Udine and Venice

Last Thursday Lauren and I went to visit her family in a town called Udine. There were three cute old ladies that were very excited to have us. We talked, they cooked, we ate. They were soo sweet and like three dotting grandma's. Then her cousin Max drove us to the train station, he was saying that he cant wait til we come back again so he can show us off to his friends. He is about 30 and a lawyer and he says he hates his job and that he works too much. 

So then Friday afternoon we headed to Venice for Carnivale!!

Lauren and I met up with Rachel and Monica and also Adam. We took the bus in to our hostel which was a camp ground with some trailer/cabins. The park was big, but the rooms were small- only enough room for two small beds. The bathrooms and sinks were down the way- the place would be cool in the summer time. There was supposedly a discoteca, a bar and breakfast place- I had an amazing ham and cheese omelet. We took the half hour ferry ride to the island and met up with the girls and Adam. We walked around, headed to Piazza San Marco and watched a costume contest. The costumes were gorgeous and very impressive. Then I walked around and surveyed the mask selection- ended up choosing a 30 euro purple mask, with a huge headdress of purple and black feathers- i love it soo much. Then we headed to the Ponte Rialto to take some pictures- such a gorgeous view of the Grand Canal. We got some hot wine and walked around some small street and tried to find our way to the restaurant Monica had made reservations at. We finally made it and eat some delicious food and got to sit for a bit. Then we made our way to the bus station to get back to Camping Fusina. Then Saturday we got up and headed back in- a gorgeous sunny day, perfetto. I got my face painted, purple and gold- absolutely gorgeous. We walked around some more- way more crowded on Saturday when everyone came in for the day. We took some gorgeous pictures on the gondolas, the canals and the gondoliers. Lauren and I walked around to scope out some hotels on a canal. Then we got some lunch- pizza and then some gelato. Next we headed to the start of the Grand Canal to take a vaperetto ride up it. Turns out the boat we get on is like a city bus- anybody and everybody gets on that needs to head to another part of the island. This boat is soo crowded that we are all packed in like Venetian sardines- 3 people get off at a stop and literally 15 more get on, and this happens for about a dozen stops. Im not sure how the boat didnt sink. Next time I am going with people who are willing to shell out money for a sweet gondola ride, got to do it up right when you are in Venice!