Showing posts with label Venice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Venice. Show all posts

Travel :: Packing for Europe

We're already halfway to the weekend y'all! Don't you love short weeks?! Since we're packing up for a little road trip to the Sunshine State this weekend, I've been frantically trying to cross some things off my trusty to-do list.

One thing I've been working on is a photo album of our Europe trip, which is taking me longer than I expected because A) I'm a perfectionist and B) I keep finding myself scrolling through pictures, drooling over the food we ate and wishing I had two weeks off of work again.

I remembered how hard it was for me to pack for unpredictable Spring weather, without completely over-packing and lugging massive suitcases around Italy. I usually lean more toward comfort for trips like this, I certainly wasn't the most fashionable in Paris, but I don't think I looked like a tourist which was a good thing.

Packing for Europe


Jackets/Blazers: I packed my favorite trench coat and although it was a little thin for the colder days we had in Paris, it was perfect for the majority of the trip! We were so lucky to only have 2 days with a little rain but it came in handy at night when it was a little cooler, even in Italy. If I wasn't wearing my trench, I had a navy blue 3/4 sleeve blazer that was easy to throw on if I was chilly.


Dresses: I love wearing dresses in general so I brought one along for the warmer days. Make sure it covers your shoulders, or bring a scarf to cover them, when you're heading to tour churches.

Pants: I packed two pairs of jeans and two pairs of leggings and it worked great with the Spring weather. I never had to wash my jeans and my leggings were easy to wash and hang to dry.

Tops: I brought two short-sleeve tees, two thin button downs, and two or three shirts with 3/4 sleeves. The longer sleeve shirts were my go-to on most days while we were in Italy so I didn't have to bring a jacket. I also wore a thin sweater around Siena and it was perfect in the morning.

Crossbody Bag: This was the number one thing all of my blog friends recommended and they were so right! I brought one big enough for my DSLR and another smaller one for the evenings when I didn't feel like bringing my camera.


Shoes: I debated taking my boots but was glad that I did because I needed them in Venice and Paris. I saved space in my luggage by wearing them on travel days. Pack a comfy pair of flats and some boat shoes or something similar for a more casual tourist day.

Jewelry: I didn't go too crazy on the jewelry while we were in Europe. I don't like bulky statement necklaces while I'm walking around all day but if you're into that, pack one that matches most of your outfits.

Scarves: These were probably the best accessory I packed! I had 3 scarves that I could mix and match with all of my outfits and with the cooler breeze in the Spring, I found myself wearing one almost every day.


We really got lucky with our weather and didn't need any warm clothes in Florence. Even Rome and Siena were in the low-70s and sunny on some days, so I found myself removing my scarf or blazer after a couple hours.

Camera Equipment: For my DSLR, I just packed my stock lens and the charger. It worked great for me since I'm a beginner and I feel like I captured a lot of great photos with it! I brought three memory cards and switched them out every couple of days. We used our phone cameras for any pictures we asked someone to take for us and my hubby got some amazing panoramic shots with his iPhone!


Don't forget an adapter! We brought two (found here and here) and they worked great in both Italy and Paris. You can use the two-prong adapters even if the wall socket fits a three-prong. Just don't force it and pull something straight out of Just Married.

If you're looking for help on packing your carry-on, make sure to check out my guest post over at Newlyweds:North!

Anyone have anything else to add?! I know some of you are planning trips to Europe this summer, so hopefully this will help a little even though you'll be dealing with much warmer weather than we did!

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Travel :: Venice

It's so hard to believe that a month has passed since our trip! It seems like yesterday we were riding around on a gondola and stuffing our faces with pasta. Venice was our second to last stop before venturing off to Paris for our actual one year anniversary.

Venice is one of those places that isn't quite as lively as Rome or Florence, but it's unlike any other city and you don't want to miss it. You can easily cover all of the sights in 1 day but we were glad to have a second day to relax and take our time exploring!

Panoramic view from the Rialto Bridge

When we arrived at the train station in Venice we purchased a 24-hour vaporetto pass and hopped on the slow line for a 20 minute ride down the Grand Canal. We joked that Venice is to Italy what Sarasota is to Florida. Mostly an older crowd going about their business and trying to avoid the tourists who are packing into the vaporetto (water bus).

We stayed at Hotel Bel Sito, which is perfectly situated in walking distance to everything but also has a convenient vaporetto stop about 100 feet away. It was the perfect location and had tons of Venetian charm!



We upgraded for a 'superior' room with a view of the side canal. It was really large with a nice bathroom and was very... green. Even the walls even had green fabric on them but we loved how charming it was in the room. We got to hear the gondoliers singing as they came down the canal, it didn't even seem real!  

Canal Entrance to our hotel and our room windows above {left}, A favorite restaurant on the same canal as our hotel {right}


The first day we headed to St. Mark's Square to see Doge's Palace, the Campanile, St. Mark's Basilica, and the Bridge of Sighs. I think at this point we were a little tired of touring things, so we didn't actually go inside any of the main sights. We ate lunch, took photos, and explored the area.


