A Split Second in Split... (And off to the Waterfalls)

Our final stop on the cruise before returning to Venice was Split, Croatia. We scheduled an excursion for Krka National Park to hike along the waterfalls, so we didn't get to see more than a glimpse of the city, itself. I would have loved to wonder into the city walls, however, and get a taste of what city life is like in Dalmatia (the Southern part of Croatia).

Split, Croatia

Immediately after getting off the tender boats, which took us from the cruise ship to land, we boarded the bus for a long ride to Krka.

Tender Boat

Our journey was made more pleasant, however, by our excellent tour guide, Anita. Not only did she share facts about the area, but she brought them to life with her clever stories and good sense of humor. We learned some silly trivia, such as Dalmatians (the people, not the dogs) tend to be tall and thin, whereas people from the continental area of Croatia tend to be "short and plump". We also learned that neckties originated from the area.

She also discussed more historically important facts and pointed out sites, including the location of major shipbuilding enterprises during communist control, an ancient Roman aqueduct, and the fortress of Klis.

Roman Aqueduct, as seen from the bus

The Klis Fortress has played a role in the history of the area for many generations. Beginning in the 3rd century, the fortress (in a less sophisticated state) served as an important stronghold of the Illyrian tribe. Since that time, the fortress has undergone numerous changes in control and has served as an important strategic location for those attempting to conquer the area. At different points in history, the fortress was held by the Romans, Byzantines, Slavs, Croats, Ottomans, Venetians, and Serbs. Anita shared with us a local Romeo and Juliet-style tale about the fortress. Supposedly, when the Ottomans took over the area, the daughter of the Sultan fell in love with a local man, a Christian. Since marriage, or even love, between the two was forbidden, the lovers killed themselves as they could not imagine living without each other. 

Klis Fortress

After our pleasant ride, filled with anecdotes and beautiful scenery, we arrived at Krka National Park. Anita offered us the choice of tagging along for a bit of guided tour or heading off on our own to explore. Regardless, we would have some free time before re-boarding the bus. We opted to stick with the group for the guided portion, which consisted of walking through a living museum, where workers demonstrated their trades.

We stopped at the mill, the weaver's, and the blacksmith's. At each, the Krka employee gave us a short demonstration of the traditional trades and explained the cultural significance of the work. In the rooms, Anita added details to the employees' explanations; it was clear that she took pride in her history, as she seemed very well informed about various aspects of the culture and was excited to share her knowledge.

Weaving Room

After we made it through the small living museum, Anita dropped us off at the bottom of the waterfalls, where we had the option of grabbing a bite to eat, taking a swim, buying souvenirs, or doing a bit of hiking on our own.

Me at the Waterfalls

After snapping several pictures, we decided to sit down and relax with a local Croatian beer before heading back up to the tour bus.

Croatian Beer

After we finished our beers, we still had a few more minutes before we needed to start walking, so I opted to take a quick dip in the water at the bottom of the falls.

People Swimming at the Fallsd

The water was cool and refreshing, but it was a little difficult to navigate as large rocks sat just below the surface of the water.

On the way back to the bus, we walked on the opposite side of the waterfalls. Much of the path was made of wooden walkways, spanning streams and ponds further up river from the falls.

Walkway

The whole area was so beautiful, and I wish we could have spent more time exploring the park, but as is the way of cruise excursions, it was soon time to go. After a quiet bus ride back (many of our fellow cruisers took the chance to nap), we got to Split just moments before we were required to board the tender and return to the ship.

Line to Get Back on the Tender

During both of our stops in Croatia (Dubrovnik and Split), we were greeted by amazing scenery and friendly people. I'm definitely looking forward to returning one day and seeing more of the country which left such an amazing impression on us.

A Few Hours in Izmir

The third stop on our cruise was Izmir, Turkey. (If you've missed out on stops one and two, check out my posts, Biking in Croatia and Enough of Athens.) For this stop, we agreed to forgo the planned excursions, since they either didn't peak our interest or involved a lot of time riding on a bus. Instead, we took the opportunity to explore the city of Izmir on our own.

