Rome to Venice: Day 5, Day 6

Rome to Venice Day 5

Weather:  It's a lovely day for a train ride

THB and DB are early to Termini train station, lots of standing in a quiet niche and popolo watching while awaiting our train's track assignment.

There's a group of 4 from Calgary having a very cheerful time. There's a hard to find outlet. Our lunch of leftovers is delightful. DB knits and THB alternates listening to his current audiobook and napping. 

Arrive in Venice, transfer to Hotel Cipriani via water taxi ($75; hotel wanted $330 to arrange the exact same thing except it included a small sign with RALPHBR on it). Bought week long passes on the vaporetto system, $70/pp. 

Dinner with SMC and RR and two of their friends in the Cip "casual" dining ristorante. Normally dining is outside on the canal; tonight there is a chance of rain so everyone is crowded into theeir indoor dining area. 

Italian train sign language; translation: even getting down on your knees and bending around the table leg and banging your head on the side of the train AND the floor won't help you plug in your adapter. Please see our youtube on how to feel for the holes in the outlet with your left hand while also holding the adapter in your left hand. 

success

paper version of QR code

this exhibit, just across the canal from hotel, needs a reserved tix and costs $17/pp. A CCA prof has work in the show, we're going Thursday at 5

Our room is lovely, we have been upgraded to a jr suite, and the hotel is closing for renovation right after we leave. Do we go all rock n roll stars on our last night?

excellent champagne and chocolates greeting

DB and THB share excellent tuna tartare

THB has mini-gnocchi with clams and scallops, very good (if mild)

late night for us, after 10 by time we hit the sack (it is a few days too early to light the mattress on fire and throw it off the balcony...right, Axl?)

Venice Day 6

Weather: Absolutely lovely, in the 60s with low humidity

Our first of two full days at the Biennale. As per the last two times, Valentina is our guide and RR is along this time. THB isn't quite sure what happened, SMC and RR got confused on where we were meeting and thus (a good thing) all the people who were waiting to get in and dispersed on the large grounds and we sauntered to the first of the country pavilions, saving the main building, Giardini, for after lunch. 

Here's the day inn pics:

THB has to introduce himself to the Fitness Center; FC did not recognize him

view from breakfast, dining outdoors

slippers on a doggie bed

THB and DB start our 4th Biennale, 4 with SMC, 3 with Valentina, 1 with RR.  Japan pavilion 

very conceptual: rotting fruit with wires, on scrapped Italian furniture (this desk is identical to the one THB's computer is resting on in room 310 of Hotel Cipriani

another pavilion with old music machines hanging from the ceiling 

THB's art companions

machines are plugged in

Australia won the big award for best of show: family trees of First People in chalk on the walls in very dim light; Archie Moore is the artist

documents found in archives, of course many don't exist so their are gaps between the stacks

and holes / gaps 

USA pavilion, artist is Jeffrey Gibson, THB and DB saw a major show of his in March 2019 at Seattle Art Museum which had a much larger spectrum of his work (of course it is described in a blog post!)

ALERT, Alert, ALERT

THB's cursor went crazy and started to go backwards fast, erasing everything in its path

The following is a recreation

Valentina is explaining that the catalog shows the face unpainted, this coloring was a more recent occurrence

Teresa Margolles hung a piece of cloth over a corpse for 15 minutes and then hung it on the wall

Kay Walkingstick: Not the Grand Canyon

Guilia Andreani: a roomful of her work. THB researched and she has done a huge number in this same style in just the last few years. Norman Rockwell style?

Holland Pavilion: work in chocolate

THB's last pavilion of the day: a video of a light opera, mesmerizing, long, fascinating

a light local brewski in the hotel bar....THB and DB decided not to turn around on a dime at the hotel and rush out to dinner across the canal. Sandwich, gnocchi, bread basket, negroni, beer, around $150(?)