Last Day in Paradise (Lost)

Today we took a boat taxi to the island of Murano, watched a glass blowing demonstration, and bought some decorative glass things. Boat taxis sound like so much fun but after the initial voyage, they seem more like boat buses--they can be crowded with standing room only. Usually, you can at least stand in the enclosure but today it was terribly windy and cold. Also, the comfort of the taxi depends on the driver. We've had several drivers who seem to believe the way to park at a dock is to ram it first. Many boats have bumpers but not the taxi ones we were on.

Still, especially going all the way to Murano, the views of the canals are stunning. The island is quaint with glass factories and stores everywhere, at least on the outskirts--we didn't get to the interior. We were surprised to see just two small restaurants on the main drag--maybe there are more if you walk down an alley. The dude below is a master; we were told it takes 20-25 years of apprenticing to become a master and that you cannot go to school to learn this skill, but must learn from a relative. My guess is there's a very few families with that tradition and that much of the glass is made in factories with molds. You can certainly tell from the prices which pieces are hand-made.

Dude making something; he is the master of this particular factory

After the very laid-back shopping adventure, Lola decided we should walk to the Accademia which we were close to yesterday. Hours later, we found it and were almost too exhausted to enter. I even tried google maps for directions but it decided we wanted the Accademia in Florence...or Los Angeles. For fear of being lost forever, we took a boat taxi from that stop back to San Marco.  There was no one to sell us tickets so Lola decided we would just walk onto the boat and pretend we had a ticket. It worked. We were not arrested (unless someone is coming to the hotel later).  I, of course, didn't want to do anything illegal but was in bad company.

Murano

For dinner, we tried to get into the most famous restaurant in Venice but couldn't get a reservation so our concierge suggested a similar restaurant just about a block away. They made someone walk us to it since by a block away, they mean go down a set of stairs, cross a canal, turn right, then left and there you are. We had clams and mussels as an appetizer and Venetian-style liver which is on every menu so we were curious about it. It is delicious.

Tomorrow, we're springing for the private boat to the train station. When we asked the concierge this morning about it, he said it was 80 euros. When we booked it this afternoon, it was only 75. Yes, it's expensive but it beats walking to a boat taxi dock with luggage. Plus, Lola saved us a fortune earlier since we rode the taxi illegally.