Famous Clock Tower in Izmir

We didn't do any planning for our day of exploration before leaving home, so our first stop upon exiting the ship was the port's tourist information desk. We picked up a map with major sites pinpointed (in Spanish, since the English maps were all taken), and headed towards the center of town.

Plaza in Izmir

Outside the terminal, the parking lot was full of TAKSis (taxis). As we passed, the drivers each presented us with a binder full of photographs and tried to get us to agree on a taxi tour of the city. It took a while to navigate through the entrepreneurial drivers, but eventually we reached an area where we could walk along without too much interruption.

Soon after, we saw the Ataturk Museum. I knew that the road on which the museum sat carried the same name and I knew that the map highlighted the museum, but other than that, I didn't know anything about Ataturk before entering. The small, two story museum with no entry fee, offered a good introduction to Turkish history and the role that Ataturk played in founding the Republic. The majority of the exhibit was on the second floor, so after we entered the employee pointed us to the stairs and followed us (presumably to make sure we didn't try to touch or take any of the items in the exhibit). The museum, located in a previous residence of Ataturk, consisted of several rooms displaying the former president's furnishings and possessions.  One room, which contained timelines of Ataturk's life and Turkish history, alongside quotations by and about Ataturk, (all in Turkish and English) helped put the rest of the rooms into context. While the content of the museum was interesting, the lack of air conditioning was not too pleasant, and soon we were ready to move to the next stop.

City View - Izmir

After the museum, we talked about what we wanted to see, and I suggested a visit to the Archaeology and Ethnographic museum. When we got to the museum (after a few accidental detours), we figured out that there were actually two separate museums for ethnography and archaeology. We opted for the Archaeological Museum, mostly just out of the desire to make a quick choice in the unbearable heat. (After living in the Netherlands, our ability to handle temperatures over about 85F has been severely diminished.) Unfortunately, inside, it wasn't much cooler, since, once again, the air conditioner wasn't running. We wandered through the rooms of stone statues, bronze works, and ceramics from various periods in history. As we approached each exhibit, we heard a loud click as the lights for that section snapped on; the sensors were a little off, however, so often the lights snapped on and off and on and off before we could finish reading the descriptions of the items behind the glass. One thing I found particularly interesting was that items from several different time periods had all been discovered during a dam rescue project, in which archaeologists were allowed to excavate a particular area before it was flooded to create a source of tap water for the city. Even now, under the flooded area created by the dam, graves and other reminders of ancient civilizations, sit, lost forever.

The Ethnographic and Archaeological Museums sat atop this hill.

Once we made it through our second non-air-conditioned museum, we decided we were finished visiting museums for the day. I suggested we walk back towards the ship along the palm-lined promenade, where a breeze made the heat slightly more bearable. Along the coast, we saw men fishing using only coils of fishing line (no rods). Others capitalized on this style of fishing, selling the coils of line, along with lures or bait. In addition, some men rode by on their electric scooters selling sunflower seeds and some carted around printers and a camera, offering to take a photo and print it right there for 1 Lira.

Along the Promenade

Our last stop before returning to the ship was a restaurant called Sara's, where we ate lunch. When we sat down, I was disappointed because the menu didn't seem very authentic with a club sandwich, fajitas, spaghetti, etc. We'd already passed most of the other eating establishments, however, and the majority seemed to be done serving lunch for the day, so we decided to just give it a try. I ordered a cheese plate and grilled chicken. Mr. Traveler ordered the club sandwich. When the food came out, Mr. Traveler's sandwich was more like a salami tosti (i.e. grilled cheese), but it was accompanied by heirloom tomatoes. My chicken was actually grilled on a fire, and the presentation was amazing -- mashed potatoes served in a round squash, a stack of grilled veggies including eggplant, carrot, and another type of squash, and grilled tomatoes.

