Carnival in Venice!

I've returned from Venezia! The weekend was by far my best yet and it only reminded me of how much I want to travel. Very busy but very exciting and nothing less striking than the last time I was there. Saturday we woke before dawn and drove, by bus, for 4 hours. When we arrived, we were escorted by a private boat to Venice.

All day was spent on the island, touring and pushing our way through the enormous crowds of people that stretched around every corner. Many could be spotted dressed in outrageous costumes for carnival. (see below for the most extravagant!)

We even spotted some of the most unlikely creatures. The majority of our time was spent in San Marco's square, (the most touristy spot), where everything is ridiculously expensive, and where the beautiful San Marco's Basilica can be seen. (I took a side shot of the cathedral because the other half was under construction*)
We also saw the most important palace in Venice known as the Doges Palace. Eventually we found our way through the alleyways, looking for masks in the spirit of carnival, browsing in the shops,

finding the cheapest places to eat, and walking over the famous Rialto bridge.

Of course we took some time to take pictures of ourselves too!

After exploring, I picked out a beautiful golden mask to give to my sister as a souvenir (but I made sure to wear it all night long first, hehe).

Eventually it was time to get back on the boat and check into our hotel in Bologna. At the hotel, we had just enough time to freshen up and make our way across the street to the McDonald's for dinner. It was by far the most unhealthy meal yet I couldn't help but savor every bite. It surely satisfied our hungry bellies. We boarded the train to venice once again for the nighttime festivities, masks and all. * Lights were hung everywhere and we made it in time to see a fire show. Afterwards we roamed around and made our way back to the hotel fairly early so we'd be well rested for the morning.

After a much needed 8 hours of sleep I woke, ate a hardy breakfast, and went in search of a pharmacy for motion sickness pills. I didn't find out until late the day before that we would be taking a boat tour of several of the venetian islands. Knowing my stomach all too well, I knew that the breakfast I just ate would not sit well once setting foot on the boat. When I walked to the nearest pharmacy in the morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find the shop closed. I hoped the for best, and decided to go on the tour with everyone. Luckily I didn't get sick because I sat on the top of the boat in the fresh air which helped the most. We stopped at two islands, Murano and Burano. (Side not: along the way our guide pointed out the vacation home of Elton John and told us that he was currently in Venice for the carnival.

Unfortunately we did not see him, but that is not surprising since every other person was wearing a mask! Sneaky sneaky man. Venice is famous for it's glass blowing so in Murano we watched how to blow glass. Later we had free time to peruse the shops selling glass jewelry, bowls, vases, etc. (Perfect for souvenirs, although you will be sad to know I did not get anything there). Our next stop was Burano which is known for it's brightly painted color houses (every adjacent house a different color). It was a quant little town but we didn't spend much time there because we had to make our way back to Venice for the last few hours of our trip. Back on venice we explored once more, and my roommate and I managed to sneak into San Marco Cathedral for a look. We weren't allowed to take pictures but decided we might as well continue with our devilish ways and take videos of the interior. That concluded the end of our trip and we just barely caught the boat back, boarded the bus and drove home to Florence.
Now I'm safe and sound back home, (weird to start calling it that, but for the first time it feels as such) and completely exhausted. I'm hopelessly trying to upload pictures for this post but I'm afraid this is going to come to an abrupt ending. I hope the photos will due it justice or at least add some flavor!