Day 17: Veneto

Today we were guided around some beautiful islands around Venice. We first boarded the bus to Piazzale Roma in Venezia where we met our guide for the day, Romena. We had booked a private traghetto which meant we had plenty of room to sit outside in the breeze or below deck in an indoor section. While we sailed, we were told historical and cultural facts about the cities passing us by. We recognised some key landmarks from our earlier trips to Venezia including Basilica San Marco, Palazzo del Doge, and Ponte dei sospiri. One key feature we could not miss was a US navy ship gliding through the water behind us. We were amazed by the sheer size of USNS Yuma and the fact that it could still perform what we considered to be some dexterous manoeuvres.

Our first stop was the island of Murano which is most famous for its glass production and trade. We were entertained by a local artisan's demonstration of creating a jug and a horse sculpture out of glass, a feat he made look completely effortless, bending and blowing the glass into its final form. The 1000 degree furnace gave the glass a red hot glow, and it was only as it cooled that we could finally make out the impressive blue and purple hues he had added to the glass. We watched on in shock and amazement when a piece of paper he dropped onto seemingly cooled down glass burst into flames. We were then delighted when he offered one of us to have a go at shaping a piece of glass. Emile stepped up and, although the expert had made the craft look like a piece of cake, Emile struggled to replicate his movements and ended up creating a rather abstract product. Mr Mameghan was then shown how to blow the glass and created a delicate balloon. After this we had some free time to explore the local shops and enjoy browsing all of the homewares, jewellery, and figurines made out of glass.

Our next stop was the colourful port city of Burano known both for its wide range of coloured facades and its textile production. The reason behind such colourful homes came from sailors struggling to find their way in the fog and so by having brightly coloured homes they were able to locate a safe place to dock. We found some lunch, photographed our favourite coloured homes, and bought some lace and linen products.

Our final stop was Torcello. Already tired from our adventures thus far, we only went for a short walk up to the church and back before leaving. Nonetheless, it was nice to see a humbler town after the hugely popular Murano and Burano that we had already visited. This place felt more rural and homely as we saw bridges made of cobblestones and lots of greenery around. Finally, it was a longer traghetto back to Venezia followed by a bus ride to our hotel. We could hardly believe it when we all managed to fit on the same bus even if it was standing room only. After a long break to rest, recover, and start packing our bags for departure tomorrow, we gathered for dinner back at La Dolce Vita. It was nice to be in a damiliar place and the waiters were glad to see us back again after we had enjoyed our meal so much the first time. We ordered, ate, and paid for our delicious authentic Italian cuisine before returning to the hotel for our final night in Italy. The restaurant staff were impressed by our politeness and behaviour, especially considering the size and age of our group. Meanwhile, our students were grateful to have learned how to navigate the coperto (cover charge) and euro money to pay for their dinner. It is surreal to think that this time tomorrow we will be on the plane having left from Milan and be eagerly awaiting our return home early on Saturday morning.