Lunch

Before arriving in Izmir, I had very few expectations. I wasn't familiar with the area, and as I mentioned before, we didn't arrive with a plan. During the day, I made a few general observations. First of all, there were stray dogs everywhere. Most of them were tagged, and I suspect that the city has a program of fixing and releasing the strays (although I'm definitely not certain). It was just very sad to see them laying everywhere, in the heat, seemingly at death's door. Second, outside of the dogs laying around, the areas of the city in which we walked were very clean. It seems like the city has taken pride in itself and the potential interest of tourists. Finally, everywhere we walked, it seemed like someone had come up with a new inventive way to make money (whether by selling taxi tours or photos by the seaside). Over all, I got the impression that people were willing to work hard and be creative to support themselves and their families. Of course all of these observations were made during only a few hours in a small area of the city, so you can probably take them with a grain of salt.

Next up, our final stop on the cruise - Split and Krka National Park in Croatia.

Enough of Athens

After biking in Croatia and spending a day at sea, we arrived at our second of four ports, Athens, Greece. Once again, we had pre-booked an excursion, this time for a trip to the Acropolis. Prior to our arrival in port, some fellow passengers expressed concerns about the current events in Athens. While we did see the square in which most of the protests were taking place, the scene didn't seem particularly frighting.

Protests

The combination of banners, activists passing around petitions, and people sleeping in tents was reminiscent of demonstrations I've seen in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, a few days after we left, the protests did turn violent. Even with this turn of events, however, I don't think tourists would be in any danger, as the demonstrations seemed pretty localized.

One effect of these protests was that we had to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from the bus, as the area in which to observe the ceremony was fenced off.

Changing of the Guard - Athens

This small change in plans didn't seem to affect the tour too much, though, since we saw all of the sites on the way to the Acropolis from the comfort of the tour bus. These included the Arch of Hadrian, the Temple of Zeus, and the first modern Olympic stadium. 

Arch of Hadrian

Temple of Zeus

Stadium from the 1896 Olympics

During the bus ride, our guide, Calliope, not only pointed out the above sites, but also told us a little about the Acropolis, itself. In Greek, the word acropolis actually means "high city", and so there are actually several "acropolises" around Greece. However, the most famous one, often just referred to as "the Acropolis", is the one in Athens.

When we arrived at the parking lot for the Acropolis, we climbed about halfway up the hill before we saw that we had to wait in an enormous line to get inside the gates. During this time, people shoved and cut in line, as Calliope tried to keep our group together. Once inside the gates, we still had a bit of a climb, once again through a crowd of not-so-polite people, before we could finally see the buildings of the Acropolis.

Of course the most famous temple located at the Acropolis is the Parthenon. 

Parthenon

The scaffolding, on the building as part of the reconstruction efforts, prevented us from seeing some of the main reliefs at the top of the temple, but with high winds and a pushy crowd, the scaffolding seemed like the least in a series of annoyances. (I was a little surprised the government was still shelling out money for reconstruction efforts. I guess that when tourism is your only thriving industry, you better work to preserve tourist destinations at all costs.)

While several other temples occupy the top of the hill, each with their unique architectural characteristics, I had trouble appreciating the differences. It was also hard to focus very much on anything with the dirt blowing into my eyes, the heat, and the endless crowds of people.

As a side note, we noticed that the city seemed to have a large stray dog problem as several strays made themselves comfortable around the Acropolis. (I wonder if tourists are more generous with handouts than locals who are used to the problem.)

Strays

On the way back to the ship, I commented to Mr. Traveler that I was glad we had chosen to visit the Acropolis on the bus tour. We saw the main sites of the city without having to navigate on our own. In addition, between the traffic (and motorcycles zooming between cars), the general big city grime, and the deteriorating buildings, Athens didn't seem to have much to offer outside of our brief sightseeing tour. More than anything, it just seemed like a huge city without a huge amount of money, which shouldn't have been much of a surprise after the news reports of the last few months.

