Our Honeymoon: Glass Making in Murano

Besides a luxurious trip through the canals on a gondola ride, there was one other MUST do item on my Venice checklist - a day trip to Murano and Burano!  I had seen pictures of the beautifully colored houses and thought it sounded like a fun adventure.

We met the tour guide at this statue...

I found a great deal on Viator and we quickly booked our tour for October 31.  We booked an afternoon tour that met nearby the Piazza San Marco boat dock.  We were surprised when our tour group consisted of just one other party - two full of life older ladies from Texas.  It was practically like having a private tour!  Our guide, Christina, proved invaluable to the experience as well.  She was full of neat facts and lots of historical information about the city of Venice along with Murano and Burano.

Enjoying this boat ride MUCH more than the gondola...

Our private boat took us through some of the canals in Venice before opening up at full speed for the quick trip over to Murano.  We even sped past a hospital and graveyard island as we ventured to the outskirts of Venice.

The hospital...

and the graveyard...just across the water!

Many of the locals in Murano are part of a long line of family glass making businesses.  We had an opportunity to watch the glass being made first-hand on the tour.  Each part of the process was carefully explained as we watched several glasses be hand crafted while we were inside the workshop.  Such a unique experience!

We had a chance to shop around in their fancy store afterward, but there were no pictures allowed in there.  Everything was insanely expensive...and thankfully Chris talked me out of buying one of the pieces I really liked in there!

Another local glass factory...

After shopping around, we slowly made our way through the town via boat before picking up major speed as we cruised to Burano.  Hoping to make it there before sunset...

Andrea :)