The Wait is Over…Carnivale 2008-Venice, Italy

Not even a week after arriving back in Switzerland, just enough time to shake off any jet lag, Megan and I set out for Venice and the one thing I vowed to see when I moved here…CARNIVALE! We’d missed our opportunity to see it in 2007 because we waited too late to buy the airline tickets. Tickets to Venice for this event can become quite costly, but we were able to secure them early for this year. Even more amazing, we were able to fly there from Zurich for a reasonable cost, which is rare for us as extreme budget travelers. We usually need to fly from another airport because of the cost of tickets flying in and out of Zurich!

In the week before we left we were watching the weather very closely. I’m sad to say it rained the entire time we were there…and it was really cold! Not complete downpour weather; rather, the light/moderate rain that is annoying and over time soaks you entirely. We were wet non-stop for 3 days; it took another 2 after I got home for my shoes to dry out! But, that was the ONLY bad thing during our time in Venice.

Venice is such a lovely city which conjures up thoughts of Renaissance balls and galas in my mind. I have now been twice to this city and, as of yet, it never ceases to capture my heart and imagination. It is safe to say that it is still my favorite city in Europe, even after all my travels of the past 18 months, and I think I’d rather be in Venice than anywhere else in the world!

But, back to the issue at hand…CARNIVALE!!! It was spectacular. People everywhere…though not as many dressed in costume as I’d imagined. When we first arrived we went immediately to our hostel to drop off our things. We chose a really good place to stay, I think. It was quite close to the train station and yet located such that getting to and from the main area, St. Mark’s Square, wasn’t hard either. After dropping our things off and getting our bearings we decided immediately to get our faces painted. It seems each year that college students are allowed to paint faces on the street to earn extra money during Carnivale. I was so pleased with my facial art and Megan’s as well. We walked around the city all day and people pointed and stared (though maybe they just thought we were funny looking…) but a few even asked us where we got our faces painted.

We walked A LOT during the few days we spent in Venice. Public transportation, the water buses, is quite expensive so it’s nice not to use them whenever possible! We were able to explore the alleyways of Venice and it’s surrounding islands and experience the city in a whole new way.

As far as Carnivale festivities, we saw a fashion show involving people in traditional costume. We also were able to see a concert of sorts, though it looked like to us a version of Italian Idol! There were people dressed up in various parts of the city, but wherever they were there was also a huge crowd of people taking photos of them so I mostly avoided those people traps.

Between the times I booked my flight and Megan booked her’s (only a few minutes apart), the price went up on return flight to Zurich. Because of this, Megan left to return to Zurich in the morning and I came back in the evening. So I had 8 hours more or less to spend on my own in Venice. Luckily we’d meet a really nice American girl in our hostel and I spent most of my time with her…walking around the city and I even got to go into the famed St. Mark’s Basilica, which I’d missed seeing on my previous visit to the city. The art and architecture in that basilica are just as beautiful as I’d imagined they would be. But, if you want to visit yourself make sure to get there early, the line grows really quickly!

Overall Carnivale was more subdued than I thought it would be…add in the weather and it wasn’t the spectacular trip I imagined. Though, we did see some new things (we even saw a glass blowing demonstration!) and we did lots of shopping (though it was more like window browsing!) and we spent hours walking and chatting…I would definitely want to go back again to see if the event is more lively in better weather and just enjoy this city again.

I’ve added some pics to complete this post. Hope you enjoy them!

Ciao for now…

LuLu