Venice, the Italian maze |

My favourite place in Italy was definitely Venice. With it's distinctive canals, romantic gondolas and beautiful architecture, it was the perfect place to visit in Summer. By the time we arrived in Venice we were just over the halfway mark for our trip, and had become well accustomed to starting our time in a new place with a guided walking tour (that and carrying big bottles of water around, looking like a complete tourist). 

We spent our day walking through this maze of a city, shopping for masks and Murano glass jewellery and stopping for the occasional gelato. I found a shop owned by a very friendly Italian man who greeted me in Chinese! Turns out he had been learning Chinese by himself from a book of pinyin, and a few seconds of chitchat revealed that he had really good pronunciation. It was amazing to see someone who was so passionate about a culture on the other side of the world and so different to his own. If you want to find him, visit the 

Photo Lab S. Marco s.a.s 

Calle dei Fabbri 926/a 30124 VENEZIA 

A few weeks ago I saw images of a flooded Venice, the outdoor chairs at St. Mark's Square half submerged under water and people wading around in big gum boots. Hard to believe that we were there only 2 months ago and everything looked so different.  

Piazza San Marco

St. Mark's Basilica 

 

Travel tips:

• First things first, take a gondola ride! There's a good starting point at the Hard Rock Cafe, boarding a gondola ride here will take you through the small canals and to the Grand Canal.
• Venice is like a maze, and is one of those cities best explored by wandering around aimlessly, so ditch the map and just follow your senses.
• Public toilets are not the easiest to find in Venice, so if you do see one, take note! 
• Don't forget to complete your Venice experience by taking a tour of the glass factory.
• When buying a Venetian mask, make sure to check that it is made in Italy, and prop it up with socks or scrunched up plastic bags to avoid getting it squished in your suitcase. 

Next stop: the Austrian alps 

xoxo