MBELDOG BLOG

Catch them if you can!

Leonardo DiCaprio and Blake Lively's dazzling European courtship continues apace! On Thursday afternoon, the hot new twosome turned up on a water taxi on a canal in the ultra-romantic, ancient city of Venice, Italy.

It's just the latest posh stop on the continent for the Oscar-nominated actor, 36, and the Gossip Girl star, 24, who've been hop-scotching Europe's most luxurious locales since mid-May, as reported in the new Us Weekly, out now.

Just weeks after his split with on-and-off model girlfriend Bar Rafaeli, DiCaprio began wooing Lively with massive, flamboyant style: a helicopter ride to Saint-Paul de Vence, France for lunch at La Colombe d'Or Restaurant for a $500 lunch (the Titanic hunk left a $500 tip!), sexy stays at a $5,000-a-night suite at Hotel de Paris, a Belle Epoque palace in Monte Carlo, and a bash aboard a $52 million yacht, to name a few outings.

"I've never seen him like this with a girl," one source says of ladies' man DiCaprio.

As for Lively? She's crushed on DiCaprio since Titanic was in theaters -- when she was 10! "Being charmed by him isn't the worst thing in the world!" one confidante tells Us.

Credit: Us Magazine

With all the attention surrounding her personal life, Blake Lively wants a timeout from the spotlight.

"People ask me why I don't tweet," the 23-year-old actress tells the July issue of Glamour. "Honestly, I'm so sick of myself."

(The new Us Weekly, out Wednesday, details Lively's sexy new romance and European adventures with Leonardo DiCaprio. Late Tuesday, the star also became the unwitting center of a supposed nude photo scandal; in a statement her rep told Us alleged photos storming the web are "100 percent fake.")

Whether people are talking about her ex-boyfriend (Penn Badgley) or her new man (DiCaprio), the Green Lantern star says she's never let public opinion affect her relationships.

"I have a strong sense of myself. That gives me a sense of security, you know? If I define myself by things that are always changing, like the public's opinion, or what I'm wearing, or what job I'm doing, there's no stability in that."

Besides, Lively points out, things are fine between her and Badgley, 24. "Every relationship you have, you're learning and growing and taking something from that," she says of her Gossip Girl costar. "So for me, it's never been too dramatic of a thing when something ends."

Boys aside, Lively admits there is another great love in her life: fashion. "Gossip Girl completely blew open the door to fashion for me. I'd go to fashion shows and call my publicist and say, 'Can I wear that?' I think I became my own stylist by not knowing any better. And once I was told it was time to get one, I thought, 'This is one of my favorite hobbies! And I'm going to pay someone to steal my hobby from me? That's a terrible idea!'"

After all, the California girl -- who noshes on chicken potpie from Tea & Sympathy before red carpet events -- says she prefers to let the clothes do the talking.

"I don't feel like I have to do so much with hair and makeup, because I'm the mannequin for these beautiful clothes, so I never want to do anything too distracting," she explains. "Most of the time, I put my hair in a ballerina bun, and I take it down and it's wavy, and then I leave. I feel shy when people are fussing on me."

Credit: Us Magazine

"SexyBack" meets Full House!

The new Us Weekly, out Wednesday, reports that Justin Timberlake and Ashley Olsen -- both newly single, former child stars with their own fashion labels -- have been inseparable (and flirty!) in and around NYC of late.

One insider close to the pair (spotted together at the Greenwich Hotel, an SNL afterparty, two Broadway shows and a polo match outside the city) tells Us: "They are hooking up."

Adds another source of the unexpected twosome, who both ended high-profile relationships in March (he with Jessica Biel after 4 years together, she with actor Justin Bartha after two years): "They're really trying to keep it on the down-low."

(A rep for Timberlake denies anything non-platonic, telling Us: "They are friends. They are not romantically involved.")

Still, an Olsen source says that the former sitcom kid turned fashion mogul is "aware of Justin's reputation with women, but...They're in the same head space."

Credit: Us Magazine

Newly single Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted Sunday in Portofino, Italy with Blake Lively.

DiCaprio, 36, and Lively, 23, were caught hugging on a yacht Tuesday during the Cannes Film Festival.

Earlier this month, sources confirmed to Us Weekly that DiCaprio and supermodel Bar Rafaeli, 25, ended their five year relationship.

So are things really over for the Oscar nominated actor and Rafaeli? "They do this every two years," a source pointed out to Us. "They could be back together next week."

Lively ended things with Penn Badgley, her beau of three years and Gossip Girl costar, in September 2010.

Credit: Us Magazine

Enjoying the beautiful weather, Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted spending some time with Blake Lively in Cannes, France today (May 17).

The “Inception” actor and the “Gossip Girl” starlet added fuel to the relationship rumors by getting a little touchy-feely while aboard Steven Spielberg’s luxury boat.

Credit: Celebrity Gossip