Chasing the Infinite Abyss

I’m back!

Sorry for the 2 month hiatus! Life decided to take over and I have been completely overwhelmed! Don’t worry, I’m back and I haven’t forgotten about everyone who follows me! :)

Review: Hotel Petit Palace in Venice

Venice is one of those cities that you either absolutely love or absolutely hate. Fortunately, I fell head-over-heels in love with the city when I visited this past April. It probably helped that I was visiting during the low season and during cooler weather. I went again this past July and the experience definitely wasn’t as much fun!

This past April, my cousin came over to visit me during a two week break from uni in Germany. He is 27 years old and we decided to embark on a EuroTrip. One of the places on our list was Venice. However, staying on the main island of Venice is so expensive! Instead, we decided to stay on the island of Lido and found Hotel Petit Palace for $150/night. While this was definitely one of the more expensive hotels we stayed at our entire trip, the overall experience definitely was worth it!

The island of Lido is away from the main crowds of Venice ands feels more “home-y.” The people were so extremely friendly, the restaurant (pizzeria) a block away from our hotel was authentic and inexpensive (image: watching soccer games with old, Italian men as they try to explain what is happening in broken English. Adorable.) If you are looking for a quieter, less expensive hotel in Venice, I would highly recommend Hotel Petit Palace. The only downside is that the trek to the main island of Venice can take up to 40 minutes by water bus. However, you pass beautiful sites along the way!

The hotel itself was wonderful. My cousin and I had a very large room overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Furthermore, breakfast was included and the options were quite extensive! The staff were very friendly and willing to give us different suggestions/advice for Venice, restaurants, etc. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone who is going to visit Venice!

View from our room in Hotel Petit Palace

Packing List

I’ve always been lucky enough to have gone over to Europe for extended periods of time. The first time I went to Europe was for a study abroad in high school in Germany for 6 weeks. The second time was for a university trip my first year of college for two weeks in Paris and Berlin. The third time in Europe was for a 3 month study abroad program in London and this past year, I was in Europe for 6 months studying at a university in Germany.

Packing is definitely not my strong point. I just came home for Christmas Break and packed a huge suitcase to the maximum amount (50 pounds) plus my school backpack and the largest carry-on I could find. Needless to say, both were filled to the top!

While I can initially bring a large suitcase to Europe, I realized that if I planned on doing any additional traveling , I needed to learn to consolidate (such a scary word for me!). However, after embarking on a few trips during some free time in my study abroads, I’m definitely on my way to perfecting my packing skills! Below are my packing essentials, hints, and tricks!

Essentials: Part 1

• a good pair of dark jeans (don’t have to wash as often!)
• a black dress for any occasion (you never know when you might need it!)
• a cute dress for the daytime (I’m partial to stripes, always classy and can be fancy or casual)
• white buttondown shirt (always classy)
• black scarf
• a cute printed scarf (I tend to go towards plaid)
• black flats (need to be comfy!)
• black boots
• a zippered, cross-body bag (harder to pick-pocket!)
• a sweater (for the chilly mornings/nights)
• rain jacket (lifesaver and doubles as a lightweight jacket! I recommend Patagonia.)

Essentials: Part 2

• a good, comfy daypack
• sunglasses
• comfy socks (to wear at night or with your boots)
• flip flops (for the hostel, showers, pool, etc)
• bathing suit (good for beach locations and showers in hostels)
• neck pillow (perfect for trains and planes!)
• towels (a lot of hostels don’t supply towels!)
• travel journal (I love mine from Moleskin…perfect for recording all my memories plus all my hotel information, etc)
• Canon Powershot (small, lightweight camera that takes fantastic photos. Also all the photos on my blog were taken with that camera)

Final Tips!

• Stick with one color scheme. I usually choose black, red, and white with a pop of blue. Simple, chic, and they all go together really well. If you choose black, don’t match browns or beiges!
• Look up your weather ahead of time and try to plan accordingly. Being as prepared as possible is the easiest way to pack.
• Roll all your clothing! You seriously get double the space!

What are your packing tips? Anything in particular that works well? Doesn’t work well?

Changes! Changes! Changes!

As the new year approaches, I feel that it is time for me to start expanding and updating this blog! What initially started out as a way for me to de-stress has rapidly grown since I started this photography blog in September. I don’t consider myself a “photographer” or “world traveler,” but I have been very lucky and honored to have traveled as much as I have by the age of 21. Through two study abroads in university, I’ve figured out what works in terms of traveling on a limited budget, finding a good hostel, eating good food, the best way to get to your destination (train? plane?), and how to save money! I’m so excited to start this next phase to my blog. Anything in particular you want know about traveling? Questions? Comments? Feel free to message me! Can’t look forward to sharing this with you all! Happy Holidays :)

Julian Alps, Slovenia