While it was hard to leave the huge chocolate festival that is a two minute walk from our apartment, we trekked to Venice last weekend for Carnevale. Saturday started early for Julie, Steven, Caroline, & myself with the always fun
julieson does railitalia
although the excitement did eventually die down...
Both my mom & my dad have told me Venice is one of their favorite places they've ever seen. That, combined with the always fascinating pictures featured in text books, travel magazines, & just the classic, magical images of the canals & gondolas, I couldn't believe I was finally going to see it for myself. In fact, looking back, I still can't believe I did! Everything about the city is beautiful - the colors being my absolute favorite part. We later learned that Venice is made up of about 118 islands connected by 412 bridges. We stopped & took pictures on probably 50 of those 412, mesmerized each time by the sun on the canal, a passing gondola, a row of pretty colored houses, or just the fact that we were in Venice.
I wasn't sure what to expect of Carnevale, I just knew we had to buy masks. We grabbed those, along with plastic bottles of wine complete with twist on/off caps, & made our way to Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square). Along the half hour walk, weaving in, up, & around canals, bridges, & alleys, we passed people dressed in some of the most extravagant Carnevale costumes I could've imagined. I can't imagine the time & work it took to make these things. The concept is a little strange to me since it's basically Halloween for adults, but the only costumes can be huge elaborate dresses, headpieces, & masks that cover the whole face. The men looked kind of like pirates, also with a mask. Don't get me wrong, I think the fact that these Venetians still take the time to carry out the traditions of Carnevale is amazing. They all walk very slowly around while everyones stops to take pictures of them or with them. They will also occasionally stop & allow hoards of people to gather around to take more pictures. We of course fell into these traps, as well - some of the costumes were crazy! But I have to be honest - I may have preferred the children dressed like superheroes or dinosaurs that were throwing confetti everywhere instead.
As it got closer to the rest of the girls' arrival, Julie & I decided it would be a good time to find our hostel. If only we knew what we were in for.. Our hostel ended up being about 25 minutes away from Venice (the train station, that is. So about a 30 minute walk + 25 minute bus ride) in a town called Marghera aka pretty much the middle of nowhere. We probably should have looked more into it, considered it was actually called The Nice Hostel. It was definitely a situation that is just funny now. It all worked out, & a lesson was learned...
Still playing a bit of catch-up with the other girls, Julie & I met back up with Steven & Caroline in St. Mark's Square. After one of the most uncomfortable attempts at dinner I've ever been involved in, we eventually met up with Alyssa, Mullen, Smags, Julia, Hannah, Emma, & their friend Shana in the square. We danced the night away to what we assimilated to American wedding music. & of course the Greece soundtrack, because we can't go anywhere without it. There were kick lines, dance-offs, & just plain jumping around. I'll even admit to (but spare the picture of) having my mask on upside-down at one point. So..yeah!
The next morning (after waking up to a Margheran snow-storm), we boarded the bus & headed back into the city. Saturday had been gloomy & very cold, but Sunday treated us with clear skies & sunshine! (It was still bitter cold, but sunshine trumps everything, especially in situations like these.) Despite our breakfast of cookies, we were starving & first on the to-do list was find lunch. Of course this was during the couple hours of the day when most restaurants don't serve meals, but serve drinks & finger foods instead. So, we happily started our day with some prosecco & mini pieces of bread with random things on top like sausage & cheese, fish, patte, etc.
Then, we more happily found a place that would serve us lunch! & I found mac & cheese! (Technically penne + a 4-formaggio sauce, but I'll take it.) We stayed here for a while, warmed up, & planned the rest of our day. We decided our group of 9 should probably split, & Caroline, Alyssa, Mullen, & I went off with two missions: gondola ride & going inside St. Mark's Basilica.
As we were waiting in line for St. Mark's Basilica, Alyssa & Mullen went to interrogate a gondola stand on the sea. We had been asking around all day, & were trying to find the best deal. They came back & told us there was a short ride that was pretty cheap (probably not worth it) or a long ride that seemed really expensive. All of the sudden, the gondola man walked up behind them. He had followed them the 5 minutes back to tell us that he would take us on the long ride, for the short ride price! We followed this man, Alex, back to the docks & boarded our beautiful gondola. We took off onto the Adriatic Sea, under warm blankets, enjoying our pastries that we had (naturally) put in our purses a couple hours earlier, in case of spontaneous decisions such as this one. Alex (who informed us he was "100% Venetian, 0% polyester") told us lots of interesting facts about what we were seeing while we took hundreds of pictures & asked him even more questions. He made sure to point out historical places - Mozart's, Marco Polo's, & Casanova's houses - but seemed to focus more on celebrities for our enjoyment - Elton John's house, where George Clooney & Brad Pitt stay, where The Tourist was filmed (Angelina Jolie "loves her grappa"). It was surreal to finally be on a gondola in Venice, & I couldn't get over the beauty of it all. The water was a perfect, muted tone of turquoise; the buildings were pastel shades of red, pink, orange, & yellow; & the sun was shining beautifully through all corners of the alleys & canal - I wish pictures could do it all more justice!
