On the monkey’s third day in Italy, he and Mrs. Kongo took a water taxi across the water to the little island of Murano to check out a glass factory and see the sights.  In the image above, rods to hold the glass being worked are being heated in the oven.  Murano is about half a mile north of Venice, accessible only by water.  Hundreds of years ago city fathers moved all glass making activity to this little island in order to prevent fires in Venice and to ensure the proprietary glass-making process developed in Venice was kept away from the prying eyes of competitors.

After an interesting tour of the factory and showrooms, the Kongos and some new found friends from South Florida headed out to explore the village of Murano.

They found a quaint little cafe on one of the canals for a bite to eat and shared travel stories.  One of the best things about travel is meeting new people along the way and hearing of their travel experiences.  Mrs. Kongo also found a couple of pieces of Murano glass that were begging to immigrate to the States so naturally they came along too.

After a vaporetto ride back to Venice and a nap, Mrs. Kongo had her heart set on “a really nice dinner” somewhere in Venice.  Kongo knew just the spot and led his honey through a maze of streets (without getting lost) to this lovely spot on a canal.  Over excellent food and a bottle of wine, they watched young lovers, and old lovers, and families, and just hand holders glide by on gondolas from their waterside seats.

Kongo licked on a pasticcio gelato cone on the walk back while Mrs. Kongo picked up some souvenirs for the grandchildren.  What little girl wouldn’t just love a Venetian masquerade mask all done up in turquoise and purple — hand painted in Italy, of course?

Today Kongo will find his ship, the Viking Star, for the start of a 12-day excursion around the Mediterranean Sea and end up in Barcelona.  The ship is brand new and this is its almost maiden voyage, representing Viking Cruises business expansion into the ocean cruising arena.  The Viking River cruises are well known so stay tuned for Kongo’s future review of this ocean going trip.

Travel safe.  Have fun.

Other posts from Italy:

The Monkey of Venice

Ciao! Venice

The Monkey of Venice  http://travel-monkey.me/2015/09/01/the-monkey-of-venice/