Venerdi

Friday we woke up early again, got ready, and headed out to find the grocery store, Billa. The supermercado was packed, and it took us forever to get through the line, but we got groceries for the rest of the week. We brought the food back to our room, snacked, and made lunches for later.

We then headed out to explore Lido. We found a beach, picked seashells, and found a lovely spot on the end of a pier to sit and have lunch. Venice's Lido is an 11-mile long sandbar, home to about 20,000 residents, greatly augmented by the (mainly Italian) tourists who move in every summer. The island is home to three settlements. The Lido itself, in the north, is home to the Film Festival, the Grand Hotel des Bains, the Venice Casino and the Grand Hotel Excelsior. Malamocco, in the centre, is the first and for a long time the only settlement. It was at one time home to the Doge of Venice. Alberoni at the southern end is home to the Fort San Nicolo and a golf course.

After walking around, taking pictures, and admiring Lido, we returned to our room for a cat nap (I know, lots of naps, but it was still vacation!). We woke up, painted our eyes with pretty Carnevale make up and boarded a boat for San Marco. There were scary Australians dressed as rats on the boat, and we were frightened...

We explored San Marco and the surrounding areas a bit more, took pictures, stopped into a few chiese (churches), and saw an Antonio Vivaldi exhibit. Then we picked a cute little ristorante to eat at: Ristorante Piccolo Martini. There was a huge table full of American students from Syracuse behind us. I had gnocchi delle bolognese (potato pasta with meat sauce). It was delish!

We found a crepe stand and bought crepes from the friendliest Italian we had met. He was seriously adorable. Then we walked around more, and went back to take a boat to Piazza San Marco. The lights in the Piazza were beautiful, and there were tons of people by the stage watching the crazy (and a bit scary) entertainment. We found a step to sit on, but ended up next to some severely drunk Americans who ended up being taken away but the polizie and some medics. But the people watching was fun, and it was amazing to be a part of the Carnevale celebration!

Back in the room, we journaled, of course, read, and went to sleep!