It was starting to get foggy at this point but this is one of my favorite photos!
Oh yeah... this was about the time I got pooped on by a damn pigeon (for the first time). Luckily it was only on my purse so it wasn't hard to clean. Steve was laughing like a hyena but I was just pissed at the birds and wanted to get away from all the idiots feeding them.

Instead of climbing the Campanile, we thought it would be more fun to ride the water bus to the San Giorgio Maggiore Church and see Venice from the bell tower across the canal. Unfortunately the fog rolled in so quickly that by the time we rode the water bus (roughly 5 minutes away) and made it to the top of the tower via an $8 elevator ride, we shouldn't see anything. ha! Figures!



Rain was in the forecast for the next day so we headed up the Canal to the Rialto Bridge, ate lunch, and did the obligatory gondola ride.



For lunch we ate at Trattoria alla Madonna where I had the best spaghetti bolognese ever!
 

I was hesitant about the gondola ride because it was about $95 but it was totally worth it, we would have regretted not doing it. Our gondolier told us some history and answered some of our questions while taking us up the Grand Canal and along some side canals.

We cracked up for most of the gondola ride because the gondola was leaning to the right (Steve's side) the entire time.


Dinner the first night was at Ristorante da Raffaele, which was pricey but romantic and was right next to our hotel. I ordered the gorgonzola gnocchi, which was the best gnocchi from the whole trip. And as you have seen, I had a lot of gnocchi!

My hot date.
The second day we explored the Rialto market area, picked up some souvenirs, and headed to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum to see some of my favorite Jackson Pollack paintings.
 
Accademia Bridge

We walked around the Accademia Bridge the second night before heading to dinner and packing up for the last leg of our trip.


Our hotel had a water entrance on a side canal, which ended up being a huge advantage since we had to leave at 4 in the morning to get to the airport for our flight to Paris. The hotel arranged a private water taxi for us since the water buses weren't operating that early, and it made it much easier on us to get to the airport. The downside is it was about $120, so keep that in mind when you're booking 7 a.m. flights out of the Marco Polo airport!


The Marco Polo airport is small but Air France had the dumbest check-in machines that people couldn't operate so we were glad we got there early. Once we got on the plane I went over some of the French I learned in college and got my taste buds prepared for macarons, brie, and anything other than Italian food!

Has anyone else been to Venice? What did you think?!

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Friday Favorites

Hello Friday! I hope y'all had a great week!

Anyone else so busy this week that you replaced your lunches with oreos (and almost finished the entire bag) even though you really don't like oreos? No? Just me?! Moving on...

I'm linking up with Christina and April, as well as Lauren for some Friday favorites... easily my favorite post of the week!

ONE. Clothing purchases.

I broke my Lent promise (is that even what you call it? #badcatholic) and purchased some Spring favorites from where else but J. Crew Factory. They were on super sale, I basically had to get them! (P.S. Also loving this blouse with a little bit of an open back!)

Blouse. Button Down. Dress.


I feel like I did a pretty good job not buying clothes until now... I mean, we were in Paris and I managed to pass up lots of pretty clothes there so that has to count for something.

TWO. Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream Eyes

 
I finally found something to hide those dark circles! I had a sample of this stuff and loved it so I had to pick up a full size version. It covers really well without looking cakey, and it blends with the rest of my foundation.

THREE. Afternoon essentials / H&M Swimsuits

Sweet Tea. Sunnies. Lipgloss. Chocolate covered Oreos. Easy reads.

Now that Spring is here (Hello, 85 degrees here this week... eek!) I've really loved taking a quick 20 minute lunch break outside with Ruby. She wanders while I sip some sweet tea and catch up on blogs or peruse Pottery barn catalogs, pretending like I can buy everything in it.

I got this H&M catalog this week though and really loved some of the swimwear, especially this scalloped option and this neon floral one. They may not cover up all your lady parts unless you're size 0 though, its hard to tell...

FOUR. Spring Wreath.



I managed to put together this wreath for Spring, it was a quick project with little effort because I've been so busy lately, but I'm loving the colors! I made it pretty similar to how I made my Fall wreath... you know, basically sticking hot glue on everything and calling it a day!

FIVE. Europe Recaps.

Thank you all for the sweet comments on my Rome recap posts! If you missed them, you can see them here and here. I've still got a few cities left to recap so I'll work our way through more next week! Last night I remembered we took some videos too, so here is my favorite from Venice, edited with the 8mm app!



Anyone else notice how tilted the gondola was? Steve was on that side, we cracked up about it the whole time.

I hope you all have a fab weekend! We've got friends coming over for the Gator basketball game and since I'm only slightly interested in basketball but very interested in food, I've got a big menu for all 4 of us. Homemade salsa, chicken and beef kabobs, and creamsicle cake! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a few more oreos to finish off...

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