“Is this even real?” In all honesty, that’s what was going through my mind the whole time I was in Venice. The city of Venice is always on one of those “Most Beautiful Places in the World” lists, but when you get there it just doesn’t seem real. It’s like one of the those paintings that are so beautiful and that embody all these perfections on a small canvas, which makes it so unrealistic that it just has to be a painting. Well Venice was a real version of that unrealistic beauty. The city is completely surrounded by water and canals. There are no cars, only boats. The water is not the nasty color of the Hudson, but it’s not the clarity you find in the Caribbean either. It’s almost a translucent turquoise color that sparkles flakes of gold when reflecting sun rays. Even with all the tourist there was a tranquil atmosphere.

Carnevale:

We were fortunate enough to have visited Venice during one of the most festive times of the year: Carnevale! Carnevale is a celebration right before Lent. Originally, people celebrated by eating large amounts of meat (carne) before giving it up for Lent. During Carnevale there is a lot of music, colors, performances, and costumes. The costumes are without a doubt the most fascinating part. Most people go all out and dress up in Renaissance dresses while wearing beautiful handcrafted masks. Others dress in the most random attire as if it was Halloween, but it makes for interesting people watching. Our group decided to get in the Carnevale spirit and walk around in our newly bought and handcrafted masks. I’m not going to lie…we looked good! So good in fact that tourist were approaching us asking to take pictures. It became so reoccurring that I thought about charging people 1 euro, but hey…I’m a thoughtful person.

Through all the crazy Carnevale madness, we at some point decided to take a ride on a gondola (can check that off my bucket list). The gondola ride has been my favorite experience here studying abroad. I feel as if you can’t get the full Italian experience without going on a gondola ride, right? Anyways, the ride was stunning. Riding through the canals and under bridges on a beautiful, festive and sunny day was the right move. The only thing that was kind of a downer was the fact that our gondola driver refused to sing. Luckily, the driver in front of us went all American Idol, and we were close enough to get a show!

Later that night…that’s when it got real. We asked our waiter at dinner if there were any more Carnevale events happening. He told us to check out the arsenal where there was music and a ton of people. So being the curious tourists that we are, we took the 45 minute stride to the arsenal, which was across the water in an abandoned warehouse.

Leaving Venice was extremely difficult. Considering my name means, “traveling or born by the sea,” (fun fact for ya) I felt like I belonged there. Sadly, the city is apparently sinking, and even though it won’t happen in my lifetime it’s a statement that all beautiful things do end. Venice almost reminds me of the story of Atlantis. A land so mystically beautiful but has an unfortunate fate. Input tears here.