This ship is huge. It has eighteen bridges, travels at twenty knots and it hosts up to 4,914 people (3,734 passengers and 1,182 crew members). It has 2, 121 cabins, which 70% of them have a balcony with a view.

It has a sophisticated stabilization and balance system that the passengers will not even realize that they are moving.

Inside there are: a theater, five pools, four restaurants, twenty-two bars, casino, disco, internet café, video game arcade for children, stores of every kind, gym, jogging track and volley and basket ball courts.

So, when you happen to be on a wonderful cruise on Carnival Freedom, remember that the construction took place in Venice.

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It's manufacture is an old art form that has been around for at least seven hundred years. There is a particular process that needs to be followed, and the masters even give demonstrations. Once reaching Murano, just as you get off the boat, there are people from the various glass companies indicating where tourists can view a demonstration.

Venetian glass is beautiful. It's light, delicate and of various brilliant colors. It's an extraordinary and exceptional art form that goes hand-in-hand with a unique city such as Venice. Venice wouldn't be Venice without it, because through the centuries Venice built its mercantile empire with this product.

The most famous of the masters are Venini, Barovier & Toso and Orsoni.

Venini is the most prestigious glass company. It's famous for its amazing vases, lamps and chandeliers, and many of these pieces can be found in auctions around the world. The address is: Fondamenta Vetrai 47, Muran0.
Barovier & Toso are the oldest masters, and they have been in production for seven hundred years. They are noted has being the first to add color to the glass work. The address is: Fondamenta Vetrai 28, Murano.
The masters of Orsoni aren't famous for their glass pieces, but for their production of mosaic tiles. They have what is known as the "library of color" with 5000 different colored tiles. These tiles cans be purchased in bags by the kilo. The address is: Cannaregio 1045, Venice.
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Remember, the Carnival ends on February 20th. I hope you all have a lot of fun!

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This experience has made me think that tourists might come up against the unexpected. While away from home they can get ill, or have an accident. I'm sure tourists wonder what king of medical treatment they will be receiving in the country they are visiting. Well, tourists have nothing to worry about Italy. Yes, it's a social medical system, and most times people in the world connect this to inferior care. This is absolutely untrue. Not only have I experienced expert care in hospitals and by doctors, but here in Italy they have something that we in the United States don't have. This is what is called the Guardia Medica. Basically, if you have someone at home who is sick, but not in an emergency state to call an ambulance you would call the  Guardia Medica, and they administer to the patient at home.

I'm sure that nothing terrible will happen to you on your next visit to Venice, but feel completely safe that you will be properly cared for.
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Italians, and Venetians aren't any different, love to buy items at the outside, street markets especially fruits and vegetables. Venice's open market is Mercatino San Leonardo, and it's located on Rio Terrà San Leonardo. It's small, but from the early morning hours you can purchase high quality fruits and vegetables.

The other open market in Venice is the fish market. It's located near the Rialto bridge at the Pescheria di Rialto. All fish is bartered under a Venetian style portico, it's very noisy and it's fun to listen to the people speaking the Venetian dialect. Even here you can go early in the morning and already find the stands filled with fresh fish.

Then, if you are interested in seeing what an Italian mall looks like there are two choices. Directly from Piazzale Roma there is free bus service back and forth to these two malls. The first is Panorama, and the second is Carrefour. Panorama, in Marghera, and Carrefour, in Marcon, are the two hypermarkets in the shopping center. The Panorama center has only a few stores. If you want to see more of a selection it's best to go to Carrefour.

If you want to visit the Venetian version of a department store, then the place to go is COIN. The last floor is especially nice, for it has interesting items for the home. It's located at Cannaregio 5787, and they opened a separate store for cosmetics called CoinBeauty located at Campo San Luca.

If you are interested in an upper scale shopping mall, then the place to visit is Le Barche. It's located in Mestre, and just like the other two shopping centers named above you can get a bus from Piazzale Roma.
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Frittelle are made by preparing a dough with flour, milk, eggs, sugar, a pinch of salt, yeast, raisins, lemon and grated apple. After these ingredients have been mixed to obtain a soft dough, it should rest in a warm place. Once the dough is ready, a pan is filled with oil, little round balls are formed and fried until gold. Dry off the excess oil and throw powdered sugar on the top. In certain locations of the province of Venice you will find these frittelle filled with cream.

Galani, or in certain parts of the province of Venice they are called crostoli, are also made with a simple dough recipe. This dessert is prepared with flour, sugar, butter, a few drops of anise and a pinch of salt. This dough is flattened out on a table, and then let to rest for awhile. Then, it is flattened as thin as possible with a rolling pin. The dough is then cut into rhombus shaped pieces with tiny holes, usually made with a fork, punched into the dough to secure a bubbling effect. Once cooled, these are spinkled with powdered sugar.

I can't wait to eat them!

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The most famous and used mask of the Carnival of Venice is called the bauta. This is the one the you will see more than  any other. This mask has been used since the Middle Ages. It usually covers the entire face, with a long and pronounced chin and no mouth. There is another version that only covers the upper part of the face, which disguises the identity of the person at the same time allowing him or her to eat or drink.

Historically this mask was also used on other occasions outside of the Carnival. This would allow its wearers to hide themselves when they wanted no one to know that they were indulging in things that weren't legal, or well seen. It allowed people of high social status to take actions that they wouldn't otherwise have normally taken.

Therefore, hiding your identity for a few days can actually turn out to be very interesting.

Until tomorrow...

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There is another historical landmark that isn't yet visited as much as the buildings in St. Mark's Square. It's Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo. It's located at San Marco 4299, which is right off Campo Manin.

This building is original architecturally. It was completed in 1499, and an example of the late Venetian Gothic style.The façade has a spiral staircase with arches that go around the tower structure.

Once all the way at the top the view is breathtaking. It's a perfect view of the city from the rooftops, and it's also possible to take pictures of the church towers of the city. To top it all off, since it isn't yet a highly trafficked area, it's possible to spend a lot of time taking photos and just quietly enjoying the view.

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It's interesting to look at the sides of the buildings when there isn't any water. Right at the level where the water hits the buildings the brick has decayed. Right underneath the water near the mud the buildings have been preserved.

Many people have often wondered what would happen to them if they fell in a canal. Well, many remember the famous scene in the film Summertime starring Katherine Hepburn. In one of her scenes she falls into a canal, and she supposedly had a recurring eye infection for the rest of her life. Maybe because that was 1955. Since then there have been many efforts to clean up the lagoon with positive results.

In fact, my husband had a little accident. He was working setting up structures at the Biennale, the annual contemporary art exposition, and it's necessary to bring all materials by boat. While stepping off the boat he slipped and fell in the water. He arrived home with dried mud on his clothes, and he didn't suffer any other consequences.

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In 1998, during restoration work being done to Teatro Malibran (Malibran Theater) archeologists of the city of Venice were on site to make some controls. While working, they discovered that underneath this building there were remains of another building. Luckily everything in the Venetian archives is well documented, and it still has information on the life of this area. With this information it was much easier to identify what was found.

The theater originally opened in the late 1600s, and it was considered the most important one until the opening of La Fenice. From that time Teatro Malibran was practically abandoned. Then in 1998 new life was brought to the theater with its restoration project. It officially reopened in 2001.

Of course, if you have enough time in Venice there is nothing like attending one of their performances. Also, most theaters have guided tours. If not, then take a gondola ride, the gondolier will most likely indicate the theater and maybe even say something about the discovery of Marco Polo's home.

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