Venice Biennale

The inspiration for spending a few days in Venice before our stay in Lake Como was to check out the Biennale, one of the foremost international festivals of contemporary art. As it happens every other year, it was great luck that it was on this year, and we figured we couldn't pass it up.

With limited time, we could not take it all in, so chose to focus on the Giardini, where many countries have their permanent pavilions. Clio particularly loved the Canadian pavilion, where artist David Altmejt used mirrors, taxidermied birds, and a good dose of fantasy to create a sort of enchanted wonderland. (My mom and I loved it, too.)

Here's Clio at one of the outdoor installations.


I love the use of inexpensive bricks to create this city on a hillside- reminded me of the hillside slums in Mexico, just over the border and towards Tijuana.

At the American pavilion, she was really into the low, shallow fountains out front (all things water, you know.)


And here she is with my cousin Connor, who was enthralled by the Felix Gonzales-Torres installation within the pavilion.


This is why I pack extra clothes.... she got VERY wet, but had a whole lot of fun.

After spending much of the day confined to her stroller or someone's arms, we finally set her free in the Italian pavilion, the largest and most museum-like of the spaces in the Giardini. She crawled all over the place, did some assisted walking, and talked A LOT (maybe she'll be an art critic!) I was just glad no one threw us out....

On our way back to the water bus, we stopped at a playground. Swings are the same in every language.