Carnevale!

Ok so this past weekend was spent in Venice celebrating Carnevale!! Carne-vale, literally translated to "good bye meat" is the celebration before lent similar to Mardi Gras but a hell of a lot classier. Katie and I took a 6am flight Thursday morning (BAD BAD IDEA, since we had to leave at 4am and were out until 1 celebrating our friends birthday, thus I did not sleep a wink until we got to the airport). We got into Venice after a 2 hour plane ride and one hour bus ride (all a blur), then had to find our way to our hostel which was NOT easy going off of barely any sleep and in a city with no street signs, or streets for that matter. My good sense of direction that I have been blessed with (thanks Dad) led us straight to the hostel where we proceeded to pass out until 4pm. The entire weekend the weather was foggy and cold, but that added to the ambiance. There is something very mysterious about wandering around in a city with canals as streets and people dressed in costumes and masks in a cloud.

So finally Fly and I get up and wander aimlessly around the city, looking at masks making sure we get the perfect one, which I definitely did. My mask is perfect! Its gold and blue, and Fly's is green and silver. I LOVE my mask! So anyway, we go to this bar in a piazza that is setting up a stage for a band that night, and get a glass of wine. After we sit there talking for a little bit, we decide to walk outside and wander around until Jac and Brison call us to let us know they are in. We walk right outside of the bar and hear "What the Crap!", a catcall if you will from Brison who we randomly ran into. Both girls had forgotten their pin number, necessary to turn the phone back on, and could not find the hostel. It was a miracle they found us! Venice is a magical city.

That night, dressed in our masks, we wandered the city from piazza to piazza. There was music in the streets and people dressed up as everything under the sun. My favorite was a man dressed in a lollipop. I was very surprised at how early everything shut down though. We got to Piazza San Marco, the traditional center of Carnevale, at 11 to find people clearing out. This happened both nights too. Regardless, it was still amazing just walking around people watching. Both Thursday and Friday we managed to stumble upon hippie Italy. Both nights while lost, we found reggae shows where dreads were mandatory. On Thursday night, the show we found played classic American rock and we were loving it!


During the day on Friday, we wandered aimlessly which is all you can do in Venice. Obviously we went to Piazza San Marco, where the famous pigeons are, and saw the costumes and masks. I managed to find 2 pairs of really cute Italian boots, BOTH on sale, so all in all it was a successful trip for me! We decided to hop on a gondola, the second one I've been on, which was of course magical and everything you think it would be. Theres not much more I could ask for than riding a gondola with 3 of my best friends in Venice, Italy. Friday night, we treated ourselves to a nice meal along the Grand Canal at night which was perfect. Obviously we had good wine, great food, and good conversation.

Saturday during the day it was raining and cold, and ridiculously crowded. The streets are so small, and people walking with umbrellas, it was almost miserable. We left that afternoon and Fly and I were back in our wonderful apartment by 10pm. As incredible as traveling is, there is no place like home.

Oh another thing...Older Italian men LOVE me! It must be the blonde hair, but no matter what I am always picked out of the crowd I am walking with and escorted by the men working at restaurants along the street or given phone numbers or something. I know I'm beautiful, but come on! All these men are 35+.

I'm spending the next two weekends in Rome which will be nice, but we are hoping to do something called an Agritruismo in Tuscany where we spend the weekend at a B&B, have meals cooked for us, wine tasting and ride horses.

Its OK that you are all jealous of me. But I think that people should start talking about visiting? (Cough Cough Mom, Dad, Aunt Carla...)

Baci Baci