Brussel Spouting: Girls Trip To Venice

When I got the e-mail from my friend, Paula, inviting me on a girls trip to Venice for 3 days to see the Biennale (a major contemporary art exhibition which is held every two years), it took me about two seconds to respond--HECK YEAH! This is what living in Europe is all about. Last minute trips to fabulous places and only 56 Euros for airfare to boot.

I know Paula from Atlanta, but she now lives in Budapest. The 3 women that I went with are all artists. I like art, but I have to admit that I was a bit worried about the volume of art that I would be viewing. I was sure that I would reach my limit way earlier than the others. In the end I did pretty well. I really enjoyed a lot of the art, although I started to lose steam by day 3. The whole concept of the Biennale is pretty cool: Countries around the world choose artists to represent them and the installations are set up in two major areas. In addition, there are several satellite installations around the city and many are in beautiful, historic buildings.

While art was the main focus of the trip, we also found time to shop and to eat some wonderful meals. And because it's so difficult to navigate around Venice, we spent a lot of time just wandering (usually lost) through the magical, narrow, canal-lined streets.

HAVING SOME FUN WITH THE ART

Hello from Brazil

Paula taking a "media Shower"

The Belgian Pavillion

One of Paula's Favorites!

These are not really toilets. They are an art installation. Paula and I discoverd that the hard way.

I was really grossed out by this, but thought it was bizarre enough to share.

SOME BEAUTIFUL SCENERY

A CITY FULL OF COLOR AND TEXTURE:
The artsy chicks were enamored with all of the colors and textures throughout Venice. After spending time with them, I started seeing color and texture everywhere: stores, window displays, buildings, doors, OH MY--Here are a few of my favorite examples.