Entries about burano

Day two finds us enjoying breakfast alone, but the others are up by the time we leave. The wind is brisk and while the sin tries to shine through the clouds are winning. As long as the rain continues to hold off we will be fine. Without maps we make our way to St. Georges the Anglican Church. The service is BCP and the hymn tunes are unfamiliar. The relief priest is from England, as are most of the visitors although one other couple is from Canada. Toronto. The altar is at the back of the sanctuary and the rector has his back to us when he prepares communion. The service is under an hour and we head back home so that we can get our travel supplies for the day. We fight the mob in San Marco campo and get our one-day vaparetto tickets. First stop will be Murano, but we will circle half of Venice and see many of the areas we walked yesterday, but from the lagoon.
The lagoon is bumpy but the ride is fun. We leave Venice and head across the lagoon and choose to bypass San Michele the Cemetery as Roger is getting hungry and we think food options might be limited there. We opt for the third stop at Murano away from the crowds. The town is wonderful. Unhurried we wander and at first all we see is the residential area and then we cross the canal and find a spot for lunch with the required free wifi. The rain is holding off, but the wind is still high. The food is good and reasonable. Unlike most toilets we've seen which are the squat variety. This toilet is big enough for a wheelchair and has a seat. The seat is so high my feet don't touch the floor.
Murano is known for its glass. The furnaces were sent out to the Island for fear of fire in Venice. We enjoy wandering and looking in the shops.
We want to go further so we find the vaparetto for Burano, which is known for its lace. The ride over is still bumpy and when we arrive the vaparetto for Torchello is ready to go so we grab that right away. Torchello is where the first mainland refuges settled to escape the barbarian hordes. Today it boasts about 20 residents and was a peaceful way to spend part of our afternoon. At one time there were 11 churches here, but the land was not hospitable to farming, there was no water and the mosquitoes and malaria were big problems. The remaining church is said to be the oldest one in Venice and in front are the ruins of a baptistery from the sixth century, as at that time you were not allowed to enter unless you were baptized. There was a wedding going on at this time so we did not enter. This island has cats. Lots of cats. Venice itself seems to be a dog city as we only saw two cats, one mouse and lots of dogs.
The garbage is being collected outside our window. This is done by boat and handcart.
We stop at Burano on the way back. It is filled with brightly coloured houses of all hues and intensities. The name Burano comes from the breeze, which protected the island from mosquitoes and malaria. Burano is known for its lace making and the prices on the island are cheaper than in Venice. Some very beautiful work and some cheap stuff. The public washroom has closed for the day, as are all the little shops. It is time to head back to Venice.
We make all our connections and take the Vaperatto from the stepping off point in Venice the same direction we started in the morning so we could do a full circle. A wander through San Marco brings us to some sandwich shops and a light supper. A glass of wine and we wander Listening to the orchestras spaced out around the square. We learn that you cannot sit on the ground in the square. We just wander more turning right and left at random, but finally find our way home map free. Yea!

Just a few rather random thoughts.
My favourite sign so far on the trip are the two places in Ephesus that advertised Genuine Fake Watches.
I liked watching people in shirt shorts and sleeveless shirts get stopped at the church doors. It is fun to see a man in a pretty shawl. My favourite were the two young men at St. Peters who were wearing shorts that didn't meet the rules. They managed to pull them far enough down their butts to get the knees covered. It was fun to watch and it was fortunate the shorts and underwear on the one were both black. Then we got to watch them try to climb the stairs with the crotches so low and tight.
In the church in Venice, San F. there was a corpse of a girl, Catherine who gave herself up to be martyred. I need to look that one up.
St. Peters has Italian Confessionals and Bilingual Confessionals.... English and Italian.
Venice’s water comes from the Alps.
Our B & B is located on the fourth/top floor of a building almost halfway between the Rialto Bridge and San Marco Square. There is a lift, but of course we don't use it. The big metal door is unlocked and a solid wooden door opens into the common area. The rooms are filled with antiques and interesting decorations including a life size Indian boy dressed as a servant. The walls are covered in rich fabrics and the beams are solid and big across the ceiling. The walls are thick and the windows close then there are shutters that you pull shut.