Traffic from the Bus

Biking in Croatia

About a month before leaving for the cruise, we booked excursions for three out of four of our destinations. The first of these excursions was a bike tour through the hillsides near Dubrovnik, followed by a wine tasting at a local winery.

On the way to Gruda, where we picked up the bikes, our guide pointed out sites of interest, including the town of Dubrovnik (where many of our fellow cruisers spent the day). As we passed the city, she said, "You'll notice two types of roofs -- ones with yellow tiles and ones with red. The yellow tiles are traditional. The red ones are replacement tiles for roofs rebuilt after the war." Almost all of the roofs were red, a sobering reminder of the recent conflicts in the area.

Dubrovnik

She also showed us a milk factory which had been bombed during the war and never rebuilt. Even in the stories of war and atrocities, however, I felt that there was a common theme of Croatian resilience. While some buildings were left in shambles and many farms abandoned, the people in the area had refocused their energies on the tourist industry, which now supports much of the economy. The area in itself was so beautiful, it is not surprising that the tourist industry has bounced back so well after the war.

Soon, we finished our ride to the town of Gruda, and arrived at a rather suspect looking building, surrounded by a high fence and built out of gray cinder blocks. Whispers circulated around the bus about how the building looked like a prison.

Our Destination

However, when we walked inside, we found a beautiful winery, with stone walls and large, sturdy tables.

Inside ... It's a Winery!

After a quick restroom break, the guides for the bicycle portion of our tour passed out the bikes, asked us to check the seat levels and brakes, and we were off. Even though I've been riding a bike for months, I suddenly realized I wasn't really sure what to do with the two sets of gears. (I have a traditional Dutch bike, which means there are no gears to switch.) Fortunately, (with a little help from Mr. Traveler), I figured it out pretty quickly. Unfortunately, my bicycle seemed to have a problem where the chain didn't stick properly when I changed gears, so I spent a lot of time going back and forth between gears trying to get the bike into gear.

We rode uphill past vineyards, olive trees, and streams. On the way we passed one house, which our guides told us had been left as-is after the war as a reminder to never forget what had happened.

Small House Attacked During War

The furthest point on our bike tour was a monastery at the top of a steep hill. Once we made it to the top, the 30 minute break to walk around, take pictures, and enjoy a snack was certainly welcome.

Monastery Courtyard

Bikes Lines Up During the Break

Across from the monastery was a small chapel that was used by enemy forces to store weapons during the war.

Chapel Across from Monastery

In this peaceful location in the mountains, it was hard to imagine how this beautiful place was plagued by war only a couple decades ago.

Beautiful Scenery with Grape Vines and Olive Trees

On the way down, we stopped at an old waterwheel and mill. We weren't able to spend to much time looking around, but we did get a quick demonstration about how the mill operated.

Mill Demonstration

Finally, we returned the the winery, where the owner provided us with tastes of several of the local wines. I was pretty thirsty and hot, so it was hard for me to truly appreciate the flavors in the wine. For each sip of wine, I had about 3 sips of water.

At the end of the day, we were tired and sweaty, but I definitely thought the excursion was worth it. We saw amazing scenery, both from our bikes and from the bus, and sampled local Croatian wines. On the bus ride back to the ship, Mr. Traveler and I agreed that we would put the area on our list of places to visit again.

Taken from Bus

All Aboard

On Saturday morning, after spending a few days in Venice, it was finally time to start our cruise. After filling out our health forms, checking in, and handing over our passports*, we boarded the Norwegian Jade. We couldn't get into our rooms just yet, so we were glad we'd chosen to drop off our backpacks with the suitcase in the checked luggage area. We grabbed lunch and then started our exploration of the ship. We found the main dining hall, the formal dining hall, several bars, specialty restaurants, the two pools, the sports court and the theater. Around 4:00, we attended the mandatory safety meeting and watched as the staff pulled life-jackets over their clothes, while the cruise director gave instructions in four different languages. Finally, we settled on the deck, where we could watch as the ship left Venice.

