the trip from the main island to murano was no more than fifteen minutes, and by the time we arrived at the jetty, the sun was out and warming everything it touched. including us. which was a relief, because the morning had started off pretty windy, and being on the water really started to chill the fingers whenever the camera came out to play.
murano is similar to venice in that it's a series of tiny islands all linked by narrow canals and walking bridges, and it's most well known for its glass making. you know when you go to a market and there's a stall selling tatt jewellery that claim to be murano glass? well yeah, that's where the real, ~original stuff comes from! so, aim of the day: by some glass (there's not a whole lot else, to be fair).
we wandered around for well over an hour, but the island of murano isn't exactly big, so you can walk from one side to the other and around and back, and sort of end up seeing all the same stuff. there are a couple of token things to do, like visit the glass factory/museum, check out campo santo stefano and the abstract blue glass starburst in the middle of the square (if you can figure out its purpose, you win) next to st. stephen's clock tower, or - y'know, just check out the beautiful scenery! and: lighthouse!
from murano we headed across to burano. this island is quite a bit further out, and on a packed (and not very regular) bus where we crammed onto the exposed deck with sixty or so others, it felt like it took foreverrrrrr. but, once we got to the island, and excited ran off to explore all the wonderfully colourful side streets and alleyways, all was right in the world again. i don't need things, me. i just need colours to make me happy!
literally, hours. we spent hours snooping down private roads and taking photos of people's homes, and not once (well ok, once, when charley wanted to take photos of a yellow house and the people who live in it walked out right before she sat on the steps) did we stop to think about the people inside. like, they must ~know, right? when every single house on your island is a bright and vibrant hue, and your island is world-renowned, are you allowed to be annoyed at tourists?
we did wonder whether or not it was like, an unwritten rule to living there, that your house had to be bright and colourful. there honestly wasn't a single drab house there - even the churches and restaurants and shop fronts were all as vibrantly coloured and maintained as the houses down the back alleys...
we did wonder whether or not it was like, an unwritten rule to living there, that your house had to be bright and colourful. there honestly wasn't a single drab house there - even the churches and restaurants and shop fronts were all as vibrantly coloured and maintained as the houses down the back alleys...
it was getting late in the day and we were hungry so we stopped into one of the local pizzerias (natch) for a quick bite and glass of local wine - and to abuse their wifi and spam all of our friends and family with pretty-houses spam! muhaha! a couple of slices later, we were back out on the cobbled streets for one final wander before jumping on the next water bus back to the island after a long day exploring!
top travel tip: if planning to head to these islands, then definitely do it in the order we did it. burano is so much prettier and vibrant than murano, so set your benchmarks for the islands lower by hitting the less-impressive of the two first. that's not to say they're not ~both impressive, but clearly, burano is the shit.
top travel tip: if planning to head to these islands, then definitely do it in the order we did it. burano is so much prettier and vibrant than murano, so set your benchmarks for the islands lower by hitting the less-impressive of the two first. that's not to say they're not ~both impressive, but clearly, burano is the shit.
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