Coaching for Pizza: An Overnight Road Trip to Venezia for the Start of Carnevale

Sunday, 17 February, 2019

I have long wanted to take a trip to Venice during their famous pre-Lenten Carnevale and since the timing was right, today was that day.

The Carnevale lasts for about two weeks in this gorgeous, unique city on a lagoon and this was the opening weekend for the annual festivities.

It was also one of the last weekends for some time to come that our Skorpions do not have a scrimmage or a game to play, so I decided, at the last second, to take an overnight road trip.

I made a one night hotel reservation in the heart of Venice's San Marcos district late Saturday night and on Sunday morning I was off.

Off bright and early that is.

My first issue was that on Sundays, the first C line bus of the day does not run until 7:30 a.m.

Due to the excitement, I was awake way too early so I still showered and dressed and walked to the first open bar that I could find for my usual cappuccino and a fantastic honey infused brioche to wait for the first leg of the day's transportation.

The first C line bus of the day

picked me up right on time here

The Varese Nord train station was my next stop to catch the 8:16 a.m. express train into Milano's Cadorna station for a rapid 52 minutes run.

The Varese train station sits 375.90 meters

or 1,233 feet above sea level

Due to the lack of people at the train station at this hour on a Sunday, it was the first time that I had ever spotted this sign that is usually covered up by commuters sitting on a bench in front of it.

Once safely in Milan, I needed to catch another ride, this time on the Metro's #2 Green Line for the five exit jaunt to the Milano Centrale train station.

I needed to then buy a ticket to board one of TrenItalia's high speed Frecciarossa trains for the two hour and 25 minute ride to Venice's Santa Lucia train station.

I was able to board this 9:45 a.m.

Freccisrossa train bound for Venezia

It left only 15 minutes after I arrived at Milano Centrale and, despite my tight schedule, I actually remembered to validate my ticket before boarding!

The conductor, once we were moving, gave me the Paul Sabolic Rider-of-the-Month Award for having been calm enough to have performed this all important task.

Last year on a trip to Bergamo, I forgot to validate my ticket which led to all sorts of on board issues with the train conductor that fateful day.

At about 12:10 p.m. we arrived in Venezia

Lots of bridges in Venezia

There are over 400 bridges of varying sizes in Venice but only a few span the Grand Canal like this one by the Vaporetto stop near the Santa Lucia train station.

The Vaporettos are Venice's water buses that transport locals and tourists alike up and down the Grand Canal.

After bus, train, metro, train and vaporetto rides, I would finally be at my hotel only about five and a half hours after leaving the Villa Skorpion II!

Gondolas and churches abound

on the Grand Canal . . .

. . . as do several . . .

. . . interesting . . .

. . . buildings . . .

. . . like this one

The iconic Rialto Bridge up close

Gondola station near

the Rialto Bridge

The Rialto Bridge from afar

Just like in Lombardia,

yellow is THE in color this season

A view back at the

Ponte dell'Accademia

The Piazza San Marco's Campanile

There had been a large Carnevale-themed boat parade down the Grand Canal in the morning while I was aboard the Frecciarossa train. I was hoping that I might still find some costumed revelers on the Piazza San Marcos.

They they were right by the

Palazzo Ducale, a.k.a., the Doge's Palace

A costumed family on the Piazza

The famed Piazza

San Marcos Campanile

A temptress near the

Basilica di San Marco

An old person also by the

Basilica di San Marco

Looking GOOD!

Watch out for these two!

The enchanting façade of the

Basilica di San Marco

Every great piazza has to have a large,

ornate astronomical clock

This black magic woman . . .

. . . may have cast a spell on me!

Rubbing elbows with the local aristocracy

In the running for today's

Most Photogenic Couple Award

Giorgio and Santa Barbara's

family business in Venezia?

A tall woman in a billowing

red dress

Hubba-hubba!

I really need to find my hotel and get rid of my backpack.

That's not it . . .

. . . there it is on a nice, quiet alleyway

in a great location only a four

minutes walk from Piazza San Marcos

The Hotel Flora

Calle Bergamaschi 2283A

San Marco district

Venezia, Italia

Telephone +39 041 520 5844

Even career Gondoliers are not

immune from the dangers of

cell phone use while paddling

Just a random church of no

apparent consequence

This way to Venice's famed

La Fenice Opera House

A near head-on gondola catastrophe

on a small canal

Look at the top of this La Fenice

Opera House poster of events

In about 45 minutes the La Fenice will be have a matinee performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Il Re Pastore, in English, The Shepherd King.

I wonder if I can still buy a ticket?

A gondola passing beneath me

while I stood on a bridge

La Fenice Opera House

I was able to buy a ticket to the Mozart opera!

But I still had some time to kill

before they opened the doors

Window shopping was just the thing to do.

I really liked this Carnevale mask

This shop had some really

guady masks

Laurie loves cherries . . .

. . . and hearts

Gondola traffic jam on Venice's

answer to the 405 at rush hour

It was time to enter the venerable

Opera House opened in 1792 A.D.

Nice curtain

The high class box seats were

too rich for my blood

A view of the theatre while the

orchestra warms up

HUGE chandelier!

Ornate ceiling

Who sits in that large

Royal Box today?

During the intermission

I was a bit confused at first as the lead male role of the Shepherd King himself, is always played by a female soprano.

And she was not a Fat Lady, as a matter of fact, all three of the women singing in today's opera were extremely fit.

How would we ever know when the opera was over?

Near my seat as Act II

was about to start

Everyone taking their well deserved bows

I felt way more cultured as I left La Fenice.

But I felt much more hungry than sophisticated, a problem was that many of the great sounding Venice restaurants found in my Italy for the Gourmet Traveler book were closed on Sundays.

Time to roam . . .