First goal of the day was to check out the special show at the Doge’s Palace, which Donna really thinks we should see. It was impossible to buy the “over 65” tickets online, so we walked over there to investigate. I’ve been jonesing for more gelatine candy, so we made a tiny detour to stop at Vizio Virtu. Here’s what they look like on display:

And on to San Marco. The ticket line was not long but it almost never moved. Finally we gave up and went to see the Olivetti showroom. Two artists have work in there but it is not set up very well and the work was just not for me. The Scarpa architecture was easily recognizable though.

Then Donna had the brilliant idea to see if we could buy the tickets at the Correr Museum. We went upstairs and there was no line so we got them for the next day.

Feeling satisfied, we headed west toward Castello. Donna stopped in a leather shop and bought a very cool purse. Before lunch we went into the Lithuanian exhibit. It made us chuckle–“Gut Feeling” is all about effecting, with a product, how we make decisions–our intuition. A charming young guy with gorgeous eyes explained this, in detailed psycho babble, to Donna and me. They are basically selling empty, sealed cans because they have not yet found the solution.

Donna’s pick for lunch, Trattoria da Jonny, was very good–Donna and I shared the frittura and some little scallops; Ken had a pretty, black pasta dish with mussels, clams, and artichokes :

We enjoyed it all as we sat outside on a quiet campo; a table of six gondolieri were also there.

Next stop: part two of the Biennale at the Arsenale. So so much! The first room is a monumental Simone Leigh sculpture called Brick House.

I have to say it again–there was such a quantity of work! We were so lucky to be there when it was nearly empty.

What I loved about this work (one of a few similar ones) is that from a distance it looks like a mountain scape but then when you look closely, it’s a woman:

This tapestry was covering a long wall–I walked it off so I estimate 45 feet long! I found it stunning and impressive.

The works went on and on. One room had design of thick walls, about four feet high, made of peat, coffee and cinnamon. There was beautiful, tiny embroidery work from the Sami people. We passed on all of the video installations. The Barbara Kruger room with large text set in black and white and orange screens with changing words to well known phrases like the marriage vows and the pledge of allegiance. There were life size cartoon like creatures and a sled, filled with male anatomy, driving giraffes. It was all over the place! After the main building were more smaller country installations. We found the Ukrainian “Fountain of Exhaustion” and we peeked in at the Malta Pavilion where it was raining fire and had some connection to Caravaggio.

Finally we knew we had had it and headed back home trying to digest some of the overall experience.

Donna and I cooked the small artichokes and chard and we had leftover meatloaf, Prosecco and wine, bakery cookies and great conversation.

I feel so full of art–like when you eat too much.

What will we see tomorrow?