I Remember ... A Day in Venice

Today was the full group tour and there was no Grand Canal entrance ... we were all in one private boat and docked at St. Mark's Square. It is extremely hot for the early morning hours and it is already crowded.

Listen carefully for Telly's famous, "okey-dokey."
Our first tour was the Murano Glassblowing Factory to witness a demonstration of this ancient art. Of course, there was time to make a purchase ... so many beautiful necklaces and serving pieces ... all very spendy! I had my eye on a necklace but even on sale it was 99 euros ... that "unemployment recording" started playing in my mind and I decided it was something I could live without. Another gal in our group, Derrilee bought it and it looked fabulous on her! I decided to buy a Christmas ornament, a glass angel, instead as this is what we usually buy for our Christmas tree when we travel ... it has become a kind of "travelogue" of our lives.

For most of the day we were on our own until the optional excursion to Burano. We walked through stores and visited the tourist must-sees while enjoying a gelato but it seemed as the temperatures climbed, so did the crowds. I especially wanted to walk over the Bridge of Sighs as I am enjoying a summer read with this title.
We wanted to do a little exploring in the residential area so we started walking away from all the noise and shopping to the peaceful quiet of the side streets. We found it very quaint and enjoyed wandering. We loved walking by the street artists and bought a watercolor of St. Mark's square. It will be the perfect addition on our travel wall in the family room.

Before leaving for Burano Lynn took our picture in St. Mark's Square.