Venice

LVP brings you the first Mini Travel Pocket Guide, to Venice

A bit about LVP "Mini Travel Pocket Guides" : They're mini because they are limited to the places listed by LVP only, sometimes they include researched information. However they offer honest opinions and experiences with great pictures ideas. They're usually to the point and sometimes include brief explanations! Hope you enjoy all of them!

Past Travel features have been surrounded around NYC; - (There is so much more NYC experiences lined up!) - Baked By Melissa, Waffles & Dinges Truck, Gelataria Classica, & Levain Bakery

Venice, Italy

Travelled by Car.

When you travel by car to venice, as you would imagine, you have to park at a certain spot before entering 'main' Venice (as it is the city of water).

Airport Shuttle Busses usually drop off passengers here as well. From this point there are no more cars! Nice change right?! Some times you spot a mini italian car here or there that belongs to a local [the one we spotted was on top of a water taxi].

Gondola rides, as amazing as they are, are used by tourists and not locals, but are 
nonetheless something not to be missed

You will travel around Venice in water taxis, and water busses. Just as their names state, the water taxi can seat up to around 5 people and their luggage (if needed) and the water bus is larger, accommodating many more people and stopping at various points.

Duration of Stay: 2 Nights/3 Days

Recommended: 3 - 7 Days


Click on any of the photos to enlarge them

Beautiful Venice!



San Marco's Basilica

Places Visited: 

•  San Marco's Basilica / Basilica San Marco

• Piazza San Marco (The main square, also where you can feed pigeons) & Bacino di San - Marco & Campo San Marco - This square is also great by night time where you can enjoy classical live music around that entertain the diners of the many cafés around, and the enjoy the view of Church lit up by night.

• Ponte di Rialto (Bridge and Landmark of Venice)

• Murano Island - to view Glass Making and exclusive pieces - (Hotels will usually offer you a good deal to this place arranged by a water taxi of some sort to the Island and Back)

• Just walked around (+crossed bridges) and enjoyed the beauty of the city, sat down in restaurants that had a good menu, window shopped all the glass art and amazing mask shops, walked inside leathered good shops/chocolatiers, enjoyed Gelato (which can be found about every 4 blocks)

Murano Island - Glass Making


Valued Purchases:

An Authentic Venetian Mask

A Gondola Ride

A Glass Vase

& of course, Real Italian Gelato!

Not Visited, but Suggested Visits:

Dodge's Palace

Colorful masks are sold on stalls all over the city! Authentic and good 

quality ones can only be found inside proper stores though.

Useful Phrases:

Hello: Ciao / Bonjourno                Goodbye: Ciao / Arrivederci

Please: Per Favore                        Thank you: Grazie

You're welcome: Prego                How are you?: Come stai?

Yes: Si                                             No: No

Of course: Certamente                 Excuse me: Scusa

Open: Aperto                                 Closed: Chiuso

What is your name?: Come ti chiami?

My name is...: Mi chiamo...

How much?: Quanto costa?       The bill please?: Il conto per favore.

Great Architecture, colorful buildings, and cute cafés are around you wherever you go

An adapted extract about the weather from Hostelworld.com

Venice's coldest months: Jan & Feb

Spring and best months to visit: March & June

Unbearably Warm(yet the busiest) months: July & August (LVP was there mid July and it was bearable, and the temperature didn't seem to stop tourists pouring into the famed city)

September to December: The temperature starts to cool again, making it pleasant

Sweaters for Fall 2011

Last fashion post of the week...

Like us on Facebook to get sneak peeks into the upcoming posts of the week.

(click photo to enlarge)

PS. Small editing error...it's supposed to be "Chic sweaters to keep you warm this winter" ! ;) Sorry

All images via Net-a-Porter.com

NYFW 2011 Street Style - Part 2

I. We love this different and daring look. A foil-like effect of a metallic look (another hot trend this season), with  a complimentary blue pair of pants

II. We absolutely adore this Prada clutch! Not to mention how it's so stylishly paired with an all camel tone outfit

III. These two fashionistas caught during fashion week sport a monochromatic look but make it interesting by wearing different shades and adding a pop of color (one not to far from the rest of the colors)

IV. The emerald jewel toned blouse is gorgeous and the denim jacket adds an unexpected touch to the outfit and creates a great overall look

V. DANNIJO caught this fashionista on their instagram. She carries the color blocking fashion into fall by pairing bright coral/red pants with a plain pink top

VI. This simple but great look is so effortlessly chic and the tassel copper clutch takes it to that next level, placing the outfit midway between comfy chic and smart casual

VII. We absolutely love this daring yet not-overpoweing ensemble. This NYFW attendee rocks neon perfectly all while combining different textures/materials together

VIII. We love this wild print! We love the print it self, the cut of the blouse, the colors, everything!

IX. Not so much a street style, but Emma Roberts rocks an elegant and sophisticated look in a sleek black, blue, and green dress

X. This ensemble is impeccably balanced despite the various patterns and colors involved. Keeping the accessories light and in the same color palette as the blouse is key in keeping this look balanced and in control 

Hope you enjoyed!

