Today

I slept a little later today so got out of the apartment about 11. I had no particular plan in mind. I wandered a little and come upon One of the modern art museums. This museum also houses the Asian collection. There were some beautiful pieces in the modern museum. There was one really big painting...in a Monet style of people sewing a sail. it was really beautiful. There were a few impressive Rodin's , a Rauchenberg, a Kandinsky...a modest collection.
The Asian collection had some really interesting things...they had all kinds of spears and weapons. They has samurai costumes and saddles from that time period .

I took the 2€ stand up gondola over the canal again and started walking east. I started to plan on going to Burano. I had no real interest in Murano. It was gray and cold, about 40 degrees. I made my way to the far eastern side of Venice through the narrow streets. Slowly it opened out to the grey expanse of the lagoon, facing out to the sea. I quickly sorted which boat to take and I was off. I stood outside to take pictures and passed on the warm interior of the boat.
First you pass San Michel, the cemetery. It is surrounded by a high brick wall. You can see some tops of mausoleums . I would like to make my way back to check that out. It's supposed to be very interesting.
At the end of the island is an incredible church made of white marble. See the pics.
Next you stop at Murano. No one announces anything and there are no signs in the boat that show you the stops. You arrive at a stop called Collona, but you have no idea where you are. Everyone is confused.  Next stop, Pharo, the lighthouse. I made a mistake and had to eventually go back to the lighthouse to get the right boat. Once on the right boat, which is bigger, you are on your way to Burano . It's takes awhile to get there . I stayed outside for most of the trip till I could take it no more. When I went into the room where all the people were sitting, I couldn't believe how warm it was. I should have been in there the whole time.

You arrive at Burano with a big group of people, maybe 200 or so and you can see the people that are waiting to get off Burano , maybe 200 or so. See the pictures to see all of the colored houses. It's very pretty. It would be difficult to live there and have people coming through taking photographs all the time. They sell lace products there, who buys lace ? Grannies?  There are many restaurants, how do you choose? I asked a store keeper to point me to a good one.

I had an excellent spaghetti al Vongle Bianco with chilled red house wine. There was an Asian couple and there 2 daughters ( estimated 7 and 9)  sitting next to me. I believe they were Chinese as I thought they were speaking Mandarin. I think Mandarin is a really beautiful sounding language . The girls ordered 2 big plates of spaghetti and it was great to watch them eat it. Their father kept taking pictures. He had such a nice demeanor. The tables were very close so it was like we were all sitting together. The wife was a different story. She seemed very uphappy and quiet. They were dressed very nicely with expensive down coats and camera equipment. I would have almost thought they were Japanese but for the wife and what I thought was Mandarin. Every once in awhile I would here, in English...Hey, look at this!.....the girls spoke English very naturally. The husband spoke very slow English. Perhaps they were Chinese living in America...should I not have been minding my own business?
So I wandered around for awhile and came upon the Santa madness. It was so cold and then started to rain, that just wanted to escape from Burano Island. As soon as the boat came, I made for the inside. I  found a seat and watched an odd drama unfold. Next to me, an older woman, Italian, maybe in her 70's, nicely dressed, got up to let a couple sit down. The couple were in their 20's...they looked like they were Indian, maybe Sri Lankian. This woman just insisted. The girl sat but the man would not....they tried to convince the woman to sit, but she just would not. I offered my seat to her, but no, I tried french , no capito. The man said to me, I don't understand it. The woman was very friendly, but refused to sit...and it's a long ride.
Finally we got back to Venice. No one seemed to want to get off the boat. A big Italian man , a passenger, said in halting English..".this is the last stop...what, you think there's only just one boat here that takes you everywhere?"
So everyone scurries off the boat and it is night and dark and cold. You can transfer for many boats here, but you have to figure it out. Mine was a little ways away. I made it to the stop and waited a few minutes....then, wondered, why don't I just walk..so I took off back down a narrow street hoping to end up at San Marco.

'S