Naturally, there’s a book that goes along with all of this.  A travel journal.  Just a book now, but in the next 6-8 weeks you’ll be able to see how I turn it into a giant love letter.   That’s what each travel journal has become for me – a love letter that I write to my future self reminding her of the places that made my heart beat faster.

If you registered after the start of class, I’m afraid you missed the postcard emails, but a high resolution PDF containing all of the digital postcards is available for download on the PDF page. Occasionally your browser may experience difficulty with the login info, this is a browser issue and nothing coming from my end.  Clear your browser cache or simply switch browsers if this trouble should arise.  It’s the easiest problem to solve, but can cause some frustration if you don’t know what to do.  Let the mantra for all tech support issues be SWITCH BROWSERS.  Works like a charm!  In general for dirty, rotten, no-good computer problems see the limited fixes I offer HERE. I’m so glad you’re here!

2023 update:  Although you can no longer leave comments, you can still read past comments by clicking on the post title and opening each post in a fresh window that will display all the old comments.

Here are some supplies you may consider.

• 4 ply waxed linen:  I’ve got mine from HERE before.

• blunt bookbinding needle:  I’ve bought my blunt needles HERE before.

• book cloth TAPE (highly recommended) 2 resources for this…HERE or HERE

• japanese screw punch {you can use an awl, but a JSP punches a more attractive, cleaner hole that is easier to sew through} I’ve heard that Bonnie’s Best is an excellent place to get your screwpunch.  She was in one of my classes.  A JSP is a wise investment.   You get what you pay for with the cheaper models on ebay.  I’ve had mine for YEARS and have never replaced the 2mm punch that I use constantly for bookbinding.

• a variety of folders &  sturdy paper such as scrapbook paper or old calendar pages PLUS some neutral bond weight paper such as blank or lightly written-on modern or vintage ledger paper.   My Venice travel journal will have a combination of heavier weight pages (folders & other cardstock weight pages) AND lighter weight paper (scrapbook paper + ledger paper)  Use what you have.

• 2 covers which can be old book covers, super thick chipboard, or anything thick and durable.

• page protectors…any kind will work!  HERE are some.

• heavy weight transparencies {I like Hambly clear overlays, but any printed kind will work}  I bought quite a few of these before they went out of business.  Here are other brands that make printed transparent overlays:  Fancy Pants, K & Company {acetate frames}, Websters layered transparency packs.  Google to find.  OR you can print your own using office supply transparencies and your photos or designs {if you have the tech skills}

• sewing machine if you want to stich some things together  (i think you’ll want to!)

• mod podge

• dry adhesive roller {I like Scotch dot rollers}

• labels

• postcards

• trip photos

Just a note…I did not buy a single thing to make my journal (except for the folders) Everything I used came from my available stash of supplies.

If you use any of the resources on this page and receive poor customer service please leave a comment on this post right away and I’ll remove the link.

I’m no longer around to answer questions now that Ticket to Venice is an archived class, but you’re welcome to read the answers from long ago!  Hopefully you’ll find what you need here.

For quite some time now the idea for a class like this has been slowly growing in my mind.  At the very heart of TTV is my love of travel.  Wandering in a new city fills me with wild joy.  The thought that I can experience this sense of wonder and share it with you through writing, photos, videos, and my travel journal pages is very exciting.  My heart always breaks a little when people tell me they long to travel, but can’t for various reasons.  I always want to pack them up and tuck them into my suitcase.

It wasn’t so very long ago that I put on my travel shoes for the very first time.   An invitation from a friend to visit his family in Greece for Christmas of 2001 is how it all began.  Tickets were dirt cheap back then and I was hungry for a big adventure.  So off I went to meet my friend in Athens.  I was nervous and drunk with anticipation.  It would be my first experience of Europe as an adult.  I arrived a few days ahead of my friend and off I went to his mother’s apartment in Athens. Olga spoke not a word of English.  For 3 days we communicated through pictures and sign language over tiny cups of thick Greek coffee.  I slept in her bed and she slept on the couch in the living room.  She insisted!  It was complicated and chaotic and wonderful. That Christmas in Greece was rich beyond what I had imagined.  I remember sitting in the airplane on my way home and thinking how easy it was to hop on a plane and fly across the globe.  In my mind I had made it seem so difficult, so impossible.  Something that other people did, not me.  Going to Greece made me realize that I could travel whenever I wanted, and by myself if necessary.  What a revelation!

