Special note - for those family and friends who have the detailed version of our itinerary, please note that the accommodation shown for Florence has now changed. I noticed a couple of days ago that the accommodation voucher included in our documentation didn't match the accommodation listed for Florence in the itinerary (both provided by the travel agent!) A few emails/phone calls later, and Andrew the travel agent has confirmed that the voucher is correct, not the itinerary. So our accommodation in Florence is at the Laurus Hotel - phone +39.055.2381752, fax +39.055.268308, email Laurus@Vivahotels.com. (Michael, can you please let Mum know; thanks).
We've had a very big day today in terms of our contribution to the Italian economy. The day started with a trip by water taxi to the island of Murano - famous for its glass manufacturing. We had a demonstration of glass blowing/crafting and then of course the obligatory stop in the showroom to view the many pieces of art on display. After much discussion and negotiation, we purchased what must surely be the most expensive glass duck in Italy. It's a beautiful piece, so a special memento of our trip.
Having spent a small fortune in their showroom, we were then given a trip to Burano which was another island nearby, on the company speed boat. Burano is famous for its lace-making and is also a fishing village. The homes on the island are painted a variety of bright colors, so look very pretty. From Burano, we took a ferry back to our hotel, but took the slightly longer, more scenic version of the trip, so it was nice to see a bit more of the area.
In the afternoon we walked in the opposite direction to the way we had gone yesterday, and one of the first places we came to was the church of Santa Maria Della Pieta, also know as Vivaldi's church. The exciting news (for me) was that I Virtuosi Italiani are performing Vivaldi's Four Seasons actually there in the church, so we've booked tickets for the New Years Eve performance.
From there we wandered around some of the shops and eventually came to the Omega store. One of the special items I wanted to buy on the trip was a new watch and I found the perfect one today, so that's my birthday present to myself - and given the price of it, birthday present to myself for many, many birthdays to come.
We have booked a couple of tours for tomorrow - a walking tour of Venice in the morning, and a tour of the Basilica in the afternoon.
Photos included today show the glass blowing on Murano, homes on Burano, and Pete "sitting on the dock of the bay" in Venice.
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