N was dressed and out the door early; the three of us just barely got the garbage downstairs before it was picked up. The kids showed little inclination to head out; I convinced them to go shopping, since I had no pesto for lunch. We picked up some more pinot nero and some water and milk at the Su.Ve, but they didn't have real pesto (what they had had safflower oil as its first ingredient, not basil followed by olive oil) nor did they have spremuta. So we altered the lunch plan, buying a couple of rolls, finishing off the cold cuts and having cheese.
After lunch we hurried down to S. Zaccaria and caught the 1:25 boat out to San Servolo. N was at the dock to meet us; we all went in and got the conference lunch. This is not worth describing, but the kids ate a second meal quite well. We toured the kids around the building and the garden (which did not take long) and then found a relatively cool place to wait inside until the boat arrived at 3:15 to take us out for our excursion.
The excursion went to Murano, Burano, and Torcello, but somehow managed to miss all the interesting art and architecture. On Murano, we stopped at a private dock belonging to a glass factory; they gave us a brief demonstration, making a flower vase and a little horse, before leading us into the showrooms, with endless over-the-top samples. We found the way out with difficulty, but we only had half an hour to ourselves, not enough time to visit the glass museum or the church of San Donato. We did make it up to S. Pietro Martire to see a Bellini altarpiece.
Next to Burano, where the lace museum was closed, and we had seventy-five minutes to walk around the tiny island with its self-consciously painted houses and scaled-down canal. We found a gelato place and ate our selections on a shaded bench.
Then to Torcello, too late to see the cathedral mosaics or the little adjacent church with the Greek-cross floor plan. Instead, we milled about the small square in front of the cathedral, and then went into Locanda Cipriani for our conference dinner.
This turned out to be better than usual, as conference dinners go: Prosecco-based drinks in the garden, then to the tables for a seafood salad, mushroom risotto, orate cooked in butter, and crepes filled with pastry cream. It was quite a long and convivial dinner, and the kids held up well. I did not manage as well; I drank too much wine, and the rich food and the boat ride back undid me. I was ill on the boat, just barely made it off at S. Zaccaria, and had to lie prostrate on the edge of the dock for a few minutes. It was nearly one in the morning, and neither kid felt like walking, but A came through superbly; she took my hand and led me woozy and weak through the dark streets, all the way home.