Carnivale in Venice! Day One

Hey everyone. I got back from my spring break late Friday night, and it was an absolute blast! Be prepared for a ton of pictures and stories. It might take me a little while to get them all up on this blog.

I'll start with last Friday. Jackie, Amanda, Casey, and I took a cab from DCU to the Dublin airport. The flight from Dublin to Venice only lasted a few hours and I managed to sleep, so it was fine (a big thank you to Penny and my mom for that). Flying over the alps again was fantastic, and this time we were a little lower over them because of the location of the airport.

We landed in Treviso (Jackie shouted "Where the Hell are we?" much to the amusement of the Italians behind us). It's a small town slightly outside of Venice, so we took a bus for a half hour to get to the edge of Venice. We skipped the water taxi and vaporetto and instead lugged our bags through the maze of bridges and alleyways to get to our hotel, Hotel Scandinavia. While it was hard to find at first it was actually in a great location between San Marco and the Rialto bridge. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was clean, comfortable, and inexpensive.

Waiting at the airport: Jackie, Me, and Amanda (left to right)

I couldn't believe I had the opportunity to go back to Venice so soon, and this time for Carnivale! Our hotel room had big shutter windows that opened directly onto a square, where there were celebrations at all hours. It was amazing!

Above: views from our hotel window

After settling in to our hotel we walked along the water by San Marco. I got my first gelato of the trip - cherry and chocolate. We then got our first good look at the most elaborate of the Carnivale costumes. The colors are so vibrant, and the designs incredibly varied! While I loved celebrating with the peons, I would have loved to dress up like that. Instead I wore the cheapest mask I could find, and probably had just as good a time. My favorite costumes were probably the traditionally Venetian ones with the full white masks, although some of the other period dresses were amazing as well.


In San Marco there were less pigeons than usual (although still plenty). The ground was covered in confetti, which children throw at you throughout the day. From the corner of the square a giant white balloon floated into the sky. Attached to it was an acrobat, who twisted, turned and flipped in time to the music. The balloon would float up and down over the crowds. We realized it was not being controlled by a machine, but by men running back and forth pulling wires and cords. It was one of the most bizarre and simultaneously beautiful performances I have ever seen.


We then met up with my friends from BU who are studying in nearby Padova - Maya and Christine. I'm so happy I got to see them! We split off for dinner (which was ok but not the best by Italian standards), and we met back up at San Marco later that night.

There was a drag show going on in the square that we watched for a bit. Wearing our masks, we hung out in the square before moving to a tiny bar filled with locals. Luca, a cousin of Maya and Christine's Italian host mom, brought us there. He's lived in Venice all his life and acted as our guide for the weekend. The bar opened on to a canal, and was in such a strange out-of-the-way location I could never hope to find it again in a lifetime. We had a bit of spritz, which is apparently very popular in Italy. Typical Italian protocol is to eat or drink outside when it's remotely crowded in the bar (even though it was freezing!). Everyone keeps their jackets on throughout the night, so there's no need to dress up.

Next we made our way to another plaza where people were dancing and partying. Vendors sell snacks and hot wine, and everyone dresses in some kind of costume. We were exhausted, though, so Amanda, Jackie, Casey, and I called it an early night.