Incentive
Venice, located in the northeast region of Italy, is known as the capital of the Veneto region. As a fun fact, what most foreigners don’t realize about this city is that it’s actually made up of a group of small islands, separated by canals and linked by bridges. In fact, even as one of the most enchanting cities on earth, Venice, unfortunately, is still sinking by about 1-2 millimeters a year. Therefore, in contrary to that, my desire to visit this beautiful city stems from all of the reviews I’ve heard about the Carnevale, Italy’s top Mardi Gras celebration. The Carnevale season, starting from January 27 to February 13, is known for being filled with costumed characters, boat parades, as well as entertainment that nobody should miss. Therefore, I thought February 10 would be the opportune time to come schedule a visit to “La Serenissima”, Venice, the most serene city.
Bus2Alps
In terms knowing how to get from Rome to Venice, I decided booking a student tour with Bus2Alps would be the cheaper option since the exorbitant price of train tickets dissuaded me. On the night before I departed, my tour leader sent all of the participants an email, letting us know where and when to meet. On that day, we met at Roma Termini, the city’s main railway station, at 6:00am. Since I’ve never traveled with Bus2Alps before I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect especially since I was going by myself instead of in a group. They were tons of questions floating through my head like: How many people are coming? Who will I meet? Will I have fun?. All I knew that day was that I didn’t want traveling solo to get in the way of me enjoying myself in Venice. Therefore, I wanted to embrace everything that came my way with an open mind, heart and soul.
After a long six hour bus ride, we had finally arrived in Venice. In my peripheral view, I noticed there was an innumerable amount of tourists and locals on site. As our tour leader walked us over to St. Mark’s Square, our central meeting point, it felt like I was walking through a maze of pushy, aggressive Italians. Trust me.. Italians will not hesitate to push, squeeze or walk by you if you’re walking too slow.. or not walking at all. However, since I’m from New York City this kind of situation wasn’t exactly foreign to me. As a tip, I always made sure to look straight ahead and say “Scusa” whenever it seemed appropriate to make walking more facile.
Cultural Food
As a group, the first thing we did was try to some delicious “take out” pasta from “Dal Moro’s Fresh Pasta to Go”. I ordered “Ai Formaggi”, pasta made with a delectable variety of cheeses. It was indeed a little bit difficult to eat since all of the cheeses were meshed together but it was so mouthwatering to eat. In fact, I decided I also wanted to try “Frittella”, a Venetian doughnut that’s only served during the Carnevale. My Italian friend in Bologna actually gave me the recipe for it a couple of days ago but I’ve never eaten the pastry in person. Therefore, I thought I might as well try it out since I’m at the Carnevale to see how it would taste. Knowing my bucket list, my tour leader was very helpful in helping me find a pasticceria that would most likely sell it. Encaptured by the smell, when I walked into the shop I ordered “frittelle con crema chantilly”, a doughnut filled with a light vanilla-flavored cream, rolled in granulated sugar. Blown away by the incredible taste of the filling, the cream wasn’t too light or too heavy but just the right amount. Therefore, I can’t wait to replicate this pastry back home to my family and friends in the United States.
Venetian Glass Blowing
After having some cultural food, a small group of us went back to Piazza San Marco to participate in the Venetian Glass Blowing Presentation organized by Bus2Alps. During the presentation, the glassblower created a vase that was made of Murano glass which he soften so that he could mold it completely before it hardened again. In general, Venetian glass is known for being elaborate, colorful and skillfully made. After the presentation, a wide array of souvenirs was presented to everyone that ranged from jewelry to wine and shot glasses. Therefore, since I knew I’d probably never have the chance to buy Venetian glass jewelry again, I purchased a pair of stud earrings for 25 euros which I considered to be a good deal. In fact, after paying in cash the vendor was so nice enough to offer me a Venetian glass candy for free. Overall, I’m glad I got the chance to purchase a unique, exquisite souvenir from this city.
Gondola Rides
Going on a gondola ride in Venice, was the next thing on everyone’s bucket list. In Venice, the price of a boat ride usually ranges from about 80-100 euros. Before 7pm, the ride amounts to 80 euros with six being the maximum number people allowed in one boat. If you decide to take a ride after 7pm, then the price will augment to 100 euros. Therefore, if you happen to visit Venice with a group of people, I would suggest splitting the ride equally among all of you. Being in a group of four, I only paid 20 euros for the entire ride which wasn’t as bad as I thought. The ride even lasted for 40 minutes which was an ample amount of time for everyone to take selfies and individual shots of themselves on a traditional, flat-bottomed, Venetian rowing boat.
Costumes and Masks
As the day trip was coming to an end, the last thing I wanted to do was buy an elaborate mask and take some pictures with locals dressed up in costumes. During the Venice carnival, a mask can range from about 2-10 euros. Therefore, since I wanted to my outfit to match, I purchased a black and gray mask with a flamboyant feather attached. I bought it for 10 euros but I’d rather go big than go home! With an elegant mask on my face, I was ready to dance with the locals and in the meantime take some extravagant pictures. Once it was time for all of us to leave in order to board the coach bus back to Rome I knew that I couldn’t ask for a better day in Venice.
Italian Words:
Carnevale – Carnival
Scusa – Excuse!, Sorry!, or Excuse Me!
Formaggio – Cheese
Fritella – Doughnut
Pasticceria – Pastry Shop
