24 Hour Blitz

About a week ago someone mentioned going to Carnevale di Venezia, but when we looked around for hostels they were all booked. The decision was made to go anyway and do a "24 hour blitz." At 12:15 on Saturday 13 of us boarded the train to Venice. We got in around 2:15 and walked around the town taking in the unique beauty of the city.

Photo Cred: Julia Peebles

One of our first tasks once there was to buy masks so we could fit in. We didn't want to spend too much money but still wanted them to be flashy! I found one that I love; it is purple with feathers and sparkles. This mask will be such a fun souvenir to have and remind me of all the good times we had.

People said the mask fits my personality. I wonder what that means?

Ellen and I in the middle of the huge crowds

Piazza San Marco was crowded but the energy was great! People dressed in elaborate costumes were throwing confetti everywhere, singing loudly, and dancing. We met a group of guys from Spain, and when they found out we were from Texas they wanted to sing Johnny Cash; so we had a Johnny Cash sing-a-long in the middle of Piazza San Marco. We also met some people in the Air Force stationed in Italy. I love meeting people in the armed forces and having the opportunity to thank them for all they do. I am also glad they got to get off the base for the weekend and have a little fun!  

Some of the girls in our masks

Around 3 in the morning we were tired of wandering the city so we went into a 24 hour restaurant by the train station and sat there till about 5. We were all deliriously tired, but that certainly made for some entertaining conversation. 

Our original train didn't leave until 10:25, but we got our ticket switched to a 5:30 train. When we went into the train station we didn't see our train on the board and realized that it left from a different, smaller station in Venice. Oops! We saw that a train was about to leave for Bologna, which is about 35 minutes from Florence, so we made a quick decision to jump on that train since it was in the general direction we wanted to go. Once in Bologna we waited 10 minutes before we found a train going to Florence. For those of you who aren't aware, you aren't exactly not allowed to get on a train without a ticket. We were so tired (and out of money) that we really didn't care. Off to Florence we went!

The 24 hour blitz was fun and as an added bonus I crossed some things off my bucket list:

-Carnevale in Venice (the original Mardi Gras)

-Illegally jumping on a train in Europe (okay well this one wasn't on there before, but now I can say I did it)

-Watching the sunset and then the sunrise the next morning

All 13 of us made it through the adventure alive and well! Plus, we have some great memories and funny stories to tell. 

Ciao! Ciao!

Sarah