Yet Another Angel - Flying This Time!

Venice was beyond busy today.  I have never seen crowds like this in my life!  We started the day by wandering toward the Rialto Mercato (the famous Rialto Market) which, unfortunately, was more or less closed.  We'd wanted to buy some fresh fish for our dinner this evening so we went to our Plan B which was a supermarket on the other side of the Grand Canal.  Rather than walking back to the Rialto Bridge, we took a traghetto (a gondola that you can stand up in - I sat!) across the canal for 2 Euros.  That saved us some time.  Below are some photos I took along the way.  Venice is so photogenic that no matter which was you point a camera you capture an image that is perfect.

 

The Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took our groceries back to the flat and then headed to Piazza San Marco for one of the signature events of Carnevale - "The Flight of the Angel".  The following is an excerpt from the Venice Carnival website.

The “Flight of the Angel” is a traditional event that goes back to the Serenissima period where an unknown guest of Venice, flying along a rope from San Marco bell tower to the middle of the square, will offer an homage to the Doge and be greeted by the crowded parterre of the period costumes parades of the Historical Re-enactments.  As a conclusion, the embrace of the Angel and the Doge will smooth the atmosphere of a square galvanized by scenographical effects always appreciated by the Italian and international networks.  The girl winner of the 2016 edition of the “Festa delle Marie” (Marie contest), Claudia Marchiori, will be the Angel of the new Carnival 2017.

Claudia Marchiori, this year's "Angel" (from the Internet)

It turned out to be a very good idea that we skipped donning our costumes for this event.  The crowds, both heading into the square and in the square were insane.  You really had very little control about where you were going because you had no choice - you just went with the flow.  We did managed to see the angel descending to the stage, however;  also, there were a number of pretty impressive costumes. 

The "Angel" flying over Piazza San Marco from the Campanile to the ground

 

 By the time the event was over, we were very tired of being crushed by people - some of them very aggressive.  It must have taken us 15 or 20 minutes just to extricate ourselves out of the square and into an alley.  We went back to the flat for a break with the hope that the crowds would subside before our next outing which is to meet up with Faye and Barry to get photos of them in their "Pierrot" costumes.

By the time we'd seen Faye and Barry and elbowed our way out to the lagoon, stopping to snap photos of some very amazing costumes, we were starting to fade - again!  Besides, Faye and Barry are coming for dinner this evening so we (or basically Pedro) needs to get ready.  My next post will be photos of some of the amazing costumes we've seen.