The Venetian Lagoon

After taking in the sights of Florence, I took the train just a few hours back to my beloved Venezia.  Thankfully, I was able to do a fair amount of sightseeing with my students in May.  We visited all of the famed, and very busy, tourist sights like Piazza San Marco, the Campanile, Murano, Burano and the Rialto market with half the crowds of the peak season.  This time, I vowed to stay mostly off the tourist track.  Being summer, there were scads of visitors in Venezia, most just passing through for a day or maybe staying a night so I opted to spend my first full day in Venice out of the main city touring the lagoon.  

Just before you get to Murano you pass the cimitero, the cemetery island of San Michele.  I was the only person who got off the vaporetto there and spent a lovely hour wandering through history as I explored the burial grounds of Venetians past.  This would have been a fantastic place to take photos, but I decided to honor the dead and respect the no photo rule.  From there, I went on to Murano and found my way to the Basilica di Santa Maria Donata that my previous Orsoni classmates had recommended with mosaic floors from the 14th century.  What a hidden treasure!

I love finding little mosaic tidbits all over the island.

It was a glorious day for a stroll in Murano.

This mosaic ceiling is really lovely in person.

These mosaic floors date back to the 14th century (I think!)

So intricate and beautiful

A blooming flower?  A flame? 

From Murano I took a 30 minute ferry ride to Burano, then a five minute boat ride to Torcello.  This was my first visit to the tiny island and I definitely didn't stay long enough to truly appreciate its charm. The church on Torcello has absolutely phenomenal mosaics, but sadly no photos allowed.  Nevertheless, I met some really interesting stone figures just begging to be photographed and I happily obliged.

The lady of Torcello seems to have weathered a lifetime on this island

My final stop in the lagoon was Burano.  Awed by the brightly colored buildings on my first visit, I vowed to go back this summer when the weather was more formidable (i.e. when it wasn't pouring rain).  Don't get me wrong, the colors of Burano are wonderful when the skies are gray, but they are so much more impressive on a clear, sunny day.  The most intriguing view is the reflection of the brilliant colors in the canals.  Take a look...

Pretty amazing, right?

  
When I returned to the Canareggio, I got straight to work designing my second mosaic piece in preparation for the three day workshop starting the following day.  It felt so nice to be back in the familiar workspace, surrounded by beautiful materials and wonderful, interesting people.  It's amazing what you can learn from pieces of glass...more on that soon!

Bella Italia

Three weeks ago I returned from an absolutely spectacular trip to Italy--my birthday gift to myself in celebration of my entry into a new decade of life.  Although this was my fifth visit to Italia, I decided to spend the bulk of my time in two familiar places, Firenze e Venezia.  

Florence is an incredible city, filled with art and culture.  Armed with a laundry list of things to do and see, I hit the ground running and packed my six days full of wonderful sightseeing and doing.  I walked, photographed, biked, cooked, read, studied, and sweated in this treasured Tuscan city.  Here are just a few of my photos from Florence...

The Dome of the Duomo...one of dozens of pictures I took of this church

The front of the Duomo without the Dome

No photos of Michelangelo's David in the Accademia are allowed, but this is a reproduction outside Palazzo Vecchio

There are no shortage of artists in Florence

Ghiberti's famous bronze doors of the Baptistery--if you look really closely you can sneek a peek of what's inside

The mosaic covered Baptistery ceiling--this was one of my favorite finds in Florence

The height of the flooded Arno River in 1844 at Santa Croce

Palazzo Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio--the bridge lined with gold shops

A black and white close up of some of the window shutters on Ponte Vecchio

Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno area of Florence--a stark contrast to the other churches in the city

Just for gross factor, this is Galileo's finger in the science musuem

An early periodic table in the science museum

This is what you see before a fresco is painted.  This was in San Miniato Church over looking Florence, a true gem

Amazing frescoes in San Miniato illuminated

A grey evening in Florence, but a beautiful overlook of the city from Piazzale Michelangelo

The Baptistery, Duomo, and Giotto's bell tower at twilight

 I managed to squeeze in two fabulous day trips--one that took me out of Tuscany and into Liguria for a visit to the Cinque Terre, and another to see Siena and San Gimingiano.  The Cinque Terre trek (yep, that's a hike) just about killed me and I was sore for days, but the five towns and spectacular views of the sea made the pain worthwhile.  See what I mean...

I love the beautiful terra cotta, yellow, and rose colored houses built into the cliffside

It was a grey morning, but the water still sparkled in different shades of blue

Soon these olives will be ripe and ready for harvesting

Proof that I survived the trek from Corniglia to Vernazza

Terraced landscapes

The five towns...

One of the beautiful beaches

Boats, boats, boats...and old guys sitting around talking about boats (out of frame)

The famous lover's lane, and the only paved part of our entire trek

Siena and San Gimingiano are quintessentially Tuscan.  I'd heard quite a lot about Siena, and had recently watched a documentary on it's famous Palio horserace that is held each July in the campo, or town square.  Each district enters a horse and rider and it's a battle to the death...okay, not really but it's pretty darn dangerous riding a horse bareback on sand-covered brick and an odd shaped track!  Sadly, I missed the race by a few weeks, but I did enjoy wandering about Siena and people watching in the campo.  San Gimingiano is known for its towers...and its gelato.  I enjoyed the latter more!

Beautiful Siena

A horse stable in one of the districts

The famous campo, or square, in Siena

A view of the Tuscan hillsides bursting with olives and grapes from San Gimingiano

One of San Gimingiano's towers

Ah, bella Toscana

This post is getting a bit long, so I'll save Venice for another time (soon, I hope!).  Ciao!