In Which We Encounter a Watery City

Oh VENICE!

John lost about 20 years and 20 pounds as soon as we alit upon its watery surface. Buildings and their beauty have a great effect on the man - so many cities he hates because of their modern, slick, Ahrimanic surfaces. He loves old, romantic, slightly decrepit Luciferic things, and Venice is a paradise for him. We walked for hours last night, adorned in festive regalia, and around every corner John virtually squealed in delight and is now convinced THIS is where he wants to stay for the rest of our time in Europe (well, not actually - we live where the treadmill desk lives, and THAT is still in Chania).

And it IS gorgeous here - upon viewing the meandering canals, the slightly crumbly architecture, the gondolas, and the narrow alleys that hint at stolen moments of amore, one cannot help but be lost in the romantic cliche. Add to THAT the heightened energies of carnevale and the beautiful men and women wandering about in full Renaissance regalia... needless to say, it was hopeless from the beginning. We're all in love with this city, despite any cynical walls we had put up before our arrival.

Our hotel is located a quick walk from St. Marks square (where the carnevale is concentrated). It describes itself as "Art Deco" - in fact that's the name of the hotel - and if I had any idea what the style of Art Deco meant I could judge whether or not this was accurate. For those of you that are smart about those things, here's their website: Venice Locando Art Deco.

We were met by the affable Fernando who showed us our room for three (we know it's a good one thanks to the bidet in the bathroom). I give the hotel great reviews thus far, the one exception being the lobby that smells slightly of stewed cabbage (in fact, that's where I find myself currently sitting as I wait for my traveling companions to wake up already, and the smell does not disappear).

We had a great time getting dressed up in our Amsterdam-purchased regalia last night, matching puffy shirts and all. Before departure into the Carnevale streets, we met up with Rylee and Elise, our hotel friends from Chania - the reason we're here in the first place was due to their description of Venice Carnevale... they did such a good job making it sound like the perfect thing we changed our itinerary to include it the day before we left for our February adventures. And then, we took off for St. Mark's Square... the costumes! The entertainment! The dancing in the streets! 'Twas all a sight to behold. I'd describe it further, but as they say, pictures (and video) speak a thousand words, and I fully plan on uploading what I took last night (in fact, I was planning on doing it this morning, but I forgot to take my camera with me out into the lobby and effectively locked myself out of our room and am now stuck WITHOUT access to my most recent camera endeavors).

Until then, dear readers, the adventure continues.