AN IDEA:  make the background transparent then cut & paste to use the printables digitally

The next year I took a 2 week solo trip to Mexico, then Paris.  By that time, my sister decided to join me once a year. Nowadays I don’t hesitate to travel alone if she isn’t available, or I can’t find a travel partner.  I feel at ease by myself in new places and I have discovered that solo travel is very different and very special.

So here I am.  And there you are.  And we’re getting ready to make this trip together online.  I’m so appreciative of this opportunity to combine my love of travel, my love of journaling, and the joy of teaching together in one package.  A heady cocktail for me, and one which I hope you’ll enjoy too!

My favorite Venice movie so far has been SUMMERTIME – the 1955 film starring Katherine Hepburn.  I watched the day after I bought my ticket to Venice.  mmmmmm

I rented it HERE.

Completely lovely.

I also watched Wings of the Dove.  Another good one I saw years ago – Bread & Tulips.  And of course who can forget the diabolical Christopher Walken in The Comfort of Strangers?

For the most part I try and limit visual input into my travel brain before I go somewhere new.  I like it to feel fresh and surprising.  But sometimes I can’t help myself!

There are so so many travel guides to Venice.  What I usually do is get 1 basic guide and several that are more unusual.  I almost always buy them used.

Since I love my walkabouts in foreign cities, I was over the moon when I saw On Foot Guides had a walking book of Venice.  I’ve used this series before and they are excellent.

Venice For Pleasure has been around for over 40 years.  Some say it’s THE BEST guide on Venice ever written.  It’s definitely my kind of book.  Jammed full of quirky details.  A real pleasure!

mmmmmmm…I will be quoting this one liberally throughout my travel journal.  It’s a series of essays.  Enchanting meditations on Venice.

“I felt I’d stepped into my own self-portrait in the cold air… The backdrop was all in dark silhouettes of church cupolas and rooftops; a bridge arching over a body of water’s black curve, both ends of which were clipped off by infinity.”

I haven’t really dug into this one yet.  But it arrived on the very day that Gore Vidal died so I take that as a good omen.

Will I read every page in every book before I go?  Of course not.  But these are the kinds of books I return to again and again and will become a part of my permanent travel library.  I’ll probably take only 1 with me.  Which one, has yet to be determined.

If you have a favorite please leave it in the comments so this post becomes a resource of unputdownable Venice treasures.  Guides, essays, history, novels.  Let’s keep them all in this section.

I rarely stay in hotels when I travel abroad.  I prefer to stay in an apartment in an area of town that is still in the central historical core, but slightly off the beaten track.  Apartments work really well if you aren’t going to be moving around a lot and if you enjoy a more in depth glimpse into the lives of ordinary citizens of the country you are visiting.  I also like to spread out.  And…I must have a nice table that will function as my travel journal station.

the budapest apartment

Sometimes apartments are cheaper than hotels and often they are the same price.  I love the feeling of stepping into another life in another country.  Being in an apartment helps complete my ex-pat fantasy!

Istanbul apartment

I almost always start searching on VRBO.   I also like HOME AWAY.  For more obscure locations I’ve had to go with other vacation rental sites I find by doing google searches.

Praiano villa, Amalfi Coast

The search is always such a delightful part of planning a trip.  I look at dozens of places before making up my mind.  I take my time searching and make a choice that feels right intuitively.  A few key things that help me with my decision:

• is communication with the landlord EASY?
• do i have a welcoming sense from the owners?
• are they thorough with their answers to my questions?
• DO THEY HAVE GOOD REVIEWS?
• is the apartment close to public transportation lines?
• is it in walking distance of restaurants/pubs?
• does the furniture/bed look comfortable?
• is there a lot of natural light?
• is there a washing machine?

