I'm On A Boat.

Ciao Amori!

I just got back last night from a beautiful weekend in Venice for Carnivale. Since it was provided by my program, it was a bit more rushed and regimented than I would've liked but it still only took 2 days for me to fall in love with Venezia.

Ponte Rialto (The Rialto Bridge)

No cars are allowed in Venice so the
streets are very narrow. 

Piazza San Marco (the main square of Venice)

For those of you that don't know about Carnivale, it's basically Italian Mardi Gras. It takes place from 2 weeks prior to Ash Wednesday to Fat Tuesday and, traditionally, is a time for people to go crazy before fasting for lent. The famous Venetian masks came into play when, in the 15th century, people wore them to blur the dark lines that separated the social classes.

Back in the middle ages, people went to gambling dens and brothels to get their party on. Today, people take it to the streets. If Mardi Gras and Halloween procreated, Venice Carnivale would be their child.

Our walking tour was a little lame but, then again, it's difficult to have a successful walking tour when you can't walk. The streets were so crowded! I don't think I took a full step all day! But I loved it!

Just to give you a small idea of the crowds we dealt with
all day. 

The costumes in Venice ranged from traditional period pieces...

to turtles...

smurfs...

and the Mad Hatter!

I really wish people in the states put as much creativity into Halloween costumes as Europeans do for Carnivale. And for a lot of people, it's a family affair! Imagine seeing this all day...

So cute!

The day was very tame due to the fact that the streets and canals were full of tourists and children. But when the sun went down, people threw caution to the wind. The streets of Venice on Saturday night smelled like a mix of cigarettes, pot, and various types of alcohol and underneath our feet were thousands of little confetti pieces, cigarette butts, and broken glass bottles. UGA people, think Athens on Fall Sundays times ten! And this happens every night for 2 weeks! 

Also, almost everyone on Saturday night was completely hammered. Italians, as a rule, don't drink to get drunk. They enjoy wine as a part of their meal. Carnivale must be an exception to that rule. I have never seen so many people that wasted in one place in my entire life (and I go to UGA!). We were approached by 2 guys dressed as Alice and Snow White. They were so toasted and had no idea what was happening. So, of course, I got them to pose for me and I took their picture.

Then, this guy totally crashed our party. Without us saying a word, he threw his arms around Sarah and Ella and gave me a smile. Love it!

After wandering the streets of Venice Saturday night (an experience that I found both surreal and otherworldly), we found a random concert in a piazza. The crowd was so big and smashed into the piazza that there was barely room for breathing (not that great for the upper respiratory tract infection that I've been fighting for the past week!). But there's always room for moshing! Yeah, it was packed, but I loved it and I am so glad to have experienced Venice Carnivale. Cross that off the bucket list.

Sunday, my program took us to the Venetian islands of Murano and Burano.

Murano is very famous for their hand crafted glass. We saw a pretty sick glass-blowing demonstration and were given 45 minutes on the island (which was not nearly enough time).

Burano is most famous for its lace. We couldn't see a demonstration here because "it's just a bunch of old ladies knitting in their homes". This island was one of my favorite parts of the trip. All of the buildings are very brightly colored and the streets are lined with adorable shops. Unfortunately, we only had an hour here before we had to get back to the boat. 

Laundry can sometimes be adorable. 

I had such a FABULOUS time in Venice this weekend. It's so different from any other city I've visited so far this semester and I can't wait to go back someday. There are no big plans for the upcoming weekend because I have midterms next week. Plus, I'm definitely going to need some time to rest before the big spring break trip in 2 weeks! Can't wait! 

Arrivederci! 

~Britt

La Fiera del Cioccolato Artigianale

The Artisanal Chocolate Festival!

Usually, I find it obnoxious when people use the word "epic" to describe anything but harrowing adventures and impressive battle scenes but, in this case, I will make an exception. The Chocolate Festival in Florence was EPIC.

For someone with a sweet tooth as big as mine (which I get honestly. If you know my Dad, you know exactly what I'm talking about!), this was Heaven on Earth. The only problem: $$$. This stuff was expensive. I went 6 times and only bought something once. But, no worries, the samples were nearly sufficient.

It was booths upon booths of Europe's best chocolate, made in every shape, color, flavor and form that you could possibly imagine. When I say every flavor, I mean EVERY flavor.

Some of the strangest chocolates:
-Pepperoncino (red pepper)
-Marijuana
-Various alcohol-infused chocolates (which were disgusting! Grappa in chocolate? Really? Why would you ruin chocolate like that?)
-Various chocolate-infused alcohols (I don't drink but chocolate wine doesn't sound appealing at all!)
-Basil (apparently, some people put it on pasta. Who knew?).

On the bright side, Italians are very well known for their cioccolato fondente (dark chocolate). Personally, I prefer sweet to bitter but this dark chocolate was amazing. And probably the most typical chocolate of Italy is called Cremino, milk chocolate with a hazelnut cream. Yum. I also discovered a love for marzipan at the festival.

If you're not already drooling, just scroll down a bit. You will be.

Chocolate Nikons (Taken with a Nikon D40)

Tools!

Yum!

Cremino

Tartufo (truffles)

Marzipan!

Kiwi

Valentini

Awww.

Hello Kitty

Gnomes are too cute.

Got Milk?

My only purchase (which I am enjoying above ^^^) was a white hot chocolate. I am obsessed with white chocolate (the more teeth-rottingly sweet, the better) and had no idea that white hot chocolate existed. Also, Italian hot chocolate is MUCH thicker than our watery poser hot chocolate. It's only slightly less thick than a melted candy bar. So, needless to say, my white hot chocolate was pure, face melting rock'n'roll on my taste buds.

Enough said.
~Britt