Chioggia -> Paris

Captain and First Mate

We're up at 07:00 to pack our bags and tidy things up. We have to give the boat back between 08:00 and 09:00. I assume there will be an inspection first, and some papers to sign. Food is running low, so it's tea and nutella on bread for breakfast. Then squash everything into our suitcases, wash the dishes, take out the garbage, sweep the floor. Just before 09:00 I take the suitcases and put them out on the pontoon behind the boat. 

A few minutes later a man comes and says "don't worry, this won't take long". He takes a quick look over the boat, asks if we had any problems, and mentions that we're one towel short. Eileen tells him that we didn't need the fourth towel and it's in a locker in the aft cabin. Then we sign a paper and that's it. We had taken the "pack tranquilité" which includes fuel, insurance waiver, and boat cleaning so I think that also makes for a quicker return procedure. Also the fact that we didn't break anything, lose anything, run aground, crash the boat, or sink!

We say goodbye, pick up our suitcases, and start walking across the bridge towards Sottomarina and the bus station. Thankfully the rain has stopped, and we find the station easily. I go up to the desk and ask for 3 tickets to Padova. The lady says "ok, but hurry because the bus is there and it's about to leave!". We get our tickets and run for the bus. 

The bus takes us back through Sottomarina, past the long sandy beaches, and then winds around into Chioggia from the other side. Then back out and across a very long bridge over swampy lagoon and onto the mainland. From the bridge we can see the ship that passed us as we came into Chioggia! We motor along through the countryside and once again we see many fields covered in bright red poppies. Eileen tries to take a picture with her phone, but hits the shutter button just as we pass a tree. Later we'll be wondering why she took a picture of that tree? I don't bother taking out the iPad.

Soon we arrive in Padova, and first priority is to get train tickets for Bologna. There is a train leaving in 4 minutes and we'll never make that so we get the next one which gives us an hour to kill. As we're getting our tickets (from a machine) we hear what sounds like a marching band playing. We look around, trying to see where the music is coming from, inside the station? Outside? Eventually we trace it to a group of people wearing Bavarian hats and giving an impromptu concert of oom-pa-pa music on the quay. They all have suitcases and must be returning to Germany. They've attracted quite a crowd and get a big round of applause. 

There's a nice looking café there in the station so we stop for a coffee and buy some sandwiches to take with us on the train. Laura buys a small tin of Pringles. Why do kids love every horrible manufactured sickly-sweet salty artificially flavoured plastic wrapped imitation food product, and hate anything that's natural and good for you? Seems like a strange genealogical trait. Must be advertising. I have to admit they taste pretty good though...

The train is about to arrive so we take our bags and head for the quay. This time we're in the same car, but still not seated together. We arrive in Bologna Centrale and head straight for the BLQ coach to the airport. We're just in time, a coach is waiting at the stop. I must admit I was a bit stressed out about all the bus/train/coach connections that we have to make our flight, but everything seems to be going smoothly and we should be at the airport in good time.

We arrive at the airport and the bus stops, but it's not the usual stop. There is a bit of confusion as people start getting off (including Eileen!). There is a small sign that says "East Terminal" or something like that so I tell Eileen to get back on before the door closes! Several other people get back on the bus as well. A few minutes later we arrive at the usual stop in front of the airport. There is a lot of construction work going on here, so it's a bit difficult to figure out where to go. Finally we check in ourselves (with a machine) and check in our bags (with a human). 

Bosun hard at work, and well supervised!

We've got about an hour to kill before our flight, so we want to get through security and have a look around the duty-free shop. As usual there is a huge line to go through security, and while we are queuing I remind Eileen of the time we came through here with my mom on the way back from Riccione. It was the first time she had flown since they brought in the restrictions on taking liquids on board, and she wasn't aware of them. It hadn't even occurred to me to tell her, and of course she had loads of liquids and creams in her carry-on bag. These were expensive items and there was no way she was going to leave them behind. So we had to run back to the check-in desk and check through her carry-on bag after transferring some of the stuff to a plastic bag and my backpack. Then run back to security, get rushed through and onto the plane.

I'm chuckling about that when suddenly I freeze. It just hit me that I have a bottle of limoncello in my backpack! Oh no, how could I have been so stupid! Eileen picked up this bottle to take back with us in a supermarket, and the bottle has an unusual shape with a long thin neck. I was afraid it would break in the suitcase, so I packed it carefully into my backpack. Sh!t. What do I do now?

When we get to the x-ray scanner I tell the security guy that I have a bottle of limoncello in my backpack. I show it to him, explaining that it's still sealed so it should be no problem, right? "Impossible". But, but it... "Sorry". But... "No". He tells me to put the bottle on the tray with my backpack and put it all through the scanner.

"Is this your bag?". Yes. The scanner guy says to the security guy that he sees liquids. The security guy says "Yes, there is a bottle of limoncello". The scanner guy says "No, there is something else". What are you talking about? There isn't anything else! The security guy starts rifling through my backpack and suddenly pulls out a jar of lemon marmalade. NO! Not my marmellata di limoni?!!! 

The day we arrived we went shopping for some basic groceries, and I spotted this jar of "traditional made in Italy authentic lemon marmalade" so I thought it might be interesting to try it. I liked it so much that I bought another jar to take home with us. But surely a jar of marmalade is not considered a liquid? "Sorry, you can't take it". Carp. I can either go back and check them through in my backpack, or leave them behind. Knowing they will break in my backpack, I reluctantly leave them behind. 

We head for the boarding gates, and it's not looking good when we see lots of construction work and no duty-free. There is a café so we console ourselves with a coffee. When we finish the coffee we still have a bit of time so we stroll around and suddenly we see this huge duty-free around the other side of the security area. We head over there, and they have everything: limoncello made with Amalfi lemons, marmellata di limoni, squid-ink pasta, vin santo, biscotti, salami! Woohoo! 

We arrive back in Paris, and it's a bit hard to adjust to normal life again. It doesn't feel like we were only away for a week. Feels more like a month. Eileen comes back from the bakery with a lemon cake instead of usual pain au chocolat or chausson au pomme. "Just for a change", she says. The Eurovision song contest  is on, so we watch it while sampling our vin santo and biscotti. 

Post scriptum
I'm dying to see the video from Bacino San Marco, where Eileen was driving the boat through all that crazy traffic. I take out the iPad and go straight for the video, but it's not there. Thinking I must be looking in the wrong place, I start clicking around, but I can't find it anywhere. Back to the video section, and there is just a brief one second clip showing the dashboard of the boat. I remember at the time, it was the first time I had used the iPad as a video camera and I hit the start-stop button quickly to make sure it was working. Then I hit start and videoed for a good 5 minutes. But I guess I missed the start button because the boat was bouncing around, and the video wasn't actually recording. Aaarrrggghhh!!!! 

