No planning often means unexpected festivals
February 2019
This surprise was the good kind. After a few days in Pisa, we took Venice's central train the Santa Lucia which connects several cities within Italy
We get off the train, and set our first look at the docks in Venice and all we can see are people dressed up in elaborate garb and costumes. We have read practically zilch on this very popular Italian destination. What the hell......was our first reaction.
The streets were crowded, the taxi boats were full. We booked three nights in the city center without knowing a spit about what was happening. Shoulder to shoulder, claustrophobic if you are prone to that kind of thing. What the hell, this is one busy colorful place.
Carnival Time
We get to the hotel front desk and they say "Welcome, glad you made it for Carnival" Hu? They thought we were from the land of the lost because that is what we were.....lost. It was mid-February and that naturally means one of the most famous of all Carnivals in the world is here. All the nuts-o's come to Venice to dress up as crazy and bizarre as they possibly can. No central theme, just bizarre, beautiful, frightening, freaky, and fun.
St Mark's Square at the top in the Campanile Di San Marco. An old watch tower and the highest point in Venice. It was a panoramic view, I had to make sure and get the blu cheese off my camera lens to get the photo.
The oldest pub in Venice. Shit was like really old here, but not as old as Greece. We met lots of strange Carnaval goers. Some had stories, others not so much.
Cuisine In Venice:
White wine, cheese, bread, and fruit is what we lived on while we were there. We were warned that Venice was not the place to expect great food because many of the places didn't even have kitchens. We stayed away from the overpriced meals catered to visitors. There are lots of people that do pre-made and frozen then charge and present them as authentic and fresh.
We certainly got our fix of risotto, pasta, gnocchi, and soups in the other Italian cities we visited.
We plopped our asses down in the canals (yes, they are certainly dirty) and had several picnic lunches from local deli and food carts.
Our number one experience in Venice
This happened when we stood in line. (Yes, broke a PMA F_ _ _ the line tour" rule but sometimes it is unavoidable) Ready to enter the Campanile tower we met a young German couple who have since become pen-pals and we are so looking forward to visiting them in Europe in the future.
Unicorn Butterfly girl (AKA: Constance Bohle) and Alex. Alex is a photographer who actually took the photo! Sadly, Unicorn/butterfly girl did not win the costume contest. She even had to book it's own seat in the airplane from Germany.
Alex is such an awesome photographer.
Alex knew exactly when the light was the best and they dragged us to a bridge for some awesome sunset shots. He was disgusted by my humble and unkept camera lens. I think it did ok? Germans can be so finicky.
Venice was a delight
Happy times, fond memories of this unique city. It certainly has a different feel from much of the other parts of Italy we have explored. We could stay, but it is time to find our next European destination.
Whew, I'm caught up.
Merry Christmas Carmen and Brett.
XO