This month’s photos are from my trip to the Venice Art Biennale. For five days, I wandered the gardens, the Arsenale, and various galleries in the city, soaking it all in. I saw art from over 50 countries, from very small pieces to very large ones that took up entire rooms.
As Spring travel ramps up, please remember to be kind, be healthy, and have fun!

Wander Wednesday

“Not all those who wander are lost.”- J.R.R. Tolkien

Large photo of feet art installation Venice

This is my photo of the mural by Maurizio Cattalan at the Holy See Pavilion on Giudecca Island. The exhibit, called “With My Eyes,” was located in the Women’s Prison and several incarcerated women were trained as guides for the exhibit.

Funny story: I didn’t get in to see the exhibit, although I had submitted my passport and application to the Vatican in advance and received an appointment time. When it was my turn to go in, the serious and professional guard looked at my passport and my name on the list and said “the names don’t match, you can’t enter.” I politely questioned her, showing my appointment approval. Turns out I didn’t include my middle name on the application so it indeed did not match my passport. I don’t remember the application requiring “your full passport name” on it, hence the mismatch.  There was no swaying the guard, so I sheepishly turned around and left. I was not the only person this happened to, and even though some people argued mightily, they weren’t admitted.

Lesson learned: make sure you use your full passport name when trying to get into an exhibit curated by the Holy See. 

I include this review of the exhibit in case you are interested in seeing what I missed. “With My Eyes”

Giudecca Island is a peaceful haven with churches, gardens, art galleries, and small local restaurants. I highly recommend it for an excursion out of the busy center of Venice. I did have a local tour guide show me around and that was great. Even he couldn’t persuade the guards to let us in!

Where would you like to be wandering?

Contact me at Heirloom Vacations Travel Consulting to feed your wanderlust!