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| This impressive performer balanced on, swam in, and (as you can see further below) leapt into in a Venetian-themed cup of coffee, complete with saucer and the half dozen or so sugar cubes Italians like to drink it with |
The 2015 Carnevale officially began last night with the
Festa veneziana sull' acqua, a parade of boats down the Cannaregio Canal. The theme was
Il magico banquetto: una favola del cibo a Venezia (The Magic Banquet: A Fable of Food in Venice) , and though I can't tell you the first thing about the story that may have been being related by the passing floats, I can tell you that the various acrobats who cavorted about them--or, in the case of one, floated high above them--were quite entertaining.
It's a good (and obvious) idea to arrive a little early for this event. I did not and found myself taking photos above the heads of those lining the
fondamenta in front of me, but it was one of the best spectacles I've seen for Carnevale.
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| A giant onion floats above a transparent strawberry pulled by a swan a short distance from the crowded Ponte delle Guglie |
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| I'm assuming the steaming brown liquid this performer cavorted in was tinted water, not actual espresso--but, then again, she did have amazing energy |
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| A performer appears to dangle from a large balloon with an image of a festival of the glorious old Republic of Venice |
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| In the front yard of what I came to think of as the Casa di Carbs, two pizza chefs admire their colleague's acrobatic way of spinning out a new pie |
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| While from the back door of the Casa di Carbs, Miss Pastry tosses muffins to an appreciative crowd |
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| A hot pepper barge plies the Cannaregio Canal in front of what is supposed to be a large pale olive floating above the mototopo celebrating that beloved fruit |
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| Miss Peperoncino |
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| Inside the transparent strawberry |
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| Just a glimpse of this bacchus inspired me to stop for a vin brule before heading home |
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| Catch of the evening |
I agree, they really knocked themselves out with this opening, compared to the 2 I've seen. I'm always late to the party.
ReplyDeleteYou did well, taking photos over the many heads.
If it looks markedly more sophisticated (or however you might put it) than the two previous ones you've seen, Y, I wonder whether this is a good sign or a bad one? By which I mean: Did the ones you see seem more oriented toward locals, and this more tourist-oriented?
DeleteThanks for the photos. We are coming next week for Carnevale. If you see two Elizabethan cats come and say hello.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Andrew, and for providing me with an intriguing image of a couple to keep an eye out for. In fact, such an intriguing image that I might have to set out in search of you. I hope you have a good time here during your stay.
DeleteBeautiful pictures - it seems they went all out this year, so clever and creative.Love catch of the evening! Glad to see the sun has come back!
ReplyDeleteI've never actually seen Cirque du Soleil in person, Bridget, but I suspect the organizers here were aiming for, or aspiring to, that kind of fantastical spectacle. People seemed to enjoy it, and for all the masses of people lining the rail-less canal, I didn't hear that anyone fell (or found themselves pushed by a sudden surge) in. This alone made the evening something of a success, as just a couple days before a tourist had fallen into a canal while taking a "selfie" and had to be rescued by a heroic fellow from Chioggia.
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