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Saturday, August 10, 2013

Summer in Italy: Venice

The trip to Italy with the hubz last July was considered rather impromptu for a long holiday. My close friends knew the whole proceeding and were more happy  for me than I was for myself that I was finally going away for another holiday. The last trip with kh was about 2 years ago at the end of 2011 and due to the nature of his job (and mine at times), it is quite difficult to plan a long holiday.

We were glad that everything fell in place in the end and that it was a good trip.


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~*The Drive from Milan to Venice*~


We rented a Renault Clio over the Internet and as soon as we landed in Milan, we took less than half an hour to get all the paperwork done.

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Unlike in Singapore where motorized traffic drives on the left in vehicles with right-hand drive configuration, it is the opposite in Italy. Hence, it took some time getting used to driving on the left especially with a manual gear. Daniel, our trusty voice in the GPS was a great partner to work with.  We would have gotten lost in Italy if not for trusty Daniel.

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A road trip to Venezia! Here we come!

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Mountains ranges and hills lined many parts of the highway. It was lovely to see houses dotting them.

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Our first meal in Italy was from Autogrill which we very soon found out, seems to monopolize the whole country's highway.

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~*Venice Day 1*~


After recharging our body fuel and some distance of driving, Daniel finally brought us to where we were supposed to park for the night before hopping onto a water taxi.

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The views from the water taxi were not that spectacular until we slowly saw colourful quaint buildings and bridges full of tourists. And then we knew that we have reached the heart of VENEZIA!

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"Venice never quite seems real, but rather an ornate film set suspended on the water."
-Frida Giannini

Whatever Frida Giannini uttered up there echoes my exact sentiments about Venice. It felt surreal to be in a city of waterways and at times, I did feel as if I was on a film set.

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We took some time to find our hotel-- Hotel Galleria.

"Hotel Galleria is a charming small hotel with only nine rooms placed in an unique location right on the Grand Canal, by the Accademia bridge in the Dorsoduro district, one of the most suggestive places in Venice. Looking out of our windows you can gaze at the traffic of the most beautiful main street of the world: The Grand Canal."

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There were only 9 rooms available in this charming little hotel built in the 17th century. Via prior Internet booking, we were glad that we managed to snag a room with attached bath and a view overlooking the Grand Canal. We were given Room 7 which is a rather small room but the privacy of an attached bath and awesome view were all that mattered.

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I love it when hotel keys are actual keys and not key cards.

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Quaint furniture with an old world charm. I could almost feel that they have souls in them.

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The room is rather elongated. Left shows the view when I was standing at the door. Right shows the view when I was standing at the window.

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The modern amenities like the toilet bowl, hair dryer and shower screens vastly contrasted the antique mirror and the wooden shelf. I felt like a trapped soul from the 1800s in the mirror.

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Our window view with Ponte dell'Accademia (Accademia Bridge) towards the left. The number of tourists on the bridge remained the same throughout the day before I realised that it was a Sunday.

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A video tour of our room better summarizes all my words here.




If you haven't already caught it in my past post, this is the instavideo of Hotel Galleria.




Before: We were like 2 country bumpkin Asians clad in airplane clothes (aka jeans/sweat pants with jacket) scouring the streets of Venice for Hotel Galleria while dragging our luggage along uneven cobblestone pavements AND perspiring profusely.

After: After a refreshing shower, we were all decked out in outfits befitting of the Venetian backdrop and ready for some exploration of the city.


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The hallway outside our room. See that little black box on the right? That's the fridge where we could help ourselves with cold bottled water and other soft drinks.

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Ornate Venetian masks were ubiquitous in the city.

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The spiral stairs leading from the lobby to the ground level was such a charm. I wondered how many people and ghosts from the past walked the stairs.

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Our first stop was to go up onto the Accademia Bridge, blend into the tourist crowd and like a typical tourist, snap some pictures on the bridge. It was too crowded to snap pictures of us and so we quickly headed down after snapping this picture.

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Strolling along the streets and alleys of Venice, I felt as if I was transported to the past onto a faraway land.

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Or probably on a film set with highly realistic backdrops.

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The first photo of us on the Venetian street. There were tourists everywhere that we had to find tranquil, forgotten spots to snap this. (Ironic words coming from a tourist)

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I really love it when lovely flowers bloom in burst of colours on the window ledges.

