Carnevale di Venezia!

We made it to our final leg of the trip, and as mentally and physically tired as we were, we did not want it to end!  For those of you who were unaware, our plan was to couchsurf for the 4 nights we were in Venice.  However, 2 nights before we left for Italy, our host (whom we had never met) wrote to us and informed us he would not be in Venice while we were there anymore.  He offered to have his roommate host us still, but we were a little skeptical, so the search was on for a new hostel.  Fortunately enough, things with his roommate proved to be promising, so we decided to couchsurf for the first 2 nights, and then stay at a hotel for the last 2, just to make it easier on everyone.  So, we pulled into Venice via train at 10:30 pm and met our host Javier (from Spain!) at a bridge by the station.  First impression was great, he was very friendly, very helpful, and definitely harmless...all very relieving as we are about to put our lives in his hands essentially!  He led us to our "couch", which was 2 little mattresses on the floor of the attic, but it was great because we had our own room all to ourselves!  The only downside was that we had no blankets except for a kid-size sleeping bag, so we wore all the clothes we brought, covered up with the sleeping bag and our winter coats, and snuggled up to each other just to keep warm, it was freezing!

Our little crawl space

Day 1.
The last roommate was leaving the house at 10am, which meant we also had to be up and out by then.  It was quite chilly in Venice, more like freezing, so we bundled up for a long day ahead.  We had no map to lead us anywhere, but we had also heard that maps were useless in Venice, as you would inevitably get lost in the maze of the tiny streets and canals.  Luckily there are signs posted leading you to all the major landmarks, namely San Marco Square and Rialto Bridge.  We made our way to San Marco Square, and picked up a map on our way just to be safe.  Plus, we realized we had no idea where the house was where we were staying, so we estimated where it may be on the map, drew a little circle, and hoped that we would be able to find it later that night...sidenote: we did!  After seeing the important sights such as Rialto Bridge, San Marco Square, Doge's Palace, etc, we decided to put the map away and just wander.  We crossed many many bridges (ALL parts of my body were sore the next day from all the stairs), hit many dead ends, and squeezed through many a narrow alleyway.  We decided to make our way towards a restaurant that we read about that was supposed to be a big meal for cheap.  It was on the complete opposite side of the island, but the walk was quite enjoyable, and it definitely gave us time to work up an appetite.  Unfortunately, the food was just sub-par...Venice was definitely the worst of the 3 cities food-wise.  It wasn't until after lunch that we realized we weren't sure when we would be able to go to sleep that night.  Javier informed us he was going to a Carnevale party that night and would probably go there straight from work.  Knowing how parties go in Europe, I assumed that meant he would be out until at least 4am, which is when panic struck in.  We had no way of getting into the house, nowhere to hang out that late, and we would die of hypothermia if we waited outside.  We made a mad dash to McDonald's to take advantage of their free wifi, and frantically searched for available hostels that night.  After finding the ONLY available hostel on the entire island, we walked there planning on booking a room, but alas, it had been booked in the meantime.  Shit.  Now we were scared.  However, with perfect timing, Javier called us right then to let us know that he could get us into this Carnevale party if we wanted to go, and that he would be home at 8:30 if we wanted to come home and change.  Thanks to my mad map skills, we made it back to his house in just 20 minutes, with no wrong turns, and were able to change, freshen up, and pull out our masks for this much-anticipated masked ball.  We were actually going to a masked ball, who would have thought?!  However, upon arriving to the party, we realized that most people missed the memo, and saw NO costumes in sight...into the coat check our masks went!  Later in the night, people began showing up in full costume, but it was too late to pull ours out.  The party was great, and in full Carnevale theme, they had a live band with a fiddler, 2 magicians, and plenty of other entertainment to go around.  We hung out with Javier's Italian and Spanish friends, and a great night was had by all!  We called it a night around 2 am and power walked/ran home to escape the frigid temperatures!

Masks filled the windows of every storefront.

Gondolas everywhere you looked.

San Marco Church

Awesome laundry picture.

Posing on the Rialto Bridge.

Endless canals and bridges.

With our new Spanish friends at the Carnevale Party!