Another lesson learnt the hard way. Practice using your new stuff before you need it for real. At least the photos I took with the iPad came out, but in general the quality is really bad compared to my old Canon digital camera. Dirty lens, wrong settings? Not sure but I'm surprised how bad they look.

Rowing in the lagoon

Looking back on our holiday, one thing really strikes me. I don't think you can appreciate just how fragile Venice is without having visited the lagoon. People didn't come to live here by choice, they came to flee the invading barbarians after the fall of the Roman Empire. They left their fertile lands to live on tiny, water-logged islands in the middle of a lagoon. That they were able to prosper and leave us the incredible heritage that is Venice today is a magnificent tribute to their ingenuity and perseverance. A World Heritage Site if ever there was one. 

Le Vignole -> Portosecco -> Chioggia

Le Vignole

Once again I'm up early, before the girls. Sitting by the open door of the boat, watching the small fish swim by in busy schools, watching seaweed floating by, listening to birds, pheasants, church bells, chickens, a cock, a peacock! I write a few notes on my phone that I'll use to make blog entries when we get home. Two men row past in a gondola.

I notice a thick black line along the wall on the opposite side of the narrow canal. I had also noticed this along the edge of the canal at San Francesco. What could it be? Skid marks left by unskilled houseboat pilots? These boats have thick, black rubber rubbing strakes along the sides. Maybe it's the high water mark? But why black? Algae? It's strange how I like getting up early on the boat. Normally I'm not a morning person at all, but these early mornings on the water are something special. 

The girls are up now, and before we go we want to take on water, so Eileen and I start by warping the boat around. The current is flowing past, so to turn the boat all we have to do is release the stern and give it a little push. The flowing water does the rest. Now that we are facing the right way, we can just drive off ahead. We pass the sailing barge and the few small hire boats moored behind it. Our hose is still too short. We need to move back a bit, but there is a mooring line in the water from one of the hire boats, and I don't want to get it stuck in our propeller. We take the rope off, slide the boat back, and finally the hose reaches our tank. But the hose keeps wanting to pull out of the intake pipe. It occurs to me that a rolling hitch would be perfect for keeping it in place the time to fill the tank. The only problem is that I can't remember how to tie a rolling hitch... But wait, I've got a knot-tying app on my phone! A few minutes later I've got the hose under control with a rolling-hitch to a stantion. We have a quick breakfast and prepare the boat to leave. We're later than planned, again.

But before we leave we want to see if we can visit the tiny church on the other side of the bridge. We walk over, taking a few pictures on the way. Actually the whole lagoon must be the most photogenic place I've ever visited. For the first time since I've had this camera (Canon PowerShot A710IS, nearly 8 years!) I've run out of space on the memory card. I actually had to delete some of the less successful photos last night, and now it's full again. I'm going to have to use the iPad to take pictures from now on. I feel a bit self-conscious. I've seen more and more people taking pictures with iPads lately, but I still think it looks stoopid! The tiny church is locked up, so we return to the boat and cast off the mooring lines. Venice, here we come again!

A Goldola crossing Bacino di San Marco

We leave the peace and quiet of our little canal and hang a right onto the Canale San Nicolo, which leads directly to Bacino di San Marco. This is the stretch of water between San Giorgio and Piazzetta San Marco. Soon we can see the Doge's Palace to the right. Traffic is getting really crazy now, with boats of every size heading in every direction. Tour boats and vaporetti are pulling in and out of quays all along the edge of San Marco. Work boats are chugging by. Water taxis are speeding past. We are the slowest thing on the water, except for a lone gondola crossing over from La Giudecca. Wow, that's bravery! 

The boat is pitching and rolling heavily as we hit the crossed and confused wakes of all the passing boats. It's utter madness. I'm trying to take pictures. Eileen is at the wheel, and to my amazement she is absolutely calm! Laura and I are keeping a lookout, calling out positions of boats passing from behind, crossing from the left and right, coming from ahead, sometimes all four at once! I hit the "Video" button on the iPad, thinking what a great video this will make.

Doge's Palace and the Piazzetta San Marco

As we proceed up the Canale della Giudecca things calm down a little. By now we've passed the entrance to the Grand Canal, and now we've got Giudecca on our left and Venice on the right. We pass by the super-yacht Space, moored up to the quay. In the distance we can see the tops of hulking cruise ships sticking up over the buildings. There is quite a controversy surrounding the presence of these cruise ships in the Lagoon and the damage they might be causing to the canals and the fragile base on which Venice rests. Not to mention the atmospheric and visual pollution. 

We come to the top of La Giudecca and circle around to the left, tucking in close to the other side of the island. This side of the island is very different, with many small shipyards at first, followed by beautiful country villas. We see the futuristic "Tender to Space" tied up. Down near the bottom of the canal we turn left and take a last tour of San Giorgio past the church of the same name, the campanile, and the marina where we had been thinking of staying. In the end we were happy with our mooring on Le Vignole so we spent a second night there instead.

Now we are heading away from Venice, the start of our journey back to Chioggia where we will spend the last night, giving the boat back first thing in the morning. Hard to believe we'll be flying out tomorrow. Today is overcast and much cooler than yesterday. Venice is receding into the cloud and mist as we head along the Canale San Spirito through a quiet and peaceful part of the lagoon. Soon all that's left are the campaniles. Eventually those disappear too. 

Laura is at the wheel now, and there is virtually no other traffic. We pass several small, mostly uninhabited islands; Isola San Clemente, San Spirito, Poveglia. There is a certain melancholic atmosphere in this part of the lagoon, especially after the adrenaline-inducing bounce up the Giudecca Canal. The realisation that our holiday is coming to an end adds a bit of sadness too.

Poveglia

There is a recommended anchorage on the other side of Poveglia, and I'm tempted to stop there for lunch. The island, like many of the islands in the lagoon was originally populated by those fleeing the barbarian invasions on the mainland. Many buildings, churches, and fortifications were built as populations grew. When these small islands became impossible to defend, the people were relocated to Venice and the islands remained mostly uninhabited. Eventually Poveglia was used as a quarantine, and then as a hospital for the mentally ill which finally closed in 1968. As we pass the southern corner of the tiny island, the bricole peter out, and we don't have a depth sounder so we chicken out. We can't afford to run aground when we have to have the boat back in Chioggia tonight.

We continue to Malamocco, and from here on we are retracing our steps from the outward journey. We decide to try to stop in Portosecco, where several moorings are indicated on the chart. We spot rings along the wall opposite bricola 53 and head in towards them. Tucking in behind some piles, we come alongside the wall. Eileen tries to lean down to thread a line through a ring but she can't reach so I take the line and hang over the wall precariously, just managing to get it through. We tie up the boat in line with the steps, get a few things together and head ashore.