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One of the many gondola stops. It costs €90-- €100 per person for a Gondola ride. Even with the mentality of "since we were already in Venice, just take the authentic gondola and float through the waterway of Venice", I told kh it was really daylight robbery. Plus, I did not think it would be a once in a lifetime enjoyment to sit on a gondola in the scorching heat and glaring rays.

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And then snap, I was transported back to globalization era when I saw HARD ROCK CAFE! Are you those who love checking out Hard Rock Cafe stores when in a foreign country? I do! Though I don't buy their merchandise, I love checking out their T shirts.

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We reached Piazza San Marco. I did not notice the single lovely cirrus cloud up in the clear blue sky until I was editing this picture.

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All I could think of when I saw this picture was to tell my good friend Cyn that my legs are stumpy in flats and in certain length of dresses. She always insisted that I have model legs but it really is just the angle of the photos and my heels doing the trick.

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St Mark's Basilica. We did not take any photo inside the church.

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The people over there were obsessed with feeding pigeons.

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The photo at this bar depicts pigeons forming the words "COCA COLA" at the very same piazza some many years ago.

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The weather was so scorching that we needed something icy to cool ourselves.
Left: I thought that fruity-berry gelato would quench thirst and fill rumbling belly a little so that would be my first choice.
Right: Mint slushy which truly quenched and refreshed though at times it might tasted like cough mixture.

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Slurping slushy by the beautiful white building.

Outfit of the day:
♥ Secret Island floral dress
♥ FleurFaerie Silk Chiffon Flower Hair Clip
♥ Fleurfaerie Mini Rosette Flower Hair Tie in Pink
♥ No label brown sling bag from Bangkok
♥ No label dusty pink flower flip flops from Far East

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There was a bazaar along the main waterway and very soon I realised that there was a pattern and system of touts. By the time we explored Florence and Rome, we were already very used to these touts whom we affectionately termed the "opportunists".

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The bells in Venice (and in Italy in general as we soon found out) do not chime at the hour or at the half hour. We got pretty confused about when they chimed and many clocks on the clock tower do not depict the actual time. Anyway, kh insisted that that was the Leaning Bell Tower of Venice. Yes, it does seem to lean a little perhaps.

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We did not want to visit any museums in Venice and the timing was a little off anyway. Hence, we decided to dine at Ristorante Terrazza del Casin Dei Nobili which was recommend by the owner at Hotel Galleria. We were so hungry that the we wolfed down a soft bread each and finished all the bread sticks.

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Soutè di cozze e vongole (mussels and clams in white wine sauce) was the first authentic Italian dish we had since we touched down. Boy, I really love all these shelled stuff in white wine sauce if you don't already know me. We drank every single drop of soup with the huge ladle provided. SLURP! I feel like eating cozze and vongole right now.

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Perspective shot... Big bowl of cozze and vongole in relation to kh.

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Soaking up the golden rays of the setting sun.

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I thought that for my first main course in Italy, I would try how a very simple bolognaise in authentic Italian style taste like. It wasn't too bad.

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I forgot what kh ordered.

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Our first sunset in Italy. We did not literally see the sun sighing into the horizon though we witnessed the sky transform from solid blue to lovely hues of orange and then to purple and pink of dusk.

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Dining in Italy is usually a more than one hour affair as we soon found out over our course of time there. The service at this restaurant wasn't tip top as the wait staff seemed to be always preoccupied with something. Generally it was alright with nothing much to gripe about and the food was comforting. Out of all the al fresco dining restaurant over this stretch of the water, this restaurant was the most packed which probably explained the lack of attentiveness.

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I noticed that in European countries, people love to fill up the al fresco dining areas leaving the indoor areas empty. In Singapore, typical Singaporeans always request for the cool indoor ac comfort before filling up the outdoor areas.

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From Trip Advisor, there were people opining that the noise from the water traffic, the streets and the Accademia Bridge was distracting for a good night's rest in a non-airconditioned hotel whereby the windows had to be left open. We had no issues with that as we were so tired by the lack of sleep during the long haul flight that we feel asleep almost immediately after we got back from dinner. Even though the room wasn't air-conditioned, the cool breeze from the open window and the ceiling fan cooled us enough for a good night's rest during the summer.

