Ciao katilda: Venice (and Carnevale!)

If you're going to go to Venice, it doesn't hurt to accidentally time your trip during Carnevale.

Let me paint a picture for you of what Carnevale (aka the Italian Mardi Gras) looks like in Venice: Labyrinth meets Maze Runner meets Halloweentown meets Disneyland meets Pirates of the Caribbean meets Little Nemo (holla at me if you even know what that last reference is -- not the fish movie; the pajama pajama one). We were basically in a magical Venezian fairyland. Confetti and masks and costumes everywhere, in a tangle of cobblestone roads and canals and passageways.

Being the end of our trip (and honestly, the amount of actual stuff to DO in Venice is lower than in the other places we went), we were very low-key for our couple days there. Full disclosure: on our last day, we laid in bed all morning and watched The Italian Job on a small kindle screen. Sometimes it's what you gotta do on day 10 if you're going to get through the night festivities!

The rest of that day involved wearing our masks for several hours (see: sweaty faces), confetti in our hair, and various fried street food and (of course) gelato. And NATURALLY, a gondola ride! (An absolute must-do in Venice, in my opinion. And since this is my blog, I get to state my opinions. GO ON A GONDOLA RIDE.)

Maybe the best part of it all, though, was at the very end of our last night, because....FIREWORKS! (Set to the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. Ha.) There are few things I love more than a good fireworks show. They make me think of my most favorite things, like baseball games, the 4th of July, Sandlot, Meet Joe Black, and now – Italy! It was the most perfect icing on the whole Italian cake. Especially since we walked a really long way to find the fireworks, almost gave up hope, then saw them go off and started running through the alleys/crowds toward them. My little heart was very, very full that night.

And there you have it......all the stories and photos of the time I went to Italy. Thanks for tuning in :)

Other Italy posts: When in Rome / Pompeii & Sorrento / FLORENCE! / Pisa & Cinque Terre