Tuesday, February 05, 2008

I Can See Clearly Now

Oh Holy Mother of Someone. The rain has actually stopped for Mardi Gras. Sweet!!!!

My original plan for today was to find Dott.sa Chiapperino of the Museo Civici Veneziani today in my role as Board Member of the Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, but it is the last day of Carnevale and THE SUN IS OUT! I cannot possibly be expected to do the right thing under these circumstances.

I decide instead to spend the day with 3 hostel kids: Spencer (Australian), Jamie (American) and Lindsey (American). Our plan is to hang out and be groovy, catch a show at San Marco's and be back at Venice Fish (the hostel) for dinner.

As we head towards San Marco it's clear that I am not the only one the weather has affected.

Venice is ready to party!


Then we get to San Marco's:

Blue Skies smiling at me, nothing but...

Another wonderful side effect of the suddenly spectacular weather is all the spectacular costumes which descend on San Marco's Square. Against all probability, the vast majority of stunningly costumed people also have a flair for performance. I am so in heaven.










In the midst of all the wandering through amazing costumes I stumble upon the tiny-family-of-maskmakers' shop which Mary had insisted I would adore. Mary, as sometimes happens, is so very right.


I am so in love with this woman.

At this point we decide to catch a late lunch on the Rialto. We find an adorable restarant with tables available right on the water and decide to eat there even though it's a bit on the pricey side. It is the beginning of February and I am wearing a tank top as I eat to-die-for porcini pasta on the edge of the Rialto in Venice. Oh supreme spiffitude.

A Sunbeam, My Lunch and Jamie's Cleavage.

After lunch we mosey back in the direction of the hostel, stopping to watch part of a traditional Romanian dance performance at San Marco's. And we grab a we bit of chocolate for later.

Venice: All around pretty Artful.

Dinner is great, once again, and our cool partying band of Hostelers is getting bigger all the time. Mike and Eric are over for dinner again and they convince Alberto and Mimo (the guys who run the Hostel), to be our guides to the coolest last-night-of-carnevale party. While people are getting ready I cajole Mimo into finding me a sewing kit and I sneak some gathers into my train so it no longer hits the ground. Mike snaps a quick photo of me in my wild Carnevale getup.


I swear this didn't look Catwoman-ish at all in person. Huh.


Alberto leads about twenty of us to a small square near the Rialto, where there's a little stage blazing with colored lights and an obviously Italian band doing mostly 70's American Dance Music Covers. The band plays such formidable classics as Hot Stuff, Play that Funky Music, We are Family... the Italians are in heaven. After a little more than an hour of wild masked dancing and Prosecco, I'm getting a bit tired of the sleazy Italians following me around, so Mike and I head off to San Marco's to find the other half of the hostel crowd. We realize our foolishness the minute we arrive. Walking around San Marco's looking for people is a NON OPTION. The ginormous square is so packed with partyers that anything other than standing still looking at someone's back is a non option. We hang out for a bit, and I confess to Mike that I have not actually had real italian gelato yet. Mike rolls his eyes. These California girls. No priorites. (Mike is bartender from Florida). We spend the next hour wandering in and out of different parties in the hunt for late night gelato. We are finally successful and I dive into Cappucino and Creme Caramel gelato. Sigh. I love Italy. We meet back up with Jamie, Eric, Sean, Sasha and Ryan on the walk back to the square, dance less than an hour and collectively decide that we are too exhausted to stand up another minute. Thirty minutes later I am in bed. Hallelujah.

Coming soon: Desperately Seeking the Director of the Palazzo de Mocenigo

Notes: Mimo, Security Guards, Policemen...

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