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~*Venice Day 2*~


The sun rose at about 6 am and this shot was taken from the window during that time. In-room breakfast was provided but since we opted for it to be served between 8-9am, we decided to head out to the Bridge for our touristy shots first.

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It was a cool Monday morning and the bridge was finally empty. The only people walking the bridge were Venetians along their way to work and just a few tourists every now and then. We finally took many shots without people photo-bombing our pictures.

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My chi cats with Hotel Galleria in the background. Guess which window belonged to our room?

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I've always found the lock practice on bridges very sweet and no, we are not Michael and Kristy.

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We could only get into our hotel by ringing the bell. Hence, the poor person at the counter must have had really good bladder and bowels control for him to be at the counter 24/7. By the way, we saw 3 different people at the counter during our 1-night stay and only communicated with the actual owner of the hotel for only a brief period of time. I read that the hosts Luciano and Stefano are really friendly and offer impeccable service.

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The smell of breakfast wafted all over the 17th century hallway. The croissants were heavenly.

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Left: Kh was intrigued by yoghurt in banana flavour and thought it was quite delicious. I felt that it tasted like fever medicine when we were still young and unable to swallow tablets.
Right: A variety of tea bags were given when I opted for tea.

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We were attempting those 17th century way of dining where subjects sit at each side of the table with the chair facing the front.

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I haven't the slightest idea if any famous person sat on this exact window ledge but from hotel's homepage, I do know that Robert Browning (English playwright and famous Victorian poet) sat on one of the room's window ledge in 1878. Oh I do hope it is this window sill.

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I told kh that there was something very intriguing about this cracked antique mirror. I think part of my soul is already captured in this, like you know a Hocrux. Haha...

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Bye bye to this charming little gem and thank you Luciano for helping us to take this shot.

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All packed and ready to go.

Outfit of the day:
♥ ClubCouture Regina Crochet Blouse
♥ Cotton On Carissa Inca Tribal Printed Shorts
♥ Louis Vuitton Totally MM
♥ No label brown sling bag from Bangkok
♥ Converse shoes

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Our shared luggage for the whole trip with the big one less than half full in preparation for shopping without a shopping list.

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On the water taxi with the last white washed Venetian building in sight.

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Kh felt that this building called CS Tucky looked a lot like Alcatraz and wanted to take a picture of it no matter what. He said, "Im sure that's the Venice prison." I tried googling about this building which warranted no search result except for an aerial view of the place. It is definitely not a prison. A school or a library perhaps?

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The hubby in reality with his iPad.

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Jo in "sur-reality" with her wandering mind.

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Our shoes had explored Venice. Checked!

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Anyway, this shoes photo reminded me of an incident. Throughout our time in Venice (and later in all parts of Italy), kh and I were stared at a lot. And when I mean stare, these people really looked at us blatantly with their heads turning and eyes following us as we walked past them. Some of them continued to look even as we looked at them. The locals, the tourists, the whites, the blacks, the browns and the yellows. I don't mean to be rude with my previous sentence but we noticed that majority of the Caucasians and Asians really eyed us intently like nobody's business. We weren't like the only Asians aliens around in Italy and we certainly did not get stared at so often in Paris and London back then.

When we were at this area which was the main water taxi station, there was a large group of Chinese PRC tourists who kept looking at us and talking amongst themselves. And no, it wasn't because I was weird taking pictures of our shoes. They already locked their eyes on us once they saw us getting down from the water taxi. As I was snapping this shot, a few of them broke away from the group and stood very near us, all this while looking at us. It got a little annoying and I felt like shouting at them "看什么看?!" just to show them that we are Chinese and understood Mandarin even though we aren't PRCs.

Up till now we were still wondering why we were stared at so much in Italy though I kept attributing it to kh's sunglasses which I would talk more about when updating about Florence or Rome.


The drive to Florence was beautiful. There were lots of beautiful landscapes which were hard to capture on a car moving at 130--160km/h and with railings along the highway. Furthermore, whatever beautiful sceneries I saw with my eyes didn't look as good as when captured on photo.

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Oh, beautiful Firenze here we come!

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I've yet to edit a single photo after Venice and I wonder how long I would take to update the next installment to our Italy travels. I would probably intersperse my blog posts with other updates as soon as my photobucket bandwidth on one account resets itself on the 10th (which is supposedly today).