*Turkish authorities required that the ship present all non-European passports upon arrival in Izmir. Since we had another set of government issued identification (i.e. our Dutch residence permits), the cruise staff went ahead and collected our passports on the first day. It was a little disconcerting to let go of such an important document, but we got it back on Thursday, after our day in Izmir, without a problem. 

Silly Chairs

Sports Court

Pool Area

During the actual on-ship portion of our cruise, I think some of my fondest memories are those where Mr. Traveler and I sat (or stood) outside, admiring the passing scenery. One evening, as we stood on the top deck, I even saw a shooting star in the sky.

Throughout the week, we enjoyed swimming in the pool, relaxing in the hot tub, trying the various restaurants, and just relaxing. We even saw a couple of shows in the theater; one night, we listened to a duo who had reached the finals on X-Factor, and on another evening, we watched a performance combining dance, acrobatics, and magic.

Stardust Theater

After making several trips over the past year which required either renting a car or using public transportation, booking hotel rooms, and making constant decisions, it was nice to have an environment where we could just enjoy being on vacation.

Relaxed on the Ship

However, the trip wasn't just about chilling on a ship. We had specifically selected the Eastern Mediterranean cruise because we were really excited about exploring that area of the world. Next, I'll tell you about our first stop in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Friday in Venice

If you missed the first part of our adventures in Venice, you can catch up here and here.

Friday was our last full day in Venice before the cruise. Before we left, we made a list of places that we wanted to visit. The Museo Storico Navale was only open until 1pm, so we decided to make it our first stop. Afterward, we'd swing by the Biennale gardens, head to the Punta Della Dogana (another art museum), and then if time permitted, take the vaporetto (or water bus) to Murano to see the glass museum.

We were surprised to find out that the Museo Storico Navale (or Naval History Museum) only cost 2.40 euros/person, since Venice is known for its not-so-wallet-friendly prices. We were even more amazed at the low entrance fee after walking through the many rooms on the many floors, each filled with ship parts, models, and tidbits of naval history.

[I took the following picture for the other two members of The Gang of Three (a nickname our professor gave 3 of us during our study abroad experience in London in 2001.) We took a class on the history of astronomy, navigation, and computing, so maybe they'll recognize an sextant or octant below!]

Navigational Tools

 It took us well over an hour to make our way through all of the exhibits in the naval museum.

An Exhibit for All Ages

When we finally finished we were ready for lunch. We wondered past the Arsenal, pictured below, and through some small winding passages until we found a place to stop and eat.

Part of the Arsenal

I ordered mixed fried fish, and ended up with a plate of fried shrimp, squid, baby octopus, and sardines... not really what I was expecting since both the English and Italian on the menu had indicated fish and not seafood. It was okay, but I would have enjoyed it more had it been served with some type of dipping sauce, as it all began to taste the same after a while. Joel, on the other hand, had the sea bass, and he couldn't stop raving about it. 

As we sat at the restaurant, a pretty intense thunderstorm rolled into the city. The bright lightning was accompanied by booming thunder which seemed to shake the ground beneath our feet. Our waiter quickly moved us under a tent, out of the rain, and in a few minutes the brunt of the storm seemed to have passed. Still, there was a steady stream of rain, and we began to rethink our plans of stopping in the Biennale garden. Instead, we decided to head straight over to Punta Della Dogana.

The previous day, when we visited the Palazzo Grassi, they offered us a discounted ticket which included both the Grassi and the Punta Della Dogana. Not really one to make decisions on the spot, I was forced to make a quick choice. "Sure," I think I replied.  (As an aside, after I made this decision, I was so glad that Mr. Traveler enjoyed the Grassi museum. I would have felt bad dragging him to a second museum of the same type if he wasn't excited about going.) 

Once again, like the Grassi, this museum offered many statement pieces offering commentary on modern culture. One of my favorite pieces was a room designed to look like an old saloon. The audience could peer in from windows on the sides to see the detailed set up. Inside, women and children were depicted in ways which offered disturbing reminders of the mistreatment of women. For example, on one torso, several names were etched, as if the men had taken ownership of her. It was certainly not a pleasant thing to see, but a good reminder of issues which sometimes we forget still exist even in our own societies.

