Diary for Debbie does...round the world


Venice - Day 3

2010-02-14

Somehow lost some of the story in copy and paste - thats my day!!!!

Eventually arrived in Murano which was deserted. Saw a glass blowing demonstration and a few expensive shops and found ourselves wondering if this was it. Then followed some handwritten signs to the town centre thru ordinary neighbourhoods with nobody in sight until we found the centre of the action. The main street split by a canal and shops on either side which Nancy loved. We found a lovely place for lunch about 1330 and were able to sit in the sun outside. It has a Michelin star. Our food was beautiful – pasta with speck and spinach but tiny. Nancy had a seafood pasta which she so loved she ordered another one. Then more shopping before making our way back to the valporetto and a cold journey.

We had managed not to pay for a ticket to Murano as the ticket office wasn’t open. On the way back we brought a one way ticket but hopped on the wrong one so had to change once we were back in Venice to get to where we were going. There was huge queues and when we finally got to the front they said that I couldn’t go thru as my ticket had expired. I tried to explain the situation and she wasn’t interested and told me to leave. I asked her how she expected me to leave to purchase another ticket and she told me I was being rude and eventually told me to climb the fence which I said I wasn’t doing – sturdy but about 6 foot high. I said I would keep with the queue and then go out with the people getting off the boat which was the only way to move and I had every intention of doing that. Anyway I was lost in the crowd by then and just decided to get on which I did with no problem. The reason Nancy and Andrew’s ticket worked was because they hadnt clicked it in Murano therefore it hadn’t started.

We got off by the Ponte di Rialto as we were going to have a wander over the ‘other side’ which ended up being a shopping trip for Nancy. Again very crowded. The Rialto Bridge was built in 1591 after a competition for the best design – Michelangelo lost out – it’s the only bridge that crosses the Grand Canal and has shops in the middle. After some wanderings I paid 1.5 euros to go to the bathroom – the most expensive one I have ever come across in all my travels. Then we headed back as the others had in mind a restaurant they had spotted on the walking tour. Took us an hour to find it and it wasn’t that great. More gelato afterwards to make up for it.