5th - 8th November 2015
The 56th Venice Art Biennale - It's our favourite opportunity to soak up contemporary art on an epic scale. Spectacular and always edgy, this is THE Art event of 2015!
2015 is our fourth visit to the Venice Biennale. Our exploring went a little like this...
Thursday 5th November - We leave the Island enjoying the wonderfully gloomy weather, constant rain and grey sky's will not dampen our excitement!! Tonight we are staying in Covent Garden with Scott and Lauren as we are about to start our trip to Venice and the 56th Biennale.
We drop of our luggage and take a rainy stroll to Wagamama on the south side of old Covent Garden, we enjoy dipping dumplings and noodles before heading out in to the chilly evening to walk through Trafalgar Square on onwards towards Piccadilly. It's very busy as the 'million Mask' march has just taken place, it's November the 5th and anarchy is in the air... Well, we sense mild tension between police and mask clad marchers and notice only a few upended barriers. We return to our hotel and rest before tomorrow's early morning start.
Friday 6th - Up and out by 6am as we head towards Heathrow, we board the Piccadilly line at Leicester Square and enjoy the 50 minute train ride to the airport. We glide through security and make the most of a quick retail opportunity in duty free. Our 8:40 take off is delayed and we are eventually on our way by 9:30. It's a smooth flight down to Venice and we arrive just after 12:30. It's lovely and sunny, what a complete contrast to the grey and damp London that we left behind. The airport bus delivers us to mainland Venice and the number 1 water bus takes us further down the grand canal to Accademia. We all take in the spectacular sights. A short amble from Accademia through the beautiful streets and we arrive at the Antica Locanda Montin Hotel. This pretty canal side hotel and popular local restaurant is to be our home for the next two nights. A quick check in, freshen up and we are off out to explore the sun drenched City. We head towards St Marks Square and soak up the atmosphere as we dodge the crowds and selfie sticks. Lauren spots a portait artist and sits for a cartoon style sketch. It's not long before we allow ourselves a well deserved refreshment stop at a water side cafe close to the Arsenal. The setting sun bathes us and the city in a warming orange light as we enjoy the beautiful views as we relax. Pizza is calling, we head to the Rossopomodoro restaurant and feast on starters and Pizza. It's still early, but it's been a long day, we head back to the Hotel to drop off a tired Scott and Lauren... Dave and I are still up for a little more exploring... We head to the main canal and walk down towards the light house at the mouth of the Grand Canal. The views are spectacular as we pass the very grand Hilton hotel on our right. We head inland and stumble across a couple of tiny bars, it would be rude not to enjoy a small glass of something and natter about our day.
Saturday 7th - We awake early to a another spectacular day, the sun is out and the sky is a very welcoming blue... Today we are heading to the art Biennale and we can't wait to share this wonderful experience with Scott and Lauren. We take a light breakfast in a classic Italian cafe before boarding the water Bus. We enjoy the views of St Marco square and the Doge's Palace before disembarking at the Arsenal. We pause to take pics at the impressive gates of the Ancient marine site before purchasing our tickets for the Biennale. Once inside we loose ourselves amongst the installations and artworks. 2015 is a classic year, impressive, thought provoking and twisted in places... The Biennale always delivers, this is world class art on a world class scale. This years theme is "All the world's futures". In the aftrenoon, Scott and Lauren take the opportunity to explore the City further, they enjoy a quick retail opportunity and take a visit to the Campanile - Dave and I stay on to do the pavilions of the Giardini... More impressive site specific installations and conceptual experiences to enjoy. We re-group on the front and enjoy a sunset tipple, we swap stories of a wonderful day in Venice. We amble back to the hotel to rest up a little before heading out to enjoy a lovely meal in a classic Venetian restaurant called 'Al Vecio Marangon'. Then a stroll to walk off the carbs, we retrace our footsteps from the previous night and share the views with Scott and Lauren. Bellissimo!...
Sunday 8th - Up early to make the most of our remaining time in Venice before flying home. We are out by 8am and enjoy a quick breakfast before heading to the station at the head of Venice. We board our bus to the airport and enjoy the last few glimpses of the City before saying goodbye for another two years... The flight to Gatwick takes off early and we enjoy a smooth trip back to a wet and grey UK... It's been a wonderful experience, made even more magical because we were able to share it with Lauren and Scott.
2015 is our fourth visit to the Venice Biennale. Our exploring went a little like this...
Thursday 5th November - We leave the Island enjoying the wonderfully gloomy weather, constant rain and grey sky's will not dampen our excitement!! Tonight we are staying in Covent Garden with Scott and Lauren as we are about to start our trip to Venice and the 56th Biennale.
We drop of our luggage and take a rainy stroll to Wagamama on the south side of old Covent Garden, we enjoy dipping dumplings and noodles before heading out in to the chilly evening to walk through Trafalgar Square on onwards towards Piccadilly. It's very busy as the 'million Mask' march has just taken place, it's November the 5th and anarchy is in the air... Well, we sense mild tension between police and mask clad marchers and notice only a few upended barriers. We return to our hotel and rest before tomorrow's early morning start.
#alex_hedley #david_hodgkins #scott_hedley #lauren_hedley
Friday 6th - Up and out by 6am as we head towards Heathrow, we board the Piccadilly line at Leicester Square and enjoy the 50 minute train ride to the airport. We glide through security and make the most of a quick retail opportunity in duty free. Our 8:40 take off is delayed and we are eventually on our way by 9:30. It's a smooth flight down to Venice and we arrive just after 12:30. It's lovely and sunny, what a complete contrast to the grey and damp London that we left behind. The airport bus delivers us to mainland Venice and the number 1 water bus takes us further down the grand canal to Accademia. We all take in the spectacular sights. A short amble from Accademia through the beautiful streets and we arrive at the Antica Locanda Montin Hotel. This pretty canal side hotel and popular local restaurant is to be our home for the next two nights. A quick check in, freshen up and we are off out to explore the sun drenched City. We head towards St Marks Square and soak up the atmosphere as we dodge the crowds and selfie sticks. Lauren spots a portait artist and sits for a cartoon style sketch. It's not long before we allow ourselves a well deserved refreshment stop at a water side cafe close to the Arsenal. The setting sun bathes us and the city in a warming orange light as we enjoy the beautiful views as we relax. Pizza is calling, we head to the Rossopomodoro restaurant and feast on starters and Pizza. It's still early, but it's been a long day, we head back to the Hotel to drop off a tired Scott and Lauren... Dave and I are still up for a little more exploring... We head to the main canal and walk down towards the light house at the mouth of the Grand Canal. The views are spectacular as we pass the very grand Hilton hotel on our right. We head inland and stumble across a couple of tiny bars, it would be rude not to enjoy a small glass of something and natter about our day.
Sunday 8th - Up early to make the most of our remaining time in Venice before flying home. We are out by 8am and enjoy a quick breakfast before heading to the station at the head of Venice. We board our bus to the airport and enjoy the last few glimpses of the City before saying goodbye for another two years... The flight to Gatwick takes off early and we enjoy a smooth trip back to a wet and grey UK... It's been a wonderful experience, made even more magical because we were able to share it with Lauren and Scott.
10 out of 10!