After our magical ride, we headed back to St. Mark's Basilica & went inside. The inside of the church was absolutely breathtaking. Everything was intricately detailed with mosaics, stained glass, different golds & bronze & silver, it was hard to keep moving through. We went upstairs to the gift store/mosaic museum where I bought a couple Venetian souvenirs - a glass bead bracelet with a hanging cross (Murano glass is a famous product of the Venetian island of Murano) & a leather bracelet with a charm of St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers. We walked around the small museum for a bit & then went outside onto the terrace that overlooked all of St. Mark's Square. It was so cool to see the entire square & all of the action from above, & also have a view of the sea.
The weekend was a blast, & I'm so glad we got to do it all - party at Carnevale & also have a classic tourist day in Venice. Plans are already in the works for a trip come warm weather.
It was so fun coming back to Florence, too, because Gailey & some more of the Granada crew were here! Although we were gone for their weekend in Florence, they decided to stay an extra night before moving on to Verona. So, on Monday, we got to take them out for their last night here. We ended up at Yab, with Gailey & I dancing & running around like we owned the place. It turned into my latest night out of the entire trip so far, but well worth it all, even the next day.
Except for it maybe pushing what was my impending illness over the edge. To explain my lack of updating all week, I was sick & did a whole lot of nothing in high, high hopes of being better by tomorrow. 12 episodes of Homeland, a combined 4 days of sleep, & 8 portions of soup later, I'm almost there! In fact, I felt so much better today that I was finally able to go for a run & refresh myself on things to do & places to see. Because... MY MOM, DAD, & DAVID COME TOMORROW! I can't believe this time has already come, but I could not be more excited. I wish more than anything that Danny could be joining them, but he decided to get old & have a real job. (Bummer for you, Dan. But I know you'll spend the week trying to feel young again..have fun with that. & stay out of my room.) I can't wait to show them everything, take David to a discoteca (haa), & then travel to Mo's old stomping grounds of Rome later in the week. They're in the air as I'm writing this! (Along with boxes of Kraft Spiral Mac & Cheese, Twizzlers, & Raisinettes. Could they be better?) I can't wait for the week ahead!
this amazing photo (along with a lot of others below) was taken by julieson, she rocks
I wasn't sure what to expect of Carnevale, I just knew we had to buy masks. We grabbed those, along with plastic bottles of wine complete with twist on/off caps, & made our way to Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square). Along the half hour walk, weaving in, up, & around canals, bridges, & alleys, we passed people dressed in some of the most extravagant Carnevale costumes I could've imagined. I can't imagine the time & work it took to make these things. The concept is a little strange to me since it's basically Halloween for adults, but the only costumes can be huge elaborate dresses, headpieces, & masks that cover the whole face. The men looked kind of like pirates, also with a mask. Don't get me wrong, I think the fact that these Venetians still take the time to carry out the traditions of Carnevale is amazing. They all walk very slowly around while everyones stops to take pictures of them or with them. They will also occasionally stop & allow hoards of people to gather around to take more pictures. We of course fell into these traps, as well - some of the costumes were crazy! But I have to be honest - I may have preferred the children dressed like superheroes or dinosaurs that were throwing confetti everywhere instead.
some of the scarier options to choose from...
my mask!
they made it hard to smile, i swear!
sort of
tourists.
they always traveled in pairs or groups & were completely in sync with each other
so wild
confetti!
here's where i stop writing captions & just let these speak for themselves
a cool frozen exploded leaking gutter + italian flag that julieson & i stopped to appreciate along the way
on the right is the huge island of Venice. that blue dot on the left is where we stayed. couldn't even justify instagram-ing this one..
Still playing a bit of catch-up with the other girls, Julie & I met back up with Steven & Caroline in St. Mark's Square. After one of the most uncomfortable attempts at dinner I've ever been involved in, we eventually met up with Alyssa, Mullen, Smags, Julia, Hannah, Emma, & their friend Shana in the square. We danced the night away to what we assimilated to American wedding music. & of course the Greece soundtrack, because we can't go anywhere without it. There were kick lines, dance-offs, & just plain jumping around. I'll even admit to (but spare the picture of) having my mask on upside-down at one point. So..yeah!
after what was (clearly) a long day, we had fun.
