Carnevale

Happy Spring! I'm hoping Mother Nature takes a look at her calendar today and starts warming things up around here.

From where I left off: After two fast-paced days in Rome, we left Adi behind for one last day of exploring by himself before he had to head back to France and took off for Venice. We stayed on the mainland instead of the islands of Venice, and although the area our hotel was in was a bit creepy (Bates Hotel anyone?) the hotel itself was actually not bad at all, and the breakfast was the best we had the whole trip. And, as it turns out, my fellow English assistant not only stayed in the same hotel as me on the same night, but in the room right next door! We didn't see each other and found this out after we got back, but how crazy is that?

Anyhow, dropped off our stuff, headed to Venice proper. Holy cow, what a party. Not the crazy, frat-partyesque style of Mardi Gras, but right when I stepped off the bus I could sense a certain electricity in the air that told me that this was going to be a good time. People in costumes and masks everywhere, laughing and enjoying themselves. We headed toward the water and were immediately caught up in the atmosphere of it-crossing the first bridge I remember thinking simply "Wow." We didn't go far before we decided to head into a mask shop and check out the goods, and they were amazing. Just out of this world. I regret not taking pictures, but take my word that they were gorgeous, as the price tags confirmed. We slowly made our way through the winding streets, over bridges through throngs of people. I don't know if Venice is like that all year, but I have to say that during Carnevale it lived up to every romantic notion I've ever heard. The streets are random, almost unnavigable, but luckily there's signs on buildings every now and then with arrows pointing you toward Piazza San Marco, the Rialto Bridge, and other big areas of the city. We were really hungry but couldn't be bothered to eat with all the excitement, so we grabbed something quick and then moved on to get some masks that were more in our price range. Now that we looked more the part we continued slowly making our way toward Piazza San Marco, where there was going to be a concert that night. We saw some cool costumes on the way, and although the concert wasn't amazing the group wasn't bad and with everyone around enjoying themselves it was really really fun. Definitely my favorite night of the trip. We even met some Michigan people in the crowd, some nice B-schoolers whose names I'm having trouble remembering. We danced and sang and had a fantastic time, then headed back to the hotel to crash.

Next day we lingered over breakfast and headed to town to catch a vaporetto to the island of Murano, famous for its glass. We decided to take a boat from the bus terminal and passed great sights on the way-typical gondolas, and even a boat race complete with people in costumes! I loved it. Getting off the boat to head to catch the boat to the island, we passed what ended up being my favorite costumes of Carnevale (that I saw, that is). They were just so intricate and the way the people in costumes control the crowd cracks me up. They're such divas. If they want to leave, they just have to toss their head and walk away, and the crowd follows. If they want you to stop taking pictures, they turn away and make a motion with their hand. If, on the other hand, you are chosen to take a photo (which happened to me a few times!) you'll get a gesture with the hand that says, go ahead, take one if you must. I read somewhere that masks of Carnevale started as an equalizer. That is to say that for that time of the year, there would be balls and what have you, and everyone would wear a mask so that they could keep their identity hidden and have a good time. The artistocrats could dance with the peasants if they wanted; no one could see their face. I also read that part of the mystery of Carnevale, in addition to not revealing your identity, was that you're not supposed to talk. Every emotion is conveyed through gestures, I imagine, which is why those who are in costume act the way they do. I was really pleased to see so many of them staying true to the no talking rule, it made the whole thing seem that much cooler and tied to tradition.

Anyhow, many costume sightings later we were on a boat to Murano, where we spent several hours amongst its glasswares. Nothing amazing, but I'm glad we went. It might also be more interesting at other times of year when there's not so much action in Venice, I don't know. We got back in time to make our way through the crowds to the parade in San Marco. Although we couldn't see much of it, I have to say that those in costume really didn't hold anything back when it came to looking the part. There were people there in Halloween type costumes who just looked silly next to the people in very regal, traditional Venetian Carnevale garb. I would love to be able to go to a ball there someday and see what people turn up with.

Sadly we had a night train to Vienna so we didn't get to stay very long, but the time we were there is one of my best memories of the trip, and I highly recommend that everyone go to Venice during Carnevale to join in the fun, it's completely worth it!