Carnevale is one of the special events in Venice that I could not wait to experience first hand when we moved here. In all the years we'd been vacationing here, we always managed to miss Carnevale, since our month was always mid-March to mid-April. Upon arrival, we'd notice confetti still in all the cracks of the stones on the street, a sign of all we'd missed. Having experienced Carnevale first-hand, this is now one of my favorite times of the year.
Last year, some happy party-goer stuffed a handful of confetti into our mail slot. On the inside of our door is a mailbox with a plastic window in it. I never removed the confetti, I've looked at it every day as I leave the house. It puts a smile on my face every time. This year, I have already purchased my own bags of confetti and streamers!
When frittelle begin to appear in all the the windows of the local bakeries, it's another sign that Venice is getting ready for Carnevale. These delicious little morsels- well, ok- they are not so little- of fried dough, raisins and pine nuts with delicious fillings of crema, zabaigone, fruit, ricotta cheese, or just plain (called Frittelle Veneziana) are only available during the Carnevale season in this part of Italy. Ricotta filled frittelle are my favorites, but I have not turned down a frittelle yet if offered one! I've been known to eat 3-4 a day. This year, I've been a very good girl and have limited my intake to one per week. Frittelle sell for 1 - 1.50 Euro in most bakeries- one of the best inexpensive treats Venice has to offer.
