Hey Guys!
This post continues our time in Italy.
Read Day 1 here, Read Day 3 here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here, Day 6 here, Day 7 here, Day 8 here, Day 9 here, Day 10 here. Read my post on my 16 days in Italy here.
On our 2nd day in Italy, we had planned to visit the small islands of Murano and Burano.
Murano is known for it’s glass and Burano is known for it’s lace. Both are popular places to visit while in Venice.
Thankfully, our hotel offered a complimentary boat to the island of Murano. The only caveat to that was, we had to watch a glass blowing demonstration.
Click here to book a tour to Murano & Burano or if you want to book your own transportation to Murano, you can purchase a ticket for 5 euros to see a glass blowing demonstration here
We didn’t mind sitting through a glass blowing demonstration as long as we didn’t have to figure out how to get to Murano on the public water bus!
With that being said, to purchase a ticket on the water bus (called vaporetto), you would walk to the Fondamente Nove station in Venice and purchase a ticket on vaporetto line 12 to Murano. It takes about 10 mins to get there unless you book a private water taxi– they go much faster!
If you plan to use the vaporetto a lot, it makes sense to buy a 1-day (20 euros), 2-day (30 euros), or 3-day (40 euros) pass. Weekly passes cost 60 euros each.
Click here to read all about the public transportation in Venice
Tip: If you purchase water bus tickets, make sure to validate your pass by “swiping or tapping” them on the machines located at the boarding entrance. Failure to do so could result in a hefty fine.
Before we headed to Murano, we headed out to find breakfast.
Our hotel offered breakfast but it was 15 euros per person and we didn’t want to pay 30 euros for hotel food.
So, we walked a very short distance from our hotel and found a little outdoor cafe that sold pastries and hot breakfast sandwiches and they were much cheaper than our hotel!
I ordered one of the krapfen cremas (cream filled doughnut) and a cappuccino and the hubby ordered a hot ham and cheese sandwich.
Both were delicious but after taking a bite of my hubby’s, I wished I had gotten the sandwich!
After breakfast, we headed back to our hotel to wait on the boat.
A few pics of our hotel
Around 10 am, the boat arrived to take us to Murano.
On the boat
After a short boat ride, we arrived to the glass factory.
We really enjoyed the glass blowing demonstrations!
The chandeliers they make are incredible….and expensive! We saw one that was priced at over 100k!
After about 15 mins of watching the glass blowing demonstrations, they took us inside the factory where you can purchase some of their glass.
They didn’t allow pics inside the factory and since they had cameras everywhere, I had to abide by the rules. 😉
We walked around for about 15 mins and admired the incredible pieces…there was zero pressure to buy anything and we didn’t …it was way too expensive!
We left the factory and headed to the “town” of Murano.
The streets were virtually empty until we arrived to the main shopping area.
The island of Murano is actually seven individual islands all connected by pedestrian bridges, but it’s small enough to explore on foot…and just like Venice, there are no cars on the island.
Once we arrived to the main “touristy” area of Murano, we had to cross this beautiful wooden bridge.
The bridge crosses Murano’s “grand canal”.
A shot of the canal from the bridge
The clock tower…it was built in the 1800’s. There used to be a beautiful glass sculpture that sat at the base of the tower called the Blue Comet Glass Star but sadly it’s no longer there.
See a picture of the sculpture here
At one time you could take an elevator to the top, but I’ve read that you can no longer do that.
Walking the streets of Murano 
It was sooo hot when we visited…we stopped in at this little store to purchase some water.
Tip: The public restrooms are few and far between in Italy and they all charge between .50 to 1.50 euros …so always carry change! To find restrooms (called water closets), download one of these apps! Here’s one just for Venice…or use this website!
Click here for everything you need to know about bathrooms in Italy
We had the Basilica dei Santi Maria E Donato on the list but when we arrived, you had to pay an entrance fee so we decided not to go in.
So, we headed back to the main shopping area.
Make sure to wander the back alleys of Murano and Burano…they are usually empty and so beautiful!
Another shot of the wooden bridge that spans Murano’s Grand Canal
The canals of Murano….so colorful!
Standing on one of the many bridges in Murano
We stopped in at one of the shops and purchased two Murano glasses!
Tip: Make sure you purchase authentic Murano glass…there are lots of knockoffs!
After walking around for a while longer, we decided to make our way to the public water bus and purchase a ticket to Burano.
Tip: You can only take water bus line 12 to Burano from Murano..read more here. It takes approx. 30-40 mins to get there on the water bus (called vaporetto)
The water bus tickets to Burano are 7.50 euros each and run every 20-30 mins.
A shot of the Murano lighthouse from the water bus.
The lighthouse is located near the vaporetto bus line 12 so this is where you want to go when catching the water bus to Burano.
The lighthouse was built in 1934 and is a famous landmark of the island. It is a working lighthouse. No tours are allowed here.
After arriving to Burano, we headed to the main shopping area.
Click here to read all about what there is to see in Burano
This island is known for its lace....they have been making lace here since the 1500’s.
