On a 3-day trip to Venice, I couldn’t resist a boat tour to the nearby Venetian Islands. Our brief excursion proved to be a delightful treat as we made our way through the lagoon from Venice to Burano and Murano. Burano is an old-fashioned island drenched in vibrant shades of pink, yellow, blue, and green. As the island appears in the distance it seems like a quirky film set of sorts, but actually exploring the island on foot you are struck by the fact that people actually live there! I just can’t imagine life in Burano – the tiny, charming Italian island, drenched in color, which welcomes hundreds of tourists for a few hours each day, and then, when the sun goes down, rests quietly. It’s amazing to think that some families have lived on this island for centuries, many of which specialize in making lace, the main export.

Murano Island is known as the home of glass blowing – and, for this reason, we spent our brief visit watching a glass blowing master at work. I didn’t think I would be impressed – glass art just doesn’t do anything for me – but I was pleasantly surprised! The skill, process, and technical ability that go into glass blowing and sculpting is truly impressive – and the horse you see being made in the photos was completed in less than 2 minutes, from start to finish. There’s much to be said about these rich cultural traditions and skills that are past down from master to apprentice over the centuries, and seeing this process first hand really made me feel a bit more deeply for the craft.