A TALE OF TWO CITIES.

Actually it is a tale of two islands, but after being away from home for nearly a month, hysteria is close to the surface and I no longer care.

We went to Murano yesterday, at least we meant to, but we forgot to get off the ferry and ended up back in Burano and had to make a sheepish u-turn at the embarcado and go back. Still it provided an interesting contrast between the two neighbours, the Buranese lavish all the colour that brightens their lives onto the walls of their houses whereas the Muranese seemed to eschew colourful walls, probably  to sooth their bleeding eyes after looking at their brightly coloured glass all day.

Still the misadventure gave us another look at the “leaning tower of Burano” from across the lagoon and a look at a couple of islands abandoned in the face of the rising sea level. There is a business opportunity there.

We all of us have seen bits of Murano glass, most of it bought back by tourists and then abandoned to the church sale to later turn up on Bargain Hunt. They are going broke in the face of cheaper Asian production but I think the real reason is that they have lost the plot design wise.

Some of the stuff is simply hideous, the colours no longer suit a “Western Palette” and if you should actually choose to buy a “zombie on a skeletal dragon”, how the hell do you get it home? We enjoyed strolling from shop to shop on the sunny side of the canal for the first half an hour before realising that they all have the same thing, after all how many complete orchestras in glass figures does a fellow need? I mention the sunny side because although it was a bright sunny day the temperature was still about 4C. The shops were going to make a fortune today from dropped items as the begloved tourists rummage through their offerings.

There were highlights though. The glass museum, the Museo del Vetro, is a must, the skill of the craftsmen and women is amazing but it only goes to show what rubbish they offer today. Some of the post Roman perfume jars take your breath away. We saw early moulded glass, the Grecian torso is life size, and wheel engraved bowls with twisted rope handles that would grace any table today. They could do it then why can’t they do it now?

The other treat is the little visited, sorry about the wait but I had to go off and find the Lonely Planet guide to get this name right. Got your pen ready? The Basilica dei Santa Maria e Donato. (We have been here too long; I spelt Basilica right the first time). Firstly their tower is upright and secondly it’s free to get in until you see the little machine near the side nave into which you are expected to put E1.00 for the lights to come on for 3 mins. Actually that sounds a bit cheaper than Origin Energy. Anyway the floor is a stunning 12th-century mosaic beneath which are buried the bones of the usual St. This or That but also the bones of a “viverne”, a wyvern to the Anglo-Saxons and a dragon to the rest of us.

Any way it was a good day, and tomorrow is our last so we are going to ride the No 1 up and down the Grand Canal until our ticket expires. It will also allow me to resume my battle with the Red Army, those swarms of organised tour groups who think it is their god given right to trample over the rest of us, got three the other day, one pushed, I pushed back and she nearly went into the canal but she was grabbed by a friend, still better luck today.

Yes it is actually today, too tired to blog last night and indigestion drove me out of bed about 5.00am. Ilze tried to cook something exotic for a change, last night. Pork chops with beans and potatoes. I could get to like it.

Pete.