Nonetheless, stay tuned for more to come. I really love connecting with all of you so keep the comments rolling in! Have a lovely weekend!


Updated:
Yay! My bandwidth is reset.
This is the post with photos some of you missed due to the bandwidth limit:
Birthday 2013 with My Family

60 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading this blog post and looking at your photo's :D Venice is one of my dream place to visit someday! And you & your husband look adorable. sigh* Made me miss being with my Hubbie too, we plan to travel a bit once we're together again. Because right now we're in a long distance relationship and it suck's big time but oh' well... Anyway, I wish you both to be together for a long long time :)

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    1. Oh, Michelle. I totally understand how you feel. My hubz and I went through quite a lot of LDR due to his job. Back when we weren't married he could be gone for as long as a half a year. Where are you and your hubz now and how long would he be gone for?

      And thanx for your sweet words and thoughtful comments always. =D

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  2. Oh Jo, I'm envious of how dedicated to taking pictures on your trips you are! You're always takin' the most prime shots of things and I feel like I'm right there with you. The pictures of Venice are just... wow! I would love to go there. The water everywhere is just way too neat.

    What a strange way of dining, also! I like to be able to see who I'm talkin' to when I eat. ;) Yay for history!

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    1. Did you just live vicariously through my words and pictures, Ali? If so, I would be so honoured. Actually, I feel that the pictures are deceiving. LoL... Venice was a little overrated. I hadn't want to plan Venice into my itinerary as I felt 4 cities in 12 days is too packed but the hubz felt that it's impossible not to go Venice should we go Italy and hence we squeezed in a day and night there, which proved to be just right.

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  3. Venice is such an amazing place. Wow! So cool, and the food looked great too. That's weird about the staring...was kh's fly open??? lol

    Usually your videos accidentally capture the image of a lovely spirit who seems to follow you around....but she stayed off-camera in these videos. :)

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    1. I think I managed to fool many with my pictures. Hehehe... Venice is actually too touristy and overrated. But I'm still glad we went there. Oh, we checked ourselves the first few times we got stared at and no opened fly or spinach in between teeth.

      My tour-around-the-room videos would always have an unwilling person inside.

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    2. I like it when the videos end with a brief mirror shot of you...I know it's not an accident, but it seems like it is (when it's a quick, brief appearance).

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  4. Wow. Venice. I cannot even describe how jealous I am right now. That must be one of the prettiest cities on earth. I'm sure you had an amazing time. What a romantic getaway for you two!

    May the Force be with you.
    Emily

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    1. Oooh, don't be jealous. Venice is actually too touristy and overrated and while reading the comments, I know I've fooled many with the pictures. Lol... But I'm certainly glad we made a stop there.

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  5. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH i love love your venice pics!! i know you said you preferred florance and rome over venice but your venice pictures look so romantic!! all the canals are so pretty!

    hehe that picture of you standing on the stairs w/ your dress and flowers in your hair.. it looks like you're in hawaii not in italy hehe :p

    my parents live both in the US and taiwan :) they spend half the year their and half the year in the US.. but at my parents house in the US they ALWAYS have deer in the backyard haha it's really neat :)

    yeah so while we're still in europe we try to see as much as possible before we have to return to the US permanently! :)

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    1. Haha... yes, I fooled so many with my Venice pictures and I'm grinning now. Oh when my hubz was deciding what to wear, I told him to wear breezy beachy shirts and he said, "Hello, we are among canals and drains, not a beach resort."

      How long more would you be in Europe?

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  6. Jo, I love that picture of you and also the picture of your hubby on the staircase. Those are so pretty. HAHAHA Thank God for GPS! I heard sometimes it takes a long time to get paperwork done there so good for you guys in getting it done quickly and renting a car. The waters are so pretty! What a gorgeous blue. The pizza and pasta dishes looked delectable. Love the pics at night. OMG'sh the rooms are small. I'm claustrophobic, so I don't know how I would've handled that. HAHAHA So glad you guys went and experienced everything. It's exquisite!
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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    1. I guess that's coz of the pretty backdrop of the hotel which complements. I heard from my friend who preferred the rail over car in Italy that her friends (on a separate trip) spent half the time getting lost when driving and so she was pretty wary of driving. The GPS was our best friend there. It belonged to kh's friend and we almost couldn't bear to return "Daniel" to him when we got back home. lol... The room really is small and not for anyone. I read some reviews on TripAdvisor about how small Room 7 is. Luckily we were only staying for the night. And yes, I'm still glad we experienced Venice no matter how touristy and overrated it is.

