venice

a ridiculously early flight out of paris had me staying over at a friend's teensy-tiny apartment the night before (thanks neesh!), as she's a good lot closer to the airport than me. nonetheless, i was up at 5am to get myself to the airport in time. several easjet queues later (checking-in online to save time queuing is a bold-faced lie) and finding out that i am actually the queen of packing (only 10kg, win!) - i was en route to venice.

this magical italian lagoon island is exactly how lonely planet describes it; never-never land. spiderweb-like, winding turquoise canals. elegant gondolas in black, red and gold. artistically crumbling buildings lining narrow alleyways. italian flags, hung from window sills (surprisingly not cringe-worthy wog patriotism...) & rippling in the soft, warm breeze. gelaterias boasting a never-ending selection of delicious flavours. the smell of wood-oven pizzas wafting out of shops...

i came to venice to catch up with friends from back home in australia. it's been a good five months since i've seen them, so it was such a great opportunity to kick back with them... in italy, of all places. the epitome of 'the hard life' - with lots of 2.20€ gelati pit-stops (my favourite flayva combo: fragola & stracciatella), cheeky slices (aka pizza) & delicious pasta... it's safe to say that we ate well while here.

it is widely-known that no matter how good your map-reading skills are, you will inevitably get lost in this labyrinthine city. there's no cars, motorbikes, bikes, trains or buses here (well, there's water buses along the grand canal...€€), so to get from A to B becomes a matter of just winding your way through the alleyways - following spraypainted arrows & sharpie'd directions. everyday was a new adventure.


sad news: being the clever person i am, i've somehow managed to wipe half of my photos from venice. more than slightly devastated, i'm in the middle of raking the internet for ways to recover some 400 odd photos. suggestions are warmly welcomed! fingers crossed i manage to bring them safely back home - but in the meantime, here's a random bunch of snaps (aka photo overload - all the photos were gorgeous, i couldn't choose!) from our first couple of days in 'the floating city'...


ciao!



S.

gelati numero uno...

heaven in a tub

venetian washing lines

cheeky nap after a hard day living in venice

always full of gondolas - some famous house sits along this fondamenta

colour-coordinated italiano pegs

went for a gorgeous gondola trip throught venice's narrow, winding canals

very low bridges, had to duck our heads!

grand canal ♥ 

our gondolier

picture perfect

bought an amazing leather bag here for 15€

ponte dell'accademia locks

italian vogue feat. excessive amounts of pegs

gelati number..... oops, i lost count

sharing is caring

gondola repair station

love/hate relationship with our cabin's door beads

the grand canal

rooftop terrace ♥

nom

would you fancy a cone or a clip?

venezia la notte

lonely planet ftw

window shopping