Festa delle Marie and Flight of the Angel (Volo dell'Angelo)

Blue skies, sun, not too chilly temperatures. Much better day for the Festa delle Marie. Unfortunately  it would have  to be a very abbreviated version in order to fit in with all the other events scheduled for the day.  No parade from San Pietro di Castello yesterday, instead the parade groups began in the Piazzetta.

I got out early.  As I was hustling through the Piazzetta I caught a glimpse of a few of the beautiful costumes lined up along the Riva and of the parade groups getting into formation.   Lady luck was with me, or so I mistakenly believed, as I managed to get a pretty darned good spot right at the parade barricade leading up to the main stage. The parade would pass right in front of me! My camera was snapping from start to finish- well, almost finish.  Lady luck only went so far,-both my camera battery and backup went dead. With about 30 minutes of milling about until the Flight of the Angel at exactly 12 noon,  I figured I could at least could get some shots of the Angel in descent.  Just as the Angel was about to step off the platform and take off, my iPhone battery also went dead. Despite a little run of bad luck, I stayed to witness the Angel's flight anyway.  It was magnificent.

Here's a recap of the morning's events in photos. Enjoy a little taste of Carnevale!

Flag throwers warming up. Groups from surrounding areas of the Veneto come to participate, all in traditional garb.

The cable used for the flight of the angel was tested about an hour pre flight.

The Doge and his entourage arrives !

  Following the Doge are the 12 Maries. The first few are carried on the shoulders of gondoliers.

 This fellow is the King of the Gnocchi's, leading a bunch of other gnocchi's. I have forgotten which city they came from.

 Best shoes of the day!

The official website of Carnevale 2013 posted a video of the Flight of the Angel on You Tube, the link is below.  Watching it is the  next best thing to being there with me. Enjoy!


Click here to watch Flight of the Angel video

Today's walk - Aqua Bassa

Last night as I was closing up the shutters I noticed a thick fog had rolled in around our canal. I wondered what morning would be like.  We've had an unusually mild winter so far in Venice- pretty mild temperatures, very little fog, no ice or snow yet, and only one morning of high water. Weird season, actually, but I am not complaining. I'm a summer girl.

In the morning, my first order of business was an appointment at my hairdresser's, Simone.  His salon was FREEZING this morning!!!  I had checked the weather when I got up, supposed to be 33 degrees F. At Simone's I think it was colder, and my hunch was right, he explained that his caldaia (the water heater) was not working when he arrived earlier.  Yikes! I shivered through the whole event. 

On my way home from Simone's I noticed a familiar gondola parked right in front of the Frari. Alessandro!!!  I haven't seen him since early fall. I looked around to see where he was standing, hoping it really was him today. Sometimes gondoliers who are not working will lend their boats to other gondoliers. This was clearly Sandro's gondola, but where was he?  Aha! There he was having a coffee in the window of the cafe at the foot of the bridge. When he spotted me, he waved  and motioned for me to come in. We had a coffee together and caught up a bit. I'm excited, he is going to check around to see if any of his friends will be rowing in the Volo in Silenzio on the last night of Carnevale to hopefully secure me a seat in a boat for less money than the official tickets are being sold for.  After kisses and hugs, I left Sandro to his work and I headed off to Campo Santa Margherita for a stop at my fish guys. 

I love my fish guys! While I waited a few minutes, they peeled and deveined my kilo of gambero (shrimp) for me.  Makes my life really simple come dinner time. I also stopped at the vegetable stall, then met Mike at Mood Cafe for a cup of tea and a little light lunch. By this time I was freezing. Today is the coldest day we've had so far. I checked on my iphone- the temperature was now 26 degrees F or  -3 C!!!!  It wasn't too warm inside Mood either, but better than being outside.

I had one more errand to accomplish before I could get home and warm up. Mike and I both walked together to Giustinian so I could drop off my request for prescriptions at my doctor's office.  My doctor has a new system now, which I am very grateful for. Instead of having to wait in the queue at his office each month to renew prescriptions, I can drop off a letter in his mail box, then return the next day to pick up the prescriptions. 

On our walk  home from the Dottore's office, I snapped a few photos of the unusually low water in the canals today. On a typical day at  high tide, the water level is even with the highest dark line you see on the canals. When it's low tide on a normal day, the green area on the canal wall is visible.  During this period of  very  low tide, the water is so low the last stairs are visible.

Even the algae is out of water today by several feet. Very unusual.