Portosecco is a very small, simple fishing village with a very pretty-looking church. We wander over trying to find the entrance to the church but end up in someone's yard. Backtracking a bit we come to the church entrance but it's closed. We decide to head for the beach. It's a five minute walk from one side of the island to the other, and then up some steps and over sand dunes and we're on the Adriatic Sea. It's deserted except for a group of people sitting on one of the embankments that protrude out to sea. We walk along the beach for a while, Eileen and Laura dipping their feet in the water. The sun has come out now, and suddenly it's getting very hot. 

Beach at Portosecco

We walk on for a little while then turn around and start to head back. The sun is blistering hot now and it feels very humid. There are showers forecast for this evening, and we had planned things so that we would be back in Chioggia before then. I'm watching the sky carefully and I can see thunderclouds gathering on the horizon. I'm starting to get worried that we'll be caught in a thunder storm, so I hurry us along back to the boat.

We untie the boat and set off again along the canal towards Chioggia. We're only about half an hour away, but it has clouded over completely now and I'll be glad once we're tied up for the night. We cross the Bocca di Porto di Chioggia, looking out for ship traffic whose path we would be crossing. Off to our starboard side a small ship is approaching. I keep an eye on him, and he is steadily falling back so we'll pass safely ahead. Once across the channel, I'm surprised to see that he is turning in and coming up behind us. I wonder if it's wide enough for him to overtake here? He seems to think it is! Eileen is at the wheel and once again she is staying calm and cool as this big hulking ship slowly overtakes us.

Ship overtaking. Keep calm and carry on!

We hesitate a bit over where to go, but eventually identify the entrance to the port of Chioggia and then the canal that takes us back past the moored fishing boats and over to the familiar Rendezvous Fantasia base. At first it doesn't look like there is anywhere to park, but then we identify an empty berth near the end of the pontoons. We head up, turn, and start backing in. There is not much wind so this shouldn't be too difficult. Laura is watching the stern, and she warns me that I'm going to hit the mooring pile to port. I give it a little blast of ahead and the stern moves over to starboard. Back into reverse and we slowly slide between the piles towards the pontoon. Someone from RVF is there to take our stern lines, and soon we are moored up safely. Wooohoo! I get a great rush of relief and pride all at once. I'm relieved that we made it back safely, we didn't break anything, and nobody got hurt. I'm also immensely proud of my crew who were brilliant through it all! 

After spending a week in a watery, boaty universe it feels strange and somehow unpleasant to see cars, buses, and all this road traffic. It's early evening so we should still have some time to see more of Chioggia before getting something to eat. Chioggia is not flooded with tourists who all disappear at sunset, so it's quite busy and animated on a Friday evening. Along with the cars and scooters it's also surrounded by canals and boats, so it makes for a gentler transition from our water world back to dry land. 

We walk the length of the main street, Corso del Popolo, visiting churches along the way. We walk out to the lagoon end of the street and there is a vaporetto stop with boats going to Venice. Very tempting, I could probably find the shop with the glass squids but they would almost certainly be closed, so I give up on the idea. Eileen is intent on going back to the same restaurant where we ate the first day, El Fontego. Large, heavy rain drops are starting to fall as we arrive, and waiters and customers are rushing to move inside off the terrace. 

Good choice of wine! My cheeks hurt...

We are seated quickly, inside also this time. I'm feeling adventurous and in a mood to celebrate so I order the "big gnocchi" starter followed by calamaretti for the main course. I choose a wine, and the waiter makes a sour face and shakes his head disapprovingly. He comes back a few minutes later to say that he is sorry but my wine choice is not available. He suggests another and I accept. Several minutes later the waiter and proprietor come to the table looking very serious. The proprietor apologizes profusely that the wine suggested by the waiter is not available, but in any case he would recommend a different wine anyway and is sure that I'll be happier with this recommendation. I think it was my choice of red wine with fish that threw them off. They weren't going for it though, and I had no choice but to accept the white. And a good choice it was, too!

We're all feeling relaxed and quite relieved and our holiday is coming to an end, so we are really enjoying ourselves. The wine probably contributed something too! Laura is making a serious face, and it makes me break out in laughter. I'm trying to get the waiter's attention with the Irish finger wave. It doesn't work. Every once in a while the table sways back and forth, as if from the wake of a passing boat. Laura has to hold her cheeks cause they hurt from laughing so much! Eileen finally manages to get the waiter, we pay and head off in search of gelato. It's pelting rain, with thunder and lightening in the distance. Earlier on we had scouted out all the gelaterie, and there is one across the way that stays open til midnight. We eat our cones while sheltering under the arcade, strolling along and window shopping. When we're finished our ice-creams we hurry back to the boat in the rain, jumping over puddles. Sleep comes easily.


Log Entry for Friday 10 May 2013:
From: Le Vignole (depart 11:00) Towards: Chioggia (arrive 17:45) via Portosecco (arrive 15:15, depart 16:15)

Tides
▲ 1220 0.8m
▼ 1710 0.4m
▲ 2305 0.9m
▼ 0600 0.0m

Baro: 1011.5 hPa
Wind: 3 kn gusting to 10 kn
Temps: Low 16° High 20°
Rel humidity: 83%
Forecast partly sunny AM, then mostly cloudy. 65% chance of showers from 17:00. 90% chance of showers from 20:00

Engine hours: 554.5 - 559.9
Water: 3/8 -> 4/4 (filled up in Vignole)
Battery (12V): 12.5
Battery (24V): 25

Venice

Venice here we come!

I'm awoken by the most beautiful bird song. Not sure what kind of bird it is, but it has the most amazing and varied song. Even out-doing the resident blackbird in our courtyard in Paris. Eileen is still sleeping, so I just lie there listening for a while. Eventually I get up and sit on the step in the saloon, with the sliding door open onto the canal. There are rings spreading out all over the surface of the water, made by feeding fish. I hear a sploop and when I look up I see a fish completely out of the water, falling back in with a louder splash. 

A few moments later I hear a splish ... splish ... splish, then two men slide by on a gondola, one at each end, standing up facing forward and pushing their single oars ahead in synchronised strokes. We have seen lots of these around, one, two, and four person boats being rowed around in the early morning or sometimes in the evening. These are simple boats, not the usual black lacquered and velvet upholstered jobs. Practicing for an upcoming regatta? 

We want to fill up our water tank, so we take out the hose and stretch it fully towards the tap but it's too short. I thought we might have been blocking access to the tap, but nobody would be able to get water from here. It's too far. We decide to leave the water until tomorrow morning when we leave. We'll shift the boat back behind the sailing barge, fill up with water, then leave. 

