Friday, January 13, 2012

TOUR TODAY ~ CARNIVAL OF VENICE















Tour guide today ~ Emily




Google images




Venice has always conjured up fantasies of romantic holidays for everyone but it can also be a dark and mysterious place. With its dark narrow passageways, water lapping onto the sides of centuries' old buildings, the sleek black gondola and gondolier gliding under pedestrian bridges and meeting the passersby dressed in costume and mask are spooky to say the least.
While on a trip to Rome we took the train to Venice for an overnight visit. Let me say do not plan on only one night in Venice.  Simply, it is just not long enough, but a great reason to return. We just happend to plan this trip during Carnival. I really didn't think I would find a hotel room but my sister gave me the name of the boutique hotel Concordia she and her husband stayed in while they were in Venice. When I called I told them my sister recommended them and they not only found a room for us at a great price, we had a beautiful fruit basket in our room compliments of the management. We strolled the beautiful streets while watching locals dressed in costume, met our friends for dinner and had a night cap at Harry's Bar. The next morning we were typical tourist, shopped a little and went to a glass factory. We had lunch on the Piazza and ended the day with our gondola ride. It was amazing seeing centuries' old buildings from the canals. What a special trip.
I hope you enjoy the tour of Venice.







Jim on bridge Grand Canal







 Piazza San Marco
Location of famous Harry's Bar where we had a Bellini



Welcome Fruit Basket in Hotel Room





Our lovely room overlooked Piazza San Marco




View Out the Window from the Bed






Window Shopping




Locals in Costume









Gondola Ride
The Highlight of a trip to Venice




Meet my Gondolier Marco
after this trip Marco appeared on the cover of Smithsonian  Magazine
I think I know why, any guesses?



Charming





Under the Bridge of Sighs



His Gondola was Gorgeous!






The Costumed locals loved to have their photographs made






My Escort from the Hotel to the Water Taxi to the mainland






Back in Rome the children were celebrating Carnival






I hope you enjoyed my tour of Venice and Carnival. I would love to hear from you if you have traveled to Venice or perhaps fantasized of traveling there someday.


Linking here

54 comments:

  1. HPS!

    What an amazing trip! Love these masks and costumes!



    Gabriela

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beyond wonderful! I'm so envious... one day I WILL win the lottery... Hugs and Happy Pink Saturday!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Emily, thanks for the tour. I've never been to Vince, but hope to someday. What a wonderful experience. ~ Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for sharing your Pink. Happy Pink Saturday! ~Diane

    ReplyDelete
  5. HPS and yes, I have been lucky to visit Venice. Love your photos. My gondolier's name was the same as mine and he just kept marveling about that. He even stopped at the "back door" of a restaurant and got us a glass of wine. Your hotel room looks fabulous!! Loved your post. xo

    ReplyDelete
  6. How beautiful Venice is and how lucky you are. Great photo's.
    Happy pink Saturday

    ReplyDelete
  7. How absolutely beautiful! I love the colors and the energy that shows through the pictures! Thank you so much for you sweet comment on my blog! Just stopping by to wish you a Happy Pink Saturday!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Emily, you have captured the very heart of this city! And as you will agree, it doesn't smell!! One of my favorites, and I long to go back again. To sip a white peach bellini, enjoy a dish of linguini con vongole.........sigh! Beautiful photos, What is it about the gondoliers, they are all so hot! xo

    ReplyDelete
  9. Emily, I enjoyed seeing your pictures of Venice. We were there last September and I am already wanting to go back.
    xo, Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a cool pink google images.. All photos are so cool!


    Visiting for Pink Saturday! Here's my share-hope you can stop by:)

    http://www.loveablecassandra.com/2012/01/pink-elephant.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have not been to Venice but it is on my bucket list. I hope someday I will get the opportunity to travel a bit. I'm sort of a homebody and need to break out of my shell! Thank you for sharing...loved the pics of the canals.

    ReplyDelete
  12. YOWSA!!!!!!!! Now this is MAGICAL PLACE, EMILY! How nice to SEE you and thank you for coming on over for a little QUEEN and crazy love!!!

