Balsamic Vinegar

Why do people like this stuff? It tastes like… well, never mind.

Barbie Bling Bead

One of the projects in my final workshop – Glass, Glitter and Gravity – aka Bloody Bombastic Bugger Blinging Barbie Bead.
The original Barbie Bead went to Holland with Miriam and I think I forgot to take a picture of it first. Oh well. I know it has a good home now, and that’s what counts.

Beach Glass

Read about it on my blog.

Beauty

It’s everywhere in Murano… everywhere. Just look around.

Beer

Beer is good. I’m not much of a drinker myself, but somehow it seemed that most people were glad to have Mr. Moretti around.

Bellissimo!

Another one of my new favorite words.

Boats

This is really hard to get used to when you first arrive in Venice, and really hard to get un-used to when you leave: there are no cars, no trucks, no vehicles on wheels at all. Everything is a boat – from the buses and taxis to the ambulances and police “cars”. Basically, the ONLY way to get from point A to point B is by boat, unless your name is Luigi.
(See Funeral)

Bread and Butter

“Bread” exists in two forms on Murano: grissini, and bread-rolls that are just about the same consistency as grissini. You’d expect more from the Italians – wouldn’t you? Oh well.

Butter, on the other hand, is completely non-existent. I think they must have used all of it to make Sharon’s creme brulee.

Burano

Okay, I must admit, first couple of times I saw the word ‘Burano’ I was convinced that it was just ‘Murano’ with a typo. Turns out, Burano is a small island north of Murano, where they have been making handmade lace for hundreds of years.

I am not much into the lace - yeah, I appreciate the effort and tradition that goes into it and all, but doilies and such are just not my type of thing (see Hotel Conterie). But the really cool thing about Burano, is that the houses are all painted these bright and wild colors. It’s sort of like Disneyland, but real and with no cotton candy or Mickey Mouses roaming around (way too many kids though).

Not only that, but they seem to have this weird thing going on with the laundry. On a sunny day, you will see it hanging everywhere – and wherever you look, the colors of the laundry will be perfectly coordinated with the color of the house it’s hanging from. I have never seen anything like this before. I wonder if they have some kind of municipal law, where you have to pay a fine if your laundry doesn’t match the building. Seriously, it is WAY TOO FREAKY to just be pure coincidence.
(See Laundry.)

Burano Bagic

1. The way ‘Murano Magic’ sounds if you have a cold.
2. A phrase that never fails to crack me up.