Carnivale in Venice

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Upon arriving in Venice, I immediately felt as though I had stepped into a totally different world. This city is unlike any other that I've seen or could possibly have imagined. It is incredibly beautiful here. The canals and bridges everywhere and the labrynth-like streets create an ambience that is truly surreal. It is very alluring.

We arrived in time to celebrate the last 2 days of Carnivale. This 10 day festival in the lead-up to lent gives the Italians the chance to let their hair down one last time before Easter and man do the Italians know how to party!!! The city is full of masked characters wearing elaborate costumes that are absolutely stunning. There are street performers, puppeteers, musicians, and of course, crowds of people everywhere also donning masks to get into the spirit of things. It is truly a spectacle to behold and the atmosphere is electric!

We have been treated to live music each night in Piazza San Marco, the highlight of which was the funkiest 15-piece brass/percussion band I've ever seen that had the crowd dancing up a storm. In other parts of the city, we've also seen more laid back performances by female singers of the bluesy persuasion. It has been awesome to be out sipping wine in piazzas and seeing or listening to the amazing array of entertainment on offer. We've been loving it. To top things off, the last night of Carnivale climaxed in a massive fireworks display, set to some classic tracks (Good old Roxanne!!!) It has all been very awesome.

We've spent our time here simply soaking up the Carnivale action. Beyond the must-see tourist attractions of St Mark's Basillica and the Gallery D'Academica (home to yet more amazing art), we've done pretty limited sight-seeing. We did spend a few hours visiting Murano-home of Venetian glass-and made a quick trip to the other nearby island of Lido-a holiday coastal strip. Mostly though we've been riding around the canals of Venice on the Vaporetti and just taking it all in. While we enjoyed the history of Rome and the art of Florence, Venice has been by far our favourite of the Italian cities we've visited so far. We're hoping to make Carnivale an annual trip on our holiday calendar.

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