Mr. Traveler's favorite piece was a chandelier-style basketball hoop, courtesy of David Hammond. I'm not sure of the exact statement behind this piece, but I also found it a little bit fascinating.

Untitled (2000) by David Hammond (photo from PalazzoGrassi.it)

After the museum, we walked outside to see that the rain had passed and the sky had returned to a bright blue. We decided we had time for our last stop, the glass museum in Murano. The guidebook we purchased (Lonely Planet Venice & The Veneto City Guide) had talked up Murano glass, pointing out both expensive shops and places to get a bargain. Since we weren't in the market for any glass to haul around with us on the cruise (bargain or not), we decided to visit the Museo del Vetro (glass museum) instead. I thought it would give us a good overview of the process of creating the glass and provide some good examples of the way the industry has changed over time.

Museo del Vetro

Even though the museum did address both the creation of glass and the history of the industry, I found it to be a bit of a let down. The displays seemed outdated and not particularly well-maintained. When there was information, it was printed in small type on a separate piece of paper. 

I don't think photos were allowed, but I snapped one of one of the more interesting pieces in the museum.

Glass Rooster

All in all, it just wasn't one of my favorite stops, and I felt a little bad for dragging Mr. Traveler to the museum since I could tell he wasn't thrilled about it from the beginning.

After the glass museum, we decided we'd had enough of museums and were ready to just relax. I made a last ditch effort to try to find some Dramamine with no success. (I had made a packing list for the cruise months in advance, but of course forgot to look at it before we left. The day before the cruise, I realized I had forgotten to bring something to take for motion sickness since I have a history of feeling not so great on airplanes, ships, cars, etc.) We didn't find an open pharmacy so late in the day, but luckily I had no problem with seasickness during our 7 night cruise.

We spent the rest of the evening wondering around and enjoying some Venetian specialties. I tried a Spritz and Mr. Traveler tried some sepie (cuddlefish) spaghetti, which left his tongue completely black.

Mr. Traveler and the Cuddlefish Culprit

After three days in Venice, we definitely were falling in love with the city. We still had lots of exploring left to do, though, so the following day we packed our suitcases and boarded the cruise ship, which I'll tell you about next.

Culture on the Canals: Our First Two Days in Venice

After the bus fiasco, we manged to find our way back to Venice without a problem. (Okay, that's not entirely true. We got on the bus going to Mestre. We asked the driver if it stopped in Venezia, and he gave us a weird look and then said, "Just get on." We rode along, thinking maybe it would eventually get to Venezia. However, when it reached Mestre, the bus driver told us to exit and transfer to the Venezia bus across the street. Even though it added a bit of time to our trip, we never felt lost like we had on our earlier rides.)

Ponte della Costituzione bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava

Since we had spent so much time waiting for buses, it was already evening, and we weren't ready to start our official sightseeing ventures. Instead, we opted for wandering around, snapping pictures, and just soaking up being on vacation with no specific agenda. (Of course many of my days are agenda-less right now, anyway, but it was nice to be in Venice and to have Mr. Traveler by my side.)

As we walked, we grew hungry, and even though the guidebook had steered us away from eating pizza (it's not a Venetian specialty), we decided to ignore this advice. We found a nice pizzeria away from the main tourist section, ordered some wine, and selected our pizzas. I chose one with fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, and pancetta. It was absolutely amazing. I had declared a couple months before that I wanted to have mozzarella in Italy, and the cheese was every bit as good as I had imagined.

Waiting for Pizza

After dinner, we continued our walk. In the moonlight, the canals seemed so picturesque, but without a tripod it was impossible to perfectly capture what we were seeing. I made a comment that the moon was pretty, but didn't think much of it. "Woah," Mr. Traveler said. I looked around to see what could be so amazing. "That's a lunar eclipse." So we were in Venice, one of the most romantic cities in the world, walking hand in hand, and witnessing a lunar eclipse. It was the perfect way to end the first day of our vacation.

