Venezia with Chopard
Arriving in Venice
This Monday I travelled to Venice, Italy, together with Chopardwho wanted to reveal a little (well, not so little actually...) something during the annual Venice Film Festival. I had only been to Venice one time before, which was last summer but was more than happy to return to this beautiful place, especially with someone like Chopard.
I love my job during times like these. I mean, it can be extremely stressful not knowing what you're supposed to be doing tomorrow, the next week or the month after that but if you try to relax about living in the "unknown" it can also be extremely exciting and stimulating when jobs like this pops up and you all of a sudden are going to Venice on Monday instead of to Monoprix for the weekly grocery shopping errand.
In Venice you have to take a boat almost wherever you want to go (which can be a problem for people who tend to suffer from motion sickness, much like myself...) but there's no getting around how charming this form of transportation can be (although this is not to say that I'm a fan of the touristic gondola rides!).
I arrived in Venice early on Monday morning and fortunately the grey clouds that decided to great me when I landed later disappeared and made room for blue skies and a sunny evening. Just like last time, when I visited Venice for the very first time, I stayed on a little island outside the city centre.
Checking in
The San Clemente Palace hotel was my home during this quick little trip, located Isola di San Clemente, which is just a ten minute boat ride outside the centre of Venice. There's something so nice about having to go to a private little island to get to your hotel – especially if you like to stay away from the humungous crowds taking up Venice most of the time like I do. Last year I stayed at the more modern JW Marriott Hotel (which is a located on an island just a few seconds, or perhaps minutes, away from this island by boat) which I really enjoyed too and if someone would make me choose between the two, I'm not sure that I could. I have to say that San Clemente Palace was incredibly charming and I loved the traditional style of the property.
Dinner with a view...
If you would ask me about the most memorable dinner locations of my life, this one is certainly making the top three of my list. Imagine having dinner by the water, in the middle of Venice, surrounded by gowns, glitter, actors and producers, Chopard jewels and a million orchids... It was just as dreamy as it looks.
Caroline Scheufele, co-president and artistic director of Chopard, greeted all of the guests with a lovely little speech which was then followed by a four course dinner, accompanied by both opera singing and trumpet playing (I truly hope that you didn't miss the videos that I posted on Instagram Stories of these moments) as the night was setting over Venice.
Looking through these photos again I almost have a hard time believing that I got to experience it all for myself... That's also why I love taking photos – you get to relive these moments a second time.
Chopard’s journey to sustainable luxury
The following day Chopard treated us to a lovely little lunch at the beautiful Aman hotel, located right off the Grand Canal, which is apparently where George Clooney decided to have his wedding reception when getting married in Venice (I'm sorry, it's embarrassing but I love little anecdotes like this). It's funny how a place can be so completely calm and quiet while five million tourists are occupying the streets a few blocks down. This also served as the venue for Chopard's press gathering in order to explain more about what they're currently working on.
The brand was proud to present these jewellery pieces as you can see above, featuring these mesmerising emerald stones which the brand, together with Gemfields, have sourced in a sustainable way. We were told about how the mining works, how they take care of the land, helps the locals living on the land and thinks about what they do in a long term way, in order to preserve our planet for the future – something I think more brands should be doing. Knowing that these jewellery pieces were made in a responsible way, makes me love them even more (if that's even possible – you should have seen how much they sparkled!).
Exploring Venice
Even though the trip to Venice was short this time around, I appreciated every minute of it. As you might have noticed by now, I love love love Italy and I will take almost any excuse to come back to this beautiful country. I will have to be honest though and admit that Venice is probably not my favouriteItalian city – although it is absolutely gorgeous. This is mostly due to the fact that the tourists are so concentrated (because it's not that big) in the city and therefore it can be really hard to get around or to see the pretty streets without a sh**load of tourists. I've heard people recommending to go into the city really really early, or evening late during the evenings, which is a tip I will test out next time I go. But either way, I had a lovely time and was happy to get some time to just stroll around together with my camera as well, capturing these gorgeous colours and charming bridges all over.
Thank you so much to Chopard for having me during these days, I had a wonderful time in such a magical city. I say we keep meeting like this, in some of the most beautiful cities around the world!