not too long ago i shared part I of my barcelona trip from last year (and parts II and III are coming soon!) but i'm just REALLY feeling the italy vibes this week, and wanted to share my photo diary from Venice last summer. i gotta say- if you're having a hard time deciding which cities to hit on your trip to italy, you cannot miss this one. the tough thing about italy is that literally every area and little town is amazing, so it's really hard to narrow it down when you have a finite amount of time. Venice is absolutely CRAZY though. it's unlike anything i've ever seen, and even if you just spend a day or two i think it's a must see.

we only had about 2.5 days in Venice, and it was more than enough time to soak up all the magic and mystery of this incredible city. here are some highlights:

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outfit deets:

that amaze black and white gingham dress was given to me by a darling girl named Mikka who i met in cinque terre- the dress is from a shop she owns and operates called seek the uniq. they have adorable stuff!

the white lace dress is from miss selfridge (you may have seen my me vs. jetlag post from Dublin a couple months ago- i bought this dress a little drunk from that basil cocktail trying to stay awake)

my bright red cross body bag is rebecca minkoff, and sandals are sam edelman

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one thing a lot of people struggle with about Venice (and rightfully so) is that it's extremely touristy. they are not wrong- the rialto bridge is practically impossible to cross during peak tourist season in the summers- but i still think it's 100 percent worth going. there are so many tiny side streets and little canals and tons of tourists come through for a reason.

here are some of the things we enjoyed the most about this trip:

for dinner, our absolute favorite place we ate was called Osteria 4 Feri. we couldn't get in the first night, cause it books up fast, so ask your concierge to make you a res in advance (or call if you're going the air bnb route). we had a seafood pasta that was OUT of control.

deciding to suck it up and pay way too much for an aperol spritz at an outdoor table in St. Mark's Square (WORTH IT, though beware of pigeons)

touring the islands of Venice- the three they typically offer as a part of a package are Murano, Torcello, and Burano.

Murano is where they make Murano glass, and some of the pricy hotels will offer you a "free water taxi" to Murano, where they'll have you watch a guy make some glass objects (which is cool if you've never seen that) and then take you on a tour of tonnnnnnns of rooms of super expensive Murano glass stuff. basically, they give you the free ride hoping you'll spend thousands of dollars on a glass vase. as you may have guessed, that's not particularly the vibe of our house, so we didn't spend much time there at all (though we did accept the free ride because obvs).
Torcello is absolutely beautiful and totally remote. there are only a few places to eat on the tiny island, and we sprung for the fancy pants Locanda Cipriani (have your hotel make a res) for lunch. it was ridiculously good. also there was a wedding going on in one half of the restaurant and it was a total blast to creep on all the gorgeous details.
Burano was definitely my favorite. if you've ever seen those instas of the colorful houses along the canals, that's Burano. it's very small, and also pretty touristy, but it totally feels like a dream. as a color nerd, seeing all the different hues and combinations reflected in the water was basically the coolest.

taking the vaparetto for a loop around the Grand Canal - this is a really cool way to see Venice when you first arrive. vaparetto are basically water taxis (you can get a pass so you can hop on and off throughout the island) and if you get a good seat near the edge, it's a really fun way to see the amazing architecture and get some SERIOUS instas.

just writing about all of this stuff is making me wanna hop on a plane immediately and go back! have you ever been to Venice?? any favorite spots?

Photo Diary: Venice and Burano, Italy