So last weekend was a pretty bloody great weekend. After a short plane ride followed by a tortuously slow boat ride - we arrived in gloriously sunny (albeit chilly) Venice. It was exactly how I imagined it, postcard perfect with every street nicer than the next. Our hotel was right on the waterfront and only a few minutes walk from St Marks square. The square was definitely worth a visit to see Doge's Palace but it was absolutely heaving with tourists which is never particularly relaxing - the further we wandered away from it the quieter and nicer it got! I found it really bizarre to be in a place with no cars - it was really hard to ignore the ingrained action of looking left and right!
Our main reason for visiting Venice was to see the Biennale which is an international art fair that runs from May to November every other year. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone, whether you're a modern art lover or not. Our hotel was close by the main Arsenale and Giardini venues but there are Pavillion's spread all over the city, so it's a great excuse to explore the gorgeous streets and canals. There's so much to see there's bound to be something to suit everyone's tastes and interests. It really gives you a concise sense of each country and a snippet of whats going on culturally and politically around the world.
The Russian Pavillion was my favourite by far, particularly this artwork by Grisha Bruskin which consisted of a variety of little white sculptures arranged in a dimly light space against a monochrome backdrop.
This piece 'Werken' by Bernardo Oyarzum at the Chile Pavillion was incredible. It was an installation made up of over 1000 Maphuche Kollong masks, traditionally used in Chilean ceremonies.
When I wasn't looking at art, I was out dog spotting! A lot of them able to roam off lead due to the lack of cars which was nice. People seem to be much more tolerant of dogs in France and Italy where it's fairly normal to see an owner take their dog into the supermarket. I wouldn't dare try and take Tovah in my local Tesco!
Here's a very content woofer soaking up the November sunshine....
Ironically I saw two British Bulldogs while I was there but no Italian Greyhounds!
I felt quite exhausted by the end of the weekend after walking over 7 miles each day! I also felt as fat as a house as the food was predictably incredible but not exactly slimming. Italian food is my absolute favourite - I would happily eat pizza and pasta for every single meal (although it wouldn't be long until I was bursting out of my clothes.) If I had to sum up our trip in three words it would be - art, pizza and dogs and seeing as those also happen to be three of my favourite things - Venice has been cemented as one of my favourite cities ever! If you get the chance - go. You won't regret it.