Lunar Eclipse in Venice

On Thursday morning, we actually got on the Venezia bus and made it into Venice without a problem. Our plan for the day was to visit Basilica di San Marco (St. Mark's Basilica) first and then pick a few places to visit in the surrounding area. I wore long pants and a conservative shirt as the dress code had been hammered into me by several people (no shorts, no tank tops, no cleavage, no short dresses, etc). When we got there, we saw people wearing shorts (only those with extremely short shorts were turned away), tank tops and cleavage (covered with loosely placed scarves), and dresses above the knees. I was still glad I hadn't risked wearing something less conservative though; it would have been pretty painful to wait in the long line to enter only to be turned away.

Basilica di San Marco

Even though the Basilica was as beautiful and intricate as everyone had described, I actually found that once inside I wasn't too interested in looking around. Since we've been in Europe, we've seen so many churches (many ornately decorated), that they've all started to blend together. The gold ceilings, the murals, the crowds chattering away despite the "No Talking" signs, all seemed very familiar.

Inside (Mr. Traveler was able to sneak a photo as we left)

Back outside, we grabbed two Powerades, and sat down to recharge and figure out an agenda for the rest of the day. I said I'd like to visit a palace, but I didn't have a preference. Mr. Traveler wanted to check out the art museum. Palazzo Grassi combined both into a single destination, so we decided to walk that way, stopping at Il Museo Della Musica on the way.

Il Museo Della Musica (the Museum of Music) is located in an old church, Chiesa di San Maurizio, and houses a large collection of violins and other stringed instruments. I found the rare and unusual instruments to be the most fascinating part of the exhibit. Photos weren't allowed in the museum, so I did a quick internet search to see if I could find some of the instruments. You can find photos here and here.

We ate lunch (a fried seafood plate and melon, mozzarella, and ham) before continuing on our way to the Palazzo Grassi.  We still had a couple more spontaneous stops before our destination, however.

Every other year, a large international art exhibition called La Biennale takes place in Venice. As we walked, we spotted a couple of exhibits that were part of the larger exhibition. The first one to catch our eye was an Iranian Art exhibit. No tickets were required, so we decided to duck in and check it out. One of the pieces consisted of a room of mirrors with the faces of victims of the Iraq/Iran war so that visitors could see their faces overlapping the victims, forming a connection between the victim and viewer. I found this piece extremely moving; in the mirrors, women, men, and children of various ages stared back, reminding the audience of the cost of war.

Iranian Art Piece

We saw a couple more Biennale exhibits before continuing to the palace. One had lifelike bodies onto which talking faces were projected. The other consisted mostly of furniture attached to the ceiling by a wire connected to a motor. Each piece of furniture hung above a white piece of paper and had a pencil attached, so that when it swayed, it created a piece of art. (Examples of previously created works were displayed in a separate room.) I've already shared one picture of this exhibit in the week's review entry, but you can find a video below.

Finally, after the Biennale detour, we made it to Palazzo Grassi. Upon entering the building, one piece of art immediately stood out. Contamination (2008) by Joana Vasconcelos filled much of the first floor and continued up the stairs, touching each floor of the building. Photography was not allowed, but several photos of the piece can be found in this article about the Palazzo Grassi and Punta Della Dogana museums. Beyond the initial, very eye-catching exhibit, the museum had several very thought provoking displays. All of the art in the museum was definitely intended to make a statement, rather than just to create something visually appealing. I never expected to find contemporary art making relevant statements in a city known for its light Renaissance depictions of religious figures.

Although we enjoyed both the Biennale and Grassi exhibits, by the time we wrapped up our visit to the Grassi, we were ready to take a break from art museums (at least until the following day). We spent the rest of the evening wondering around the city, people watching, and enjoying Italian wine.

Grand Canal

Next up, I'll tell you about our final day in Venice before the cruise.