For easter weekend, my dad, Katy, and I headed off to Venice. Excited about guest posting my dad jotted down notes each night of the days in Venice and the week before. So have no fear, you'll get to read some of his thoughts. But for now, I thought I would do my own updating of the weekend through the many pictures I took. At the beginning of my study abroad experience, I was disappointed in myself that I never seemed to put the camera down and just live the moment. Now, I think on the other side of things. Through the lens of a camera, I am able to get even more excited about what I see around me and capture the moments I experienced. I'm no photographer, but I do enjoy photographs and catching little hints of the special things in everyday life: light, color, symmetry, repetition, etc.
So here is Venice... through the lens of a camera.
We stayed near (the above) about 10 minutes away from St. Mark's Square and away from the noisy crowded tourist spots in an apartment found on airbnb.com. The first day we were greeted by the liveliest human beings I had ever met, and the friendliest too.
We headed to the Jewish Ghetto the next day and took a bridge walking tour through the different parts of the oldest Jewish "ghetto" in the world. It was a wonderful break from the busy parts of Venice and the incredible history behind it all made the scene that much grander.
When we arrived in Venice, I spotted a sign advertising Magnum Photographer, Elliott Erwitt's "Personal Best", so naturally the rest of the day was spent navigating on the water buses trying to find where "Tre Oci", the museum displaying his works. It turned out to be one of my favorite things we did in Venice, and I hope my dad and Katy felt the same. Above are five of his famous dog works in obviously my favorite room of the exhibit. However this photograph won my heart as my favorite photo.
If you have never seen or heard of Mr. Erwitt, I definitely recommend you taking a look at his work. Studying him in senior year of high school, he instantly became my favorite photographer.
Elliott combines gentle whimsy with ironic observation of everyday life. Often his works involve visual puns that make the viewer look twice; such clever comedy requires that every picture be organized with great elegance and precision, "You can find pictures anywhere"..."It's simply a matter of noticing things and organizing them".
-From the display wall
Elliott is known well for his works photographing Marilyn Monroe, Jack Kerouac, Nixon, Obama, Che Guevara, and so many others (and of course every sort of dog imaginable). He was born to a russian family and spent his childhood in Italy before moving to America in his teens.
We "accidentally" stepped on to 3 water buses sans water bus passes. In the end, Venice got their money's worth.
We checked out Murano, an island (east?) of Venice and took a look inside many glass blowing shops. As we were there, the clouds grew dark but luckily the rain stayed away until we were safely back at our apartment.
After that was Burano, where we had our very own easter egg hunt (with buildings...). I was thankful that my dad and KT agreed to head out to the island, because it was something I had missed last visit (because of a certain clown mishap). In the end, we decided that the town was lucky it painted their homes because other than that it was somewhat underwhelming. It was for beautiful pictures however!
Thanks to Katy, we stepped off the water bus a few stops before where our apartment was. This little walk from the bus stop to the apartment won my favorite place in Venice. There were beautiful parks all around and wisteria hanging above the canals. Last but not least there were no people (other than those who lived there.) It was also home to a bakery we went to that night for treats and a small dinner.
More on Venice and the past week to come, when I receive an email from my father. It was a great trip and even better company. Ciao for now!
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