Murano

Honestly, I could stay and shop all day. Isn’t that part of being a tourist? Brett has to remind me daily “We can afford Italy, but we can’t afford to bring it home.”
Pulling me away from the shops, we board the water bus for the island of Murano. Brett says it’s 45 minutes away…it’s actually 40 minutes around all of Venice, stopping at each dock and then 5 minutes to the island. DS8 and I are a little sea sick.
Like all good Italian crafts, glass making runs in the family. In an old form of enforcing the fire-code, the glass making families were sent to Murano to contain the blazing furnaces to one locale. We are here to visit factories and watch this ancient craft in action.
The glass blowers work in skilled teams- the master “blower” (tempting, but this is a family blog) has the sensitivity and experience to read the glass at every temperature. The 2-3 other craftsman pull, clip, stretch and form the molten mass- heating and cooling as they go.
DS8 says “It is the coolest thing I have ever seen.” DS11 is planning to bring his whole class to Murano for their 8th grade trip.
At least here there is a disclaimer posted…but no guide rails or restrictions…just words on the wall to please be careful. We stand within feet of the men at work. They are crafting a sculpture meant to look like flames of fire. We stay for 45 minutes and the children are still enthralled. We watched 9 glass “flames” formed in orange red and pink hues. A vase in their gift shop runs 750 Euros. Yes, much cheaper to visit Italy than bring it home.