Well Venice is lovely but I wish the hostel situation was better. I’m pretty sure I will get bed bugs before the end of my stay here at “A Venice Fish” and I’m avoiding showering because the bathrooms are gross. The guys who work here hate me because I always ask to store my bag in the storage locker and they’re the only ones with the key. I mean come on, every other hostel has individual storage lockers for each person and if someone steals my passport or laptop I’d be in really bad shape. It took be about two hours to fall asleep last night because the party in the common room was so loud. Actually, the party is still going on around me as I type this. Also, I'm not sure why, but the people here seem very weird and not as interesting as the other people I've been meeting. For example, I was talking to this one guy from Missouri about how our neighborhood is considered the old Jewish ghetto and somehow he thought that was offensive...Complaints aside, it is a really good location and it would have been a really big pain to have to live off-island so at least there’s that. Also, the free pasta dinners are passable. Anyway, I’m trying to spend as little time here as possible.
Now that I’ve ranted about the hostel, I can tell you why I like Venice so much. My day started with a nice walk to Campo San Polo. It was a little tricky to find but thanks to Kevin, I have a couple of good maps. I didn't make it into the church there (is it worth it?) but continued on instead to I Frari church which is a Venetian version of a Gothic church (slightly different than what you might find in France since it has to be on water) and it houses beautiful paintings by Bellini, Donatello, and most fabulously, Titian. Kevin gave me a separate Rick Steves guidebook for Venice and it has really nice walking tours both in museums/churches and around different neighborhoods. It makes me wish I had invested in a nice separate guidebook for both Rome and Florence as well. From I Frari I walked a short distance to the Scoula Grande di San Rocco which is often called 'Tintoretto's Sistine Chapel' because it houses more than 50 of his paintings. Though you can tell his paintings are much duller than they once were, they're still amazing. It's also great to see so many of his paintings in one place because you really can get a sense of his style that way. Anyway, after marveling at the 8,500 square feet of beautifully-painted canvases I wandered over to the nearby fish market. It was quite fishy and I only lasted about 10 minutes before I crossed the Realto to my lonely planet-recommended lunch stop called I Rusteghi. They had amazing mini panini and the guy working there recommended a delicious fish and butter sandwich (I forget exactly what it's called but it starts with a 'b') that is supposed to be a Venetian specialty. It was delicious! Finding the place was fun because, though it wasn't too far from the realto, it required meandering through very small backstreets until I reached a tiny hidden courtyard.
After lunch I took the vaporetto down the grand canal (which was pretty easy) to the Academia. It's true, the museum is not anywhere near as impressive as the Uffizi but it had a wonderful collection of Titian, Bellini, Tintoretto, and Veronese paintings and after seeing the museum I really felt like I really I had a good sense of the Venetian Renaissance style. From the Academia I walked to the nearby Peggy Guggenheim museum which was awesome! I really loved it. I've seen a lot of Italian Renaissance/Baroque art on this trip, and I've loved every minute of it, but seeing the Guggenheim reminded me that my real passion is 20th century art. It was definitely refreshing to see my good friends Picasso, Kandinsky, Pollock, Yves Tanguy, Mondrian, Calder, etc. and I loved learning about Peggy herself...what a character! I didn't realize she was so weirdly obsessed with dogs...they're all buried in her sculpture garden and they have odd names like 'Cappuccino' and 'baby.' One of them has the same name as her daughter...One of my favorite things in the sculpture garden was 'The Wish Tree' which was donated to Peggy by Yoko Ono. You're supposed to take a piece of paper (with a hole-punch in it) from the basket at the trunk, write a wish on it, and then hang it on one of the tree's skinny branches. It was a great opportunity to wish for no bed bugs!