And the steps at my own water door (photo above) are completely out of water. This is the first time I've seen those bottom 2 steps. Fortunately, most boats are flat bottomed and don't require very much water. I can't imagine all the boats that would be run aground otherwise. Italy has had all the ship problems it can handle for one week!

La Regatta delle Befane, The Witches Race January 6, 2010

I got up this morning thinking this would be the perfect day to take down the Christmas decorations and get them all packed away. I still had my morning tea, and a few other miscellanous tasks to handle before I got started on that project though. And, wouldn't you know it, one of those little pesky tasks completely changed my thoughts about Christmas decorations. Here's how it all transpired....

In the back of my head I knew that the Befana regatta in Venice was supposed to be held on January 6 every year. I'd missed it somehow last year, but had no intention of missing it this year. With my morning tea in hand, I did a google search for La Befana.

La Befana is a witch. She has a long crooked nose, wears a tattered shawl with colorful patches on it, and rides a broomstick.

January 6, the 12th day of Christmas,is an important holiday in Italy. It's the day the wise men were supposed to have arrived at the manger bearing their gifts. This day, the Feast of the Epiphany, marks the end of the Christmas holiday season in Italy. There is a legend that says the Wise Men stopped at the home of an old woman to ask directions to the manger, they invited her along, but she declined. Later, she saw a great light in the sky and decided to go join the Wise Men. She got lost, and never arrived.

Children all over Italy hang their stockings and wait for La Befana on the 11th night, January 5th. She brings chocolates and little presents to all the children who have been good, and coal (carbone) to the bad ones. There is even a special song for the occassion-

La Befana Song

La Befana comes at night
with her shoes all tattered and torn
She comes dressed in the Roman way
Long live La Befana!

January 6th, Epiphany, also marks the end of the holiday season, meaning children go back to school and parents go back to work! Sales also start in all the stores.

In Venice, festivities on January 6 include a very special regatta, La Regatta delle Befane-- the Witches Race. This year is the 32nd annual regatta. Gondoliers dress up in costumes as La Befana and have a race on the Grand Canal. Large stockings are hung as decorations from the Rialto Bridge, and refreshments of chocolates, mulled wine, hot chocolate and tea are served to all before the race begins. At 9:30 am, the race crews will depart from the Salt Warehouse at the Bucintoro club on the Zattere for the Grand Canal. The race starts at 11 am at San Toma and finish at the Rialto bridge.

And how did this change my plans for taking down the Christmas decorations??? I discovered it's Italian tradition to leave Christmas trees up until after January 6. That works for me! I have plans to be at the Befana regatta on the 6th. My tree will just have to wait!







La Befana Song



La Befana comes at night

with her shoes all tattered and torn

She comes dressed in the Roman way

Long live the Befana!

Life in Venice - A reminder of better weather.....

We're having lots of rain, cold, and Aqua Alta here this week. Winter is upon us!!!! It's snowing alot to the north of here too. As I was browsing pictures last nite I came across this one taken in late September. For me it's a great reminder of some perfect days.

365 days of Venice --- Day 1

As I was going through pictures tonight, I realized we have thousands of pics of Venice and I should be sharing them. Showing a different one each day would be fun. And even more fun for me to select the perfect one to post every day. Looking at them allows me to relive the moment also, and I can't think of a better way for me to spend 5 minutes or so every day. So here goes........
If I were to pick a title for this one, I'd call it "Gondola Guys"





If you have never been to Venice before, let me just say that this is a very common sight. One I never tire of. Just as I will never tire of hearing the gondoliers calling out "Gondola, Gondole".
( That's "Gondola, Goldolas" in English ) The gondoliers in this picture are right in front of St. Marks and the Doges Palace. The gondoliers hang out at gondola stations waiting on customers. Trust me, there is no shortage of tourists wanting their gondola experience.

A gondola ride costs approximately 80-120 Euros for up to 6 people in the gondola. The price varies by a) length of the ride b) time of day and c) location of the gondola. The closer to St. Marks or the Rialto, the higher the price. Nighttime is more than daytime, and a ride of between 35-40 min is on the lower end, 60 minutes being on the higher end of the scale.

I am often asked if a gondola ride can be skipped. Heaven forbid, NO! Don't miss this! Skimp on food one day if you must, but don't miss a gondola ride. You see Venice from an entirely different perspective. You are transported to another place and time. It's quiet, it's serene, it's magical, its romantic, it's Venice!