Venezia

Every 4 days John has 4 days off, we are always trying to think of something to do so we can get away from Naples and travel some. About a month ago we decided we wanted to do a trip away from Naples and this area. I started checking into some different trips and came up with Venice. They have a festival every year called Carnivale and it starts the middle of February and runs for about 10 days. John and I thought it would be fun to go up there and see Venice and what Carnivale was all about. Carnivale is a festival that starts 10 days before shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, and it is a huge party before Lent starts. Carnivale of Venice is also known as Mardi Gras in the states. People come from all over Europe and dress up in costumes from the 18th century.

John and I were gone for 3 days and had a great time exploring all Venice had to offer. Once again there is so much history on this small island, or islands, and it was so fun seeing it all.

During the drive we went through some mountain and they had just got a bunch of snow the day before and it was completely white everywhere.

One of the tunnels through the mountains had half of it closed so we had to stop and wait for the other side of traffic to get through before we could go.

While we were stopped I took some pictures of all the snow.

We finally made it to Venice, this was during our first trip down the Grand Canal. I was still in awe of everything being done by boat.

During Carnivale people dress up in 18th Century costumes and they are called "The Masks." They dress up and walk around Venice all day everyday for the 10 days of the festival.

Some of the Gondolas going through one of the many canals. This Gondola was the only one John and I saw the whole time we were there that was serenading the passengers. The older man in the marshmallow looking jacket was singing and the man with the red scarf was playing the accordion.

Some guy dressed up as Elvis.

Piazza San Marco

The Clock Tower in St. Marks Square

Some more masks walking around and posing for pictures.

A row of Gondolas off the square

One of the many churches in Venice

One of the MANY bridges in Venice. The canals run all through the city so there are hundreds of bridges connecting everything together.

John and I on the Ponte Di Rialto ~ The Rialto Bridge.

View from the Rialto Bridge

Another Church

John has to work on Valentines so we decided that we would do a nice dinner while we were in Venice for our Valentines Dinner. We did a dinner and wine tasting the first night we were there. It was a 3 course meal and each course had a different wine to go with it.

The last wine was served in these HUGE wine glasses. I have never in my life seen a wine glass this big before.

It was literally bigger than my head.

It was also heavy, I was afraid the wine was going to spill all over me while I was trying to drink out of it.

Each wine glass got bigger and bigger as the meal went on.

The next morning on the Grand Canal.

This was our hotel

Basilica Di Santa Maria

Some Masks in front of the Church.

View of Venice from the Vaporetto. There is no driving a vehicle in Venice so the public transportation is a boat instead of a bus, and it is called the Vaporetto.

During the Winter high tide happens in the early morning. If you haven't heard Venice is slowly sinking and this gave a whole new meaning to that. It the mornings during the winter most of Venice is underwater. This is a picture of the ocean coming over the edge of the walkway.

This is a shot towards Piazza San Marco and it is all underwater. We were there around 10:30 in the morning so the water was already going down some but it was still mid calf to knee is some places. The bright things you see on peoples legs are plastic booties that they cell on the walkways so you can walk around with out getting wet.

A view of one of the Gondola rows from the Vaporetto.

A taxi driving people around.

The Accademia Bridge. This bridge was right outside of the hotel we stayed at.

Full view of the bridge.

This is one of the Vaporetto buses.

This was one of the Vaporetto boat stops.

Another Church.

A boat on one of the canals selling fresh fruit and vegetables.

This was a small fish market in one of the squares. On the corner of the table is a sword fish or marlin (i dont know my fish) and it was thirded. There was the tail end of the fish with the tail still attached.

The the head, and the middle of the body was already sold.

A few of the Masks entertaining the people by dancing.

This was the view from our hotel room.

This canal had a bunch of Gondolas just lined up waiting for people to pay for rides.

There was also a bunch of little kids dressed up for the celebration.

We did a tour of 3 other islands around Venice and this picture was taken on the boat ride to the first island. This was an island they called Little Venice, and it is the only island that allows cars.

The first island we stopped at was Murano and they are known around the world for their glass blowing. That is pretty much all they do on this island and with our tour we were able to see a demonstration of 2 different glass making techniques.

The first technique was blowing and this man made a flower vase.

The vase.

The second technique was called stretching in english.

He made the Ferrari horse in about 2 minutes. He was awesome.

The finished product, and it was still so hot after hot got through making it and it sat here for a few minutes that they held a piece of paper up to it and it went up in flames.

This was the Glass Store we were at.

John relaxing on our tour boat.

The second island we went to was Torcello. They are known for 2 of the oldest churches in Venice.

This was the Church of Santa Fosca. It was built in the 12th century and has had very few if any renovations since that time. We weren't allowed to take pictures from inside.

This one was Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and was founded in 639. It was last renovated in the 12 century. The inside was filled with many different mosaics but again we couldn't take pictures.

The front of the Cathedral

Some old statues across from the churches.

The Museum of Torcello

Beginging of the sunset over Venice

The third and final island we visited was Burano. They are known for their lace making and also as the fishermans island. Most of the fisherman live on this island in brightly colored houses.

One of the canals in Burano with the Leaning Bell Tower in the background.

Some of the houses with their own boat ramp.

The Leaning Bell Tower. You can't really tell that it is leaning in these pictures but it was a lot.

My Carnivale mask on the last day. We were on the Accademia Bridge right before we left.

The Rialto Bridge, these were taken from the Vaporetto on our way back to the buses to get the pick-up.

Shopping area and Gondolas at the Rialto.

High tide again. The water was over the bottom of the columns up close to the doors.

A market right off the water all the boats that brought their merchandise.

The water went half way up these doors. I am not sure what the inside looks like but it would have to have some good sealant to keep the water out.

A couple of Masks enjoying what would have been a freezing Gondola ride. It was only in the upper 30 low 40s the whole time we were there.

Another Bridge

A boat carrying clothes down the Grand Canal.

The bridge at Piazzale Roma, this is where you have to drop your vehicles off, and where the buses and trains drop you off.

A canal with many bridges all the way down.

John and I on the Vaporetto, not ready to leave Venice yet.

Some wine glasses we bought in Burano, they were made in Murano but about 1/4 of the price buying them on another island.