VENICE

when my mom and my sister went on a trip to italy when i was in fifth grade, leaving my dad & i behind, i first started to envision my first trip to italy. i knew some day it would happen, i just didn't know when. the first trip came and went. so did the second. now i'm here on my third trip to this beautiful country and after this weekend, i can say that i went to my number one place on my list of places to go in the world. VENICE. you can imagine my excitement!! (i now have think of a new number one place to go...) the most perfect mix that a location can have is being a city and having water: hence the reason why my beach house with a canal in the backyard, amsterdam, and now venice, have remained among the top of my lists. the icy-teal water, the stripes, the masks; everything. i found myself snapping the same pictures over and over again. (eventually i deleted all the duplicates after realizing that having two of the exact same picture doesn't make it look anymore beautiful..) now is one of those times that i wish i had a nice Nikon, or Canon camera. you know, one of those hefty ones. i think i'd look quite convincing with such a device, fiddling with the zoom and whatnot, and i might be able to snap some beauties along the way. though chunky and annoying to lug, i'd be perfectly willing to sport it if it could produce the most beautiful of pictures. i will go back some day because like i knew in 5th grade about my first trip to italy, it will happen.

we spent a lot of time inside mask stores, trying them on and scaring each other. we were hiding in a corner of the store and the store owner came up to us and said "don't worry, photos okay! take many photos as you want!" he was adorable, creative, and an cute old italian man. we played around in there a little longer and below are some of the masks we tried on:

but i spent most of the day shopping and buying myself glossy, glassy pieces of Murano jewelry. the shopaholic in me found itself standing guilt-free at the register with 50 euros worth of rings, necklaces, and bracelets. fun! something overcame me and three days later, i am still very happy with my purchases!! here is my ring (which i'm petrified i'm going to break, praying i won't because even though i will go back to venice sometime in my life time, it might not be next weekend or next year...)

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