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  7. I love Italy - it's beautiful and gives so much to the observer. On the other hand, I can't believe I've never been to Venice. It looks so wonderful but I've never had the opportunity.
    PS: I love your definition and reasoning of Jardinière. It's a lovely word and the explanation was both amusing and intriguing.
    Have a lovely day.

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    1. Thank you for dropping by and for your lovely words, Zoe. I really love seeing new faces here. I guess my Venice photos really fool many as it is actually an overrated place though I'm still glad we went. I believe you would definitely have the opportunity one day if you really want to go. =)

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  8. The city is very pretty and old buildings are very well preserved, I like it! :)

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    1. I really love seeing new faces here. Thank you for dropping by and leaving me a note. =)

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  9. What a trip and such a gorgeous city. And your friend is right about those legs, "Kristy" :) That hotel with the long-ways room, your trip into sur-reality, that food (!) and the view from you room are highlights for me. Plus that lovely shot of you in the sun. Beautiful. Glad you guys had fun.

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    1. The legs come and go. Sometimes they are stumpy and sometimes they aren't depending on my outfits, shoes and angles. Oh my, you are so funny calling me "Kristy" on purpose. Lol... Thank you for your sweet comments always. I enjoy reading them.

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  10. Jo, I love looking at your food pics! Looks like you had fun and that sun dress looks AMAZING on you!

    xo Jo

    http://www.whiterosesandcoffee.com/

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    1. Thank you for your sweet comment from one Jo to another Jo. =D

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  11. Ugh, the trip looks and sounds like a dream!

    Truth be told, I've never been inside a Hard Rock Cafe, even though I've passed by one multiple times everytime I'm downtown...

    I would be soooooooooooooooooooooo confused if people kept staring at me on the streets. Maybe they thought "Wow, what a gorgeous couple, must stare at them 5ever"? ;)

    Vanessa | Citron and Guavaberry ʘ‿ʘ | Makeup & Silly things

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    1. My photos deceive many, Vanessa. Hehe... as mentioned in my replies above Venice is overrated though I'm glad I went there. Hard Rock cafe food isn't anything spectacular but I love to browse their shop coz the items differ in various countries and cities. Aww... and thanx for your sweet explanation of the staring. You were being sweet and not sarcastic right? Coz I know my good friends would say that in sarcasm... =D

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    2. I DON'T KNOW ACTUALLY, I MIGHT BE SARCASTIC, I MIGHT NOT BE :D
      Part of me says sarcasm, but the other half says sweet, so who knows, hehe

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    3. Hahaha... If you are sarcastic then we could probably click. =)

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  12. Love Venice! I've only been there once and would love to go back! Great pic!
    ~Jessica
    Jeans and a Teacup

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    1. I really love seeing new faces here. Thank you for dropping by and leaving me a note. =)

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  13. Awww so sweet ^^ I love travel posts!! The place looks so charming, I'd love to visit there one day ^^



    恵美より ♥
    www.emi-doll.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you for dropping by and leaving me a note. =) I love to see new faces here.

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  14. Venice looks so nice and antique! I would love to go there someday since it's such a nice city! You both looks really good ^-^* I think the room you rented looks really small but I love the furnitures SO much!! They're really beautiful! c:
    The dress you're wearing is gorgeous! I love your hair :3 I wish i could have gone there too but it's really exoensive to go there >u<



    http://mymychen.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thank you for dropping by and for your sweet comment, pretty 美美. Hehe... What's your actual name? Is it also Mei Mei? Yes, the furniture is so beautiful right? I've a thing for Parisian/ Venetian and quaint furniture.

