One of our last days in Europe was spent in Venice, one of the most charming cities I have ever been to. To be honest, originally, I had wanted to skip Venice. It was out of the way, accessible by water (future cruise possibility, why waste time driving there…) and it was never at the top of my priority list. But my sisters both were dying to go there and so we added it to our itinerary. I couldn’t believe how much I liked it once we got there. There isn’t much to see when compared to Paris but I felt like I could spend at least a week there, wandering through every street and corner.
When we arrived late the first day, the group was a bit hangry and so we decided to hit up a local joint close to us, Il Profeta, a cute restaurant with awesome outdoor seating in the back. Pizza was on all of our minds and so each of us got a different one and started sampling. My favorite was the mozzarella/basil pizza my mom picked out – absolutely amazing.
The view from one of the windows of our rental home – we stayed at a large home in the less-touristy part of Venice (in Dorsoduro). It was a bit further from everything but we preferred it that way. It was peaceful, quiet, and full of locals.
We decided to explore San Marco Square the next day – A was hands down the best maps expert one could ever ask for. I’m not sure how he was able to guide us through Venice’s streets with only a few mishaps – he was also our GPS throughout the entire trip in Europe! Without him, we would’ve been quite lost.
I wish I could say we ran into this place by chance, but I actually found it on Trip Advisor before the trip. We spent a bit of time looking for it but it was well-worth the hunt. The gelato is out of this world and we literally made a run there the next morning before taking off to Austria. We tried the stracciatella and on the second round, we had chocolate and coffee mousse. We didn’t realize what mousse was and if we did it over, we would’ve opted for the gelato. It was tasty but a bit heavy.
Our favorite pasta place was a tiny little place called Alfredo’s Probably the best pasta I have ever had – a “fast food” restaurant that I’ll take over a McDonalds any day. Again, this was a Trip Advisor find and one that was rated highly for affordable pasta. There is no sit-down place, just a small area you order from and a window where you pick up your order. They have several pastas available (the alfredo was to die for), all with homemade pasta. You can actually see the pasta being made through the pickup window. It’s also run by a group of charming people so it adds character. We picked up our order and sat by the closest bridge.
My mom wanted to take a trip to Murano (glass making island) and Burano (lace making island). We had read that Murano was a 10-minute trip via the vaporetto and since we had purchased the unlimited 48-hour tickets, it was a free ride. You can see the rain and clouds overtaking Venice as we were leaving. The trip ended up taking quite a bit longer than we were expecting (Burano is much much farther) and since we arrived in the evening, everything was closed. We all felt like it was a bit of a wasted trip – maybe during the day it’s much more fun but they both were dead towns. At least they were colorful!
On the island of Murano – below you can see some gorgeous sunset views once the rain had passed.
Outfit 1 Dress: Asos (similarhere) // Sandals: Elliott Lucca // Jacket: Stefanel // Bag: Deux Luxe
Back in Venice…Venice is gorgeous at night. Everything lights up and looks just as charming.
On the morning we were leaving, we stopped at Majer, another Trip Advisor find. I wanted to grab some breakfast pastries. The place was small but the pastries were amazing. We tried a Venetian cookie, a lemon bar and a cannoli. Then we were off to the Rialto Bridge. It was overcrowded and stifling but I managed to capture a few shots of the canal from the bridge.
Dressing for formal night on a cruise ship can be a bit intimidating. Gone are the days when formal nights exclusively meant tuxes for men and long gowns for women. In today’s modern day society of cruising, any elegant dress will do, be it a floral silk-type dress like mine, a long evening gown or…
Lace up flats are the best. You all know that my appreciation for flats has been a recent thing – my love for heels has been difficult to overcome but I’ve gradually managed to add a few heel-less shoes here and there. The secret to these lace up flats is the hidden wedge. So really, I didn’t sacrifice…
One of the easiest dishes to prepare is fish but for some reason or another, it gets passed by all too often. Usually people think fish is too difficult to prepare or too expensive but all things considered, it’s the same as any other protein. My favorite fish recipe to make is cumin-curry tilapia. I…
I’d have to name watermelon at the top of my “Favorite Fruits” list. It definitely beats bananas and pineapple and comes close to mangos and figs. Over the past year or so, I’ve come across several people who have mentioned eating watermelon salads. At first, I thought they were referring to a melon salad. But…
One of our favorite Asian dishes is dumplings. I remember the first time we tried them. It was a few years ago, right after we bought our first house. We had just finished meeting up with a craigslist seller (a contractor) who was selling off a huge lot of wood flooring. We bought the entire…
I’m ending this week on a sweet note. This is the second time I’ve made this cheesecake this month and we loved it both times. I don’t know about you all but cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts to eat and make – when A and I lived in Maryland, we frequented the Cheesecake Factory, always…
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