Yo Ho! Yo Ho!

The weather promised to behave itself today. The Hotel Mary served up a good freshly prepared breakfast. I ordered the ham, salami and cheese plate, and found some dinner rolls. We made up tiny sandwiches which would be our lunch. We also supplemented this with supplies we bought from the local Co-Op grocery.

Being outside the tourist zone, we were shocked and how low the prices dipped. The fruit and vegetable section was interesting. You picked out your fruit and took it to a scale. There you pressed the button for that type of produce. It told you the price, and if you wanted to buy it, it would spit out a barcode on a sticker which you put on the bag. There's a bit of the honor system here, and it seems to work. We were ready for today's wandering.

We were headed for Murano. As you wander through Venice, you see quite a lot of glass. It used to be made in Venice. But with the furnaces burning 24 hours a day, the city was worried about a fire. All of the glassmakers were moved to this nearby island.

Getting to Murano takes more time, but isn't really that complicated. You go to Venice (via the bus) and get on the correct vaporetto. The vaporetto is also referred to as the water bus. They have numbers to designate their route just like a land bus. Other than walking, the vaporetto is the cheapest way to get around Venice and the surrounding islands. (Although I do not recomend walking to other islands!) Private taxis and the Gondolas will also get you around, but at much steeper prices.

I'm not at all versed in reading Italian. The vaporetto pulled up to an island off of Venice, and I really didn't read the sign, Cimitero. We wandered about. It was nothing but crypts. Cimitero is Italian for cemetery. My Lovely Wife had a good laugh at my tour guide skills. Back on the boat!

Finally, we made it to Murano. Most of this island is dedicated to making glass, or selling it. You can wander into many factories with showrooms, and you can watch glass being made, for a price.

The first company we visited was a tourist trap. To sit down and watch a junior glassmaker make two or three vases costs 2 Euros each. It's not that much bang for the buck, especially at our unfavorable conversion rates. We went to a few other factories. All had extremely impressive pieces. I've always known I have good taste, because everything I would consider buying is extremely expensive.

We found a free-standing shop not connected to a factory. In late October, the big selling season is over. The shop needs to unload the inventory. I found a vase I wanted to buy. It was time for My Lovely Wife, a master negotiator, to make a deal.

My Lovely Wife's strategy, as far as I can tell, requires than you never insult the quality of the product, and never belittle the person selling. But directly asking for a price reduction is fair game, and if they can't lower the price, ask for more merchandise. The lady running the shop was also keen to negotiate, and their dance went on for about ten minutes. At the end, everyone was happy. The shopkeeper unloaded several items of her inventory, and might even have made a profit, and we were happy with our items. I really must learn how to do this!

Murano, just like Venice, is really several small islands. We found a pleasant intersection of three canals and had our lunch, the sandwiches, fruit, and drink. Since we were eating food no one else had, we drew a few stares. I could tell people were a little envious.

There are far fewer people on Murano. Venice can be very crowded. Being able to stroll without constantly dodging people is a welcome relief. It also makes for some nice picture taking.

We worked our way back to Venice for a walk back to the bus, and took our customary late afternoon break. I returned to Venice for a night crawl. Ah! Now it's not so crowded! I leaned against buildings to steady myself and used only the existing light. Like many cities, Venice at night is better than in the day. So many of the unsightly bits end up in shadows and you see a more idealized city.

I walked all the way from the entrance to San Marco, which was no longer flooded. Then I decided to hop on the vaporetto to head out. The water bus wasn't packed as it was in the day. I stood on the stern looking backwards and realized what Venice really is.

As you approach Venice, there's parking for your car, a train station, a bus terminal, and even docks for cruise ships. Next, you come to the ticket booths where you buy your vaporetto pass, or you go to the water taxi stand, or you just walk into the entrance.

Inside Venice, there are shops where shopkeepers are experts in the art of the window display, a few museums, and restaurants. What there aren't, are Venicians. The city is too expensive for the locals. The only people who sleep in Venice are tourists, and rich foreigners.

Now I was standing on the stern of the vaporetto, headed back to my relatively cheap hotel back on the mainland, and I said to myself, "This is just like Pirates of the Caribbean, except the buildings aren't on fire." That's it! Venice is a theme park, based on itself!

If there ever was a real Venice, it is gone. What is left is a place for tourists to gather, eat, take pictures, and spend money. Yes, there are great museums here, but most of the tourists never step foot in them.

I've been to the Venice in Las Vegas. It's not at all like this Venice, but they both have the same mission. Provide some entertainment, and collect cash.