Venice in 48 Hours

TUESDAY

Valentine’s Day! We went to Gustapizza because they make heart-shaped pizzas, and we’ve heard really good things about it. When we went, it was incredibly packed, but it lived up to its hype. It was only 5 euros, and it was delicious.

THURSDAY

A couple of my roommates and I signed up for a free cooking class (hosted through our school). There were 14 students there, and in “teams” of 2, we made Tuscan soup and traditional Carnivale cookies.

FRIDAY

4/5 roommates had signed up to walk to Piazzale Michelangelo in the morning. It was about a 30 minute walk to the top of the hill, but the view made it worth it. We were afraid it was going to rain, but it held off until we were back home. Afterward, we went to the chocolate festival that was happening right around the corner from us. I ended up getting a chocolate Nutella crepe with bananas in it. I also got a coffee chocolate tart, chocolate covered coffee beans, and a salted caramel bar (all for under 15 euros!).

VENICE

Day 1:

I opted for another school trip to Venice, this time with three of my other roommates (Maggie, Sarah, and Leigh). We started the morning off at 5:45am and arrived in Venice at 9ish. We then had to take a private boat to our first destination, Murano Island. We got a quick demonstration of glass blowing and got to look around at all the different pieces they had for sale.

Afterward, we traveled to Burano (known for their fisherman). This island was super cool. They had so many colorful different houses with cute little shops. I wish we had more than just an 1.5 hours there. I also had been wanting to get black squid ink pasta, and this was the place to try it.

We then traveled to the mainland of Venice. It was so crowded. This weekend was the opening for Carnivale. I really disliked how busy it was. With the narrow streets and bridges, it was like the march of the penguins (slow and really close together). The outfits that people had on were insanely detailed, unique and beautiful. We went into and to the top of the Saint Mark’s Basilica. It was huge and beautiful inside, but unfortunately, pictures weren’t allowed. The view from the top was amazing but crowded. It looked down on the square, where the main event would be held.

Afterward, we went back on the water taxi to pick up our bus (there are no cars, buses, or bicycles on any of the islands). We headed back to the hotel to relax until dinner. For our preset dinner, we had Risotto (which was good), some kind of fish (was too salty) and some kind of fruit cake (None of my roommates, including myself, liked it). We were still hungry after dinner, so we went to McDonalds. I’m not sure if all McDonalds are this fancy in Europe, but wow. It was super busy and clean inside, and they had self-serve touch screens! We walked up to them and we were amazed (I saw a couple of guys pointing at us and laughing). After we figured out what we wanted, we ordered, and we got to have our meal delivered to the table.

Day 2:

It was the opening ceremony for Carnivale. We got an early start and headed towards the main island around 8:30am. Our first stop was to the Peggy Guggenheim museum, where we had a guided 1.5 hour long tour.

Afterward, we had 3 hours of free time. We wanted to go see the Flight of the Angel (where a woman dressed up flies from the tower down to the stage), but as we were walking to the St. Marks Square, it got busier and busier. We ended up going up this bridge and saw so many people at a standstill. Many people couldn’t even see the stage, it was insane. So instead we went back the opposite way and found some lunch. We had all wanted to take a gondola ride and it was quite easy to find an open gondola (because everyone was at the ceremony). It was the most relaxing and scenic part of the trip. It was quite and beautiful going through the canals. I definitely suggest going on one (especially in a big group, no more than 6 people (because it’s a lot cheaper).

Afterward, we met up with the group to go into the Duke’s Palace. It was extremely cold in there, and it took away from the experience, unfortunately. The amazing paintings inside the rooms were breathtaking. We left the palace early to go find some food before we got onto the bus. We had a certain meeting point for the group, but we were all afraid we were going to miss them. It seemed like everyone and their mother was meeting at the same point. Luckily, we didn’t miss it and got back on the boat, to go to the bus, to go back home.

Going to Venice during Carnivale was really cool. Seeing everyone dressed up was a very interesting experience, but the crowds were awful. I got a lot views of butts and stomachs, and a lot of elbows to the head. The big massive crowds also made me super uncomfortable and super cautious of who was around me. I had this scary experience where I was walking with one of my friends, and I was looking away, and all of the sudden this person with a full-faced zero mask jumps at me and yells and then proceeds to throw confetti at me. I definitely won’t forget this trip.

Next weekend I am staying in Florence, with maybe a day trip out to Siena.