Tuesday 4 June 2013

Venice Day 11: Islands & Art

Hopped on the boat over to Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore after lunch, having spent a pleasant morning on San Servolo with Mum so that she could have a look around there too.  I found out that the Museum of Madness was only open when part of a guided tour, and had to be booked in advance whilst being dependent on guide being available, so I will probably not get around to doing it this time.

On San Giorgio I was able to check the Marc Quinn inflatable version of 'Alison Lapper Pregnant' close up, having not realised before that it was indeed inflatable until a friend asked me via email if I had seen it yet.  I still don't care for it a great deal but have to admit that it is very clever, made up of many sections, and it must have been quite a challenge to create a huge inflatable model in such detail.





Along the north side of the island there were several large shells, cast in metal, which afforded fascinating and beautiful reflections upon their shiny surfaces.  Enjoyed taking photos of these with iPad and Nikon, to be later processed in monochrome. 





Another part of the Biennale was this installation set in a deliciously cool tunnel, all to do with snowflakes.  






Also checked out this exhibition entitled 'Fragile?' which only featured items made from glass.
















Following all this culture I caught a boat down to Nico's on the Zattere for an ice cream and some sparkling water, and then another boat back to Paradiso, Giardini for spritz in the sun :)

Monday 3 June 2013

Venice Day 10: Good Grief, The Sun is Shining!

Managed not to take a single photo for the blog yesterday, hence the lack of writing, but made an effort to get a few more snaps for today.  After breakfast Mum and I headed out to go to the hole in the wall for more cash, and on the way back stopped at Bar Angio for hot chocolate.  The sun then amazingly came out, and I felt hot for the first time in this entire holiday, so a hot drink was probably not what we needed but it was still delicious and fun to sit somewhere different to people watch.


Following this pleasant interlude I left Mum to head back to the apartment on her own, whilst I just went to take some photographs in the local area.

What are 'batterie - piles' when they are at home?




After lunch I headed straight back out in order to make the most of the sun, as it has been so changeable here there was no knowing when it could disappear again.  Found a little courtyard off Campo Della Tana which was part of the Biennale, free entry so went in to have a look.










Headed on eastwards to explore the Isola di Sant 'Elena which I have never visited before - as expected it was very residential and the buildings were newer,so I walked around the edge and didn't go inland too much.  Monday is obviously wash day in Venice as everywhere I turned I could see lines of colourful laundry strung up high over the calles.

Viale Giuseppe Garibaldi



Finally ended up at my favourite bar in the whole of Venice, Paradiso at Giardini, where I spent the remainder of the afternoon finishing a novel and drinking spritz and mineral water in the glorious sunshine.



Realised when I got back to the apartment that despite applying more suncream while I was sitting outside, I had caught the sun on my arms and chest so now have stupid tan lines that make me look like a total tourist.  Oh dear.

Saturday 1 June 2013

Venice Day 8: San Servolo

Managed to get to San Servolo this afternoon, and what a beautiful place it was - a real haven of greenery and peace and quiet, smelling richly of grass, earth and jasmine, with lizards skittering about freely, swifts soaring after insects and blackbirds contentedly hopping about on the grass.  It is a true oasis in Venice.  There were various artworks spread throughout the grounds, which may be permanent or may be due to the Biennale, creating splashes of colour amidst the greenery, and the whole atmosphere was just that of lush tranquility.

The Museum of Madness was unfortunately closed, and there was no information either there or on the website as to opening times, but I am going to try to find out somehow as I would love to visit.