There are only 3000 people that live in Burano…at one time there was 8000.
Most visitors come here to see the colorful homes and to escape the crowds of Venice.
Walking around Burano
I personally love Burano more than Murano and if I had to pick just one to visit, it would definitely be Burano!
A pic of the main shopping square …..there are lots of outdoor cafes in this area.
We spotted the Chiesa di S. Martino Vescovo church so decided to take a peek inside.
The church was built in the 16th century.
It was beautiful….like most all churches in Italy!
Right next to this church was another church called Cappella di Santa Barbara but it was closed.
After leaving the church, we headed to find something to eat.
On the way, we spotted a good place for a picture so, of course, we couldn’t pass it up!
We ended up finding a cute little outdoor cafe to have lunch…it was called Ristorante di Cisendeli Pizzeria.
Read reviews here
We got seated at a table right by the water 
As soon as my hubby saw that they had french fries (6.50) on the menu, he had to order them!
I ordered the spaghetti with mussels (16 euros) and the hubby ordered just plain, boring spaghetti (11.00)!
The food was delicious!
After lunch, we continued our walk through the beautiful town admiring all of the colorful buildings.
A pic on one of the bridges
After walking around for a while, we headed back to the vaporetto to head back to Venice.
As we were walking, we spotted the Leaning Tower of Burano!
The tower was built in the 17th century and stands 174 ft high….not sure why it leans…some say due to the weight of the cross that was added to the top during a renovation back in the 1700’s.
Arriving back to Venice!
After arriving back to Venice, we headed straight for St Marks Square as we had a 4:00 pm reservation booked for the St Marks Campanile!
Tip: You can book skip a line tickets here for the Campanile here and I highly recommend it! Tickets are 15 euros pp.
One of the many markets you will see in Venice
We passed several churches on the way to the Campanile
As we were crossing a bridge, we captured this cool shot of a building with bridges on both sides of it! 
After almost having to sprint to arrive at the Campanile on time, we finally made it!!
However, I had blisters afterwards….whatever you do, wear good, comfortable shoes as you will be walking A LOT!!
We were the only ones in the skip a line line so we were able to get on the next elevator going up!
The views from the top were awesome!!
A shot of the bells
A shot of St Marks Square
I highly recommend you make time to go to the top…you won’t regret it!
After we spent about 15-20 mins at the top, we headed back down and went looking for a gondola….you can’t go to Venice and not take a gondola ride!!
It didn’t take long to find one as they are all over Venice!
We looked for one near the smaller canals instead of going to find one on the Grand Canal.
The price is set for all gondoliers. It’s 80 euros for a 30 min ride but, starting at 7 pm, the price goes up to 100 euros!
You can also ask for a longer ride…a 45 min ride will cost 120 euros and an hour ride will cost around 160 euros.
Tip: Unless you pre book your gondola, you must pay cash
We stuck with the 30 min ride (which ended up being a 22 min ride). We regret now that we didn’t do the longer ride that would have taken us under the Rialto Bridge!
On the Gondola
Pics during our ride
There are approximately 400 licensed gondoliers in Venice and a similar number of boats, down from the thousands that travelled the canals centuries ago.
Read here for more interesting information about the gondoliers in Venice
After our gondola ride, we headed to find something to eat.
We first stopped in at 1000 Gourmet Pizza but no one ever came to our table to wait on us so we got up and left.
After we left, I had remembered seeing a take out pasta restaurant during my research that had great reviews so I googled it and found the name of the place…t was called Dal Moro’s.
It was only a few mins walk from where we were at so we decided to go there.
This place is tiny …there a no tables inside so it’s only for take out.
Dal Moro’s is the first fast food of fresh pasta and homemade sauces in the world. They make their pasta and sauces from scratch in front of the customer.
They offer 5 special varieties of fresh pasta: fusilli, spaghetti, gnocchi, bigoli and linguine and 9 artisan sauces: Napoletana, Fattoria, Ai Formaggi, Pesto, Carbonara, Bolognese, Ragù d’Anatra, Nero di Seppia and Frutti di Mare.
We both ordered the bigoli pasta (like spaghetti noodles) with the genovese sauce (Basil, Pine Nuts, Garlic, Extravirgin olive Oil and Parmigiano Cream). We added chicken too.
Ya’ll, this stuff was delicious!! It was cheap too! It only cost 8 euros and that was after paying 1 euro to add the chicken!!
This place has almost 12k reviews on TripAdvisor and almost 7500 on Google!
We found a place outside near the water to eat…..so peaceful!
After we ate, we headed to a nearby store to find some bottled water so we would have it with us when we headed to the Dolomites the next day.
Tip: When purchasing water at the restaurants (water is not free) ask for still water unless you like “gas” water which is sparkling or carbonated.
After our purchase, we headed back to Suso Gelatoteca for more of that yummy gelato!
We both ordered a chocolate flavor and again, it was delicious!
After our gelato, we headed back to our room and called it a night!
Thanks for reading!
Stay tuned for Day 3!