Leaving the Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia train station was like stepping out of a time machine. Staring at the hustle and bustle of the Grand Canal transported me into a movie scene of a busy port in the early 20th century. My moment of awe was quickly interrupted by the intense wave of summer heat. Just as I was contemplating ditching my luggage right there at the station, Adam looked up from his map and pointed across the canal. “There’s our hotel” he said defiantly, “the Santa Chiara.” Adam had been to Venice before and knew to book a hotel as close to the train as possible, something I was clearly unaware of until that moment. Thankfully, this meant I could keep my suitcase and even carry it over to our accommodations without fainting.
The humidity in Venice in mid-September is incredible. I could only bring myself to wear loose and light dresses (see the bottom of this post for links to shop) and I would re-curl my hair at least 3 times per day. Looking back, I don’t even know why I insisted on wearing my hair down, but let’s not get sidetracked here. Back to the beauty of Venice.
The way to see Venezia is simply by walking. We took a map just in case, but spent the entire day wandering around the winding narrow alleyways and small footbridges within Venice. The water, beautiful crafted buildings, and delicious colours make this city a photography dream. I see why it became such a hub for artists and creatives. We found a lovely little spot to have lunch, where I went on a tangent about how this is THE time in our lives to travel and explore and declared that “we’d sleep when we’re dead.” Minutes later, we ran into my parents, who happened to walk right by us as we wrapped up our patio lunch. They were catching a cruise in Venice, and we’d already had plans to meet up for dinner the next night, but it was still really fun to bump into them! That evening, Adam and I decided to lay down for a brief nap before we went out for dinner. But the jet lag and our busy days in Rome caught up to me and no matter what we tried, I physically could not wake up. I ended up sleeping, fully clothed, for the entire night and didn’t get up until 6 am the next morning. Poor Adam had to go wander the streets of Venice alone on our honeymoon. So much for “sleeping when we’re dead.”
Though we only stayed for a few days, I’m so happy we went to Venice. It didn’t smell as some people had warned, and though it was hot out, it wasn’t completely unbearable. It’s a World Heritage Site that absolutely must be seen! I’ve compiled our travel tips in this post, but for now, please enjoy some of my favourite snaps from Venice, Italy.
First Outfit: Aritzia WILFRED FREE Teigen Dress (colour n/a anymore, but this one is close)
Second Outfit: Spring 2015 Aritzia Dress (Similar style on sale – woot) / Cross Body Bag from Forever 21
Be sure to also check out our Venice Travel Guide!
I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good.
I do not know who you are but definitely you
are going to a famous blogger if you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!