As you can see I am a little bit on the picky side.  I know what I can and cannot tolerate.  I don’t like poorly lit cramped spaces.  I don’t like sacrificing comfort to save a few bucks.

the Paris apartment

For the most part, I subscribe to the SLOW TRAVEL school of thought, which means staying in one spot and delving into the culture more deeply rather than hopping from place to place.  There’s not a single thing wrong with hopping, but I prefer long stays in a single apartment if possible.  It’s how I’m wired.

Budapest – I hung that flag for St. Stephen’s Day!

I almost never stay in apartment with no reviews or negative reviews.  The exception was in Norway when rentals were hard to come by and the ones I found did not have reviews.  I took a chance anyway and was not disappointed.

the little house in Bergen, Norway

I would NEVER stay in an apartment in Paris, for example, that did not have at least 5 or 6 excellent reviews.  A sleepy village in Norway is one thing, but in a major metropolitan area I would be less likely to rely on the photos and description alone.  In Budapest I wasn’t that thrilled with the apartment photos, but my contact with the landlord was so pleasant I WANTED to stay in his apartment.  He had dozens of top-notch reviews and he went out of his way to be attentive and welcoming.  I made the right decision!  The apartment turned out to be absolutely fabulous!  When I’m doing my VRBO search I like to use the sort function to order the rentals by the number of reviews.

our terrace in Praiano, Italy

Hotels can also make wonderful homebases when traveling.  Especially if you feel nervous about renting an apartment alone.  A hotel with kind proprietors and helpful staff can be a refuge in a foreign city.  For short stays, hotels are super convenient.  I always rely on Trip Advisor for hotel & restaurant reviews.  HERE is the link to the Venice info on Trip Advisor.  You can also find vacation rental information and reviews on Trip Advisor.

I love the SLOW TRAVEL site.  It’s my favorite.  Good people taking lots of trips and writing about them.  Most of them stay in vacation rentals.  Such delicious trip reports!  They have excellent & reliable vacation rental reviews HERE.  Before I book an apartment I usually conduct a google search to find an independent review of the place.  So helpful!

When I return from Venice I will list my apartment rental information over on my public blog DFLA in the TRAVELS section.

If you have any vacation rental or hotel advice feel free to add your voice to the conversation via the comments below!

My friend, and occasional travel partner Suzanne typed up this chronology for me.  Thought I'd post it since it's so interesting!

Some Venetian chronology from Venice, Pure City by Peter Ackroyd:

421 – legendary founding of Venice (real date probably a century later)

568 – Torcello founded

early 7th C. – basilica of S. Maria of Assunta built at Torcello (which you are going to go see!)

697 – 1st doge elected 

825 –  San Marco square completed

828 – body of San Marco  brought to Venice from Alexandria

928 – 1st mention of a Venetian glass-maker

early 1100's – the Arsenal is constructed

1171 – the 2 great columns in San Marco square are erected

late 1100's – earliest surviving mention of a gondola

1203-4 – Venice plys a major role in the assaut & sacking of Constantinople. It brings home the 4 horses of the triumphal Quadriga (&later, Napolean took the horses out of Venice – but they are back now (the ones you see above San Marco are copies though – for weather purposes)

1270 – earliest reference to private banks

1310 – the Council of 10 is created

1348 – plague in the city

14th – 15th C. – height of Venice's military powers

1421 – construction of Ca' (means house) D'Oro begins

1422 – old palace of doge replaced w. present day one 

1462 – war begins between Venice & the Turks. Ends in 1479. This signals the beginning of the end of Venetian power in the East & gradually ceases to dominate trade in the area

1516- Jewish ghetto established in Canareggio

1519 – birth of Tintoretto

1527 – after sack of Rome by barbarian invaders, Venice offers haven to countless Roman artists & intellectuals

1527 – Jacopo Sansovino, a refugee from Rome, appointed public architect . He designs the Mint, Library, the loggia of the campanile, part of Rialto market & transforms San Marco square  into a classic piazza

1585 – Venice loses Cypress to the Turks

1585 – beginning construction of Rialto Bridge (ponte)

1637 – world's 1st opera house built in Venice

1669 – Venoce loses Crete to the Turks; Suzanne visited Crete in 2007; no Turks left

