As is often the way of these stories, I’m so happy I did, because I loved Murano. While I enjoyed exploring Burano, Murano felt much livelier to me, perhaps because evidence of their famous industry was everywhere. We popped into a glass-making factory and watched a few demonstrations and wandered the picturesque canals. They didn’t have the colors of Burano, but they were so pretty! Murano is proud of its heritage, and you can see glass-blown artwork everywhere: from a giant sculpture in the square, to the water glasses in the little restaurants, to the stained glass doors visible all over the town.

I’ll be honest with you–after all my talk of being happy with less and not wanting/needing more, sometimes I just love to shop. Shopping for souvenirs is probably the most fun kind of shopping in my mind, especially as I’m choosy with the types of souvenirs I usually buy. Since my budget is so strict, I usually only buy postcards, but I do occasionally splurge on a local and/or special item. This was my long-winded way of saying I just had to buy some Murano glass!

You have to be careful in Murano, as there is an issue with knock-off, not-original blown glass, so I focused only on the shops that had the coveted “certified Murano glass” paperwork.

You can buy Murano glass all over Venice, not to mention Italy and the world, but sometimes buying it straight from the source is the most special thing (and now I have several pairs of earrings–because they were on sale! yay for off-season prices!–that I can say I bought in Italy).

Even if you don’t buy Murano glass, I found Murano a charming addition to the Venetian lagoon. It’s even closer to Venice than Burano is–only about fifteen minutes, depending on the weather–and it is so fascinating to watch the glass-blowing demonstrations. Murano felt like a smaller, more manageable, more arty Venice…a must-see!

Linking up with Travel Tuesday.

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