He must have been conceived during Carnival time, because his colorful feathers and feet fit right in with all the bright costumes and masks worn then. We also saw pigeons like this one that had chartreuse and turquoise feathers. Very strange!
We boarded our chartered boat and sailed over to the island of Murano, famous for its glassmaking. First up was a demonstration at one of the many glass blowing factories, with the master (on the right) and his assistant making a glass swan:
The glass foundries were ordered out of Venice, due to the fire risk to the many wooden buildings, and moved to Murano in 1291. Today glassmaking is still the island's main industry and century-old techniques are used by today's craftsmen. This chandelier, displayed in the gallery attached to the factory, was priced at 250,000 Euros ($322,920.77 at today's rates):
After the demonstration and a tour through the gallery, we strolled around Murano and found this glass sculpture, reminiscent of the work of Dale Chihuly. Chihuly, in fact, came to Murano to study with several of the masters on the island:
The canals of Murano were charming...
and we saw Wegmans' mobile produce section pulled up nearby:
We returned to our chartered boat and sailed away for the island of Burano. Famous for its lace-making, Burano is delightfully colorful. There are ordinances in place that require homeowners to continue to paint their houses only in approved colors, so if you don't like the exterior color of a house you are considering to buy, either get to like it or choose another one:
Notice the blue and white striped curtain in the doorway above? That's Burano's idea of airconditioning: the doorway is covered with a curtain for privacy, but the breezes can still blow into the house. There are flowers everywhere, including at this well-appointed flower shop:
We strolled the canals,
had lunch followed by yet another gelato tasting (good, but still not as good as that first one in Venice) and returned to the chartered boat to travel back to Venice. Because the boat lanes are laid out like a highway system , to prevent groundings on sand bars and rocks, and to keep traffic moving safely, we had to ride back past Murano to return to Venice. There we went directly to the small port of San Basilio, where our home for the next week was waiting.
L'Austral, a French ship which carries 264 passengers at the most, had been chartered by Tauck to carry 112 of their guests. The remaining passengers had booked their trips directly with the cruise line. Our Tauck groups had our own tours, not those offered by the ship, and we even had a section of the dining room reserved for our group for dinner. Our wines were included with meals and the other passengers had to pay for theirs. Mixing the groups would have sent the wait staff into a frenzy.
We were met at San Basilio by the cruise director, Jerome, and Captain Lemaire. Boarding was accomplished quickly and we found our stateroom on Deck 3. Thanks to our friends Twig and Jim, who had traveled with Tauck on L'Austral's sister ship, Le Boreal, we purposely booked on Deck 3 for its convenience to the gangway and the tender loading point. Additionally, it was one staircase down to the restaurant and one up to the theater, where Tauck presentations were scheduled. Almost all the staterooms on the ship are the same size, but prices go up as you go to higher decks. There was one passenger deck below us; we were low and mid-ship...a perfect location for rough seas, should we have them. I never have been able to understand why the most expensive cabins on cruise ships are high up, as they are the ones that get tossed the worst in bad weather. Convenience and less rocking....that's the way we like it.
The ship sailed from San Basilio and we passed St. Mark's Square on the canal:
Goodbye, Venice - we loved getting to know you, and hope to return someday for another visit.
Next stop - Sibenik, Croatia.
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