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  15. so many nice picture!! beautiful place!
    by the way thank you for visiting my blog

    i've just followed your GFC and Bloglovin
    would you like to follow me back ?

    rainxdropz.blogspot.sg

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thank you for visiting back, leaving me a note and following me. I will drop by your blog again. =D

      Delete
  16. oh gooshh....you're so lucky to be able to spend summer in Venice! That's one of my dream place :333 I've always wanted to go there, and many thanks for sharing lots of lovely picture ^-^

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    1. Thank you for visiting and for your lovely comment. =)

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  17. I have always wanted to go to Italy! And the lock bridge is one of the main attractions that I would love to see as well! However, the main reason for visiting Italy for me personally would be food!! haha! You took some gorgeous photos and you and your hubby are an adorable couple! Thanks for sharing fun times! Thanks again for your comments, it's greatly appreciated! ^__^ <3

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    1. Thank you for dropping by and leaving me a note, Anna. I appreciate the 2-way communication too. There are a couple of places with locks but never once had the hubby and I thought of buying a lock, writing our names and locking the locks there. Thanx for your lovely compliments!

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  18. Hi sweety, this is such a beautiful tour of an amazing city, your photos are wonderful. Thanks for your kind visit, following you too :)

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    1. Thank you, Sam. Oooh, and thanx for following too! =)

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  19. Oh my gosh, what gorgeous photos!! Your floral dress is so cute, too :) I replied to your comment on my blog, but in case you didn't see it:
    My husband and I own a few websites, including this one, a blog help site called www.morefromyourblog.com and a few others. You can see them all at www.zrmediagroup.com

    xo

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    1. Thank you for dropping by here and replying me, Kate. Greatly appreciated and thanx for your compliments!

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  20. It looks like a wonderful time doll, am glad you two got to go and enjoy yourselves :))) xx

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  21. Love..love..love your vacay pics Jo. Feel like i tag along on this trip through your photos ans story. Glad you and your husband spent a great time together. You needed it.

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    1. Thank you, dear. Yes, we were glad that everything worked out in the end since it was a rather hurried decision. We both worked our guts out at work before that and enjoyed the fruits of our labour thereafter.

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  22. Wow, Venice looks stunning! It looks so picturesque, and like you had a great time! How awesome to have gone on a water taxi, and I love lock bridges, they're so romantic!

    Francesca

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    1. Thank you for dropping by and leaving me a lovely note, Francesca. Greatly appreciated! =)

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  23. Fabulous post!... and Italy is beyond doubt such a beautiful country with lots to offer!

    Wonderful photos, glad you two had fun...such a cute couple!

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    1. Thank you for leaving me a lovely note. I will pop by your blog soon!

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  24. Wow, there's so much I want to say but I don't know where to begin! First of all, I love how your posts are so packed with so much variety and beauty, I feel like you really captured every living moment of your trip to Italy and you present it in a way where all your readers (at least for me) feel like we're there experiencing it with you too! The food, the architecture, even the details down to your room keys.. they all make me so happy. Literally after I saw these pictures, I turned to my husband and told him to start saving up for our next vacation. We are definitely going to Europe somewhere! haha

    Christy
    Sunnywithasideof...

    PS- the pasta photos- I was partially hoping to see the "Sexy noodles" haha

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    1. I agree :) the details of this post are amazing *-* <3 and now we all want to go to Venice with our boyfriend/husband :DD

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    2. I'm smiling at your words. I love to look at travel photos and live vicariously through them. Hence, I would feel touched if somebody told me the same way about my photos too. Oh, you remember the sexy pasta? Lol... Yes yes, please save up and go to anywhere in Europe coz if you love the architecture and all, many countries/cities in Europe have got them. Thank you for your lovely words once more, Christy.

      And Keki, how cute of you to reply here too. Haha.

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  25. Hey :) ahhh so many comments already :) and thanks for yours :> I wish I had more time for blogging and reading blogs but at least I can keep in touch on IG with a few people ! (Like you hehe :D)
    I can't wait to see more pictures of your travels! And I'm curious why you guys got stared at :D I always hate the feeling when I know that people stare at me and I can see it from the corner of my eye T.T :P
    Anyway...your pictures are super lovely and so are you and your boyfriend! The 17th c dining photo is adorable haha :D and I love that picture of you in the stairway :) its really true that many Europeans prefer to sit outside in a restaurant xD my boyfriend is Chinese and he always wants to sit inside :D

    <3 hugs from Germany :))

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    1. You finally made it here, Keki. Never too late! And thanx for your lovely comment. Ooh, I didn't know your boyfriend is a Chinese. That's so cute. I think I should stalk your blog and instagram more often to catch glimpse of him.