The next morning (after waking up to a Margheran snow-storm), we boarded the bus & headed back into the city. Saturday had been gloomy & very cold, but Sunday treated us with clear skies & sunshine! (It was still bitter cold, but sunshine trumps everything, especially in situations like these.) Despite our breakfast of cookies, we were starving & first on the to-do list was find lunch. Of course this was during the couple hours of the day when most restaurants don't serve meals, but serve drinks & finger foods instead. So, we happily started our day with some prosecco & mini pieces of bread with random things on top like sausage & cheese, fish, patte, etc.
getting Macine (our favorite) the day before was a great decision
just one of the aforementioned bridge pictures
more talented julieson
Then, we more happily found a place that would serve us lunch! & I found mac & cheese! (Technically penne + a 4-formaggio sauce, but I'll take it.) We stayed here for a while, warmed up, & planned the rest of our day. We decided our group of 9 should probably split, & Caroline, Alyssa, Mullen, & I went off with two missions: gondola ride & going inside St. Mark's Basilica.
As we were waiting in line for St. Mark's Basilica, Alyssa & Mullen went to interrogate a gondola stand on the sea. We had been asking around all day, & were trying to find the best deal. They came back & told us there was a short ride that was pretty cheap (probably not worth it) or a long ride that seemed really expensive. All of the sudden, the gondola man walked up behind them. He had followed them the 5 minutes back to tell us that he would take us on the long ride, for the short ride price! We followed this man, Alex, back to the docks & boarded our beautiful gondola. We took off onto the Adriatic Sea, under warm blankets, enjoying our pastries that we had (naturally) put in our purses a couple hours earlier, in case of spontaneous decisions such as this one. Alex (who informed us he was "100% Venetian, 0% polyester") told us lots of interesting facts about what we were seeing while we took hundreds of pictures & asked him even more questions. He made sure to point out historical places - Mozart's, Marco Polo's, & Casanova's houses - but seemed to focus more on celebrities for our enjoyment - Elton John's house, where George Clooney & Brad Pitt stay, where The Tourist was filmed (Angelina Jolie "loves her grappa"). It was surreal to finally be on a gondola in Venice, & I couldn't get over the beauty of it all. The water was a perfect, muted tone of turquoise; the buildings were pastel shades of red, pink, orange, & yellow; & the sun was shining beautifully through all corners of the alleys & canal - I wish pictures could do it all more justice!
had to all take solos from the exact same spot first, of course
i know this isn't the sea, but it best represented the docks so just pretend
alex! & a man taking pictures of us for his Venice photo albums to come
what mullen described as a "gondola for the mafia"
funny to think people's doors open right into the water like that
Casanova's house straight ahead, aka the first playboy mansion
so beautiful
even after lots of tries at explaining it, alex couldn't quite help us grasp the concept of how venice was built. so we gave up & took lots of pictures instead
right around where alex pretended to tip us over while taking pictures.. funny guy
the bridge of sighs; it is tradition for newlyweds to go under this bridge on their wedding day & kiss for good luck for their future
post-pastries (aka some point during 95% of the ride)
ignore the embarrassing girl in front & check out st. mark's basilica in the back (good choice of focus, julieson)
the one pictures smags snuck (but not really because the flash was on) of the inside
possibly triggered some alarms but it was so cool!
st. mark's square
adriatic sea in the background
The weekend was a blast, & I'm so glad we got to do it all - party at Carnevale & also have a classic tourist day in Venice. Plans are already in the works for a trip come warm weather.
It was so fun coming back to Florence, too, because Gailey & some more of the Granada crew were here! Although we were gone for their weekend in Florence, they decided to stay an extra night before moving on to Verona. So, on Monday, we got to take them out for their last night here. We ended up at Yab, with Gailey & I dancing & running around like we owned the place. It turned into my latest night out of the entire trip so far, but well worth it all, even the next day.
Except for it maybe pushing what was my impending illness over the edge. To explain my lack of updating all week, I was sick & did a whole lot of nothing in high, high hopes of being better by tomorrow. 12 episodes of Homeland, a combined 4 days of sleep, & 8 portions of soup later, I'm almost there! In fact, I felt so much better today that I was finally able to go for a run & refresh myself on things to do & places to see. Because... MY MOM, DAD, & DAVID COME TOMORROW! I can't believe this time has already come, but I could not be more excited. I wish more than anything that Danny could be joining them, but he decided to get old & have a real job. (Bummer for you, Dan. But I know you'll spend the week trying to feel young again..have fun with that. & stay out of my room.) I can't wait to show them everything, take David to a discoteca (haa), & then travel to Mo's old stomping grounds of Rome later in the week. They're in the air as I'm writing this! (Along with boxes of Kraft Spiral Mac & Cheese, Twizzlers, & Raisinettes. Could they be better?) I can't wait for the week ahead!
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