Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

Venezia Impressions

@brittarnhild

 

 

The wrong boat took me out birding

@brittarnhild

It had been a long day, and I was longing to go back to my little island to have a rest in the hotel before going out for something to eat for dinner. I saw the vaporetti was ready to leave when I arrived and I ran towards it, asking "Murano?" "Si, signora". And I jumped on board.

The boat was different from the ones I usually take, and when we came to the island it didn´t stop at the usual place. But there are several stops on Murano, and when it stopped next I didn´t leave the boat. I can wait for the next, I told myself.

 The only problem was that the next stop was not Murano at all, but Vignole, another island in the Laguna. I have never been to Vignole, well, now I have, and I wouldn´t have minded going there if the time was right. Which is was not. Can you imagine, I felt quite flat! "Oh, my! What to do now?" I started to say something to the boatman. He just looked at me and smiled broadly. "Wait here. Another boat will come in five minutes. It will take you back to Murano."

All of a sudden I felt very adventurous.

I remembered we had driven trough wonderful birdland on our way out,

so I took my camera and walked out on deck to do some birding.

And had a most wonderful ride back.

 

::::::::::::::::::::::

 

Here are my two latest YouTube videos.
Enjoy:

 

 

 

 

 

Murano impression II

@brittarnhild

My smart phone camera is filling up with short videos. I long to put them together and post them on YouYube, but to do that I need to transfer them from the phone to my MacBook. And the internet connection is soooo slow at the hotel. Good thing every single hair in my head is already grey. If they were not, they would have transformed now :-)

I have figured out that the hotel internet is working better in the morning though, so here is the video I posted this morning.

 

 

 

Murano impression I

@brittarnhild

First one cancelled flight, then one delayed flight, then one flight on time and last another delay.
Finally I found myself at the Marco Polo Airport outside Venice,
and could take the short Alilaguna boat ride over to Murano,
where I am staying for a few days.

 

 

 

The very first time

@brittarnhild

In September 2005 Terje and I went to Venice and Murano. We had celebrated our silver wedding in July that same year, and we gave ourselves a week in Venice as an anniversary gift. 2005 was also my first year of blogging, and here is a post I made about our day trip to Murano:

 

 

One day during our week in Venice we took a day trip to the island Murano. We had bought a three days ticket on the vaporettos (the river boats) and could use this ticket not only in Venice but also out to the islands. I had heard so much about Murano and all the wonderful blown glass there, and spent the boat trip dreaming - what would the day bring!

As soon as we put our feet on Murano we were met by men guiding us to the glass blower factories, and we watched a show where a man made a wonderful bottle and a glass blown horse in almost no time. Quite amazing. We enjoyed the show and also browsing through the shopping area of the factory afterwards. But we didn't buy anything. Not then anyway. It was still morning and we wanted to see it all :-) So we walked a little further and came to  Rio dei Vetrai. It was time for coffee and we sat down on one of the restaurants along the canal - Da Tandoro. A long time since breakfast, so we also had tiramisu with the coffee; when you are on holidays tiramisus can be eaten all day!

The cake gave us alot of fresh energy, and afterwards we walked for hours. Murano is such a wonderful place. Kind of Venice in miniature, but with so much less people. We passed several bridges, walked through quiet living areas, sat for a long time on the northern edge of the island enjoying the sea and the breeze, visited dozens of glass shops and spent quiet time in the churches of the island, the favorite was Chiesa dei Santi Maria e Donato where the old floor tiles, pavimento from around 1140, medieval mosaic with geometrical figures, excotic birds, mythical creatures and symbols I didn't understand,  made me wish for my painting colours and my brushes, or my huge collection of quilt fabric - it would be a perfect quilt!

It was now almost too late for lunch. We passed a charming vegetable market on a boat! Thought about just buying some fruit and wait for dinner back in Venice for a proper meal. But our short visit at Da Tanduro in the morning was such a delight we wanted to go back there again for some lunch.

 

Found a free table on the "fundamenta" and ordered Risotto ai frutti di mare. We were a little surprised when the risotto was served directly from the casserole - that's what we do at home when we are in a hurry and want to save time. But forgot everything as soon as we started to eat. This was really the very best food we had tasted in a long, long time, if not the best ever!

We almost licked our plates and the casserole to be sure to get it all.

We ate sea food every day during our week in Venice, but never did we taste anything else as good as the risotto ai frutti di mare at Da Tanduro. I know I just have to go back to Venice again, take the vaporetto out to Murano and find my way up to Rio dei Vetrai and this restaurant. There I will sit on an outdoor table and eat a huge serving of risotto, while looking over to the other side of the canal where among many other shops I can see my favorite glass shop with all the lovely  blue colours.

 

Tomorrow morning I fly back to Murano, the island which has almost become, if not a second (that´s our cabin), a third home for me.

 

 

 

 

One day during our week in Venice we took a day trip to the island Murano. We had bought a three days ticket on the vaporettos (the river boats) and could use this ticket not only in Venice but also out to the islands. I had heard so much about Murano and all the wonderful blown glass there, and spent the boat trip dreaming - what would the day bring!

