Day 18, August 20: Off to Murano! It seemed like it wouldn't happen that morning since the manager tried calling and initially they said it was full. The problem is that they are on holiday, low season but then someone called back and said a man would be there to meet us in 5 minutes to escort us to a boat. Marco escorted us on a 2 minute walk to David who drove us over the rough water. It was 10:30AM or so and already hot outside. It's amazing how humid and muggy Venice is, even at 11PM.
We entered CAM Fornace, which has an arrangement with a handful of hotels to take their guests through the factory, a demonstration, of glass blowing, and then a tour of the pieces that are for purchase.
Normally, the glass masters don't work during August because it's simply too hot. The furnace they fire the glass in burns at 1700 degrees F. I took a video of the two pieces he made and even though they hold their shape they will burn whatever touches it. They are normally placed in a cooler oven so that the glass cools gradually otherwise it will break apart in the open air. Sure enough, while we were still standing in there the bowl just fell apart into 6 pieces.
It takes 20 years of apprenticeship to be considered a master. So it is a dying art like so many around the world since the younger generation don't have the patience or wish to make more money. It's a shame. It was incredible to see how easy it was for him to make something in minutes.
Our guide, Nicola, took us through rooms of gorgeous things like grand chandeliers, sets of glassware and sculptures, some of which we fell in love with. Someone who likes shiny things wouldn't know what to do with themselves here.
A particular type of Murano glass really drew our eye. It looks like a nebula in space or the aurora borealis. It's made from a variegated agate and once fired and twisted, creates a unique mix of colors that cannot be replicated. This type is called calcedonia. There is a layer of the crystal clear glass then this color under it. We initially fell in love with a piece called "The Dancers", like twists of reddish taffy with this rainbow calcedonia through it. But at €19,000, it was the most expensive thing in the room. So we looked at other pieces. We found an amazing one that looks like 2 jellyfish swimming in opposite directions. It doesn't look like much but when light hits it the sculpture comes to life.
We bought the jellyfish one and I still can't believe we bought it. So now we need to build the wall cabinet we keep talking about in order to put that in a place Jax can't touch it. We also get a dedication from the artist, Dino Rosin who helped create the ceiling in the Bellagio lobby, so we asked him to dedicate it to our first wedding anniversary.
As an extra token for purchasing the sculpture, they had me pick out a necklace. I figured it would be like the ones we've seen in all the stores, something about €20. But Nicola was presenting me with necklaces that they were charging €180 for! Granted it's a huge mark up but that surprised me.
According to Nicola because it was down season they would mainly just take guests of hotels on tour and be able to offer them pieces at cost like for art gallery buyers. The artist also has a say on how much to charge depending on their labor. Don't know if that's all true but I'd like to think we were able to get a good deal on the piece.
So after that shocking trip they boat you back to San Marco Square. It was a beautiful ride getting to see the different sights along the way. The rest of the afternoon following lunch at a little place was shopping for little gifts. The farther from San Marco Square, the cheaper everything is, especially if you go over the Rialto Bridge. The same pieces can be €5 cheaper. After shopping it was back to the hotel to drop stuff off, San Marco Square to take pictures, and peek into the shop we'd seen the night before with all the Calcedonia pieces to compare what we bought. We found duplicates to pieces at the factory but CAM obviously kept the best ones for themselves.
We took a nap back at the hotel then rolled back out to dinner at 9PM. Nicola recommended Ristorante Alla Madonna just over the Rialto Bridge (remember, more affordable and better food!). It is popular with the Venetians so you know it's good. The seafood risotto was excellent, grilled vegetables were delicious and Jason had a crab appetizer that was really tasty but also served in its shell. The shell looked so cool with all the barnacles on it. The only negative was that they left bread from the previous guests on the table. When you get charged for bread, you'd like to know that other guests' hands haven't been there too. After that filling meal, it was a slow stroll back to the hotel.
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