      PS: I'm married so it's hubby not bf. =)

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  26. That antique mirror is so cool but I wouldn't be able to do my makeup! Haha. I'm sad to hear that Venice was overrated. What was your favorite place in Italy? That food looks so good!
    Jessi
    http://haircutandgeneralattitude.blogspot.com

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    1. That was what I thought when I saw the mirror in the toilet. Fortunately, I would reckon most ladies felt the same way and hence there is another mirror outside the toilet where I did my make up. I felt that Florence and Rome are a lot more interesting and I love most of the attractions there.

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  27. Hey Jo! Omg so much in this post I don't know where to start so I guess I'll just start by rambling on what I remember hahaha Omg when you said the furniture of the hotel was really antique I immediately thought of those haunted hotels/homes with furniture that has evil spirits residing inside etc. You know the typical chinese ghost story theme hahahaha

    I think your outfit for Venice is gorgeous and definitely loving that dress, gorgeous! I also love the photo of you through the shades, how creative! I'm not sure if I asked this already or if you answered but how long were you in Italy for? I also noticed that in Paris the outside seats were more popular than the inside seats even if the weather is poor! I think I read somewhere that when you buy a coffee it's like buying that table for a time where you can sit and relax. People really knew how to slow down and smell the roses there, I wish we were more like that here =)

    Venice looks gorgeous and all your photos are lovely! I specifically like the one with the canal and flower at the window edge =) I can see why so many directors like to film here, no need to make backdrops hahaha and how rude of those people to be staring! It's never really alright and for sure to make people feed uncomfortable! Did you and your hubs get a lock? The bf and I felt cheesy enough to do it, okay maybe it was just me but the bf looked happy too! lol Was that picture of the basilica 5 euros of 500 euros?

    Randomly I actually almost always bring my own hair dryer on vacation, it must be my long hair but all the hotel hair dryers are way too weak for me, I would probably fall asleep drying my hair there!

    RE: Hahaha I put that 20+ heavy photo just in case someone was reading it on their phone hahaha yes your posts must jam up some peoples phones =P but it's worth it! Spinach and artichoke dip is actually somewhat common over here, many franchise restaurants have it, it's often a safe bet and delicious! Thanks for telling me about the candles! I've yet to buy cheaper ones yet, I only have two and I noticed one gives off a stronger scent while the other one I can barely smell at all =S Though that weaker one is the more expensive one, I'm disappointed as it smelled lovely in the tin. I think clothes steamers are a good investment, I'm still on the hunt for one =D

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    1. Ooh!!! The hotel is old and the furniture is antique in a very beautiful fashion. I thought of European and Italian spirits though not scary, like those in Harry Potter movies. Hahaha... Somehow when I'm in western place, I do not think of Asian ghosts.

      Creative shots are always thought of by me but kh loves to claim credit that he takes them beautifully -_-||| I came up with those sunglasses shots when I wanted to use it as a manual filter from the sun and thought it would be artistic to shoot the frame in too. Our whole trip was 12 days, inclusive of flight hours. A little short for 4 cities but we cut short on Venice and Milan. You are right about buying coffee and getting either a standing table or a sitting one. It works for some eateries and the airport too. We didn't get the locks too. I myself feel it is romantic when I see people doing it but not on me. I guess part of us felt it was cheesy and I would also wonder what if the relationship is no longer? There is still the lock there with no meaning anymore. I don't know if you know what I'm talking about. You are right about all these people knowing how to relax and smell the roses. I almost feel lazy over there.

      You know, I've also got no idea if the painting was 5 euros or 500 euros and I asked kh the same question too when I took that picture. Plus, they also love using the commas instead of the decimal point for both euros and cents.

      I cannot survive without my hairdryer but coz I lived out of my luggage, I sometimes got lazy messing up my luggage to search for the hairdryer that I would use the hotels' ones. Oh and we only had 2 multi plugs with camera, iPad, 2 handphones all wanting to be charged each time we got back.

      I should try spinach and artichoke dip soon!





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  28. Hello Jo!

    Oh wow, what a lovely place Venice is! I can only dream of going there someday. Maybe I will! Eveything (even the streets and waterways) just looks so picturesque. Looks like you had a grand time there. You and your hubby look so cute and happy together! ♥

    Love,
    Helen

    PS. Following you now via GFC. ;)

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    1. Thanx for your lovely words, Helen. I love seeing newcomers around and thanx for following me! I will check out your blog soon! =)

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