Venezia e Cioccolato

Hi all!

Lots to update you on.  First off, on Friday my roommates and I discovered one of the most unbelievable sites to visit in Florence.

A Cioccolato Festivale!!

And it's RIGHT down the street from my apartment.

 Sorry Mom and Dad, but I'm gonna spend all my money on these chocolate shoes and chocolate carved hand tools...

...And Chocolate cakes with passion fruit in the center topped with hot chocolate fudge.
Is this really happening to me?

This WILL get dangerous.  thank goodness it's only gonna be around for another week.  My roommates and I have decided to do secret Valentine, and my Valentine BETTER know what to get me....I've only been hinting it coincidentally since this festival started.........!!!

But I digress....

Yesterday was probably one of the longest days I've had in Europe thus far.  But it's okay because I got to visit the beautiful and romantic city of Venice!! There have been a bunch of nasty storms hitting us here in Europe, and Florence is one of the very few lucky cities to not be getting it's wrath. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/10/world/europe/europe-cold-snap/index.html?iref=allsearch.  The canals in Venice were frozen over for a while! Luckily, the gondolas were in full force, but the weather was still not tourist-friendly.  We were FROZEN the entire trip.  That didn't stop us!!! We arrived in Venice after a 2 1/2 hour bus ride a little after noon. Then, the tour guide set us off to explore Venice Carnevale on our own! We were a part of a joyous festival surrounded by beautiful scenery. Does it get any better? But we were so cold we would spend money in little caffes and shops just to warm up.  By nightfall we were so tired we kept thinking of Florence as our 'home' and we couldn't wait to get back. What a stunning, romantic city, though. I can't wait to visit again soon!

Here are some pictures for you all to enjoy. :)

What?? Snow???

Arrival!

Waterbus!

Bellisima

The crew minus Ashley and Janine

STUNNING! The entire city is made up of bridges such as this.

Tiny, tiny little alleyways!

I still couldn't believe I was in Venice and seeing its spectacular qualities

Ashley and I with our masks! On our way to Piazza San Marco for the festivities

Such intricate detail! Molto bene!

So many to choose from!

I could make postcards with these pictures. Still in awe.

Even on a cloudy day the city still shines.

Ghostbusters!! Haha

Almost stole the gondola to keep for myself!

Venetians were dressed up everywhere you looked!! 

<3 I'm in love.

Piazza San Marco

JUST in time for the parade

We nabbed a great spot to watch from!

Stunning.

So many different costumes and stories.

We got to take a picture with her!! Her dress was even prettier in person.

A bunch of jolly Italians! Haha we stumbled across them dressed up and they danced something called the "Espagnola"  So fun!

I caved in. The Americano in me kicked in and I ordered this pizza.  Best decision.

A well-deserved dinner after a long day of adventures!