I recently returned from a trip to Italy where one of our stops was Venice for a couple of days.

With our friend, Google Maps, Mr PB and I spent most of those 2 days wandering the narrow streets and absorbing ourselves in this amazing city (it also felt, at times, that we were just trying to escape the hoards of tourists around St Marks Square!)

Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada and Gucci lined the narrow streets. Have designer brands become so needed that they have to try and draw you in in one of the worlds smallest cities that is just rammed with tourists?! A coffee can sometimes reach €15 so my eyes water at the thought of how much the designers inflate their prices.

Imaging Shakespeare walk the cobbled paths, it was hard to understand how the City has just become a tourism haven and very little else. I appreciate that all cities have to have their tourism income, but the city felt like it emptied each night and the hoards returned around 11am the following morning…….I guess it made dinner enjoyable without having to queue for a table!

However, on a positive note, it was whilst getting lost, in between the many delicious (expensive) ice creams we consumed, that I stumbled across a shop and my faith was restored! No shop name, no bright lights or promotions plastered over the windows. A shop with the most stunning selection of pens and wax seals presented in the most unobtrusive, blink and you miss it style. It would have been rude not to investigate further….research purposes of course!

“Bonjouro. Lei parla inglese?”

“Si”

And with that, we perused the shelves with plenty of oohs and aahs and eventually The Pineapple & Button Co. gift set was purchased!

The set compromises of a glass fountain pen made from the Venetian Murano glass. There is no nib to the pen. The ink draws up into the end of the pen and writes beautifully. You would think that without a nib, the quality would be poor but it certainly isn’t. I obviously chose a teal ink.

The set also comes with blotter, wax and stamp. The stamp is also Murano glass and matches the pen almost perfectly. I haven’t yet used the seal but will share results when I do.

If you are visiting Venice, the shop is called Frizzi e Lazzi, San Marco 818, Venezia. I highly recommend a visit.

so, for all of its quirks and, at times, frustrations, Venice is an incredible place with an atmosphere that cannot be matched anywhere that I have visited. Whilst you feel that you are constantly on a film set or even visiting The Venetian in Las Vegas, I would recommend anyone to visit – one day, this place could be a lost City…..just make sure you take dosh and plenty of it!

In my next blogs, I will be reviewing the 2 hotels we stayed in during our stay – Lake Como and Venice, so watch this space!

x PB x