and ordered $25 aperitifs which we enjoyed while people watching and listening to the restaurant‘s five-piece band play love songs.

The waiters fought a losing battle with the pigeons - and the seagull!.

One drink was more than enough (for the bank balance). We picked up and meandered back to our lovely AirBNB and got some gelato on the way to end the day.

Mine was lemon cake and Cyn’s was a scoop of salted caramel and a scoop of milk chocolate. Yummy!