Love Affair with Venice

From the last weekend of January to about the middle of February, the city of Venice celebrates Carnevale, which is basically a mix between Halloween and Mardi Gras. A quick search online told me of the holiday’s traditions, which lead back centuries to a time when winters were dreary, cold, and bleak and citizens of the city needed something to help them get through those tough winter months. Enter Carnevale, a festival that now attracts hundreds of tourists from all over the world who want to participate in the festivities and wear the beautiful hand-painted masks.

All of this seemed perfect to our group of Roman students. It’s great to study abroad and travel all over Europe and see other countries, but I loved being able to explore a part of Italy I had always heard of but never seen. And let me tell you, this city is UNREAL. Seriously I could not believe I was actually there, peering down all of the canals and following the flows of tourists through the narrow streets. The only way to see Venice, and I mean literally the only way, is to just wander through the alleys and “roads” and just get lost. We tried and tried to follow GPS apps and get to specific places, but we always ended up walking in circles or getting lost again. My favorite parts of the trip were just walking with no destination or plan and window shopping as we walked, stopping into any shop we found interesting.

The day we arrived it was raining and FREEZING. Okay, my definition of freezing isn’t really on par with other people’s because I live in Miami most of the year, but it was seriously cold and a lot of my friends here are from Northern states and even they agreed. Even in the miserable weather, I was still in awe of this cute city and everything in it. The bridges and canals look just like they do in pictures, but twice as cool when you see them in person. So the whole day we wandered and found cute shops and stopped in a couple of different restaurants and pubs to keep warm, and I loved the city more and more.

Our hostel we had booked was across the water on the mainland, which was a quick €1,50 train ticket and a couple blocks of a walk away. It was a brand new building that looked like a brand new hotel but was actually a hostel. We had seven people in our group but there were only 6 to a room so we split up 3 and 4. I was with the group of 4 and we ended up having two roommates our own age. The room and bathroom were like a hotel room except for there were two sets of bunk beds and two single beds. It was overall a great experience and I would absolutely return. It was safe, clean, and easy and I would highly recommend to any young person traveling to Venice.

The next day was sunny and beautiful, further encouraging my love for this city. We followed the stream of tourists to Piazza San Marco where all of the festivities were taking place. We had seen people dressed in elaborate costumes all weekend, but they had all flocked here to the piazza to party and celebrate with everyone. Confetti was being thrown, music was playing, and everyone was visibly having a great time in the warm sun. I loved every minute of it.

We bit the bullet and paid for a ride in a gondola, which was absolutely worth the money because it was definitely the coolest way to tour Venice. Our gondolier was so nice and answered all of our questions about his home city. If you’re going to go to Venice, save up your pennies and hop on a gondola.

The one thing I have noticed I absolutely cannot stand about Italy so far is that nobody walks at a brisk pace. NOBODY. Unless it’s a grouchy little old lady who will hit you with her umbrella to make you move (this actually happened to us), everybody walks at a snail’s pace everywhere. I’m an impatient and fast walker from the Northeast and I am always weaving around people everywhere I go. I lose my patience so quickly and get so annoyed, especially in places like Venice during Carnevale when there are hoards of tourists and very narrow streets that can barely accommodate anyone. I survived the weekend but my sanity almost did not.

I’m now sitting on the train back to Rome, already missing that cute city and its people. I’m especially missing the desserts. I must’ve eaten at least ten fritelle, which are little fried balls of dough that taste like funnel cake but can be filled with Nutella or cream. The original Venetian fritelle are made with raisins in the dough and no filling, but my personal favorite were the Nutella filled ones.

I really do feel a little guilty about loving another city so much when Rome is my home and the one I love the most, but I know I’ll find so many more cities that make me feel the same way (and I know Rome will understand). Unfortunately for everyone who hasn’t been to Venice, the time to go is now, as the sea levels are rising and causing a real problem for the residents of the islands. The little city is quite literally disappearing, and I am so thankful that I was able to see it. If anyone wants to see it soon, I’d love to come back and check it out during the warmer months…