In a couple of weeks, Andrew and I are going to be able to fulfil a long-held dream to go to beautiful Venice. We have limited money and time to spend there, so I’ve been researching how best to spend the few days . Pinterest is a wonderful thing!

Here are a few of my aims and ideas:

*Get a Vaporetto along the Grand Canal. The water buses are cheaper than Gondolas and you can travel further on them.

*Take some photos like these by Guy Aroch.

*Climb the Campanile tower, admire the view and pretend to be Galileo demonstrating his first telescope!

*Wander through St Mark’s Basilica and admire the mosaics.

*Walk through the smaller streets and find some hidden bookshops, churches and restaurants.

*Eat some Cicchetti – the Venetian version of tapas.

*There is apparently a horrible looking multi-storey not far from our hotel – my aim is to climb it and check out the view from the top!

*Do a little sketching. When we were on honeymoon in Ireland we really enjoyed doing a few pictures, but neither of us have done much drawing since.

*Seek out some of the music on offer in the city.

Obviously there is so much more we could do in Venice, but I think if we even scratch the surface of this list we’ll have done well!

I’ve been thinking about packing, too, and here are some of the items I’ll be taking with me (along with some comfy shoes for walking!):

Our trusty camera; my favourite hat (Marks and Spencer); an eye shade and earplugs for Andrew as he finds it really hard to sleep in new places (Boots); a plug adapter (Boots); this cute notebook for writing and sketching; Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch, which if it’s anything like the first in the series, will be a gripping read to keep me entertained on the plane; a good Venice guidebook and some of these handy travel sized Liz Earle products. My friend introduced me to Liz Earle and I’m now using the Cleanser, Toner and Moisturiser each night. They make me feel like I’ve been to the spa, so are perfect for a relaxing few days away.

Where do you dream of visiting? What plans are you making at the moment?