[INSIGHT TRAVEL - EUROPEAN GRANDEUR] - Venice/Venezia, Day 2

DAY 22 - SEPTEMBER 21, 2000
VENICE, ITALY - HOTEL CONTINENTAL
ROOM 156

Breakfast was a fairly leisurely affair -- after the hectic pace of Rome, we consider an 0800H departure leisurely enough. The reason was that LisaH wanted us to get a head start on St. Mark's Square while it was still reasonably empty. Then, come lunch time and all the tour groups and pigeons, off we would go on our separate ways -- either to Burano or into the various back streets of Venice proper. By the time our group landed at St. Mark's this morning, we were ushered into the Murano glass factory, where everyone was duly impressed with the skill of the glass blower in creating a vase and a standing horse. Once let loose inside the shop, the first place most people headed for was the washroom -- the highlight of every excursion, as Ma says.

A little mixup in rendezvous points, and LisaH missed me, Ma, Dad, and Anna for a side trip to the Burano school of lace-making. Fortunately, Anna is Italian and she managed to get information from the shop-keepers about where the lace demonstration was. So we had a chance to listen to the little talk about how lace is made, and its history in Burano. Since Ma and Dad and I were gointg to the source, we didn't buy anything in the showroom.

After the lace demonstration, we bumped into Lisa at Quadri's, and while Ma and Dad were in the washroom, I quickly settled the porterage bill for our hand luggage. And Lisa asked me to look into how she could adopt a baby from the Philippines within the next three years or so. I said that I would, though it certainly shook me somewhat. A matter for much discernment, that's for sure! I do enjoy the dear girl's company so much -- and I find I don't envy her freedom in the least. Wouldn't trade my beloved husband for all the tea in China, for the joy he's brought to me. I hope she finds a nice young man to settle down with. Either that or adoption will have to do.

I understand that she and Dmitri have ironed out that little kink in their work relationship. Thank God for answered prayers -- which is actually what this whole trip has been about, from weather to travel companions to relationships between tour director and coach driver. Yay, God!

Burano was just as I remembered it to be, except that the church tower was leaning over a little more from when I saw it last -- as a starry-eyed graduate from college. Seen through somewhat more mature eyes, the village has become a touch more commercial but otherwise retains its character. The food is as good as memory serves : sole, fish fillet, calamari, green salad (pity I don't care much for arugula lettuce, ick!), and fruit. Also served, biscotti and white wine.

Mom and Dad ducked into the little church dedicated to St. Joseph while I went shopping for a centerpiece for the table. It was fun poking about in the shops, but a bit of information overload. Anyway, I came away with a very nice centerpiece which Mom liked, thank goodness.

Lowering clouds and rain chased us all the way back to St. Mark's Square, but when we got to the rendezvous point, the sun was glowing sweetly over the area. We took on some people and released a few others to "get lost" in Venice. The water taxi got us back in time for me to hear Mass at the basilica of Sta. Lucia -- it boggles the mind, one huge church and only half a dozen people attending the Mass.

During Mass, I said several prayers of thanks for the way this trip has been shaping up. Prayed for Dmitri and Lisa, as I promised to do -- especially for LisaH, who has another knotty problem to deal with, and it's Sharon (again!!!) who gave it to her. Actually, Sharon didn't really give it to LisaH -- it's a long story.

The boat we chartered for our sole use to and from Burano was rapidly sent for to ferry a Trafalgar group that was stranded in St. Mark's. Sharon had left her shopping on the boat, along with Lisa's shopping (Greg's Lisa, that is). when our boat came back, both women's shopping were missing. Major headache for tour director, who had been anticipating a quiet evening with a massage therapist and a full night's sleep. After several calls over mobile phone to the tour director of the other group that used our boat, LisaH managed to track down the blue shopping back belonging to LisaJ. Sharon's stuff, however, was down a black hole somewhere, with an extremely slender chance of recovery.

After the Mass, last-minute shopping, of course, to get rid of all the lira except a 1000-lira note for the coffee stop, since lira don't exchange very well. So after Mass, I checked in with Ma and Dad again and immediately headed out for the shopping, going first up, then down the street in front of the hotel. Such an adventure as I had!! Trying to figure out how to get the most of the lira burning a hole in my pocket was a pleasant challenge. In the end, I came wasy with a pair of Murano glass earrings in aquamarine, a millefiore pendant, a Venetian captain's hat, and a baseball cap for Daddy -- which is the start of my little adventure.

I found a stall that had a pretty enough cap, selling for 12,000 lira. I asked the stall owner for 2,000 off the price, since I was buying it for my papa :

Stall Owner : Your papa, eh? Like me?
Me : --soberly-- Oh, no! You're too young to be my papa!

At this point, a white-haired man trundling a trolley cart entered the picture. A good-humored exchange of Italian followed, in which I gathered that the elderly gent was asking the stall owneer what he was doing, flirting with the customers, and receiving a summary of our exchange and my request to have the price of the cap taken down.

At that, the white-haired gent turned humorous eyes to me and asked where I was from. So with my best baby-brown innocent eyes, I told him I was from the Philippines. After some scrutiny, he laughed and told the stall owner to take off the 2000 lire.

The stall owner pretended to glower at first, then broke into smiles and said, "Ok, si, you can have it for 2000 lire less!" A good laugh was had by all when, in the midst of my profuse thanks, the white-haired gent said, "You're very lucky today, signorina -- that man is stingy!"

I added to my purchasing coup with a masquerade mask pin and dinner fixings, which left me with exactly 1000 lire in change! Perfect!

Tomorrow we're back on board the coach, and I'll be handling traffic for Dmitri. The gang caught him coming from somewhere last night, before our canal cruise and evening at St. Mark's...naturally there were the usual innuenedos cast upon his doings, all in fun, I'm sure. I'm in no mood to be teased by any snarls we find on the road, so it's going to be straight intercession all the way to Vienna!