1678 – Vivaldi is born

1696 – Tiepolo is born

1700's – Venice becomes the city of art & pleasure

1725 – Casanova is born

1797 – Vence falls to Napoleon, who hands it over to Austria. The doge is deposed & the Venetian republic ceases to exist

1848 – the Venetians oust the Austrians & re=establish the republic

1849 – the Austrians re-occupy Venice & the republic fails

1854 – the Accademia bridge is built

1868 – the Austrians withdraw & Venice becomes part of the newly established kingdom of Italy

end of 1800's – the Lido becomes a beach resort

1895 – first international exhibition is organised; becomes known as the "Biennale"

1902 – the campanile of San Marco square falls

1943 – German forces take over the city

1966 – year of the great flood

1996 – Venice's most famous opera house, LaFenice, burns down

2012 – Mary Ann Moss arrives in Venice

BON VIAGGIO!!!  Fa' un bel tempo!!!

xoxo,S.

I love sharing my travel adventures with my sister.  I also enjoy sharing travel experiences with other people I know and love.  But truth be told, I would prefer to fly solo rather than go with someone I don’t know well.  The introverted side to my personality is very comfortable being in my own company.  And although my sister would disagree, I can go long stretches without talking to anyone.  If you are the headstrong type like me and enjoy being your own master and commander I am sure you will love solo travel as much as I do.  The ability to be completely spontaneous and change my mind as frequently as I like makes partnerless travel perfect.  It also helps if you can entertain yourself and don’t mind eating alone.

But traveling alone is not just for the introverted types.  If you are more extroverted, you are more likely to meet people as you travel.  There are also more and more “meet-up” services online for travelers that crave companionship when exploring new places.   Here are a few:

SOLO TRAVEL MEET-UP

If you’re traveling alone, but don’t want to feel lonely taking a language or art class is always a sure bet to meet people.  I’ve studied Spanish in Mexico 3 times.  2 of those times I was extremely social in class and did things almost daily with my new compadres.  Another time, I met a woman on a city bus in Mexico and ended up hanging out with her my entire trip.  On my last trip to Mexico I enjoyed having breakfast each morning with the lovely hostess/landlady of the casita I rented in Mexico.

Beforehand I was apprehensive, but she was so interesting and not at all intrusive.  We still email each other occasionally.  Although I didn’t think I would, I actually enjoyed making contact with her each morning.  Mexico must bring out my inner extrovert!

If you are venturing off on your first solo trip I don’t think you can go wrong in a big city like Paris.  It’s where I went on my maiden solo voyage.  The transportation is a breeze – there are metro stops every few blocks, and walking is also endlessly entertaining.   Mexico is another place where I have felt super comfortable traveling alone.  The people of Mexico are the kindest I’ve met in the world.  So welcoming and lovely.  I can’t recommend it enough!  San Miguel de Allende is a very easy introduction to Mexico if you’ve never been.  Lots of Americans call it home, English is widely spoken, and the atmosphere is breathtaking.  After I read “On Mexican Time”  I knew I had to visit!  I’ve been 3 times.

Usually when I’m alone I eat one main meal out in the afternoon or early evening, stop at cafes for coffee and snacks, pick up food to go in bakeries, eat street food, and ALWAYS find a market to keep provisions at home.   Most nights I am happily piddling around my apartment, working in my travel journal, blogging, reading, writing.  I tend to keep very late hours when I travel and do not get up at the crack of dawn.  I leave the house at a leisurely hour and occasionally I don’t leave at all!  I find rushing around extremely unpleasant and especially cannot stand going from one monument or museum to the next.  I make time for naps.  I DO cover most of the “must sees”, but also leave some for the next time.  And.. there is always a next time.

I enjoy apartment rentals when I travel solo because I like to feel literally at home.  And if it’s an especially fine place, I like to spend time there.  Sometimes I leave the apartment early, come home midday to relax, and leave again in late afternoon.  Most often I leave the apartment in late morning and return in late afternoon or early evening.  I am rarely out from early morning to night.  I have a very leisurely relaxed attitude towards traveling & exploring.

Please chime in about your solo travels and/or leave solo travel references below in the comments.