melissa grace kreider

This year from February 11th to February 21st, Venice (and all of Italy) celebrated Carnevale! Annually, this  festival is held in San Marco Square and has been dated back as far as 1162. As you can imagine I was completely thrilled to have the oppurtunity to go this year, and actually ended up going twice. Thursday the 16th I went with my Fashion Photo class and Saturday the 18th I went again with a tour group for students called bus2alps (Recommended for anyone traveling in Europe right now-transportation was 58 euro!). I was completely shocked that I was there; both times. At the Venice Carnevale.

Venice itself is a city that does not disappoint. It's constructed completely out of canals and built on the sea. Instead of buses, cars and taxis, they have boats. Which was one of my favorite things; no traffic in the streets!

My first trip to Venice was photography-related,  we all split up to do some work on our own. I got horrifically turned around at least twice! It is really easy to get lost, and this is coming from a girl who takes pride in her sense of direction. I know how to ask to get somewhere in Italian, and take directions as well...thankfully. After the fact I made my way to San Marco Square where it all "takes place" and got some wonderful photographs of the Carnies! They will literally spot your camera, stop for you and pose. 

The second day I traveled to Venice I didn't take many pictures just so I could take it all in (that's a lie-my camera battery died). It was still the most perfect of perfect days and I  can't believe I got to go to Carnevale! Traveling to Europe is so rewarding because of the abundance of places near you, easily reachable by train. The more I go to different places within Europe, the more I want to travel all of the time. Uh oh..