Touristing around Venice

After our bike tour ended we had three more days in Venice. The first day, July 17, was still part of the bike tour and we had an interesting and unusual activity planned for the afternoon. We had the morning free and rode the water taxi to the island of Murano, famous for glass blowing. Lots of our riders were on the boat and we wandered the streets of Murano together, looking into many nice shops selling amazing glass items. As time went on people wandered in different directions and we ended up with Geoff and Betty, shopping for treasures in a little shop with a friendly owner. We ended up buying a pair of beautiful glasses while Geoff and Betty scored a pitcher with glasses.

Next, we decided to visit a couple of the glass blowing workshops to see how these amazing things are made. Google recommended one, Wave Murano, and we spent some time there watching the whole process. If we had more time we might have done the personalized tour where you actually get to pick out an item and make it yourself, with one-on-one help from an expert.

By the time we had our fill of glass blowing it was lunch time and we found a nice restaurant for pizza and cold drinks, a really great meal for hot days. After lunch it was time to go meet the group at the far side of Venice for some paddling. Our water taxi stopped at nearly every stop and took over an hour so we were slightly late, but they held the bus for us and soon we were driving across the bridge to the mainland.

It was a bit of a walk from the bus stop to the boat place, and probably many people were wondering if this was going to be a good idea. The temperature and humidity were both pretty high. The boat guide explained that we were going to paddle a dragon boat (long canoe that holds over 10 people) over to Venice, then through some canals, then back. We split into two groups for the two boats. The guide in our boat didn’t speak English so there were some comical moments. We made a strategic positioning error putting Joe, Scott and Jim in the front of the boat. Everyone else had a hard time following their chaotic and haphazard paddling. But even so, we made it 4.5 km across to Venice in a decent time. I think the guide nearly had a heart attack worrying about crossing a very busy canal with a boat full of people not paddling well and not understanding a word she said. But we managed to not hit any other boats and got into a small canal which we followed for a long time. This was the way to see Venice, at water level in a human-powered boat.

Finally we paddled by a gelato shop and pulled over – gelato must be had! It took some time to get everyone off the boats and soon everyone was enjoying not paddling and eating cool gelato. We loaded back up, this time with a new leader: Geoff. He set the pace, very smoothly, and the trip back was easier and quicker. And we beat the other boat by quite a bit. For a while we paddled right next to a team of two women rowing standing up.

We took the bus and water taxi back to Lido. It was just around sunset and the light was so perfect. The water taxi took almost an hour, cruising up the Grand Canal, with an ever-changing view of Venice, seemingly at its best.

When we arrived at the hotel it was nearly 9 so we were under strict orders: no showers, dinner is NOW! We ate in the hotel and it was pretty funny – course after course of fish. Hardly anyone could eat it all. We had an awards ceremony and each person had the chance to share his or her best moments of the trip. This was a great end to a fantastic group tour.

The next morning most of our friends headed home but we had an extra day. Since it was still hot and humid we got up early and took a water taxi at 6:30 to Venice. After another look at the Piazza San Marco, we walked through many tiny passageways, looking at shops and sometimes having to turn around at dead ends. We found ourselves at the Rialto Market and wandered through the fish area. We crossed the famous Rialto Bridge where people line up for a long time in crowded times for a photo; we had it almost to ourselves. We stopped at a sandwich shop for breakfast and Nathan discovered a great drink: Moretti Limone, a very low alcohol (1.3%) radler, delicious.

Then we walked back across the Piazza and down to the Giardini della Biennale, a famous garden created by Napoleon. After admiring the sculptures and having some cold drinks, we headed back over to Lido on the water taxi.

It was getting really hot so we decided on an easy afternoon activity: take the water taxi to another island, Burano, famous for lace work. The ride was an hour and lunch was the first order of business when we arrived. We found a place with air conditioning inside, and after lunch with cold beers, we checked out the small town with its brightly painted houses. We saw the famous leaning tower – it really leans a lot but photos don’t show it somehow. We looked around in some lace stores and loved one special vintage showroom. Some of the pieces take months or even a year of work. After a little shopping we headed back – the heat was just too much.

Back at the hotel we relaxed until it started cooling off then had dinner at a restaurant down the street, planning for another nice trip down the Grand Canal in the wonderful evening light. Dinner was good but took a long time and it was already past sunset when we boarded the water taxi. So we didn’t go as far down the canal but got off and just started walking, kind of trying to get lost. And we did! The small walkways twist and turn and dead-end so at night it’s hard to keep your sense of direction. It was a beautiful night, uncrowded and really fun. We had pistachio cannoli for dessert and eventually found our way to the water taxi and home to Lido. It was a fun last night in Venice.

In the morning we had to leave early for our flight since the water taxi to the airport takes about an hour. It was a nice ride though, and certainly an interesting way to arrive at an international airport. Our flight to Frankfurt left only a little late and was painless. It was a bit of a rush through the airport in Frankfurt. We hustled between terminals with a couple of guys from Santa Cruz who were on a research trip studying European Via Ferratas and how they could be brought to the US. Together, we made it to the check-in line just before our group was called. 11 1/2 hour flights take a long time, but we watched lots of movies and then were suddenly in San Francisco. We ubered to Frannie’s where our car was stored and drove back to Santa Cruz. We had burritos in the backyard for dinner….what a fun trip!