Torcello, in the Venetian Lagoon, May 2007

We've been to Venice many times, and to Burano and Murano and San Erasmo. But one Lagoon island that always has held an allure for me is Torcello. Settled between the 5th and 6th Centuries, the first settlment in the Lagoon, it is now sparsely populated with only a few places to eat and two hotels. I decided that Sandra and Angel and I should stay two nights at the Locanda Cipriani http://www.locandacipriani.com/ , kind of one of my dreams coming true.The photo above is Torcello's Byzantine Basilica and the church of Santa Fosca through the garden of the Locanda.


This is Sandra making faces at me, something she usually does when I'm photographing her.

Angel took this photo of me being happy.

Its a zig-zag trip from Verona. Cab to the train, train to Venice, the vaporetto down the Grand Canale to the San Zaccaria stop, another one out to Burano, and and finally to Torcello, then a walk along an old canal to the Locanda. We arrived on a Tuesday, and were the only guests. With only 7 rooms, I felt cozy rather than alone. The staff made us feel very special. Dinners and breakfasts were wonderful. It rained once.

We spent an afternoon on Burano, eating lunch under an awning while the rain fell.

In the early morning hours and from 5 PM, before and after the daytrippers, Torcello was very quiet, peaceful and serene. The photo above was taken just before dawn looking out from our room over the Locanda's gardens to the Basilica and the church.