boat. It’s as simple as that. They range in price, but
for roughly 24 euros each we got a tour that lasted
a little over three hours and took us to three islands.
Our first stop was Murano, where we watched a short
demonstration inside the glass factory. The glass
blowers of Venice are world famous and their skill
has been passed down, generation to generation, for
centuries. After the tour, there was the perfunctory
exit through a high end gallery. We didn’t buy
anything, but if you decide to go for it, you can have
your Venetian Glass shipped directly to your home
and avoid the trouble of transporting it yourself.
After Murano, we stopped on Burano and finally
Torcello. Like the glass blowers on Murano, the
Burano lace makers have been practicing their
craft for centuries and the colorful row houses and
small boats are beautiful. Our last stop, Torcello,
has a small town at the center with a little museum
featuring, oh, something of interest. By then, I
was tired and opted to skip the sight-seeing and
have a drink at the little shack close to the docks.
Back on San Marco, we took in Saint Mark’s cathedral,
Doge’s Palace, and sat staring wistfully at the Bridge of
Sighs as we attracted pigeons with our endless gelati.
One cone is never enough. Somehow gelato seems better
than regular ice cream. It may be a bold and opinionated
statement, but I’m sure it’s better. It must be all the extra
cream and fat. As a side note, don’t feed the pigeons
no matter how much they beg. It is strictly forbidden.
Between frozen treats, we also managed to tour
the Old Jewish Ghetto, which is breathtaking. It’s
strikingly different from the rest of Venice, with its
small shops and hole-in-the-wall ristoranti. While
there, we visited several shops and bought a print in
an art gallery. Make sure to bring cash with you if
you want to see the museum there, its inexpensive to
tour but they don’t take credit cards. Take the time to
look for restaurants frequented by locals and avoid
those featuring “tourist menus”. Practice your Italian.
The last thing we did was visit the Teatro la Fenice.
This ornate theater is a world famous showcase for
Italian opera and earned its name, Theater of the
Phoenix, after having burned three times. Each time
through the fire, it rose from the ashes, grander and
more majestic than before.
This seems to be the spirit of Venice. Just as La Fenice
withstood fires spanning three centuries only to rise
again, the city and its monuments withstand the wind,
rain and salt on the rising tide of the Adriatic. She
sits like a crown, timeless, on the spray of the lagoon.
Tracy is a US History teacher for an International
School in Paris, where she lives with her son. She
is originally from Winter Garden and is a graduate
of West Orange HS. When not teaching, she can
be found rocketing through Normandy behind the
wheel of a big diesel truck packed with American
tourists, writing Young Adult Fiction, or picnicking
by the Seine.
DECEMBER 2018
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WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE |
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