Carnevale in Venice!
This weekend Andrew and I visited Venice. We knew we wanted to go somewhere good for our last weekend together, before he goes back to the states on Saturday. (So sad!)
Because we are notoriously last-minute planners, we bought our tickets for the 8:40 pm train about an hour before it departed from the Zürich HB, sans-hotel reservation. We quickly found ourselves on an overnight-train to Villach, Austria, during which we realized we were about to attempt to spontaneously visit Venice during Carnevale — the city's biggest and wildest celebration. Here we are on the train, looking rather relaxed... I think this was right after I booked a hotel (after calling about 20 different places).
The next morning, we arrived in Villach around 6:00 am. Andrew apparently had great sleep, while the train's rocking motion and the loud, unfamiliar sounds weren't as soothing to me. Despite being a bit tired, here's a shot from Villach:
It was a charming town and during our 4 hour "lay-over" we found internet connection at a McDonald's, visited an early-morning farmer's market where I bought a huge block of Provolone cheese, and fed a few pigeons, just for a little childish entertainment. :)
At 11:00 am we boarded a double-decker, InterCity bus to Venice. We thought we were pretty lucky to get seats in the top.
We arrived in beautiful Venezia around 2:30 pm, and took the ACTV Line 1 boat to San Marco. Here are a couple shots from the ferry:
San Marco was definitely the most packed area of Venice. Our hotel, Violino D'Oro, was just a block or so away from Saint Mark's Square, a.k.a Piazza San Marco.
Saint Mark's Square is where all the craziness goes down. People gear up in the most elaborate, outrageous costumes and parade around for all to see.
Others take a more modest approach and simply wear a small mask or a silly hat... such as this purple-feather rendition:
We eventually caved and bought two of our own. Andrew broke his mask's strap trying to get the thing tight enough around his head. Accidental? I'm still guessing.
In any case, I think we look like a couple of bad-asses. (Please pardon le French.)
Yes, this shot was taken in our hotel, but I promise, I actually wore mine in public for a little while. I chose an all-black style, trying to channel Kirsten Dunst's look in Marie Antoinette.
We had the the most wonderful time during our long weekend walking the streets, visiting the Basillica, Doge's Palace, window-shopping, and eating at tucked-away little Italian restaurants.
We were lucky to have this trip, let alone book a hotel in Venice during Carnevale on such short notice. Below, a photo from our hotel room balcony:
And next, my favorite photo from our entire trip so far:
Andrew took this on the crossing shown two pictures above. It's my new desktop background.
We left Venice late Sunday, but I will always cherish the memories from this trip. And I will always remember Venezia fondly, a little something like this:
