Murano, Venice

Murano-- a tightly clustered island of tourist shops, warehouses and glass workshops/furnaces-- is a daytrip not to be missed in Italy. When we travelled, a boat took us "for free" from the hotel, and deposited us at one of the expensive showrooms/glass manufacturers. After a quick and lackluster tour of the furnace, they pressed us to buy expensive wares. We "thought about it" while walking the town. That was the best part. We found a small furnace with a single artisan and his hilarious and diligent assistant. TFZ? I believe? My 10-year-old brother was entraced at how the master twisted molten glass into fish, horses and birds. We watched for hours. Eventually the master let my brother take his hand at it, and he twisted the glass himself, and eventually was allowed to blow it, briefly, into a small balloon. We returned the next day. The artisans were skilled with the glass, but gentle and sensitive with my small brother. At the end of the trip, he could talk of nothing else.