Day 26: Venice to Florence- Mask-Hunting and Limoncello

I had a few hours to enjoy Venice before catching my 1 pm train, so I went on a mission to find the perfect mask. My requirements: made in Venice, no glitter, and not too crazy expensive. Turns out that's a pretty impossible set of standards, but I was determined. So I kept searching and searching, and saw some really cool mask shops along the way.





Then I found the best one of all: Zago e Molin. I was so confused at first, because the masks here were identical to the ones I'd seen at other stores for twice the price. I mentioned this to Molin, one of the shop owners. She laughed and said it was because they're the shop that makes all those masks, then they sell to other shops, who have to mark them up to make a profit. So basically, I just walked into a wholesale shop for handmade Venetian masks! Score!








The lacy masks below, for example, were €66 at other places, and only €35 here. That's about a $45 difference... Pretty crazy.


I bought a mask like the one in the bottom right corner of this photo, except mine is sort of a dark dirty silver color. I loooove it.


I also got to meet Zago, the "mask master," as his wife calls him. It was cool to meet the guy who actually made my mask... Something you don't get when you buy a €5 mask made in China!


With my mask in hand, I was a happy camper. I wandered around Venice a little longer, then caught my train to Florence.


It was a long and hot walk from the train station to my hostel, but my place was so nice that I immediately forgot about the stress of finding it. I had my own room, and a super cute view of little Italian apartments all around.





I stayed in my room for a long time that day because it was the first game of the Iowa Hawkeyes football season. So I figured I'd get dinner afterwards, but because of the 90 minute rain delay it was after 10 pm by the time the game finally ended. The guy at the front desk told me that a nearby restaurant, Tito's, might still be open... And it was! Their kitchen was actually closing when I got there, but they warmly welcomed me in anyway. I told them I'd like pasta and that I'd eat whatever they made. The waiter said "okay, I bring you a surprise, yes?" and that sounded good to me. He brought guitar pasta with tomato sauce, basil, and ricotta cheese. So good! There is seriously just something different about the noodles here. They're incredible! I also ordered a half litre of red wine, thinking it would be the perfect amount... And it probably would've been, except my waiter kept bringing me shots of limoncello!





It was a really fun night. The waiters and cooks visited my table often to check on me and fill my wine glass, and other people at the restaurant were having as much fun as I was... Dancing around their tables, ordering more limoncello and grappa. I could tell I was going to like Florence! But as I walked out of the restaurant and saw a 65+ year old tourist throwing up in the street, I was reminded that it was important to pace myself :)

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