Vanity is Contagious. Fact.

Material things shouldn't give me so much pleasure. I'm normally as worldly as they come. And yet, Italian goodies in the form of bags and shoes fill me with envy and greed.

Italian women are as vain as they come. They will carry out the school run dressed up to the nines in their highest heels, perfectly tailored trousers and Luis Vuitton bags, and will never be seen without a good face of make-up. In such pressurising circumstances, one can't help but feel the urge to better one's own appearance. A bit of eyeliner, good shoes and a well-made bag make you as Italian as you could hope to be.

So, given this little bit of context, you won't be surprised that my discussion of my trip to Venice won't include descriptions of the beautiful landscape, the magnificent gondolas or the wealth of art boasted by the city. Nope. What it includes is my fascination with the number of little side streets that host an abundance of shops that sell the most beautiful, Italian-made, leather bags.

Of course, Italy is filled with little side streets that host an abundance of shops that sell the most beautiful, italian-made, leather bags, but Venice's collection of shops interests me because of how reasonably priced they are compared to everything else in the city. Let's put this into perspective. It cost me FIVE euros for a cappucino (normally around 1euro40 in Bologna). It costs around 100 euros for a gondola ride. It's 16 euros to get into the Biennial. And yet, a beautiful bag will set you back just 45 euros. A bag that I can guarantee, had I found it back in the uk, would have cost me at least double. CAn you guess what I spent my money on whilst in Venice?

I have put this in the context of the vanity of the Italian female population because I'm not one to shun a trip to an art gallery. In fact, on the train back to Bologna at the end of my trip to Venice, I sat staring out into the foggy night and mulling over my decision to admire the Biennial solely from the outside and instead spend my money on a, albeit beautiful, bag. My only explanation is that vanity is contagious when you live in a style-obsessed country such as Italy. You don't want to be the one who doesn't have good style, you want to be as stylish as the Italian woman walking past you with her immaculate hair and little pooch-in-a-bag (yes, most of the little doggies here ARE carried in handbags). So, don't judge me and my new-found love for good leather bags or boots. It's just another way to fit in here.