Two Amazing Adventures in Venice
The Tandem Spirits often like to work with a local guide when we go to a new city. Our Venice trip was no exception. We booked two very different tours, and enjoyed them both immensely.
Island Hopping - Murano, Mazzorbo & Burano
Our first tour was Island Hopping with local Venetian Valerio Coppo (www.detourist.it). When most people think of “Venice” they visualize the city of today with canals lined with buildings. Actually, Venice has its roots in the islands surrounding the modern city. When the ancient Italians were feeling foreign invaders, they went first to the islands .
We were a small group, just TandemSpirits and a nice guy from the Netherlands. Valerio was a great guide. He was fun to be with and provided us with just the right amount of information in each place. He took us to places that were interesting and just a bit outside the ordinary tourist path. We started by taking a vaporetto from the Fondemente Nouve area of Venice to the island of Murano, which is famous for its beautiful glass. Since it is summer, the glass factories are not actually making glass. You can imagine that it would be nearly impossible to work in those conditions.
The Island of Murano
We spent some time at Barovier & Toso,(https://www.barovier.com/en/), a store that produces and sells lamps, sconces, vases and the intricate chandeliers that you see all over Venice and in upscale hotels and residences world wide.
We also stopped at a local jeweler’s shop, Monica Cavaletto of Ferrovetro http://www.ferrovetro.com/eng/index.php?title=index&main=index&head=index
In addition to making lovely and interesting jewelry, Monica does workshops on making glass beads. Of course, I couldn’t resist picking something up there!
Our final stop in Burano was beautiful church of Santi Maria e Donato with a Byzantine mosaic floor and a Mosaic of the Madonna in the Apse, both from around 1140 AD.
This was a very nice surprise because, as our guide Valerio explained, very few tourists venture far from the usual glass shops. This is a beautiful church worth visiting if you ever visit Murano.
Island of Mazzorbo
Our next stop was the tranquil island of Mazzorbo. In an effort to repopulate the island, some housing was bullt in the 1980’s. There are currently 350 inhabitants on the island. The most striking thing about this spot was tthe Venissa Estate, In addition to a vineyard, there were fruit trees, artichokes, and other vegetables. The nine gardens are cultivated by local seniors. It had a very different feel from Venice and the other islands. It was also cooler because of the green spaces and gardens.
The Island of Burano
From Mazzorbo, we took the foot bridge to the island of Burano which is known for its lace making and colorful houses. In addition to its crayon box houses, the island is completely accessible. All of the bridges are flat instead of stepped, making it a good place for people with any type of mobility issues. It is also one of the only places we saw a bicycle (they’re actually not allowed in Venice).
Kayaking Venice - In a "Tandem" Of Course!!!!
Our second adventure was kayaking with Venice Kayak (https://www.venicekayak.com). As you know, the TandemSpirits love to play outside. This was a three hour tour that started on the island of Certosa. Of course, the TandemSpirits chose a double kayak. Venice Kayak is truly a first rate company. All of the equipment was in excellent condition and the guides were professional, safety oriented, and fun people to paddle with. At the end of our voyage we toasted with some Prosecco and we were escorted to showers which we were more than happy to make use of at the end of the tour.
We started by paddling from the Island across the Canale delle Fondamente Nuove, to the Arsenale, The Arsenal, as you might expect, for a naval and trading power like Venice, built war ships, and it was actually the first assembly Iine in the world. (From the 1300’s). It is still a naval base.
From there we paddled through various canals in Venice, stopping from time to time to let boats or gondolas pass.
It was a a great way to see Venice from a different perspective, low on the water, and to get in some exercise. At the end of the tour we paddled back to Certosa Island and had a toast to a successful tour with some lovely Prosecco. We are already looking forward to our next tour with Venice Kayak.