    I love your header. May your year be filled with all the glorious wonders of travel and FRENCH GOODIES!!! Anita

    ReplyDelete
  13. We loved Florence but did not get to Venice. I am glad you visited the canal. It is beautiful. That Effect I used today is Pencil Sketch in Picnik. To auto post you look at post options in the bottom left of the draft and then set the time and date and then hit publish. I did not hit publish apparently. Thanks so much for visiting me. Olive

    ReplyDelete
  14. Emily~ What an amazing trip! I've never been to Italy~ Venice would certainly be a stop for me! Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have been to Venice. Not during Carnival, though. I visited in the summer. We stayed at the Gritti Palace and did all the touristy stuff. I love Italy, but I must say that Florence is my favorite city with Siena a close second.

    Your photos are stunning, Emily. The costumes are unreal. Did you buy any masks while you were there? I did not, and I regret it now.

    xoxoxoxo,
    RJ

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a great trip! Hubby and I plan to go to Italy in the next few years. Thanks for sharing your photos.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow!!! I have been to Venice twice and you are so right, one night is not nearly enough. that being said, it looks like you had a most amazing day there.

    Thanks so much for bringing your post to Seasonal Sundays.

    - The Tablescaper

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi lovely lady.
    Wow!!! I love your Beautiful photos. I hope you and yours are having a lot of fun...
    XXOO Diane

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh Emily I've really enjoyed this tour with you! I have also been to Venice twice (And look forward to many more) The first time just like you, was for only one day and I was enchanted! So on our second trip to Italy we went back and stayed four days....So much better! Venice is Disneyland for adults. I still remember the doors to the train station opening and there was Venice! It was like stepping into a fairy tale!
    I also adored Florence! And we'll be making an extended stay there on our next trip *winks*
    Thank you again my friend for sharing all your wonderful traveling adventures with us! Vanna

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love seeing these amazing photos! It is my dream to travel there some day! I love the beautiful room you stayed in! Enjoy your week! ♥

    ReplyDelete
  21. Emily, this was wonderful seeing Venice and all the lavish costumes. I've never travelled to Europe so live my trips through others.
    Judith

    ReplyDelete
  22. Such an adventure visiting Venice during the carnival. Thank you for the wonderful and special photos! Have a nice week.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip to Venice. The costumes are gorgeous! I would the gondola ride. Beautiful photos, have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  24. A dream trip, looks like you had a wonderful time. The costume are fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I was fortunate enough to visit Venice a number of years ago and it is spectacular. I was back in Italy in November. Although Venice wasn't on my agenda, glorious Florence was. I enjoyed seeing your photos.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I have been to Venice and absolutely loved it. It is a very special place, unlike any other. We loved that there were no cars and it was so much fun to land at the Venice airport and then take a boat to our hotel. So happy you had such a great trip!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi, my name is Heather! Please email me when you can, I have a question about your blog!

    HeatherVonSJ[at]gmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  28. It looks like a wonderful trip. I read that it is a city with a lot of problems. Let's hope they can solve them and save those beautiful buildings.

    ReplyDelete
  29. It looks like it was a marvelous journey!

    ReplyDelete
  30. What a wonderful trip. I love the architecture found in Venice. Those costumes were spectacular, but the masks....a bit eerie.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Lovely photos for Rednesday. Just followed you on Pinterest :) Have a happy Tuesday!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I have been to Venice twice. First time with a travel club and second time when we went to visit our daughter in law's parents. The live a couple of hours from Venice and we took the train in.

    ReplyDelete
  33. What a fabulous trip. Love the photo album you shared with us this week. My favorite shot has to be the one of the Bridge of Sighs. genie

    ReplyDelete
  34. Oh, how wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed my tour! Thank you for giving me a Calgon moment:-) xo

    ReplyDelete
  35. Wow Emily, my tour was everything I had hoped it would be. The only way it could be any better is if I had been there in person. Hope to do that someday. How wonderful that you were there during Carnival. I'd say it was a ride of a lifetime!
    Jann

    ReplyDelete
  36. Oh I would love to visit this beautiful and romantic place!!How fun for you! Thank you for sharing your travels with us!
    Come by and sign up for my fun giveaway!

    bee blessed
    mary

    ReplyDelete
  37. What a romantic place....and during Carnival yet! Amazing trip must be packed with memories.
    Joyce M

    ReplyDelete
  38. Ah! La Serenissima! I love your photos (and the music playing)

    I've been to Venice a couple of times. On my first visit I was a young girl of 18 in the 1970's and it was ice to see it before it became so touristy. There was a high water event while I was there and St. Mark's Square filled with water. The locals were unfazed and put up wooden walkways.

