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Invitation: Venice Carnivale (Venuto Carnevale)

Join a group of friends and me in our own private villa for the incredible Venice Carnivale in February, 2020!

Image result for venice carnival 2020

The entire 2020 Venice Carnival will begin on Saturday, February 8 and ends on Tuesday, February 25.  Over the course of the event, there is an abundance of activities from free to very expensive:

Here are the details for our very own private Venice Carnevale experience:

Dates:

Arriving Sunday February 16th, departing Monday February 24th – please note I will be there for the entire week, however some friends are only able to make it from Wednesday 19th to Monday 24th.

Accommodation:

We have our own private villa – all to ourselves!  It is on the Riviera del Brenta, about 30 minutes from Venice.

You can read more about our villa and view lots of photos here:  http://luxuriousnomad.com/my-italian-villa-on-the-riveria-del-brenta/

Villa Ducale

Airport Transfers

Flying into Venice Airport, the villa will arrange transfers for everyone.

Costumes

If you look at the links to the events pages, you will see the type of costumes everyone will be wearing.
  • If you don’t want to invest in your own costume, the villa has ones you may rent.

Itinerary

This is essentially just a group of friends gathering together around a central event and while these are suggested activities, feel free to do your own thing if you like!

——-

SUNDAY 16TH:
  • Arrival – dinner at the villa (in costume if you have it)
MONDAY 17TH:
TUESDAY 18TH:
  • Road trip – destination yet to be decided OR feel free to head in to Venice to explore on your own (https://venice-carnival-italy.com/events-calendar/)
  • Dinner – no fixed plans – there are ample places nearby to eat (the villa restaurant is closed Tuesdays)
WEDNESDAY 19TH:
THURSDAY 20TH:
FRIDAY 21ST:
SATURDAY 22ND:

DINNER CRUISE EVENT DETAILS

After a toast with our crew on board, the Galleon will slowly start sailing towards the northern part of the Venetian lagoon Sailing past the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello and offering a charming panoramic views, whilst on board you can taste the Great Carnival buffet with all specialties prepared with care by our Venetian Chef and then the party

A not-to-be-missed appointment on board a true Venetian Galleon, enjoy an exclusive evening on board of great food, music and lots of fun during Venice Carnival!
After a toast with our crew on board, the Galleon will slowly start sailing towards the northern part of the Venetian lagoon.
Sailing past the most important Islands of Venetian Lagoon Murano, Burano and Torcello enjoy the charming panoramic views whilst on board.
You can taste the Great Carnival buffet with all the specialties prepared with care by our Venetian Chef. In the meanwhile our live band will liven up the evening with great songs and music.
After dinner we will head towards Venice and make a toast in front of magnificent Saint Mark’s square, capturing the magic and elegance of the most ancient Carnival of the world celebrating together Venice Carnival whilst dancing to the all the latest hits.
On board we will continue the party with Carnival trumpets, streamers, and traditional Venetian desserts like Frittelli and Galani.
It’s a wonderful fun evening from the beginning and until the moment you disembark.

Program:

h. 20:00
Embarkation of guests in Venice – Naval Museum. Welcome aperitif while sailing into Saint Mark’s basin.
h. 20:30
Start buffet dinner while sailing to the northern parts of the lagoon: Murano, Burano and Torcello…
h. 22:00 ca.
At the end of dinner, toast in front of Saint Mark’s square
h. 00:00
Disembarkation of guests in Venice – Naval Museum

*Price per person: € 110,00
SUNDAY 23RD:
MONDAY 24TH:
  • Depart

Accommodation Cost

The villa has been wonderful and arranged a very special low rate for us:

  • DOUBLE ROOM for 1 Person – €70.00 per night
  • DOUBLE ROOM for 2 Persons – €120.00 per night (€60.00 per night per person)
  • JUNIOR SUITE (only 1 available) for 3 Persons – €140.00 per night (€47.00 per night per person)
  • FAMILY SUITE (only 1 available) for 4 Persons – €180.00 per night (€45.00 per night per person)

Event Cost

The only event we have booked together as a group is the dinner cruise and that is €110.00 per person – and please note, must be booked separately (as listed above).

Apart from that, feel free to do as many or as little events as you choose!

…and as for the road trips, obviously my rental car will only accommodate so many people – so it will depend on who would also like to rent a car and we can convoy to some glorious places through that part of Italy!

How to book?

Chances are if we have already discussed that, your room is already booked – and if not, please contact me immediately.

I have secured the entire villa for us, however you will need to give the villa a deposit to confirm and secure your room.

Please email Irene at Villa Ducale info@villaducale.it and she will arrange to take the deposit.

See you in February!

~ Bella

 

Exploring Vicenza and surrounds

It was a foggy morning when I headed off in the direction of Vicenza to see what I could discover…

Even Italian tractor drivers pull out in front of you and behave like ‘Italian drivers’!

There were mansions like this out in the middle of fields…

…and this lady wasn’t crossing the street – she was walking down the middle of it.  Definitely Italian!

The fellows repairing this road were doing so in the middle of traffic – nothing cordoned off – cars just drove around them…

Renovator’s dream?

…and back to home sweet home…

~ Bella

Exploring Dolo in provincial mainland Venice

Dolo rests on the Brenta River, the waterway that connected Venice/Venezia to Padua/Padova.

During mostly the 1500s, the Venetian aristocracy built grand country homes in this area to escape the city and enjoy large gardens and hunting grounds – of which my amazing villa is one such grand country home.

Around the 16th century, Dolo was the heart of the economy and craftsmanship of Riviera del Brenta, with mills, post offices, locks and the only ‘squero’ where boats were built.

This is the oldest part of town…

There is sooooo much more to see here, but this is at least a quick snapshot to give you an idea of how lovely it is – and only about 30 minutes from Venice!

~ Bella

My Italian villa on the Riviera del Brenta

Welcome to my home for the next month…

I even have my own mini-villa in the grounds of this glorious estate… and I love my morning ritual of opening all the shutters…  This is the view from my bathroom…

…view from my bedroom…

…and view from my front door…

This villa is also part of the estate but was damaged first in the earthquake of 2012 then in the hurricane of 2016.  They are hoping to raise enough money to restore it…

Buonasera…

~ Bella

Hello Italy and Lake Como

The first place I stayed was a delightful little family-run hotel near Lake Como.

The next morning, continuing my drive across from Milan to Venice, I drove around lovely Lake Como… complete with skinny, windy roads and crazy Italian drivers!

Oh, and this was the bus going the other way that clipped my mirror…

Despite appearances to the contrary, this is a road with traffic going both directions…

Parking with wifi cameras?

~ Bella

Ferrari-time…

Lovely morning to head off to drive a Ferrari or two…

 

 

 

…then off to the famous Restaurante Cavallino…

~ Bella

Brescia to Parma, Italy

It wasn’t until I was putting some food and drink items on my bucket list (such as eat bolognese in Bologna, drink burgundy in Burgundy etc) did I realise that there is a place called Parma related to parmesan cheese!

~ Bella