The sailing barge doesn't look like it's moved for a while. Maybe they are here for the summer? There are two small barky dogs flopped on deck, but no sign of humans. There is also a dog that looks a bit like Josh in the field next to the path. Every once in a while the boat dogs bark at the field dog, or vice-versa, but they invariably co-operate to gang up on any dogs and their masters walking along the path. 

We have breakfast and start getting our gear together for a day out in Venice.  We check the vaporetto times and decide it's too late to make the 09:07 one so we'll aim for the 10:07. This is it, the big day! Everything has been building in a crescendo towards this day. We started in the far-off remote southern end of the lagoon, with its quiet fishing villages, wild beaches, and lack of tourism. We came to visit bigger and more urban islands, with increasing traffic, tourists, shops, restaurants, museums, and hustle-and-bustle. From Michelin one-star "worth visiting" to two-star "worth a detour" to three-star monuments that are "worth a voyage". Today is going to be the grande finale of sights, sounds, smells, crowds. La Serenissima! The forecast is for sunshine and a high of 25°C so it should be a great day!

Gondolas are poetry in motion

We arrive at the vaporetto stop a few minutes early, and it's right on time as usual. From Le Vignole, the 13 line goes directly to Murano Faro, then on to Venice Fondamente Nove. We only have one day to spend in Venice, so it's going to be difficult to see everything I want to see. 

In fact it would be impossible to see even a fraction of the sights in just one day. But I'm relaxed about it and just want to enjoy the day and whatever we end up seeing. Venice is the kind of place where you can just walk around and enjoy the atmosphere, with surprising and beautiful views around every corner. And these days I'm more into quality than quantity. Better to see a few of the sights and have taken some time to really enjoy the experience, than to run from place to place snapping pictures on the fly. The only "must do" item on my list is Saint Mark's Basilica. Everything else is a bonus.

We start off by visiting the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, better known as I Gesuiti. The interior of this church is notable especially for the green and white geometrical patterns on the walls, which appear to be of tapestry or fabric. Many of the decorative elements of the interior appear to be flowing velvety curtains or rugs or tapestry but on closer inspection turn out to be solid marble. We stroll slowly through the church, light some candles, and sit for a few minutes to rest and reflect. We are still a bit tired from our busy day yesterday. We leave the church and head out down towards the Grand Canal. The plan had been to visit Ca' d'Oro next, but we just don't have the energy so we'll head straight for the Rialto bridge and Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari on the other side of the Grand Canal. 

Traffic jam on a narrow rio

Actually it's impossible to head "straight to" anywhere in Venice. It's like a maze. The neighborhood we're in is not quite as touristy as the San Marco area, and it's very enjoyable to wind your way along the tiny streets, along the edges of winding canals (these small ones are known as rii, plural of rio), over bridges, across campi (squares), around churches. Everywhere you look there is something interesting, unusual, out of the ordinary. The sunlight filtering through adds to the pleasant atmosphere. At the same time it's hard work keeping track of where you are and where you are going, but I keep telling myself that getting lost is part of the fun. We've been walking a while and spot a café with tables on a small square so we decide to stop and have a coffee. Laura has a gelato (of course!). We sit for a while just relaxing and watching people go by while we rest our weary feet.

Time to get going again. Navigating is not easy because the maps in my guide book are not very detailed. They only show the names of the major calle so there is a fair bit of guesswork involved. We head off again in search of the Rialto Bridge. The decrepit state of many of the buildings is quite a contrast to the manicured perfection of old buildings in Paris. Much of Italy is like this, and I guess it's also part of the charm. A bit like an old well-worn piece of clothing or furniture that just feels so comfortable. But at the same time it makes me wonder if it's all just going to come crumbling down one day from a lack of maintenance! After a while we pass a nice looking little restaurant with an empty table on the street and three empty chairs. Surely this must be a sign! The temptation is just too great and after a quick look at the menu we stop for lunch. After a very nice lunch of panini-like things we are on the move again.

Shop 'til you drop!

After some dead-ends and backtracking we're nearly there. We emerge onto a tiny street and I can see the Grand Canal up ahead and the Rialto Bridge should be just off to the left. But before we get any farther I'm sidetracked into a small Venetian glass and jewelry shop by Eileen and Laura. It's packed with glass dishes, ashtrays, lamps, picture frames, and vases. They also have a lot of glass-bead jewelry including earrings and bracelets. 

Many of the glass shops don't have any silver or gold jewelry and we want silver earrings for Laura so they won't bother her ears. This shop has silver, but the earrings are too big and heavy for Laura. Eileen finds a silver and bead bracelet she likes, and spends a lot of time with the shop assistant choosing the colour of beads that will make up the bracelet. You can custom-make your own bracelet by threading coloured doughnut-shaped Murano beads and Swarovski crystal onto a silver chain. The beads can also be threaded onto earrings. Quite a neat system really. Laura decides she'd like one too, and the shop assistant shows us a version suitable for young girls. Soon the whole counter is covered with coloured glass beads.

Rialto Bridge

I finally manage to drag them away from the shop, up to the end of the street and there it is, the Rialto Bridge! Right where it's supposed to be! We head towards it, but not so fast. Before I can even step onto the bridge Eileen and Laura have spotted another shop, this one only has jewelry, a very large selection of glass necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Laura finds a suitable pair of earrings at last! Eileen manages to find herself a nice pair too. Well, that's a couple of birthday presents sorted for this year! Yeah right, I'll never get away with that...

Now we climb the steps up the side of the bridge and admire the views over the Grand Canal. But wait, Laura wants to put her earrings on, now! Okay, put them on then... We continue down the other side of the bridge and as we pass a shop I notice a display case with various pieces of glass sculpture. Then I spot three small glass squids, wow, too cool! Hmm, €350 each, not so cool. I'm still loitering by the squids, but the girls have gone on ahead and are calling me to come on.

Now we've been walking a while and I'm not sure where we are anymore. It's not that we're lost, I'm just not sure where we are! There are signs for the train station, but we shouldn't be anywhere near the station. I see a workman standing near an open trench. I go over and ask him how to get to I Frari. He speaks quickly in Italian, and I'm struggling to keep up. "Ah, how to get to I Frari from here. Easy to do but not easy to explain! To start with, you're in the wrong neighborhood!" He tells us to head over there, then go left then right at the corner of the church then follow the calle straight over two bridges then you will come to I Frari. I keep repeating this to myself as we walk along, "left, right at church, straight, two bridges". We pass a gelateria and just have to stop. "Left, right at -lick- church, straight, -lick- two -lick- bridges".

