Staying in Venice and the islands of Murano and Burano

While in Venice we stayed in a hotel in Lido de Jesola - a Long spit of land (or sand) that separates the lagoon of Venice from the Adriatic Sea. The hotel was right on the beach, with a board walk linking a number of hotels together.







There is a terrace and a swimming pool.



















but where on this beach would our little Ernie make a sand castle and dig holes for the sea to come in? Thus is not our idea of a beach holiday!






Our morning was taken with visits to two islands in the lagoon, Murano, which is famous for its glass and Burano which is noted for its colourful houses.


As usual, we had a guide and a boat.








We passed this island which is home to a convent.











When we reached Murano, we went to a demonstration of glass making, followed by a visit to the shop and an 'explanation' of the prices: 'price is €100, but to you €80 or €70 for cash'.

We didn't find anything that we liked, so escaped from the showroom and headed off to a shop that we had bought from previously. With some prompting, they remembered us and even where the piece we bought had been in the shop. We found something there which is coming back with us!




Here is a glass object being made










The glass maker showing off a finished glass horse which we saw being made.







Shopping done, we moved on to Burano. This is/was a a fishing village where (we were told) the women painted the houses and therefore why they are all brightly painted (this was when the women were not making the lace that is everywhere).


We were taken to a very brief lace making demonstration and then the sales room. Prices indicated that the vast majority of the lace on show was not hand made.





Deliveries come in by boat. There are no cars on Burano.








People buying vegetables from a boat shop.











Colourful houses along the canal.





















Chimneys are all on the outside wall so that, in case of fire, other houses have greater protection. It also makes cleaning the chimney much easier, because there is access to the chimney from the outside.






Many houses are built around a square. This one has its own cistern (water supply).







Narrow alleyways between houses.









After lunch on Burano, we returned to our bus in Venice and the drove to Rimini where we will spend 3 nights.







We arrived at the hotel in the early evening and after dinner, wandered out into the crowded streets, along the sea front and found roundabouts and dancing.
























People were in front of TVs everywhere watching the World Cup.

Overnight we had storms.


- Pat and John on tour

Venice (day 2)

We continued our visit to Venice the next day with a tour of St Mark's square and cathedral.

St Mark's square is almost always full of people so finding a shady spot to hear the guide is not easy.




One of the most well known images is the lion which stands on a column at the entrance to the square from the lagoon.




The Porta della Carta of the Doge's palace.






Over the entrances to St Mark's























T he cathedral really is a magnificent building and was smaller than I remembered. One isn't allowed to take photos, but this is more honored in the breach. Here are a couple oh photos that took themselves













A fter the cathedral, we had another walking tour of Venice, this time off the usual tourist track. We walked through the upmarket shop area, through and saw a number of churches and other sights including the opera house which has both a front (land) entrance




and a back (water) entrance.




By now we were all ready for a sit down and lunch.





Afterwards, we organised ourselves into groups of 6 or less and went for rides in a gondola.




The first bridge, apparently there are 444 in Venice.










The Bridge of Sighs



















Our gondolier










Our last stop was a tour of the Doge's Palace. The first palace was built in 810, but was destroyed by fire. There have been several other fires, but the current palace has parts which date back to the 15th century.





































A view through the gratings of the bridge of sighs.







- Pat and John on tour

Venice (day 1)

Our driver, Christophe, brought us from Garda to a ferry terminal where he could park the bus and where a boat was waiting to take us across to St Mark's square. The tour company had organised a private hire boats, so we had 20 people on a boat with a capacity of around 200 and no problems taking photos as we travelled across the lagoon.




Our small bus










Inside the ferry

















The approach gave us an opportunity to take photos that we hadn't taken before.



The boat took us past the dock area with all the cruise ships which can dominate the skyline.








We came into St Mark's square from the west, passing San Giorgio Maggiore as we went.








Then we were there, the most well known view of Venice.












and there was the usual traffic jam of boats trying to get in the offload their passengers.







After lunch in a local restaurant, we met our guide for a walking tour. It was the first really hot day of the year, with temperatures over 35 deg, so after 2 hours walking around, we were all exhausted.. ., some of our party are close to 80. Some views from our walking tour, starting with a panorama





The cathedral and Doge's palace.












The Bridge of Sighs










The Doge's Palace











The Grand Canal from the Rialto bridge










A pasta shop




Panorama of Campo San Samuele and the Palazio Malipiero


When we were on the boat back to the hotel, we saw this splendid boat.

Pat and John on tour