A Venetian Escape
Running in Heels Through Venice (And Other Fashion Adventures)
Anastasia: Last week, Scott and I took a 2.5-day trip to Venice—a little reset before the upcoming fashion weeks.
The last time I was in Venice was over ten years ago, and I had been dreaming of going back—especially with Scott. And this trip turned out to be absolutely dreamy, at least for two reasons. First, we got incredibly lucky with the weather: bright warm sun, +8°C, no wind, and that early spring sun that lets you have lunch outdoors and walk around in (Prada) ballet flats.
Scott: I love these little trips with Anastasia! Of course I love traveling around Italy and photographing the people and places that have become my new home but when you travel with someone as chic and stylish as Anastasia its hard to focus on shooting anything or anyone else but her!
We were lucky and had two days of amazing sun that made the colors of Venice so rich and vibrant.
Thursday
Anastasia: The wonderful thing about living in Milan is that talking a trip to Venice is so much more relaxed. A 2.5 hour train trip and you’re literally arrive in the center of Venice. We stayed at the beautiful Venice Venice hotel, right by the Rialto Bridge, with an incredible view of the Grand Canal. We didn’t want to exhaust ourselves the first day so we had an amazing lunch at hotel and then took a short walk to try and work off the calories.
Scott: I agree that a wonderful thing about living in Milan is Venice is so close. It also makes packing easier if you’re only going to be there two or three days. When I lived in New York a trip to Venice was always attached to visiting other locations like Rome or Paris after so it was a major pain lugging big suitcases on and off those water taxis. This time however we packed only two duffle bags of clothes and some camera equipment. Because I’m an idiot I told Anastasia “I can just carry these bags the 20 minutes to the hotel!” Well, a twenty minute walk in Venice over the bridges and between the crowds is equally uncomfortable. I’ve learned Venice is much more beautiful empty handed.
Scott: I have to say it’s so nice to have a hotel as cool and hip as Venice Venice to stay at when Venice. There are a lot of very beautiful hotels there but this is the only one with a young, cool vibe. The design of the hotel is fun with unexpected mix of elements in the rooms like Yeti coolers next to hand tooled leather chairs or shower gel that comes in a soda can!
Anastasia: And after many miles walked you could have a great rest with a massage or a warm bath (essential)!
Anastasia: For the walk I decided to wear Scott’s navy blue Aspesi coat, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't add a little bling-bling.
I really like my recently purchased pearly necklace from Zara that I mix with a recent find on resale, Dries Van Noten crystal necklace, for a more dramatic effect. It is more dramatic for me first of all, since the two necklaces together weigh quite a lot!
Anastasia: Lately, Scott has been experimenting more with flash photography so during the day, we scouted for locations, and at night, we shot along the Venetian canals for an upcoming project.
Anastasia: I should mention that I’m not the most camera-confident person. Scott is almost always carrying one, and it took me a few months to get used to the fact that he often photographs me. I’ve always preferred to stay behind the curtain, focusing on the business side of fashion. But since we took the leap with launching this newsletter, I decided to embrace it — and worry a little less about the fact that I now get photographed way more often than when applying for ,yet, another visa.
And I loooove the result and the way Scott supports me gives me such a courage to even running in heels in Venice at midnight!
It was actually pretty fun—Venice is rarely truly empty, even at night, so it was kind of a performance with people witnessed my high-heeled sprints up and down the bridges.
Scott: Thursday evening it’s so fun talking photos of Anastasia, she’s very shy so usually the best images are when I’ve told her we got the shot and she relaxes and flashes her amazing real smile!
Friday
Anastasia: In the first half of the day, we decided to visit the San Rocco museum—somewhere I had never been before. Since the sun was at its peak, I thought it was the perfect moment to take my Christmas gift from Scott — Prada ballet flats —for a walk. Naturally, I paired them with an ultra-short N°21 skirt, which, given all the stair-climbing, may be sometimes mistaken for a belt 😄
I wouldn’t say my lower half was particularly warm, but at least it looked great!
Scott: Friday morning I wanted to take Anastasia to Scuola Grande di San Rocco, one of my favorite spots in Venice! the interiors are amazing as is the many works of Tintoretto! I like that they give you a mirror to look at the ceiling instead of having to strain your neck all afternoon.
Scott: I know I’m bias but how can a woman be so beautiful? And not only beautiful but have actual effortless style! After lunch Anastasia wanted to change into something a little warmer because we had a boat tour of Venice scheduled and she wanted to make sure she was going to be warm enough. Since we only packed a little she didn’t have a lot of choices. Let’s just say I was very pleasantly surprised I saw she layered my blue striped pajama shirt under her navy cable knit and over white cotton flared jeans and white sneakers! We also switched coats and I took back my long Aspesi coat and she took the Valstar coat. But let’s be honest, the star of the look are those Chimi sunglasses, her amazing hair and that smile!
Anastasia: On our second day, we took a boat ride—because, of course, Venice is best seen from the water. With Sam Smith’s Stay With Me playing in our headphones, we sang along as we floated under the city’s famous bridges, watching the seagulls glide above us.
Anastasia: Speaking of seagulls—have you seen our masterpiece of a Hitchcock-style dramatic video that I accidentally captured in a single take?
No Scotts were harmed in the making of this shoot, but we definitely couldn’t stop laughing for the rest of the day.
Scott: We had been warned about the seagulls and all lunch Anastasia kept jumping everytime a seagull flew near! The seagulls never really bothered me (and I love Flock of Seagulls) so I just kept eating totally unaware I was being cased. Anastasia thought it was funny how near the seagulls kept flying so she decided to film as they passed overhead. in this process she created her cinema masterpiece that we watched and laughed about for the rest of the trip. Now I know if I ever need to cheer her up I just need a harmless animal , like a sloth or giraffe, to attack me!
Saturday
Anastasia: As for Venice itself, it remains the most magical dream city — one you want to return to every year. The key is to avoid peak tourist season and weekends. Our Thursday-Friday trip felt just right, but by Saturday, we found ourselves caught in the full force of the carnival crowds and decided to escape to the quieter Cannaregio district.
Scott: Anastasia and I are both Scorpio so we don’t love being in crowds which makes Vencie challenging sometimes. We had a midday train back to Milan so Saturday morning we took a beautiful walk around quiet Cannaregio district. I think the next time I go to visit I might try to stay around there. It’s so lovely and peaceful by the water and smaller canals. It’s really a perfect space to escape to when the crowds are too much.
This is a wonderful recap of a short stay. Thank you for sharing. I love her style.
Venice is so special, I haven’t been back in two years and you are making me wanna go now! Cannaregio and Castello are def two great areas to get out of the big crowd there!