The first time I went to Italy back in 2008, I visited the tiny island of Burano. My eyeballs BURST as I saw all the colours of the residents’ homes.

This was one of my most memorable shots from that trip; we had just gotten off the vaporetto from San Marco (I was traveling with my best girl friend at the time after shooting a destination wedding in Germany at a castle!) and this little old man was sitting on his chair watching us all get off the boat.

***The sweet old man taking in life passing by on the island of Burano***

I had learned many years before how to “capture life without disrupting it’ kind of shots – the shot above is an example. As more people saw what I saw, he got up and took his chair in before they could snap a shot.

I loved this little island so much. It was a photographers dream to shoot! It takes almost an hour via vaporetto to get there, but the ride there is soothing over the lagoon waves.

The name “Burano” comes from “Porta Boreana”, the northern door of the city.

A little history for you now: since the time of Venetian Republic, Burano had only 8000 poor inhabitants (now about 3000) predominantly fishermen and farmers. Thanks to the craft of lace workers, the island grew economically, exporting its fantastic laces all over the world.

I visited it again with my daughter last year – over 10 years later! And again – it did not disappoint!

Burano is about 11km from Venice and you must take vaporetto or you can take your own private rented boat there. It takes about 45-55 minutes via vaporetto.

We headed back on the vaporetto and enjoyed the trip over those same lagoon waves.

Once we got there we took in a few side streets, off the beaten track.

It didn’t take too long walking in the heat and smelling the cafes and food they were serving that we both agreed we needed sustenance! And caprese will do!