View of the Grand Canal from Rialto Bridge

We find it at last. The directions were spot on! We find the entrance and pay the €3 each (children are free) entrance fee. This is a massive church, with many extraordinary paintings, tombs and monuments, including the pyramidal tomb of the sculptor Canova, monuments of Doge Giovanni Pesaro, the composer Montiverdi, and Paolo Savelli on a horse! The row of chapels is also quite unusual. We sit for a while to contemplate. And rest our weary feet! We visit the sacristy which has a sign at the entrance saying "No photography" and a number of interesting art works. There's a woman walking around taking pictures of everything. The painting above the door of a freshly beheaded John the Baptist freaks out Laura.

After I Frari I had been planning on visiting Ca' Rezzonico, a magnificent Palazzo completed in the 1750s and now a museum that houses a collection of art, furniture, and glass recuperated from other Venetian Palazzi. But I can tell we are too tired and scratch it off the list. We'll just head straight (ha!) for Piazza San Marco instead. To get there, we need to cross the Grand Canal again and that means finding the Accademia Bridge. Would have been nice to visit the Accademia too, maybe next time...

Like the Rialto Bridge, the Accademia Bridge also opens up magnificent views over the Grand Canal. We linger a while watching boats pass by and marveling at the Palazzi lining the canal. Down the other side, and by now my feet feel like pieces of squid. There are signs for Piazza San Marco, which is a good thing because I'm too tired to read a map. Streams of people are flowing towards San Marco. We join the flow. By now we're starting to suffer from visual overload. Lethargy is starting to set in. Maybe the heat is getting to me? Buck up, we're not finished yet! The best is still to come.

Piazza San Marco

We arrive at a narrow street that leads suddenly to the huge square that opens out onto Saint Mark's Basilica in the distance, its towering campanile to the right, the clock tower to the left, both sides flanked by the long arcades of the Procuratie Vecchie and Procuratie Nuove. In the right corner you can just make out the end of the Doge's Palace. We stroll through the square, taking it all in. Saint Mark's is drawing us forward like a magnet. We arrive at the door and for some reason it's closed. Where's the entrance? Did they change it? Then the immense deception hits as we read the opening hours on the sign. Closed. We're too late! I'm stunned, crushed, gutted...

We console ourselves by admiring the clock tower, the Byzantine facade of the Cathedral, the four bronze horses that were such a strong symbol of the independence and power of the Venetian Republic. We sit on a bench in the arcade of the Doge's Palace. Across from us, the campanile is still open and there's a long queue at the entrance. We're tempted, but the idea of having to stand in a queue plus the possibility of there not being a lift and having to climb steps puts us off. We just sit and rest and take it all in. I'm a bit disappointed that the grande finale is ending with a fizzle, but like so many things in life this has really been about the journey and not the destination. And it's been a fabulous journey. And it's not finished yet. We still have tomorrow when we are planning to take the boat up the Giudecca Canal past San Giorgio Maggiore and the Piazzetta di San Marco. Right past the Doge's Palace!

Looking out across the Bacino San Marco

We wander over to the edge of the water and look out across the Bacino San Marco to San Giorgio. I clearly remember standing here maybe 30 years ago and thinking how great it would be to be able to get on a boat and head off and explore the canals and islands beyond Venice. It's getting late now and we have to think about dinner and getting the vaporetto back home. We decide to head in the direction of the vaporetto stop and try to find a restaurant over there, as it is a bit less touristy than San Marco. We pass the Bridge of Sighs, which gave convicts their last glimpse of Venice before being lead to their prison cells. If I'm sighing, it's only because of my murdered feet!

We continue in the general direction of Fondamente Nove. A quick check of the Michelin Guide shows the two-star Church of San Giovanni and San Paolo somewhere between here and there. We try to find it but have to backtrack a few times. Eileen wants to find a grocery store to get some bread for tomorrow's breakfast. The only shop we see that doesn't sell either carnival masks or Murano glass is a health-food store. Eileen comes out with a bag of gluten-free buns. Yuck. Shortly after that we start seeing loads of people with Co-op bags full of groceries. We head in the opposite direction of one person, but don't find the Co-op. We see more people coming up another street and I head down that one to check while Eileen and Laura wait on the steps of a bridge. Pass an Irish pub, and then find the source of the Co-op bagged shoppers. Eileen agrees to go get a few groceries while Laura and I wait on the bridge steps. 

Laura spots a tiny take-away pizza joint next to the bridge. It's doing a steady trade, and Laura likes the look of the pizzas in the window. Eileen returns with the grocs, and we agree that if there is a place to sit we'll eat there. There is and we do. They sell pizza slices and charge by the size of the slice, however big you want. It's very good. Eileen is feeling a bit homesick and goes for the spud pizza. I can imagine that one being quite popular at pub closing time! We wash it down with Italian beers. Feeling slightly refreshed, we head off in search of San Giovanni e Paolo. But first things first, we can't pass that gelateria! We eventually find the church but guess what, it is closed! Another one on the list for next time. Boy, next time is going to be awfully busy... 

Bridge of Sighs

We come to Fondamente Nove and we've half an hour to kill before our boat. We verify the stop and the time of the boat, then sit at a café/bar by the water's edge. After waiting for a while, a waiter comes and tells us the place is closing, we're too late! There's definitely a pattern here. Only problem is that Laura is dying to use the toilet. Eileen asks and they refuse! A bit of heated discussion follows but they don't give in. Shame on you. We walk over to another place, a bar/restaurant that looks lovely, and quite posh. We sit at a table outside and I tell Eileen to just go and take Laura to the loo. I'll order us a drink. They head for the loo, pretending to be customers. Meanwhile waiters rush in and rush out, and back and forth past the table, but they never slow down enough to realize that we are there. In any case it's nearly time to catch our boat so we just get up and leave. Next time we'll come for dinner, I promise.

We catch our vaporetto home in the dark. There is a lone driver who also acts as conductor and also handles his own mooring lines! We cross the little bridge on Le Vignole and there are more late-night fishermen with flashlights. Again we feel our way along the path back to the boat. Forgot the flashlight again. We have a cookie and a drink before turning in. Glad to be home. What a day! An unlit boat passes in the dark. Those Marines again? Fishermen? Bed. Sleep.


Log Entry for Thursday 9 May 2013:
In Port (Le Vignole)

Tides
▲ 1145 0.8m
▼ 1700 0.3m
▲ 2300 1.0m
▼ 0550 0.0m

Baro: 1015.1 hPa
Wind: 3 kn gusting to 9 kn
Temps: Low 14° High 25°
Forecast sunny, dry

Engine hours: 554.5
Water: 1/2
Battery (12V): 12.5
Battery (24V): 25

Burano -> Murano -> Le Vignole

Water-limousine!

