Venice!

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On Friday night, almost all of the international students from the school boarded a bus headed for Venice. We left at midnight and arrived in Venice shortly after 8am. The trip was planned by the International office here at the school to let us experience the Carnival of Venice.

The Carnival in Venice is said to have originated from a victory of the "Serenissima Repubblica" (that is Venice: in those times it was a powerful state), in the war against Ulrico, Patriarch of Aquileia, in the year 1162. To celebrate this victory, dances started to take place every year in St. Mark's Square, the biggest square of Venice. Magicians and others joined the fun. With time, the feast was also celebrated in private places.

The carnaival become a tradition and as some time went on, it gave birth to a special form of street theater which is now widely recognized because of the masks and costumes that its characters wear. It was made for improvisation on stage and in the street and has become a huge tradition today.

We arrived in Venice by boat and were overwhelmed by the crowds and all of the opportunities for pictures.

We walked into St. Marks Square and could not believe how amazing it was. Surrounded by thousands of people, thousands of birds, and buildings hundreds of years old, it was simply incredible.

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