I have to admit that although I was looking forward to the Venice trip, I did not believe that I would enjoy the city due to the plethora of tourists. While there were many tourists in Venice, this did not prevent me from falling in love with the city. It did not matter which direction I turned- the beautiful views were unceasing and I now understand why Venice is one of the most photographed cities in the world. Each moment in Venice really was perfect (the weather, the activities, the meals, etc.). In particular, there are two activities that stand out to me when I think about this trip- the Peggy Guggenheim Museum Collection and a (accidental) two hour water taxi ride I was able to take with a few friends.
I have never particularly appreciated modern art. I admittedly accepted the negative stereotypes of modern art- “I could paint/construct what these ‘artists’ paint.” However, I while at the Guggenheim Museum, I was fascinated by the paintings and wish that I could have spent more time learning from the pieces. I think that one of the reasons why this museum changed my mind about modern art was the description next to each painting. The descriptions were all extremely intelligent and displayed unique insight into various subjects. For example, one painting had the description explaining that the blurred colors and smears showed the artist’s idea that WWII and the Holocaust cannot be represented (one of the topics in my Holocaust and Memory class at McDaniel). It was also a special experience to see paintings by famous painters such as Picasso and Andy Warhol.
During our free night in Venice, a couple of friends and I decided to explore and take advantage of our 24 hour water taxi passes. We originally thought that the ride might last half an hour around the island. We were on the boat for over two hours (we even got off before the boat made the roundtrip). While the first half of the boat ride was a little crowded with locals and tourists alike, the second half was much less claustrophobic. We were able to stand outside and watch the scenery and see different parts of the island. We were able to drive past/around Murano, where our glass souvenirs were created.
Visiting the art museums did allow me to learn more about Italian art and lifestyle. I even found a (free!) museum dedicated to Vivaldi and string instruments. The variety of instruments and their history accompanied details about Vivaldi’s life and it was a wonderful experience to learn about Vivaldi while in Venice. As I mentioned before, each moment was perfect while in Venice and it is always a memorable experience when I can learn about history while seeing the actual sites and locations where the history took place.
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