As soon as we put our feet on Murano we were met by men guiding us to the glass blower factories, and we watched a show where a man made a wonderful bottle and a glass blown horse in almost no time. Quite amazing. We enjoyed the show and also browsing through the shopping area of the factory afterwards. But we didn't buy anything. Not then anyway. It was still morning and we wanted to see it all :-) So we walked a little further and came to  Rio dei Vetrai. It was time for coffee and we sat down on one of the restaurants along the canal - Da Tandoro. A long time since breakfast, so we also had tiramisu with the coffee; when you are on holidays tiramisus can be eaten all day!

The cake gave us alot of fresh energy, and afterwards we walked for hours. Murano is such a wonderful place. Kind of Venice in miniature, but with so much less people. We passed several bridges, walked through quiet living areas, sat for a long time on the northern edge of the island enjoying the sea and the breeze, visited dozens of glass shops and spent quiet time in the churches of the island, the favorite was Chiesa dei Santi Maria e Donato where the old floor tiles, pavimento from around 1140, medieval mosaic with geometrical figures, excotic birds, mythical creatures and symbols I didn't understand,  made me wish for my painting colours and my brushes, or my huge collection of quilt fabric - it would be a perfect quilt!

It was now almost too late for lunch. We passed a charming vegetable market on a boat! Thought about just buying some fruit and wait for dinner back in Venice for a proper meal. But our short visit at Da Tanduro in the morning was such a delight we wanted to go back there again for some lunch.

 

Found a free table on the "fundamenta" and ordered Risotto ai frutti di mare. We were a little surprised when the risotto was served directly from the casserole - that's what we do at home when we are in a hurry and want to save time. But forgot everything as soon as we started to eat. This was really the very best food we had tasted in a long, long time, if not the best ever!

We almost licked our plates and the casserole to be sure to get it all.

We ate sea food every day during our week in Venice, but never did we taste anything else as good as the risotto ai frutti di mare at Da Tanduro. I know I just have to go back to Venice again, take the vaporetto out to Murano and find my way up to Rio dei Vetrai and this restaurant. There I will sit on an outdoor table and eat a huge serving of risotto, while looking over to the other side of the canal where among many other shops I can see my favorite glass shop with all the lovely  blue colours.

 

Tomorrow morning I fly back to Murano, the island which has almost become, if not a second (that´s our cabin), a third home for me.

 

 

 

Non-stop snowing

@brittarnhild

Good to have a little glimpse of spring indoors when it snows non-stop outdoors:

 

 

The first little miracles

@brittarnhild

This winter has been a great winter. Stable winter weather with snow and cold ever since several weeks before Christmas. Believe me when I say it has been a great winter. We have not had this on and off weather with cold, then mild and melting snow, then cold again which turns the world into ice, then more snow and the roundabout goes on. We have had snow, stable, dry snow for months, and I have done more cross country skiing than I have done in years. And there have been no icy pavements to walk to the bus.

But now I think it is enough. The winter and the cold have lasted long enough.

Last night was been cold like all nights for a long time now, but this morning the temperatures had risen. It is just over the freezing point now. Still snowing, and a gale wind, but.......

And in the green house I found the first miracle of spring:

 

 

 

Saturday morning knit

@brittarnhild

It is Saturday morning, it is March 17th, and this winter seems to be a never ending story. The temperatures are finally predicted to rise a little today though, but the snow is still deep outside and in the green house everything is deeply frozen. I have got a naughty cough, so here I am, indoors, with a fire burning in the fireplace, a huge mug of hot water with lemon and ginger, birds busy out in the feeders, and a knitting which grows and grows and grows.......quite slowly.

I have many unfinished projects waiting, and didn´t actually plan to start this new cardigan sweater now. But then it started to play in my mind all by itself, I drew the first patterns, I bought yarn, I told myself I would just give it a start and then take it with me abroad next week to work on over Easter.......and now I can hardly put it down. The pattern changes all the time, and I want to see the next row only, and then then next, and the next.......you know the feeling, don´t you :-)

I do give myself the luxury of knitting slow though. The intricate pattern means that I can´t knit fast anyway, but I slow it down deliberately as well. Enjoying every stitch, let my fingers be caressed by the yarn, the wool, let my thoughts wander, knitting in a prayer here, purling in a prayer there.

Last night I told Terje: "Now I know what to do in my next career, in my next life! I will be a knitter. A full time hand knitter!"

I have been working on my vlog the last few days, my YouTube video blog, sorting the videos into playlists. So far I have nine videos in the "My knitting" playlist. You find them all here:

My knitting

Knitting design

@brittarnhild

Spring is going to be late here in my corner of the world this year. I long to start working in the green house, but so far everything is deeply frozen. The garden is covered in a thick layer of snow, and more snow is predicted next week.

A lot more!

I do have quite some fun to occupy me with while waiting though.
Like designing new knitting patters.......

.......and make YouTube videos of it :-)

 

 

Cod jaws? Yes, we eat them :-)

@brittarnhild