    The next time I visited I was with my husband and two children. We enjoyed wandering around and getting "lost" in the narrow streets

    I dream of going back again someday soon. It is my most favorite place in all the world!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Yes, have been fortunate enough to have visited Venice many times - such a beautiful (and yet mysterious) city!

    Fabulous captures of its myriad facets - all so different depending on the season.

    Happy Rednesday,

    PS Love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  40. ACK! I hit "reply" instead of comment, sorry!

    I long to see Venice, thank you so much for sharing your wonderful trip with us!

    Happy Rednesday!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Emily I've gotten pretty good at being stealthy in my old age lol! It's a jungle in there and you musn't show any sign of interest....But when I picked it up and saw the price....I did squeal...and as always I didn't want to put it down *winks* One of the ladiess took it to the front counter, and sure enough there was somenody oogling my lamp when I came up to pay for it. The lady working the counter said nobody had seen it come in or one of them would've bought it. So yayyyy me!! *winks* Vanna

    ReplyDelete
  42. I heard the water in those canals is quite odiferous, what did you think?

    ReplyDelete
  43. O, Emily, how blessed you are to be able to take a trip of a lifetime such as this. Your photos are more than perfect....I hope you will think of having a blog book made soon....or, maybe you already have. Your blog is so beautiful with all your pretty things, your lovely home and these magnificent trips. What a beautiful book/s
    it would make for your children and grands.
    Your music is perfect for this post...and so refined....here I am playing FATS DOMINO today. :)))
    Have a beautiful day.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Thanks for the tour of Venice, Emily. I was there with my daughter in 2005 and found it to be magical. We were there for a few days and really got a good feel for the ancient city. Love your photos. Thanks for visiting me at Cottage and Creek :)
    Lynn

    ReplyDelete
  45. That was lovely.
    I visited Venice for the first time when I was eight years old. I was back again with my husband, but the memories of the very long ago visit are the most vibrant. My parents bought me the most beautiful Venetian doll - a 17th Century lady - so lovely!
    We lived in Europe for many years and enjoyed the Carnival season in many cities in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Such fun!

    ReplyDelete
  46. Thank you for the tour, Emily. I have been to Rome at least 3 times but somehow have never been to Venice. I must really plan to go especially after seeing your pictures. You look so lovely and happy...Christine

    ReplyDelete
  47. What a lovely tour!! The pics are amazing and so fun to see where others have traveled. Happy VTT

    ReplyDelete
  48. Emily, you visit the most wonderful places! What a wonderful time to be in Venice. The costumes are fabulous and Venice is just the epitome of romance. What a perfect trip to take with your hubby! Thank you for taking us along with you. Hugs, Terri

    ReplyDelete
  49. Beautiful tour of venice... lovely room... colorful costumes... Wow ... I love carnivals esp for their colors...

    ReplyDelete
  50. Hello Emily

    You certainly packed a lot into a short and spectacular visit.
    I love your images and account of "your Venice visit".
    Yes, I have been to Venice several times for several days. I have painted in Venice and usually return to our same accommodation(Dorsodoro) where we know the owner and it provides incredible painting vistas.
    Thank you for this uplifing and beautiful visit to Venice.
    Now I am homesick for this my favourite city
    Helen xx

    ReplyDelete
  51. Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures at Potpourri Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  52. How gorgeous Emily! What a fantastic trip you had. Lovely city!
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete

Copyright

COPYRIGHT PROTECTED

The French Hutch and all its text, content, photographs and ideas are mine unless stated and are copyright protected.
Using content including but not limited to: designs, original ideas, photographs, posts, etc. is prohibited without permission with the exception of Pinning and Social Media for sharing.
Contact me at willamy682@gmail.com for permission to use content and photographs and link back to original post
The French Hutch
© 2011-2019 All Rights Reserved