Day 48: Saturday, March 4, 2011

Breakfast of Champions

We woke up today around 10:30, showered, and got ready for the day.  After getting ready, we left to grab some breakfast!  It ended up being a breakfast of champions: vodka shots and hot dogs.  We finished it, grabbed some more wine, then decided to head to San Marco Square again.  It seemed to be where the crowds were headed.  On the way, I decided to jump on the bandwagon of the Carnival masks.  Everyone was wearing one and they all looked so pretty :)  There were vendors everywhere selling all different kinds, and it was way too tempting.  But I mean, how often are you in Venice, Italy for Carnival??  NOT VERY OFTEN.  I deemed it necessary to dress the part :)

My Carnival Mask

Walking to San Marco Square

Kevin and I in San Marco Square

Venice <3

We all walked around the square for awhile, hanging out, talking, and drinking.  However, "walking around" is a very loose term.  The entire island was packed shoulder to shoulder with people.  You pretty much couldn't move.  It took us over an hour to get to the square because the streets were so jammed.  We literally shuffled our way to the square the entire way.  One thing that surprised us was the ages of the tourists.  There were a surprising amount of older people there this weekend.  It blew my mind that so many senior citizens would want to be in Venice, Italy during Carnival...which is basically like one big party.  People are drinking, rallying, singing, and dancing on the streets 24/7.  So naturally, we had a blast...but we just didn't see how someone 60 years our senior would have had the same mindset.  Oh well! :)

Bell Tower in San Marco Square...and not a cloud in the sky!

After awhile, Kevin and I decided to climb to the top of the bell tower.  It was a beautiful day and we would have been able to see so far with the skies so clear.  However, after pushing and shoving our way to the bell tower, we quickly realized it wasn't going to happen.  There were hundreds of people in line and it wasn't moving quickly at all.  Not to mention, it wasn't even a line.  It was more like a mob of people, it didn't look fun, or efficient.  And, it also seemed like they were letting too many people up at one time.  I remember climbing the bell tower when I was in Italy in 2007, and from what I recall, it is definitely not very spacious up there.  I didn't want to waste time waiting in line, pay to go to the top, then have to fight for a spot next to the railing to even take a picture.  So we vetoed the whole idea, and just walked around some more, holding hands and loving life :)

San Marco Square, plus 10,000 people

Kisses in Venice <3

Kevin being adorable in Venice

Venice

We left the square after a bit and decided to head back to the Rialto Bridge so we could 1) see the bridge during the day and 2) escape some of the crowds.  Well, no such luck on the latter part, but the bridge was beautiful during the day.  We couldn't have gotten luckier with the weather, the sun literally made the water sparkle below the bridge and there wasn't a cloud in the sky the entire weekend.  And while I might have been pushing it when I packed sandals, the weather was warm enough that just a light jacket did the trick.  Once again, we had to push and shove our way to the peak of the bridge so we could take some pictures for proof of being there!  Afterwards, we headed back to the hostel for a quick nap before the nightlife began*

View from the Rialto Bridge

At the peak of the bridge

Rialto

Silly string seemed to be the theme of the night

After napping, we grabbed some more Vino and dinner to go, then headed to the bars.  For some reason, we kept going back to the same hotdog/sandwich/panini stand the whole weekend.  There are about 12789 places to eat in Venice, and we went to the same street vendor three different times.  And it wasn't even good (shocking).  I got a pizza wrap the first time, and I ended up throwing half of it away because the middle was freezing cold.  So, why I went back after that experience...two more times is beyond me?  So we walked to the bars again, hung out with everyone, and partied till they closed.  There were hundreds of people in the piazza dressed up, dancing, and having a good time.  It almost seemed like a riot!  First of all, you couldn't walk one step without stepping on broken glass and trash.  It's crazy how this stunningly beautiful city by day turns into one big dumpster by night.  There were kids in the piazza running around burning trash and screaming and yelling.  And the best part was, there was a police office in the bar we were at, in uniform, drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette while all this was going on right outside.  He seemed very unconcerned.

Dancing on the ledge of the Rialto Bridge

After the bars closed, we began to head back.  We made a couple stops along the way though.  First we came across a little local, underground party.  There were locals playing great music under a bridge and a bunch of people dancing.  We joined in for a few songs, then continued on.  When we got to the Rialto Bridge, there was another little local party going on.  Once again, there were people playing awesome music and others dancing all over the bridge.  There were even people standing on the ledge of the bridge dancing.  Totally ballsy, but also totally awesome.  Our last stop was at a piazza right outside out hostel.  They were serving beer and crepes, so we decided to throw away 15E for two beers and one really bad Nutella crepe.  When we finally got back, we all fell asleep right away.  However, we were awoken about an hour later by some crazy idiots who were also staying in our hostel.  They thought it would be funny to run up and down the halls of our hostel at 4am, screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs, banging and kicking every door on the way.  This lasted for an hour and a 1/2.  It was unbelievable.  I don't know how every single one of them didn't lose their voice, it was the most bizarre, slash annoying thing I have ever experienced.  But other than that, it was a fantastic day and night.  It was so amazing having Kevin there to experience it with; I loved every second of it :)