Day 2.
Tired.  Stayed up too late.  But we had to get up early to pack up and head to our new hotel!  We walked out the front door and BOOM. tourists. everywhere.  It was Saturday, and the official start to Carnevale, and the city was overwhelmed, as were we.  It took us twice as long as it should have to get to our hotel because the alleyways were so jammed with people.  We decided it was a good day to get off that island.  We hopped on a boat to take a day trip to 2 islands nearby that we had heard much about.  First stop was Murano, which is known for the amazing blown glass everywhere you look.  The streets are lined with various stores selling all types of blown glass sculptures, jewelry, and trinkets.  Perfect souvenirs!  We spent a lot of time shopping before we decided it was time for lunch.  In an effort to save money, we stopped in the grocery store and picked up some fruit, cheese, bread, salami, and water and made ourselves a picnic to enjoy on the edge of the canal.  The sun was shining brightly and we spent a good 2 hours just sitting there and being...not something that happens often enough on a whirlwind vacation like this!  We made our way back to the boat and then ventured to the next island, Burano, which is known for it's brightly multi-colored houses, and oddly enough, another leaning tower (nearly rival to Pisa).  This island was cute and quaint, and almost required sunglasses it was so bright.  It was an odd sight to see as I am so used to the muted dullness of Paris.  We made a quick loop around the island before heading back to the boat soon after.  When we arrived back in Venice, we decided to take advantage of the little kitchen in our room by making dinner in that night.  We had a caprese salad to start, followed by pesto pasta with bread and wine...delicious!  After dinner, we donned our masks and ventured into the streets to experience some of the craziness that Carnevale holds.  San Marco Square and all surrounding streets were full of masked and costumed party-goers, and it was so fun to see everyone in the spirit.  It was also fun to be a part of it all with our masks on!  Unfortunately, we were a bit too late for the excitement in the streets, because everyone had gone in to the parties and balls by the time we made it out.  However, we were perfectly content with retreating back to our humble abode and just hanging out for the night.

On the boat to Murano.

Murano.

Watching a glass blowing demonstration in Murano.

Relaxing canal-side while enjoying the sun and our picnic.

Beautiful church in Murano.

Colorful buildings in Burano.

More colors!

The leaning bell tower.

Venice by night.

Kelsey and I masked and ready.

Party in San Marco Square.

Day 3.
Sunday rolled around and we finally allowed ourselves to fully sleep in for our last day of vacation.  Because Venice was still a mess of tourists, we decided to make our way to the Grand Canal and hope on a water bus for a tour of the city by boat.  It took us from one end of the canal to the other and we thoroughly enjoyed that time of sightseeing and relaxing.  We got off in a very lively area and found ourselves walking down the widest, busiest street in Venice.  It was lined with mask stores, bakeries, and restaurants, as well as costumed people, street performers, and musicians, and the ground was COVERED in confetti of all shapes and sizes.  It truly was a party everywhere you looked.  We spent plenty of time gawking at, posing with, and laughing at the costumed crazies everywhere.  Unfortunately, it began to rain on us, and because neither of us were armed with a hood or umbrella, we made our way back to our hotel for an early night.  We spent the evening lounging and reading and listening to music.  We ate our leftover pasta from the night before for dinner.  And at 10pm decided to emerge once more for our last taste of gelato before we boarded our flight back to Paris early the next day.

Beautiful church we passed on our boat tour.

Rialto Bridge

Mimes.

Cauldrons.

Typical Venetian Renaissance costumes.

Our wonderful hotel room!

Lady Gaga?

Day 4.
Up bright and early, we made our way to a boat that took us essentially from the doorstep of our hotel to the doorstep of the airport, how convenient!  We boarded the plane, where I was lucky enough to be sitting next to my future husband (I wish!), and in no time at all we were back in Paris.  I had a few hours of rest before it was time to pick up the kids and begin the daily routine all over again.  We had an amazing 10 days exploring the greatness of Italy and I truly can't wait to go back again soon!  Kelsey enjoyed another couple days in Paris with me before heading back to California.  Then the day after she left, my roommate from last year, Shannon, and her boyfriend Erik, arrived to visit!  They are staying in the hotel behind my house, so I have some time alone to just chill out, but it's been fun playing tour guide to them now!  Yesterday they hopped on the Eurostar to visit London for a few days, and just after they left, one of my best friends from home, Ashley Whipple, and our friend Rachelle arrived in Paris!  They are staying with me, so it's like a sleepover every night, however, my room looks like a tornado hit it!  I have a busy busy month ahead of me, but it's all very exciting!  Next blog will be about all the friend visits, so stay tuned! :)