Up as usual before the others, watching boat traffic between the islands of Mazzorbo and Burano. An unusually-shaped barge appears in the distance. I take out the binoculars to discover two cement trucks being towed across the water. An open boat passes, loaded with beer kegs, a faded Heineken logo painted on the side. We've seen water-taxis, water-ambulances, water-police, water-buses, garbage barges, telephone company boats, ice-cream delivery boats. Absolutely everything here goes by boat. 

I realize that I haven't checked my email for 5 days. This must be a record. I intended to get a 3G card for the iPad as soon as we arrived in Italy, but I didn't get to a phone shop on the Saturday, and everything was closed on Sunday. Since then I haven't seen a phone shop.

On Sunday I took a €9.00 "Pass Voyage Orange" for my phone that includes 30 minutes of voice, 10 text messages, and 2Mb of data, valid for 1 week. I need the data to get weather forecasts, and we might want to phone a marina. There haven't been any messages from work so I assume that everything is okay, but I still feel a bit guilty about not checking emails...

Out of the corner of my eye I see something moving on the wall beside the boat. I look over, but nothing's there. Look again, and see a small lizard sunning himself. As soon as Laura wakes, I show her the lizard, and she immediately spots several more that I hadn't seen. The weather is improving, it's a bright, sunny morning and they are soaking up the heat off the stones. 

What time is the train to Murano? "You mean boat?" That's what I said, boat... We're thinking about when we have to leave here in order to have sufficient time to visit Murano this afternoon. We are not allowed to moor in Murano so we'll stay at the RVF moorings on Le Vignole and get a vaporetto across. The very useful RVF documentation includes the vaporetto schedule between Le Vignole, Murano, and Venice. It's only a short 10 minute hop across. We decide to try to leave by 11:00. That will leave us a little bit more time this morning to see more of Burano.

Window shopping in Burano

After breakfast we try the church again, and this time there is nothing going on so we are free to visit. After that we do some window shopping. Lots of shops with lace of doubtful origin. We see a shop that proudly claims lace of Burano origin. We go inside for a look, and they even have a genuine Murano grandmother sitting in a chair making lace. Well, it's a family-run business after all! They have a huge selection, from small and cheap to small and expensive to big and extremely expensive. We buy a few smallish, not too expensive bits. More window shopping, and Laura is still very determined to buy earrings but we manage to convince her to wait for Murano where she is likely to get a better selection. 

By now we are running well behind schedule, so we head back to the boat and prepare to leave. The tide is falling. I walk out along the wet, slippery, slimy edge of the wall to undo the bow line. It occurs to me that nobody knows I'm out here, and if I fall in it might be difficult to get myself out again. Eileen and Laura are probably engrossed in brushing their hair and beautifying themselves, and wouldn't even hear my screams for help. If I'm lucky they might come out and take a picture! But seriously, I really should have waited until they were up on deck. I take it slowly and cautiously and thankfully don't fall in.

Eileen and Laura join me on deck, and while I'm coiling the bow line and day dreaming, the fast-flowing current catches the bow of the boat. Eileen calls to me that the bow is being pushed out. Oops, well this is as good a time as any to let go so we slip the stern line and motor off up the canal. Must pay attention! That is actually how I was planning to leave, but I wasn't planning on leaving at that precise moment!

Murano Faro, the lighthouse

We are not allowed to navigate the canals inside of Murano or moor there, but RVF recommends taking a little tour that does a bit of a "fly-by" of the island. We decide to try this. As we approach, several bell towers of Venice come into view. We're coming up to Murano now, and the water is getting busier and busier with traffic of all kinds. Boats are coming at us from all directions. Private boats, water-taxis, fishing boats, and vaporetti. 

We pass the lighthouse, continue on a bit between Venice and Murano, then turn back towards Murano. This canal leads right along the edge of the island, where several fornace (glass factories) are visible. It's much more industrial-looking than any of the islands we have visited thus far, and bigger too. Crowds of people are bunched up at the Faro vaporetto stop, waiting for a bus. Welcome back to civilization!

We head back down towards Le Vignole to find our berth. Part of the island is used by the Lagunari, an amphibious assault regiment of the Italian military. The right-most canal on our chart, the one that leads to their base, has a big red X through it. The island's canals join together at a big three-way intersection and as we head towards our middle canal, a big black rib comes out of the red one to the right and heads straight for us. I'm a bit unsure what to do, because normally we should pass port side to port side. Maybe they want to board us? Now they are crossing our bows! We see 8 or 10 marines on board as they go blasting past, off to scare some other unsuspecting boaters. 

Le Vignole

This island is mostly rural and sparsely inhabited. Both sides of the tiny canal are flanked by trees, with fields beyond. Since there is a low bridge at the top end of the canal, there is virtually no traffic here. As we get nearer the mooring piles, we see three or four other houseboats already moored. Plus a big old sailing barge. We decide to squeeze in at the back between the last houseboat and the sailing barge. I realize later that between us and the barge, we are probably blocking access to the tap that allows the boats to replenish their water supplies. We adjust the mooring lines and shut off the engine. It's wonderfully peaceful and quiet here, with only the sound of bird song and the odd barking dog. Who would have thought you could find yourself in the quiet countryside just 15 minutes from Venice! 

We get all our gear together (hats, water bottles, cameras, sun block, guide books, sun glasses, phones, etc.) and head up the path looking for the vaporetto stop. According to the map it's just past the moorings at the top of the island. We pass an entrance gate with a sign for "Agriturismo Zangrande". Is that one of those places where you pay a farmer to work his fields? There is also a trattoria, a few houses, and a tiny church. We cross the little wooden foot-bridge and find the vaporetto stop.

The vaporetto (actually a motoscafo, see here for the subtleties of Venetian public transport) comes right on schedule and takes us the short distance to Murano. Very convenient, punctual, and reliable, but not very cheap. It cost us €7.00 per person for a single journey. You can buy a pass for a day, 72 hours, week, etc. but it didn't seem like we would make enough use of it to warrant getting one. 

We arrive at the quay in Murano and push our way through the crowd waiting to get on. We wander a bit and soon come upon a quayside café and gelateria. Eileen and I enjoy a cappuccino while Laura has a gelato, of course. Right next to our table a guy is pampering his beautiful varnished taxi-limo. Up the canal, a sort of barge with a crane on it is pulling up a rotten pile. He succeeds in pulling the post, then puts his barge in reverse and heads rapidly for the exit of the narrow canal. I sense a bit of tension in the taxi driver, as he stops polishing and moves to the side of his boat. I have visions of the big old steel barge gouging up the side of the beautiful wooden boat. The barge passes safely and skillfully as the two men exchange friendly salutations. 

We continue strolling along the canals heading in the general direction of the glass museum. We spot a restaurant that's on my list, but there is a sign in the window in English saying "Sorry to our customers, closed for sickness". Whose sickness, the chef or the customers?!!! Just as we pass, a not-very-sick-looking man exits in a hurry, locking the door behind him.

Early evening along a quiet canal in Murano

We find the glass museum, and surprisingly it's not closed! It's located in the Palazzo Giustinian, which was built for the Bishops of Torcello after they moved here from that island. We spend an hour wandering around looking at the displays, and it's interesting to see how incredibly skilled some craftsmen were 2000 years ago. 

They also have a small collection of some incredibly impressive glass chandeliers. Coincidentally there is an exhibition of Venetian glass at the Musée Maillol in Paris at the moment, which we didn't get time to see before we left. Many of the pieces in that exhibition were loaned by the Murano museum, so we'll definitely have to go there when we get back! 

Next we head for the Santa Maria e San Donato church. Another beautiful brick building. This church is also very old (rebuilt in the 11th century) and has an amazing mosaic marble-tiled floor similar to Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello. It houses the remains of Saint Donatus, which were brought back here from Cephalonia in 1125, along with bones from the dragon he slayed. These large bones are displayed behind the altar, but unfortunately I only learned of this after we left so we missed seeing them.

Laura is still mad to find earrings. Stores are starting to close, and she's back in panic mode. I had read about some shops in Venice selling fake Chinese glass, so I insist that we shop that only sells authentic stuff. We find such a shop, which has a lot of beautiful glass, but no suitable earings. We convince Laura to look at the bracelets instead, and she comes away with lovely coloured glass bead bracelets for her and her friends. We pass another restaurant on my list, which is also closed.

Murano is bigger than Burano, but it is also swamped by visiting tourists during the day. And it also empties out at 18:00 as they all head back to their hotels in Venice. It's very pleasant to wander along the canals, with the beautiful light of the late evening sun, and no crowds. We find a canal-side restaurant that looks nice so we take an outside table. 

When the waiter comes to take our order he tries to convince us to have a shared seafood platter instead of the individual seafood starters that Eileen and I had chosen. We hesitate and so he gives us a minute to think about it. When he comes back, we tell him no. We'll stick with our chosen starters (spaghetti alle vongole for me and a pasta with scallop dish for Eileen). For main courses we have scaloppine al limone and scaloppine ai funghi. Mine are both quite good, but Eileen complains that her scallops could have been anything, and there were too many funghi in her scaloppine. I'm really getting into lemons for some reason. Laura has a hawaiian pizza, but again she can only manage half and we take the rest away. 

Every once in a while the chef comes out to stand by the front door and chat with the waiters. Then when someone passes by walking a dog, he pulls some dog food out of his pocket and feeds it to the dog. Hmm, I think I might know what was in Eileen's pasta with scallops...

We finish off with a limoncello and catch the vaporetto home in the dark. There are virtually no lit navigation marks, and once again I'm amazed how these guys do it. There are some fishermen with flashlights by the foot-bridge, isn't that illegal? I see a shooting star as we feel our way along the path back to the boat. Forgot the flashlight. Make a wish. Quiet. Sleep.


Log Entry for Wednesday 8 May 2013:
From: Mazzorbo (depart 13:00) Towards: Le Vignole (arrive 15:00) via Murano

Tides
▲ 1110 0.8m
▼ 1630 0.3m
▲ 2235 1.0m
▼ 0525 0.0m

Baro: 1013.6 hPa
Wind: 4 kn gusting to 7 kn
Temps: Low 13° High 21°
Forecast: Mostly sunny, dry

Engine hours: 552.6 - 554.5
Water: 1/2 +
Battery (12V): 12.5
Battery (24V): 25

San Francesco del Deserto -> Torcello -> Burano

San Francesco del Deserto Friary

We're up at 08:00 for the 09:00 visit of the San Francesco del Deserto friary. Over breakfast Eileen expresses some scepticism over the possibility of there being crowds of tourists showing up for the visit. After all, we are the only boat in the canal and we haven't actually seen any sign of friars anywhere. I'm getting a bit worried that maybe it's too early in the season and they aren't yet open for visits. 

The others are taking it easy while I rush to finish breakfast and get over to the entrance gate. At 09:00 sharp I'm the only one standing at the entrance, hoping for one of the doors to open. I don't want them to peek out and not see anyone and go back to bed. More fishermen come and go. This must be a good spot. Still no friars though, and no other visitors either. It's about a quarter past nine now. Eileen and Laura finally arrive. We look down a path off to the left thinking maybe the entrance is down there, but it's just for the toilets, which are closed. I notice a bell on the wall and I'm about to ring it when I see a buzzer marked "Frati minori" by one of the doors. I press it. A loud and long bell rings out. After a few minutes we hear some shuffling noises and other signs of life behind the door. Finally a door opens.

A Franciscan friar comes out to greet us. In Italian of course. He says that unfortunately he doesn't speak English or French, but we can walk around ourselves with a brochure that describes the visit. We say we understand a bit of Italian, and he says in that case he will give us the tour. He takes his time explaining the history of the place, speaking very slowly so that we can understand. He says there are currently six full-time residents of the friary. They also take people for retreats. 

He is extremely kind and friendly, explaining a bit of the history, answering our questions in broken Italian, then allowing us to observe and contemplate at our own pace. The whole place radiates peace and tranquillity. We visit the interior parts that are open to the public; a cloister, small church, chapels. He shows us the foundations of the original buildings on the site going back to the time of Saint Francis. Then he invites us to visit the grounds on our own. A section of it is open to the public, and so we wander around slowly. The grounds are made up of beautifully manicured lawns, trees, flowers, and the odd bit of modern religious art. 

The island is visible from a distance and easily identifiable by the large number of trees which are home to many birds. They are singing loudly. We think about the miracle of Saint Francis silencing the birds during mass. There are incredible views over the lagoon to Burano. By the end I have such a feeling of zen that I don't want to leave. Thank you to the kind friar that welcomed us and shared a little bit of this incredible, peaceful, spiritual place.

Carved briccole in the gardens

We walk back to boat and make coffee. The guide mentions that you can take on water on the island, and we check out the tap. Eileen had asked the friar if it was okay to take water. I don't feel like spoiling the quiet of the place by starting the engine so we warp the boat forward. We hook up our hose, but water barely dribbles out of the tap. There is hardly any pressure. More of it leaks out the pipe than goes into our water tank. I try to tighten the fitting a bit to stop the leak. I can't budge it either way. Our hose pipe is jammed onto the tap. We have no tools. 

I seem to remember being shown a wrench during handover of the boat, so I go looking for it. There is a wrench for changing the gas bottle, but it's not going to fit the tap. I think about how embarrassed I'm going to be if I have to go and ask the friars to borrow a wrench to loosen our hose pipe. How do you say "wrench" in Italian? Eileen brings a towel to help get a better grip and eventually I'm able to loosen it. We still have half a tank so we give up on the water and head for Torcello.  As we pull away from the quay, bells start ringing out. A personal send off? Nope, lunch time at the friary. 

