Day 321: Island hopping on a Venice day

11/06/2022

This morning the kids kindly let us have a sleep-in until 07:30. During breakfast at the hotel, which was convenient, Lachlan wanted to show Grandma Nicholls his new party trick, he was very impressed with himself.

After our croissants and hot drinks, we jumped on the bus back to the islands of Venice. Throughout the city, it is clear that Venice is feeling the effects of climate change. “It has been said for many years that Venice is sinking, but a new study suggests it could be as soon as 2100. A recent climate change study has warned that Venice will be underwater by 2100 if the acceleration of global warming is not curbed. This is because the Mediterranean Sea is expected to rise by up to 140 centimetres (over four feet) in the next century. Our oceans and seas continue to expand as a result of increased concentrations of greenhouse gasses raising the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere. Travellers visiting Venice in winter months often experience a waterlogged city, which is linked to this global warming issue. Right now, the city is experiencing the highest levels of flooding in four years. It is said to be from strong tides caused by The Bora, a winter wind travelling from the Northeast”.

After tackling all that Venice had to offer yesterday, we figured today we would adventure further afield. We asked the taxis how much it would cost to visit the far islands. However, it was 80€ to get less than a quarter of the way there, not to mention return. That was a hard no. The buses were also fairly pricey. The best deal we could find was the Hop on hop off city cruises. The kids were pumped about their first water bus. It was a flat rate and a beautiful day so we thought we would do the round trip. Eloise could still not believe the bus was on the water, “that no bus Dad, on water, silly Dad”.

We hooked around the bottom of Venice. It was exciting to see how busy the main taxi channel was. The bus was fairly large, we were surprised by how smooth it felt looking at the waves.

We were hoping that the waves would rock Lachlan to sleep. He seems to be more of a train boy though.

We snuck past a Russian Oligarch who was trying to hide in the skyline before turning out of the main taxi channel away from Venice’s small islands.

After a thrilling journey, we had made it to Murano, the islands of glass. When we arrived there was a glass-blowing demonstration before we toured the factory. We were not allowed to take pictures, Lachlan stayed in the middle of the track well out of arm reach of everything. He enjoyed the colours.

As we made our way around Murano’s islands, it was clear they were passionate about glass. “There are approximately 100 glass factories in Murano”, and even more glass shops.

Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about 1.5 kilometres (1 mile) north of Venice and measures about 1.5 km (1 mi) across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was once an independent comune, but is now a frazione of the comune of Venice.

We successfully managed to grab lunch on the go and jump back on the bus before Lachnado had broken the islands. The next bus stop was Torcello. Throughout Italy there are free water fountains, the strange thing about them is that they run 24/7. Eloise loves them and always sprints off to them. Fair enough, it was stinking hot on the islands today.

Torcello is a sparsely populated island at the northern end of the Venetian Lagoon, in north-eastern Italy. It was first settled in the year 452 and has been referred to as the parent island from which Venice was populated. It was a town with a cathedral and bishops before St Mark’s Basilica was built

After missing a bus and roasting longer on Torcello than planned we jumped on board for the quick ride to our favourite island Burano. It was the perfect place for Eloise to practice her colours.

It was the kid’s ninth big day in a row. They have coped so well with our bizarre lifestyle. Poor Lachlan does not hang around anywhere long enough to know which way is up. It was getting even hotter, Eloise knew the drill.

We had been getting flashbacks from Nyhavn Harbour, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy, near Torcello at the northern end of the lagoon, known for its lace work and brightly coloured homes. The primary economy is tourism. Burano is 7 kilometres (4 miles) from Venice, a 45-minute trip from St. Mark’s Square by vaporetto, a Venetian water bus. The island is linked to Mazzorbo by a bridge. The current population of Burano is about 2,400. Originally, there were five islands and a fourth canal that was filled to become via e piazza Baldassare Galuppi, joining the former islands of San Martino Destra and San Martino Sinistra.

After all the island hopping fun, it was a long bus ride back to Venice’s smaller islands. It was lovely to be in the cool breeze and rest the legs and arms.

We felt like we were all getting sunburnt so Eloise led the way through the alleyway mazes to find dinner.

This was our last night in Venice, we figured we had to try the seafood to see what all the fuss was about, “dahhhlicious”.

It was back to the hotel to watch England vs Italy, played at Wolverhampton. A bit of a grudge match after Italy beat England in the Euro finals last year. It is an hour in, and I am off to bed!

Nali and Grandpa Dave, we had less luck with the Venice shots.

Scotland Men’s football team tough run has continued. “The Republic of Ireland claimed a maiden Nations League win at the 13th time of asking as they saw off Scotland in surprisingly comfortable fashion in Dublin”.