The Carneval of Venice, 2011

Carneval in Venice

You know those things you should do at least once during your lifetime? Well, we did one of them this spring. We went to the Carneval in Venice!

Dressing up is a pretty important part of being alternative for a lot of us, so the chance to put on costumes and parade around is always welcome. At the Carneval, alternative people are joined by «regular» folk in a mutual interest of dressing extravagantly. Spending hundreds of euros per day on rental costumes is not unheard of, in fact, for the most hardcore Carneval attendants, it's the norm! I'm sure you've all seen pictures of the amazing dresses and suits, the masks and the huge wigs. Being in the middle of it is pretty great!

There are many happenings during the Carneval, like grand balls, costume contests, pubcrawls in costume and concerts. We attended the pubcrawl and the Burlesque Ball, and had a great time at both. Pubcrawls are great for meeting new people, since they for some strange reason tend to get pretty social as the evening progresses...

The Burlesque Ball was full of people of all ages, dressed to the nines. I must admit I felt slightly underdressed! That doesn't happen often... Upon arrival, we were met with prosecco, mimosas and canapes, to the tune of singing Italians. We felt very welcome and pampered, anything else would have been a disappointment at 245 euros per head. As we sat down for the food in the ballroom, we noticed that we had been seated with other pairs our age, a very smart move by the organizers. The food arrived, and it was hands down the best meal we had had in Venice! Neverending amounts of wine accompanied the dishes, and a lovely dessert was served. While eating dessert, burlesque dancers entertained us, dancing with candelabras in the hair!

I really recommend saving up and going to a Carneval Ball once in your life, it's an amazing experience!