Tomorrow is our last consecutive fashion post ( in honor of fashion week(s) ) of the week before we turn back health, food, travel, etc. !

NYFW 2011 Street Style - Part I

Fashion week is a great time to spot crazy, fun, and interesting looks, not to mention the perfectly composed outfits from the industry's leading ladies and men. 

LVP has it's pick of it's favourite street style looks. However, we had so many we could not fit them in one composite with doing justice to the pictures, so here's part 1, come back tomorrow for part 2!!

I . Laurel Patin - Assistant Beauty Editor at Teen Vogue - We love the daring green pants, and the pairing with natural tan leather brown loafers and sling bag

II . Sheena Smith - Accessories Editor at Teen Vogue - We love the fall themed palette - Burberry Sweater, Daughter of the Revolution Jeans, Miu Miu Bag

III . This style is effortlessly chic. The mix of prints is perfectly balance with the monochromatic color palette (it looks really comfortable too) - and LVP just loves the clutch! This amazing photo is from The Sartorialist

IV. Katherine Bernard - Features Assistant at Vogue US with an amazing Kate Spade NYTimes Clutch (we thought it was the actual paper!)

V. Christina Peres of Fashionologie - Again, we love the tan leather accents and the simple but classic look of pairing the blazer with jeans. We love the umbrella too ;)

VI . One of our favorites, this fashionista spotted at the Helmut Lang Show, pairs this seasons Jewel Tones (more on that later) perfectly and completes the look with a dark leather tote. We love the whole look!

VII . Hanneli Mustaparta - A contributing photographer to Vogue blends her wardrobe from summer to fall seamlessly with pairing a bright and fun pant - echoing summer's palette but also playing with this season's staple - with a perfect green silky top. We love the funky shades too - and the eco friendly/healthy take on transport!

VIII .  A classic and perfect look, blogger Jessica Stein pairs red bottoms with a simple and plain black top and leopard print flats. Refinery 29 even named it one of the safe go-to perfect outfits!

Hope you enjoyed and come back tomorrow for Part II 

Fall Fashion: Who wears the pants in your relationship?

So I usually change up the posts, but this time in honor of New York Fashion Week, I'm doing a couple consecutive fashion posts - however for this fall - not for next spring/summer. Honestly as much as I love #nyfw, i feel it gets so overwhelming to stay on top of it....I'm just getting into changing my wardrobe for fall, and they're already releasing S/S 12 styles..I have to make notes to remember in 6 months time!! ;) (So didn't mean any  of the above in a negative way...just a thought!)

Enjoy today's post!

1. Forever 21

2. H&M

3. Philip Lim via Net-a-porter

4. J.Crew

(left to right)

5. Forever 21

6. Forever 21

7. Mango

8. Zara

Which one is your fave?

Rebecca Minkoff - nyfw

Yesterday LVP tuned into the Live stream video on style.com to watch the Rebecca Minkoff show. As always with her work, we were impressed. 

Her S/S 12 collection includes brighter hues, color blocking, simple clean cuts and as many other shows this week, the color palette includes lots of yellows and blues but also infuses reds and browns - all good alternatives to this past summer's bright bright colors.

Here are a few screen shots from her show - sorry for some of the blurry images!

Waiting for the show to start...

...and the show begins!

We love that jacket!

And her purses of course never fail to impress

interesting use of neon yellows, in both the clothes and clutch (bright but not over powering)

Lots of flow-y, loose tops and graphic prints

The Designer herself

We wish her all the best with her soon to be born baby! 

Thought of the Day

Don't be afraid, but be sensible!

- Photo via

Exercise at Work

Ever feel energized instead of tired at the end of a good work out?

According to researchers in Sweden (via sciencedaily.com) that carried out a study which is being published in the journal of occupation and environmental medicine, devoting work time to physical activity leads to higher productivity!

Let your boss know that you need some time for an exercise break during the day...it increases productivity! Sounds crazy in today's world where even lunch is hard to fit in while your busy working away at your desk

While most bosses would think that time spent not working is useless and wasting time, this study shows you that time spend exercising:

- increases productivity, therefore you spend less time doing more work

- helps the individual be healthier in the long run as well - including less sick days!

- since exercise releases endorphins...it keeps you happy

Interesting right?

Those of you who work, how do you to fit in a workout during the day?

Photos: 1, 2, 3