From the Guggenheim I wandered to the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Sallute which has a beautifully ornate, baroque exterior. On the inside it's not quite as exciting but it did have a couple minor Titian paintings. Unfortunately, three of them were not available because they were being restored. After spending about 20 minutes in the church, I decided to cross the water and start heading towards the Palazzo Grassi. On the way I got a bit lost and stumbled into a few cute galleries. There are so many of them all over...I really like that about Venice. I finally made it to the Palazzo Grassi and I'm so glad I did. It's a giant baroque palace that was recently purchased by French billionaire Francois Pinault who is using it to display his incredibly collection of contemporary art. It was absolutely unbelievable. It was a really diverse collection that had several artists I knew and many artists I had never heard of. But each installation or group of works had an excellent explanation to go with it and I am now so excited about so many new people. I've been neglecting my habit of writing things down in museums on this trip but in the Palazzo Grassi I couldn't help myself. I wanted to remember everything! I left my notes in the other room so I don't remember most of the new names but there was this one artist, two brothers actually, who satirically re-imagined Goya's 'Los Caprichos' print series and that was really interesting even though I've really only looked at about 5 of the original prints. I also enjoyed this artist who makes these ornate kind of neo-rococo but also minimalist walls-one in black and the other in white. One of them was dated (1631) in the title which I thought was clever. There was a great room of Cindy Sherman work and two incredible Murakami canvases and SO MUCH MORE. I'm glad I looked at Lonely Planet because Rick Steves never mentioned it. I think it's probably because it's soo new. Anyway, seeing the collection made me feel better about not coming during the Biennale.
The internet just died so I guess I'm going to have to post this tomorrow, that is, if it's working then. I can't believe I'm almost done with my Italy trip. I'm sad for it to be over, but at the same time, I think I'm starting to feel ready to settle down in London.
Jenny, Jenny! You're doing this just to make me and Kevin feel guilty about insisting you change your housing!
ReplyDeleteBut it's great that you like Venice. It's also unusual that it's because of all the modern art. That's not what most people steer to in Venice.
Sorry the lodgings didn't work out --- I was afraid that might happen. By the time you read this, you'll be on your last night in Venice. Hope you were able to spend minimal time at the hostel and therefore that much more time to have a memorable trip. Sounds like a fabulous trip notwithstanding the bummer of a hostel. Looking forward to hearing about St. Mark's Square!
ReplyDeleteCame looking for a new post, but I guess I'll have to wait. But now that I've recovered from the bed bug guilt [sort of], wanted to comment on a couple of other things. I loved your description of your search for the sandwich place. It's so Venice. Having a good map is probably more important here than anywhere. Without one, you can feel claustrophobic when you hit a "water barrier"--either a canal, or in winter, "aqua alta". But wandering into the little byways is wonderful when you know you can find your way out again. And NO CARS.
ReplyDeleteMy other comment concerns the Titian feast. It's really like seeing so many Carravagios. Did you discover all the various Vivarini clan? They were new to me when I visited Venice. What about Crivelli? You'll see more Crivelli in London, probably, than even in Venice. He's wierd, but I've become very fond of him.
I've been looking for a new posting as well, worried that the Venice Fish was so traumatizing that it's kept you from posting your events. By the way, don't believe Ken when he says you were doing this to make us feel guilty. He had already called me at work to tell me that we owed you apologies. And last night your dad told us that you did in fact find another hotel for your last two nights in Venice.
ReplyDeleteChalk it up to an aspect that just makes the rest of the trip more memorable.
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Sorry about that. You're right, it's just part of the whole experience and it definitely makes for a good story! Wandering around and getting lost in Venice was really a pleasure and stumbling on little dead ends that lead right up to water is really magical. I wish I had had more time in Venice but I guess I'll just have to make it back there. Two weeks of traveling alone was more draining than I expected it to be. It was definitely the perfect number of days. Thanks for the comments!
ReplyDeleteNo comment! :)
ReplyDelete(But I'm really jealous that you got to see all those Titians, Tintorettos, and Veroneses! I have a feeling that Ed and I didn't go to a lot of those places---it was way back in 1988. I think it was before I became such a compulsive traveler!
Maybe the next time I/we go there, I/we can coax you to come along! Good luck in London!
E-hugs,
Eric
Yes yes! I will definitely go back. Also, I realized yesterday that Diaghilev is buried there so I need to go see his grave.
ReplyDelete