Feb 24

Feb 24 Carnevale di Venezia 2020

The Carnevale di Venezia, Carnival of Venice, was off to a great start but came to a screeching halt due to the Corona Virus outbreak. The city celebrated for two weeks before ending on 23 February. If you’re hoping to attend next year from 30 January to 16 February, this is the official site.

The “Adventurers Crew,” our WhatsApp group name, consists of 14+/- people who love fun, food, and wine. We arrived on Friday of Valentine’s weekend and stayed through Sunday. I love to visit Venice during the winter. There’s something about bundling up to walk those alleyways with my camera in hand, smelling freshly baked bread, drinking a hot drink, riding a water taxi, eating at new restaurants, and being in the company of good friends. The Italian lifestyle is a beautiful one.

Where Did You Stay?

Since there was a gaggle of us, we rented several apartments in one building called Casa Dei Pittori. We rented four - two bedroom apartments. The apartments were wonderfully traditional with balconies overlooking the canal and full kitchens. The rooms were clean and comfortable. I recommend staying here, if you are with a group because the rooms are close together. We were able to move our festivities from one room to another and without disturbing neighbors.

What Did You Do?

We left Vicenza Friday afternoon and drove to Venice. After checking into our apartment, we visited our friend’s hotel, Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal, to see their luxurious room for the night. If you can afford it, stay there. We headed back to our traditional, inexpensive, Venetian room to relax until 17:00 when the tapas began at the room next door. The crew brought cheese, salami, chips, salsa, hummus, olives, vino, chocolate, etc. Around 19:00, we went out for dinner, then returned to the room and rested up for Saturday shenanigans. Happy Valentine’s Day to us!

Saturday

A friend and I got up and out by 07:00 on a beautiful, chilly morning to be in the square taking photos of carnevale costumes. It may come as a shock that people are actually out that early dressed up, but they are. That’s the time to take photos while everyone else is still sleeping. A few hours passed quickly, we returned and I napped. I know - totally boring, but I was battling some jet lag/fatigue. We had just returned from Thailand three days prior. You can see some of the picturesque costumes below.

Saturday evening the tapas were served again. A basic repeat of Friday night. However, dinner was better than the previous. Still not over-the-top yummy, but good. I included a link to the restaurant below. Along with two restaurants I highly recommend.

Sunday

O happy day - Sunday. This was the day the Flight of the Angel was scheduled. It’s a pretty big event. Getting to the square is a fight. Talk about grounds for spreading Corona Virus…… yikes. After entering the square, we went straight to Caffe Florian to meet up with friends and get out of the crowd. Please note that if you walk in Florian, you’re easily paying 10€ for a drink. That’s right - a drink. However, it does come with a nice bathroom. It’s fun people watching from inside Florian, so get a seat near the window. Once our expensive brunch and the Flight of the Angel concluded, we made our way back to the room. We had leftovers for lunch and headed home. Our second round of Carnevale had come to an end.

Keep reading to find out where we parked, ate, and other restaurant recommendations.