Out With Erin

After another tasty breakfast, we decided to spend our last full day in Venice lagooning around the islands. Boarding the vaporetto just in the knick of time, our first destination was Burano. Once you arrive, your eyes are memorized by the pastel houses which line the canals. Each one appears different and is so unique in it’s style, colour, and sheer cuteness!

Burano is renowned for its lace making and every shop along every canal is filled with beautifully hand made lace pieces: table cloths, dresses, art. It’s stunning, incredible soft, and worth a large penny!

Touring the streets during this crazy heat wave made us quite thirsty, so we stopped at the local grocer and picked up a few ingredients for a picnic. We sat by the canal, with a gentle breeze, and admired (and ate) our delicious spread.

This was also my first Lambrusco in Italy. I’m still going questioning why it took so long, but it was fab!

Once lunch was finished, and I was annoyed by all the creatures, seagulls and ants alike, that Daniel persuaded to visit us, we crossed a small footpath which led us to Mazzorbo.

As you walk through these peaceful, art filled gardens, you realize that you’re surrounded by vineyards: Beautiful white grapes hanging vine after vine.

Following the path, we came across a Michelin star restaurant, but were more interested in trying out some of the wine from the vineyard. We walked into the shop, asked if we could do a wine tasting, and the finely dressed man replied, “Yes, you can taste our wine. It’s €25/glass.” When in Rome we thought, even though we aren’t quite there yet. The man informed us that the wine itself is a Venetian Dorona, which is a thick-skinned golden grape that is like a white wine grape, however is treated like a red wine. It’s barreled for 25 years and has a beautiful nectar colouring. The vineyard itself is only one hectare and produces only 4000 bottles of wine each year. Each bottle is numbered and the “wine labels” contain a traditional Venetian gold leaf, applied by hand to each bottle before being baked by local glass makers.

The wine itself tastes quite unique. A mix between port, sherry, and a red wine. It was delicious and a perfect stop on our afternoon adventure. Our server also offered us a complimentary snack of a cod fish flan… insane!

Our final island stop was Murano, the glass blowing island. Not nearly as impressive as Burano in its uniqueness, but the glass itself was stunning. The technique, precision, and work that goes into a piece, well I can’t even imagine what that would take.

The final picture shows some very fine pieces that sell from between €2000-€4000!

Walking around Murano, and seeing the impressive skills that the artists have, we were led to a street with a stunning masterpiece at the end.

Hot and hungry, we hopped back onto the vaporetto and ventured back to Venice. We walked through the beautiful streets to our dinner destination, Birraria La Corte, a local restaurant inside an old brewery. We began with a local IPA for Daniel and an Aperol spritz for myself.

We had a full fledged sharesies meal tonight. We began with the scallops done in a cauliflower and carrot creme, top with the finest prosciutto.

For our next course, we selected the ricotta gnocchi. I can’t even explain how pure and insanely delicious this was.

Finally, we ordered our first pizza: cheese, mushrooms, porchetta. Simple ingredients make something extraordinary.

The meal was a perfect last dinner in Venice. We spent the rest of the evening strolling the beautiful streets and wishing we had more time to get lost in the beauty of Venice!