Hello World,
First and foremost: Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! I hope everyone back home got to enjoy a wonderful day with friends and family, and that everyone in other countries still managed to have a lovely Thursday.
The crazy, hectic, work-filled Settimana dei Veneziani officially ended as of this past Tuesday, as have the Salute holiday festivities. I managed to make it down and see what the fuss was all about, and it was very worth it. Not having been here for another Venetian holiday, I can say that this one, at least, felt blissfully Venetian in character. There were other tourists of course, but the holiday seemed to resist the pull of catering to tourists quite well.
I went into the church itself for the first time - beautiful! It was very peaceful inside, and it felt quite spiritual being in that atmosphere and seeing everyone coming to light their candles. It was a contrast to the crowds and food vendors outside, which were equally wonderful to experience. I managed to restrain myself from going overboard on sweets, but I did indulge in a few fritelle. If you have never had one I would recommend getting yourself to Italy and finding some. It's very similar to fried dough, but inexplicably better.
And that was just the start of many festivities for my week. Two days later was Thursday, November 23 - Thanksgiving. If you've never been abroad for this particular holiday, it's hard to explain the weirdness. It's a day in America where essentially everybody is on board with the fact that it's a holiday and a holiday worth celebrating/not working during/eating a lot for. And it's a very big family or friends holiday, so being somewhere far from so many people that you love can be tough.
That being said, it was also quite easy to forget it was a holiday. I had work as usual. I even gave a talk on our temporary Picasso exhibit (SO glad to be done and finished with that). But we Americans are hard to keep down. There are 5 of us in total, and two of them, who happen to live together in a relatively large apartment (lookin at you Mary and Michelle) near the Guggenheim, offered to host all the interns for a Thanksgiving dinner after work. We all brought food. I made delicious mashed potatoes, and there were some roast chickens, stuffing, gravy, and two pies. My one complaint to Italy is that you have no cranberries here. This is a travesty.
The food was delicious (particularly the apple pie), and the preparations before hand really reminded me of being home. In the end almost all of us Guggies made it, and it was quite international. We also had Tirimisu for dessert, for example. It's really nice being able to share a tradition like Thanksgiving with so many people for the first time. We all went around and shared what we are thankful for, and boy am I thankful to every single person in this photo to the right. It was a unique holiday for me, and I'm so grateful to everyone who came, and brought food/drink, and celebrated being together.
What else did I do this week? I needed my art fix before the Biennale closed, because, now that it has, there are many less things to do. I went to perhaps the best art exhibit I have ever been to before. Truly spectacular. It was called Intuition and held at Palazzo Fortuny. The building used to be a house, and it continued to look that way, rather like the PGC tries to do. The exhibition included some well-known artists like de Chirico along with many I had never seen before, as well as contemporary art along with quite a few pieces from quite a few years before. The span of the exhibit was great. Some of my favorite moments from the exhibit are below.
Last, but not least, was the museum's Festa Fine Mese celebration! It's held each month to send off the interns who will be leaving us for bigger and better things. It was pretty bitter sweet. I will miss everyone I've gotten to know who will be leaving, and it made me realize I am already half way through my time here. How is that even possible? Time has been going by very quickly. Again, the food was great, and so was the company.
This first month has been wonderful, crazy, and filled with new, exciting opportunities every day. I can never forget how blessed I am to have this time here with these people. I do spend a lot of time thinking about home and the wonderful things I get to do when I'm back, but I also think a lot about everything left to do before I leave! Many new places to see, people to meet, and things to do. Thanks for sticking with me through this blog for so long - already half way done!
Make sure to check back next week to hear about a visit from a surprise guest. Until next time. A dopo
Caitlin
First and foremost: Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! I hope everyone back home got to enjoy a wonderful day with friends and family, and that everyone in other countries still managed to have a lovely Thursday.
The crazy, hectic, work-filled Settimana dei Veneziani officially ended as of this past Tuesday, as have the Salute holiday festivities. I managed to make it down and see what the fuss was all about, and it was very worth it. Not having been here for another Venetian holiday, I can say that this one, at least, felt blissfully Venetian in character. There were other tourists of course, but the holiday seemed to resist the pull of catering to tourists quite well.
 |
| Temptations Galore |
And that was just the start of many festivities for my week. Two days later was Thursday, November 23 - Thanksgiving. If you've never been abroad for this particular holiday, it's hard to explain the weirdness. It's a day in America where essentially everybody is on board with the fact that it's a holiday and a holiday worth celebrating/not working during/eating a lot for. And it's a very big family or friends holiday, so being somewhere far from so many people that you love can be tough.
 |
| Preparations for the meal |
 |
| Celebratory picture! |
The food was delicious (particularly the apple pie), and the preparations before hand really reminded me of being home. In the end almost all of us Guggies made it, and it was quite international. We also had Tirimisu for dessert, for example. It's really nice being able to share a tradition like Thanksgiving with so many people for the first time. We all went around and shared what we are thankful for, and boy am I thankful to every single person in this photo to the right. It was a unique holiday for me, and I'm so grateful to everyone who came, and brought food/drink, and celebrated being together.
What else did I do this week? I needed my art fix before the Biennale closed, because, now that it has, there are many less things to do. I went to perhaps the best art exhibit I have ever been to before. Truly spectacular. It was called Intuition and held at Palazzo Fortuny. The building used to be a house, and it continued to look that way, rather like the PGC tries to do. The exhibition included some well-known artists like de Chirico along with many I had never seen before, as well as contemporary art along with quite a few pieces from quite a few years before. The span of the exhibit was great. Some of my favorite moments from the exhibit are below.
 |
| Visitors all made these |
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| This led to an actual room in the house Not just a door frame and rocks |
Last, but not least, was the museum's Festa Fine Mese celebration! It's held each month to send off the interns who will be leaving us for bigger and better things. It was pretty bitter sweet. I will miss everyone I've gotten to know who will be leaving, and it made me realize I am already half way through my time here. How is that even possible? Time has been going by very quickly. Again, the food was great, and so was the company.
 |
| Current 1-monthers senz Mary (+Juliette) |
This first month has been wonderful, crazy, and filled with new, exciting opportunities every day. I can never forget how blessed I am to have this time here with these people. I do spend a lot of time thinking about home and the wonderful things I get to do when I'm back, but I also think a lot about everything left to do before I leave! Many new places to see, people to meet, and things to do. Thanks for sticking with me through this blog for so long - already half way done!
Make sure to check back next week to hear about a visit from a surprise guest. Until next time. A dopo
Caitlin
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