Carnevale in Venice and Viareggio!

Ciao everyone!!! I am so excited to know that people are actually reading this thing! This week has marked what seems to be the beginning of the nicer weather here in Florence with temperatures in the 50’s! It is amazing how much the weather can change my mood. It is so much easier to get out of the apartment when you don’t have to wear leggings under your jeans, 4 different shirts, a sweatshirt, and a coat, which is what I have been doing for the past couple weeks. Anyways, I am really looking forward to the warmer weather and I got a really nice taste of that in Venice this weekend!

We left for Venice at 9am on Saturday to go to Carnevale. I don’t really think that my roommates and I got the point because as soon as we arrived in Venice, everyone had an open bottle of wine, and we were walking around with our maps. Typical. Anyways, we decided to avoid the party scene for most of the day because none of us had really seen Venice. We went to two of the smaller more well known islands for a couple hours before heading into San Marco which is where the party really is. First we went to Murano which is famous for the glass they make. Everyone else got to see a glass blowing demonstration but somehow we got lost and missed that one, but that was fine because we shopped around a little. 

Glass Beads

Glass Bird

The glass here really is beautiful and famous, so it was nice to see where it is made. Next, we went to the island of Burano. I’m really not sure why the people of venice named the islands basically the same thing, but I’m pretty sure it was just to torture me. All day I was so confused and I just wanted to name them something else. ANYWAY. I LOVE Burano!!! It was one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places I have ever been.

The weather was really nice during the day so we walked around Burano for a while, stopped got some lunch and obviously some gelato as well. Eventually we realized it was probably time for us to head back into San Marco and really experience Carnevale. The really cool part of Venice is that obviously the only real mode of transportation is by boat. We got an all day pass for the water bus, which is basically the RIPTA but on the water, and a boat. Strangest thing ever. On the water bus back to San Marco a grandmother and her granddaughter asked me for directions. As flattered as I was that they thought I knew where I was going,which I did not,  I had no idea how to communicate with them. I started speaking my typical Spanish/Italian/American Mash-up Language only to realize that they were from Israel and spoke perfect English which really made me look stupid. This grandma was the sweetest thing ever. When she found out that I was American she said, “Why are you so far from home? You’re mother must miss you terribly. Do you miss her doing your laundry?” This was kind of an odd moment of clarity. I did not know how to answer her, I guess it really does seem insane for a 20 year old to be thousands of miles away from home for 4 months without her parents. The only way to answer was to say that yes, she missed me, but I miss her way more, and not because sometimes (aka all the time) she does my laundry. This experience of studying abroad is literally crazy. Cannot get over how lucky I am. So I guess thanks to the Israeli Grandma who gave me something to think about? So strange. 

ANWAYS as soon as we got to San Marco, I realized I had voluntarily gotten myself into another Ikea-type of situation. Mass crowds and no sense of directions yet this time everyone else had been drinking since like 11am. Oh well, I guess this is all part of the experience, I am just not one for the crowds. We finally made out way into the center and San Marco was really cool.

We walked around there with our masks on for a little bit then decided to get some dinner and a bottle of wine. It was really nice and relaxing compared to the main square. Eventually it became time to get back on the bus for the 3 hour bus ride home. Now this part gets interesting. We went to Venice with an organized tour group for students so there were like 300 students all getting onto buses at 10:30 at night. Eventually we got onto the bus and most people passed out and watched the movie that they played. With 30 minutes left in the drive, I heard the girl behind me say how she had been throwing up for the past 3 hours in the bathroom on the bus because she and a couple of other friends (also on the bus) had the stomach FLU. Literalllly the worst thing I could have possibly heard. I immediately hid my face into my scarf and did not breathe for the rest of the ride. As the typical mother, I ran home and gave all my roommates multi-vitamins and showered for almost 45 minutes to ensure that I would not be barfing for the next 5 days. Thankfully, I am fine, but it was a close call for sure. 

We woke up on Sunday and went to Viareggio with Fairfield for a day trip to their carnevale parade. This parade is nothing like the Macy’s Day Parade. Crazy people were everywhere. It did not seem like the wholesome family environment that I would have taken my little cousins too, but there were children everywhere! The floats were huge and all of them seemed to have an intense meaning that none of us could understand. I’m also pretty sure a couple of them were making fun of America. Not cool.

This one also growled...which was scary.

Overall, I definitely don’t think that I would go back to Viareggio, it is a pretty small town but it is on the water, which was kind of cool and I got some pretty good desserts there! I really loved Venice and I wish that I would have been able to explore Venice itself a little bit more, but I would always suggest to go to the islands. This weekend my roommates and I are going to Switzerland, we leave tomorrow! We are staying in Interlaken and are planning on doing a couple of fun outdoor activities, so I am really excited. I am still having a very hard time believing that I am actually living in Italy. I feel like I have been planning to do this for so long and the time is going by so fast. Myy whole family (yes, 13 of them) will be here in a little over a month! I can’t wait! Talk to you all soon! Love you all!