We went to bed at 11:00 pm and I slept very well, not waking up until my alarm went off. The morning light on the run was extraordinary.
A few of us coffee lovers had a quick breakfast at the hotel, and then walked down to the corner cafe to have a proper cappuccino.
The cappuccino was so good and the location so perfect, we decided to have another.
We did not travel as a large group today. Our individual groups found our way to the Arsenale and we did not have to wait in line. We scanned our tickets and moved right along to see the art. Simone Leigh was the first thing that greeted us and it was so impressive. I love her.
There were some not-so-contemporary works mixed in with this exhibit. The Arsenale is like walking one long mall of art so it was easier for me to navigate than the Giardini. I enjoyed seeing this NIki de Saint Phalle.
And this Louise Nevelson. This Biennale was a celebration of badass female artists.
We LOVED the color of this floor.
I ducked away at lunch to be quiet. I also had another cappuccino.
And then it was several more hours of art.
I don't know the artists but I liked the work.
These were in a black room with a black light.
This was one of the few I knew about ahead of time and was looking for intentionally. Louise Bonnet.
Multilayered and funny.
I love the symbolism of braids. By this point I wasn't appreciating art, I was just stealing stuff for my own use later.
And I was full-on people watching. This little girl, maybe a pre-teen, was here with her family and decided that this was the appropriate place for her portrait to be made by her dad. With no regard for the messages above and around her, she became her own artistic director and made her brother get out of the frame and made her dad retake the photo until she was happy with it. I felt like she was suddenly part of the exhibit.
And this very well dressed lady was sporting a pirate tattoo on her arm. I really liked it. I took a photo of it. I have no regrets. Several people from our large group got some sort of tattoo while in Barcelona. This led to a series of conversations about tattoos. Apparently people think I should have one. There are many reasons why I do not have one but I always find it funny when the tattooed seem hellbent on talking me into getting one. If I did get one, it wouldn't be cute. It would totally be a pirate tattoo like this one. It may look out of place on this fashionable young lady but think about how fierce it will look on her arm when she's 90.
The Latvian pavilion was one of the standouts for the day. There were several country pavilions tacked on to the end of the Arsenale.
Everything in this one was ceramic and it was just completely filled with awesome pieces. I'll spare you the penis chandelier and all of the other genitalia. Very funny and very well done.
Mirror selfies. Groupies?
Sean snagged this new Spice Girls album cover.
Anne, Sean and Katertot.
Us in the rug room.
We all split up early in the day and met back for lunch. Then we split up again and I spent most of the day alone with the art. Now that we were at the end of the exhibits, we met back up again and waited for everyone to hit the gift shop together.
We used the time to take photos.
And to admire Sean's very nice hat.
We hopped the vaporetto back to the hotel stop and found a nice restaurant by the water to have dinner. I was working my way through Italian dishes and it was pizza night for me. This was a great pizza.
And a great limoncello.
The bad part about the day was that we missed Emily, who was back to feeling ill. We took photos for her and checked on her as much as we could. Sharing rooms, moving in groups and riding very crowded public transportation in the post-pandemic age had everyone feeling a little paranoid. We just felt really bad that Emily was missing parts of this wonderful trip. After dinner we lost a few people to the hotel but I set off in search of my cannoli.
When I found it, it was totally worth the walk. I got two and took one back to Emily. Pretty sure cannolis cure sickness.
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