Venice carnival cakes!

This past weekend we took a trip to Venice!  We went during the last weekend of Carnival so the city was crazy and soo much fun!  I loved everything about Venice- the masks, the large crowds, the special shows, and, above all, the Carnival cakes!  I've seen some carnival cakes around Rome, but not like in Venice.  They are literally everywhere- on every street corner and in every little shop!  There are lots of different versions of the carnival cakes, but my favorite is the traditional fried dough balls, covered in powdered sugar.  The first time me and my friends went into a store and shared a stick of them, each only getting one.   We immediately went back to get more, each getting our own stick of the fried dough balls this time.  When you eat them, they immediately melt in your mouth.  I am usually a huge chocolate fan and shy away from any dessert that does not contain chocolate, but I would take these carnival cakes over chocolate any day!  The combination of the sweet sticky balls and powdered sugar is amazing!  Its a shame that these carnival cakes are only found in Italy for the month or so surrounding Carnival.  Its cool that I got to witness such a popular and important festival in Italy.  I love how all parties, festivals, holidays, etc.. in Italy are associated with food.  I absolutely love food and revolve my days around what I'm eating.  Thus, I associate food with very strong emotions and memories and love how all Italians do the same by eating certain foods or practicing specific food traditions at holidays and special occasions.  I will now always associate these fried dough balls with the wonderful time I had in Venice at Carnival!