Today was our last day in Venice. I am really sad to be leaving here, it is just so beautiful.
Once again we got up early and we went to St Marks square, before the crowds arrived. It was 7:30am and there were hardly any people around. There was a heavy fog over the water and it was so silent. Venice has the ability to go from being completely silent to completely chaotic. However, even once the crowds arrive, you only have to go a few blocks back and it is silent again.
This morning we had a boat cruise organised and we left the main island of Venice at 9:30am. Our first stop was the island, Murano, famous for its glass making factory. We walked into the factory and had a tour and a demonstration. It really is amazing how they make such delicate and colourful pieces. After the demonstration we went into the gift shop. They specialise in all things big and beautiful - the guide actually said 'everything we make is big and expensive'! He was not joking. There were chandeliers that were enormous and large glass sculptures that would weigh 10 - 15kg! Beautiful, but I am not sure where I would put one! They do make some smaller pieces (thank goodness) so I was able to make a few purchases.
We got back on the boat and our next stop was the colourful island Burano. This island is famous for its lace. It certainly was beautiful, so delicate. They showed us a small square of lace that was made from three different stitches, each type of stitch was done by a different woman. The square was only about 15cm square and it had taken 5 days to make! This truly is a lost art. Of courses, it was all beautiful and the credit card came out again! This island is also famous for its brightly coloured houses. It was very pretty.
Our last stop was the island of Torcello. This island has the oldest church in Venice dating back to the 7th century. Torcello is a quiet, green island with much of it as a nature reserve. The Cathedral of Santa Maria Dell'Assunta is still in use today though the bell tower is completly under reconstruction at the moment. We walked around this island for awhile and once again we commented on just how silent it is. There are no engines or noises at all. No cars or bikes, nothing. Just silence. It is going to be hard going back to all the noises again.
On our way back to Venice, it started getting dark. It was only 1:00pm but you could see a storm was coming. Within minutes it was pouring down! The boat was covered so it wasn't a problem. In fact it was nice sitting in the boat looking out onto the water while it rained. It stopped raining about 5 minutes before we got off the boat, perfect timing. We went and had lunch outside our hotel, which was lovely. After lunch we collected our bags and headed to the water taxi, which took us to the train station.
This time the train was on time and we left Venice at 3:25pm. I tried to convince Gary that we should stay here, I am sure you would all come and visit us! I think I have lived a previous life in Italy. I feel so at home here, I love the language, the food, the vino and of course I talk fast and with my hands!! Anyway, Gary said no (he's the rational one) and we are now on our way to Rome for our very last night in Italy. It is one of the high velocity trains. It has the speed up on the monitor and I am too scared to look at it any more. The last time I looked were were doing 283km per hour! We are going so fast my ears keep popping! We have 20 min until we arrive at the Rome terminal. We need to catch another train from the terminal to Fumincino airport where we are staying at the Hilton hotel. Originally we were flying out at 6:30am so I booked a hotel at the airport so we didn't have to worry about traveling so early in the morning. However, when we decided to stay a few extra days, I didn't notice that the flight times were different and now we don't fly our until 8pm. Doesn't matter, we will just get a shuttle bus into Rome tomorrow morning for a last bit of Italian culture.
Not long until we get home now. Looking forward to seeing you all soon xx
