Venice Carnival 2010 took place 5-16 February this year. I am glad I was able to attend this extraordinary tradition. Last week I blogged about the Fire Show by a French group, La Salamandre. I am still on the Venice Carnival topic (sorry, can not help it). In this post I will showcase a few of the costumes I was able to capture with my camera.

A Little Bit of History

The word carnival comes from Latin for “Farewell, meat!”. The Carnival takes place just before Lent. All meat, butter and eggs had to be used before the fasting period starts. This was a great opportunity for a party! The history of the Venice Carnival tradition began after 1162. Although, 1268 dates the first document mentioning the use of masks.

In the beginning of the 1900s, Mussolini banned the Carnival. Luckily, in 1979, a group of Venetians and lovers of Venice decided to revive the tradition. Since then the image of the mask has become a worldwide icon of Venice.

Venice Carnival Masks

It is the masks in particular that makes the Venice Carnival so unique. The idea is to overturn the social order in Venice. If you cannot identify the person behind the mask, you do not know his/her social status.

Some of the masks depicted Commedia dell’Arte (Italian, meaning “comedy of professional artists”) characters. Others were more sinister.

The famous white-beaked mask was originally for the Plague Doctor. The mask was to protect the face, which included protective crystal eyes. The beak which was stuffed with spices or herbs to purify the air that the doctor breathed.

Another one of my favourites is the Gatto (means cat in Italian). Cats were so scarce in Venice that they became the subject of one of the most typical masks. Legend has it that a man who owned nothing but his old cat, came to Venice from China. The cat got rid of all the mice in the palace and the man became rich. I have also heard that prostitutes start wearing the Gatto masks.

A Few Costumes I Captured

More photos of the Carnival and my trip around Venice can be viewed at my Flickr photostream.

I feel blessed to have had a break to the Carnival in Venice, 12-15 February 2010. I am still mesmerized by the whole experience. The sun was out, the people were friendly and the vibe of the festival in general was merry. During the time of the Carnival (Saturday, 06 February 2010 – Tuesday, 16 February 2010) numerous events take place everyday. One in particular stood out for me. A fire show in the Garden of Wonders of the Piazza San Marco by French group of six, “La Salamandre” on Saturday 13 February at 20:30. They had a second show on the Sunday night, at the same time.

I am still a novice at photography, but try to experiment as much as I can when I go traveling. The photography in this post was taken by me. I find night photography still a bit difficult. Another challenge is movement with strong contrast in light and dark. On top of that I was in a crowd of people, but managed or tried to take advantage of my height.

The first photo was still in the experimenting stage, but the ‘effect’ is rather interesting.

Watching the fire show with their chosen music gave me goosebumps. I have managed to find a short snippet, video clip on YouTube to get an (slight) idea.

More photos of the Carnival and my trip around Venice can be viewed at my Flickr photostream.

There might be some browsers where my Polaroid photos are not going to display/work the way it should… updated your browser (IE is not too kind with this post).

My family lives in the southern hemisphere. Making a turn at the south point of Africa was not in the itinerary for 2009. What to do for Christmas? 2007 I was on an adventure of my own through Belgium. 2008 I went to Prague. I have not been to Paris before. “Christmas in Paris” sounds nice. Busabout from Radical Travel offered a great itinerary.

Thursday, 24 December 2009

My first day of holiday was an early rise to make it in time for check in from 7:15, at the Busabout headquarters in Victoria, London. With a group of over 40 people, 7:30 sharp we were ready to hit the road to Dover, UK. The guide introduced himself and gave us a bit of inside track and history of Paris. After mostly sleeping on the bus, everyone was happy to mingle on the ferry, crossing the channel to Calais, France. The approximate 1.5 hours was enough to stock up on coffee, brunch and the necessary shopping in the duty free shops. We reached Calais, France at about 12:30 (GMT +1:00). The snow was still thick in the country side and a bit fog on the road. We made a 20 minute pit stop to make it in good time at our accommodation, St Christopher’s in Paris. Most people did not waste too much time freshening up for a welcome drink, that was followed by dinner. After dinner we were back on the bus for the guide’s own ‘Paris by night’ tour, taking in all the sights the great city has to offer. The bus made a stop at the Eiffel Tower and in time for the light show. We had to wait 20 minutes before our group could head up. All the entrepreneurs trying to sell souvenirs was more overwhelming than the rain at that time. The view from the middle was colourful with all the lights from Paris. Unfortunately, right at the top we ended up in a cloud, with absolutely nothing to see half a meter away.

Pit stop on the way to Paris

Light show of Eiffel Tower

Absolute top of Eiffel Tower

Friday, 25 December 2009

Xmas day! Clear blue sky! After a quick breakfast for me, it was time to get out and about in the breathtaking city. First we head out to the Château de Versailles for a wander around the spectacular gardens and a mid-morning snack. After Versailles I decided to have a wonder along Avenue de Champs. From The Obelisk of Concord, through all the Christmas markets, making a u-turn at the Arc de Triomphe. After sunset, dinner at St Christopher’s was a traditional roast meal (including Foie gras) and all the trimmings. Not long after the Christmas dinner, armed with a couple bottles of wine, we head through the little streets of Montmartre filled with artists and restaurants. From there we had to climb a (great) few steps up Montmartre hill to get a closer look at Sacre Coeur. The Sacre Coeur looked amazing with the spot lights over the famous white finish. From the front of Sacre Coeur, a great view of Paris can be seen.

Château de Versailles

Avenue de Champs

Arc de Triomphe

Sacre Coeur

Saturday, 26 December 2009

After a few baguettes and strong coffees it was time for the day’s itineraries to start. I jumped on a Fat Tire bike and experienced Paris in a pack of over 40 bikes through streets and parks of central Paris. The tour guide has been living in Paris for over 8 years and had a great knowledge of the history of the city and other interesting stories to go with the scenery. All the bikes were parked for lunch in Tuileries Gardens. Then we head off with our bikes to board a river boat to see Paris from the water. Passing places such as the Grand Palais, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Louvre Museum, Saint Chapelle and Notre Dame. By late afternoon we dropped off the bikes and there was a little bit of time to stray off the pack. “The National Lampoons Louvre Trip in 60 Minutes” had to fill this gap. With limited time we had to make a bit of a run through the Denon and Sully area to capture at least the most popular pieces; Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and The Winged Victory of Samothrace. The evening was topped of by dinner at a local French restaurant Le Marmite. The onion soup (with a layer of cheese on top and pieces of french bread underneath) is highly recommended!

Fat Tire Bike Tours

Notre Dame

Louvre

Le Marmite

Sunday, 27 December 2009

Au revoir, Paris!

Update

When I downloaded my photos of Paris (cut and paste), all of them was corrupt. I was rather upset and disappointed without thinking clearly. With a lot of good advice and suggestions from people I was able to retrieve my photos with MjM Free Photo Recovery Software. It worked like a charm. All the photos in this blog post was taken by me. View more photos of this trip at my Flickr Photostream or Facebook.