On the way towards Torcello, we are hit by clouds of bugs. Fortunately not of a biting variety, but annoying none the less. There is one lady bug among them. Laura takes it on her finger, then he doesn't want to let go. She can't get rid of it. We're trying to find Canale Sant' Antonio. It's not where it should be. We're lost. We turn around and head back down Canale di Burano. Maybe we missed it. Hmm, that boatyard shouldn't be there. After lots of head-scratching I realize that when we came out of S Francesco we took a left and a left when we should have taken a left and a right. In areas with shallows and vast drying areas, nothing on a nautical chart looks like it does in real life. Islands tend to look very similar. It can be very disorienting. 

Church of Santa Fosca, Torcello

We head up the Canale di Torcello, approaching the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. Founded in 639, it is one of the oldest religious edifices in the Veneto. Unfortunately the campanile is covered with scaffolding due to restoration work. 

We're not exactly sure where the moorings will be, when we spot a series of pile moorings right beside the Cathedral. There are no other boats moored there, but there is no sign saying you can't moor so we decide to go for it. There is a large group of children playing noisily in the field. At first I thought it might be a school ground, but they are probably taking a break from a field trip. 

The cross-current here is very strong, and it's difficult to get lined up properly for the mooring that I want. We have to try several times. It's the only one that has a pile far enough from the quay to be remotely suitable for us. In fact it's not really out far enough, these moorings were probably designed for smaller boats. We tie up as best we can, but I'm not happy because if/when the tide turns it will push the boat off that pile into the corner of a wooden jetty on the other side. We are short one line that would allow us to tie the bow off to prevent this. Why do charter boats never have a bit of extra rope? Anyway, we won't be staying more than a few hours and the tide shouldn't turn before then.

Ponte del Diavolo, Torcello

Torcello is a very small island with only a few inhabitants. We look around a bit, and get a panini for lunch. I run back to check the boat. We wander along the canal that crosses the island, passing the Ponte del Diavolo, and Locanda Cipriani where Ernest Hemmingway stayed. On the way back we pass a bar/gelateria/restaurant and stop for a gelato. I run back to check the boat. 

We visit the Cathedral, which has some incredible mosaics, and an absolutely fabulous marble floor. We also visit the neighboring church of Santa Fosca. Hard to believe that Torcello once had a population of over 10,000 and was more powerful than Venice. Today it is a quiet place with a few houses and a couple of trattorias. Like many of the islands in the lagoon, it was abandoned at some stage due to malaria, the inhabitants moving to Venice and taking their building materials with them. All that survives of the former glory is the Cathedral.

We slip our mooring and head for Burano, where we will spend the night. There is a lot of boat traffic circling the island. The closer we get to Venice the denser the traffic gets. We find the RVF moorings just above the bridge between Mazzorbo and Burano, on the Mazzorbo side. There is only one other boat moored there so it should not be too difficult. We u-turn just before the bridge and come up to a mooring pile. Eileen struggles a bit to lasso the pile, but gets it eventually. 

We spend a bit of time shifting the boat, adjusting warps so that the gate at our bow lines up with a little wooden jetty. I take a line forward from the bow, wrap it around the pile, then go to make a bowline. For some reason I hesitate, feeling like something is not quite right. I finally figure out that I've always practiced making bowlines around piles by taking the line counter-clockwise around the pile, then tying off. Here I've gone clockwise around the pile and it doesn't feel right. I take the line the other way around the pile and tie it off. Must practice tying knots in both directions from now on!

Turn off the engine and chill a bit. Laura watches crabs off the stern. We walk across the wooden footbridge to Burano. We stop along the way to watch a school of small fish feeding among the seaweed at the water's edge. Every so often there is a bright camera-flash of sunlight reflecting off a silvery underbelly as the fish twist and turn in the water. 

Burano's cheerful houses

Passing the local library, we see numerous cats lounging in the yard looking like they own the place. We walk along the main canal, taking in the brightly coloured houses in the fading rays of evening sun. There is mass on in the church so we can't visit. 

Burano is famous for its lace-making, and we head for the lace museum but it's about to close. The lace shops are also closing. Laura is annoyed because she wants to look for earrings. We promise her that she will be able to look for earrings tomorrow in Murano. 

We wander down a bit looking for a place to have dinner. Laura wants to go back to Caffè Vecchio, a place we saw near the church. We go back to look at the menu and it seems okay, so we sit at a table outside. The only outside tables left are exposed to the wind and it's cooling off quickly as the sun begins to set, so with the encouragement of the waiter we move inside. There is only one person eating inside, and she turns out to be the tour guide for the group of people who are filling up all the tables outside.

It wouldn't be right to come here without trying some of the local specialities. So far we have been in remote places and made dinner on the boat, but from now on we will be in larger towns with good selections of restaurants. Almost all of them specialize in seafood. You actually have to go looking for the usual Italian pasta and meat dishes which are not native to this part of Italy. I want to try squid ink spaghetti, but they require a minimum of two orders. I manage to convince Eileen to try it so we both order it as a starter. It's delicious. There are chunks of squid (actually cuttlefish) cooked in it's own ink, with a delicate fishy taste and not at all rubbery texture. For the main course I have sole and Eileen has branzino (sea bass), also very good. Laura has spaghetti al ragù. Eileen asks if she can charge her phone, and they point her to the nearest plug. For desert we ask for gelato but they don't have any. We order frozen ice-cream deserts (semifreddo) which are not quite as satisfying as a good gelato, but the limoncello makes up for it.

Spaghetti al nero di sepia

The town really empties out in the evening after all the day-trippers have left. The wind has died down by the time we leave the restaurant and the water is flat calm. We wander over to the church again hoping to be able to visit, but now they are doing the stations of the cross. Nice to see a church that's being used. Maybe we'll try again in the morning. 

We stroll back to the boat, have a few quick games of Go Fish, then head for the bed. It's a relatively calm mooring, but the occasional yobbo blasts by shaking us up in his wake. It was a busy day, and tiredness quickly overcomes all resistance.


Log Entry for Tuesday 7 May 2013:
From: S. Francesco del Deserto (depart 12:00) Towards: Mazzorbo (arrive 17:00) via Torcello (arrive 14:00, depart 16:00)

Tides
▲ 1035 0.7m
▼ 1555 0.3m
▲ 2210 1.0m
▼ 0455 0.0m

Baro: 1015 hPa
Wind: 5 kn gusting to 9 kn
Temps: Low 14° High 20°
Forecast: partly cloudy, dry

Engine hours: 548.9 - 552.6
Water: 5/8
Battery (12V): 12.5
Battery (24V): 25