The VIP Tour
If you stay in a hotel on Venice and ask how to get to
Murano to see the glassworks, the hotel concierge will be
very willing to schedule a water taxi ride for you, a personal
tour of one of the factories on Murano, and in a matter of
minutes have you set up on a VIP tour to Murano free of
charge. Your free water taxi will take you to a three or four
story warehouse space with an outside dock or perhaps a
large dock leading into a building. As you walk in you'll find
Italian craftsmen hard at work blowing small pieces ranging
from glasses to miniature sculptures.
Because you are a "special guest" the manger or
owner of the establishment will have taken the time to be
your personal tour guide.  You will be treated like a
celebrity given a grand tour from top-to-bottom including a
rare treat and visit to the artists' studio, where you will meet
the artists who work under The House Maestro's
guidance. You will learn about the artists, whose hands you
are told, create many of the pieces in the gallery. You'll be
invited to speak with each artist and to ask all the questions
you want. You can easily become enchanted with the
experience of a hot shop in action mixed with the status of
royal recognition.
Eventually you will be led to one of the floors were
the showrooms are located. You will be mesmerized as you
walk into a sea of glass for your first time. There could be
thousands of square feet in this gallery filled with heart
stopping works. Your mind will not conceive the possibility
of such beauty and variety in glassworks housed under the
same roof. Your tour guide will assure you each piece
has been crafted by one of the select artists working
exclusively in this hot shop. And you can rest assured
none of these artworks were ever blown in this hot shop.