venezia - venice (italian)

venice stretches out before us from the top of st. mark's campanile

(if you want to see actual good pictures of our travels - more like this - instead of the one's i usually post here just comment with your request or email me. if you want more pics of us, well, i'll give them to you if you really want to torture yourself that way.)

day 4: a beautiful day for a private boat

day four in italy found us waking up in our ultra hip hotel room, sunlight flooding in through the electronic blinds we didn't bother closing. we made sure we were up in time for breakfast. while there we asked about the best way to see murano - the island famous for its glass factories. "no problem," we are told, "we will arrange a complimentary private boat to take you directly to the factory for a demonstration." "uh, wow, okay!" we respond. 45 minutes later we are being led to a launch near a church having a funeral procession. we learn two valuable lessons - there are still locals on the island despite the fact that it is hemorrhaging residents at the rate of 1000 a year, and that the venetian hand signal for "follow me around the funeral" is waving down (much like we do in the states to say "stay right there"). we had a very miffed porter by the time we figured out the difference.

the boat takes us directly to mazzega glass factory. we pull into the dock and our personal guide greets us, already knowing that we speak english and where we are staying. the hotel was an indulgence, not the norm, so we are a little nervous about his expectations. on the trip over we had decided on a number - a low number - because we'd like to buy a house someday.

we watched a short gray haired fellow wearing a black and neon green "venice drinking team" t-shirt blow a small vase and then sculpt a little horse out of glass. i got to take home a little horse, but not that one since it was still 150 degrees celsius when we left. then we were guided to the showroom. a series of brightly lit rooms held drinkware, vases, plates, mirrors, chandeliers, and glass sculpture. some of it amazingly delicate and beautiful, some of it god awful. dan and i get some water and peruse while fielding questions from our salesman about where we come from, what we do, etc. finally, we make a few choices and start asking for prices.

"oh this lovely vase is very labor intensive. isn't it nice?" he says. "how much for 'very labor intensive'?" we ask. "3600 euros." gulp. i choke, dan laughs. it would be nice to have a serious piece of art in our home some day - but this is us we're talking about here. that's 3600 euros of broken glass as soon as we get it to said home, rather condo, which we rent, not own, because of said work of broken art. "thanks, but that's a little out of our price range."

we chose another which we really like, but it's 600 euros. our salesman isn't pushy. more disappointed than anything, and he's being really understanding as he guides us downstairs to the tourist shop and watches us pick out a vase he probably hates. oh well. it was an experience i will never forget, some would say that's priceless, but not me. in the end it cost almost exactly the number we decided upon in the boat.

a visit to murano's church with amazing glass mosaic floors, and we were back on our boat (not private this time) en route to st. mark's square. we squeeze through the crowds with our purchase, drop it off at the hotel, rest a while, and decide to go back to st. mark's for some sunset photo ops from the top of the campanile. in line we meet two snotty college girls from wellesley.

on our way back to the hotel there is a museum exhibiting violin making at the time of vivaldi. it's very interesting. coincidentally, they are selling tickets to that evening's vivaldi concert being held in a nearby church. usually i have to beg to go watch classical music being performed so i am floored when dan wants to attend the concert. he says, "it's this or dinner" because of the afore mentioned late eating habits of the italians. i am genuinely conflicted, but opt for the concert. turns out we find a place open 24 hours and get dinner anyway. yahoo!

the concert was a fantastic choice. entertaining in so many ways. first of all the music was performed incredibly well. the string group is made up of local venetians who have traveled the world performing together. we heard the 4 seasons with a different violin soloist for each season, and one piece by handel and another by bach. we were also entertained by the cellist.

the cellist had black greasy hair hanging to his chin. his eyes bulged from his skinny pale face and he wore his all-black uniform seriously. his name was daví­de, and we walked, stood and bowed with all of the self confidence an accent egu affords him. he was a true showman from the first entrance. but then he started playing and i had to bite my knuckle to keep from laughing. he played his cello like he was having an incredibly animated discussion with it. like if chris kattan did a saturday night live sketch about a cellist on speed. with every low note he frowned deeply and leaned into the center of the group's semicircle, eyes darting from one audience member to another, making sure that we understood the grave import of these measures. then the music would float higher on the register and he would lean back, smiling, making eyes at the lovely violist. the bassist between them looked uncomfortable. through the faster sections his head thrashed about wildly until the end of the piece when he flung his bow high above his head, stood, and bowed to the floor. it's not often you see vivaldi delivered with such reverence, grandeur, and dramatics. i couldn't help but think that he must be taking a break from his real job as rock cellist for wings.

nothing could top that performance so dan and i went back to the hotel and attempted to drink our wine in a "bring your own plastic bottle" which is a local tradition. there was a reason it was so cheap. we gulp down a little and decide to hit the hay.

stay tuned for our final day when we visit peggy guggenheim's house and fly home with 25 italian high schoolers. joy.