hi HAD,

as a footnote to "special Venitian experiences", I'd add the following:

getting up early to see the Rialto food market [other side of the bridge from the san marco side and follow your nose]

walking along the Zattere in the sunshine,

seeing the mosaics in the cathedral on Torcello then having lunch in front of a roaring log fire at a local trattoria [try the Ristorante Attilla]

standing in the main salon of the Doge's palace which is roughly the size of a football pitch,

looking up at the tiepolos on the ceiling of the scuola di san rocco and wandering how he managed to turn out so many paintings

jumping on a vaporetto and finding out where it'll take you, then wandering back.

IS THAT ENOUGH?

regards, ann

PS my trip report for 7 days in Venice shoudl be able to be found is you search this forum for "annhig Venice"

I would skip going over to the island of Morano you can buy glass in Venice at a much better price.
But if you like Lace and want to see a colorful town take the ferry to Brano it's beautiful and much smaller than Venice.
Have a great trip.

The name of the lace-making island referred to above is Burano. Murano is the glass-manufacturing island.

Just be aware that the lace museum on Burano is closed until around April 2009.

I vote for Burano as well - even without the lace, it is just a really quaint place and a lovely spot to visit.