Day 21 – Back to Venice!

We were sad to leave Castello Belvedere this morning, but it was time to return to Venice. After packing up this morning, we took a taxi to the train station and boarded our non-stop train to Venice. In just under four hours, we were back to our starting point and jostling in the long line for the Vaperetto. We could have walked to our Airbnb faster! After we settled in, Kendra stayed with the twins while Addie and I went exploring. Evan has a nasty cough and is feeling terrible, so we were hoping he could rest up for tomorrow. I’d been to Venice once before, 31 years ago, when I was studying in London, so I figured worst-case scenario, I would take this afternoon with Addie and spend tomorrow at home with Evan.

I had one stop planned – the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. It was a quick trip from where we are staying near Piazza San Marco. The walk to the museum was gorgeous, and much less hectic than the throngs of tourists crowding the square.

Peggy Guggenheim purchased the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in Venice in 1948, living there until her death. (She’s buried on the grounds, along with her many, many dogs.) She had been collecting and exhibiting artwork for years at that point, and turned her home into a permanent home for her treasured pieces as well. Before her death, she willed the entire place and the artwork to her uncle’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.

Addie and I started with the gardens, admiring the many, many sculptures placed throughout (some almost hidden!). Most of the work in the permanent collection features abstract, surrealist, and futurist artists who were often friends of Guggenheim (and also her contemporaries).

Our next stop was the permanent collection in the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, which houses works from Picasso and Calder, to Ernst and Dali, and so many more. We wandered through the halls as Addie patiently listened to me explaining the art and the history behind the pieces and the artists. We also stepped outside to the front of the Palazzo with its beautiful views of Venice and the Grand Canal.

By this time, we were ready for a break, so we headed to the cafe on site and enjoyed cappuccinos and dessert (tiramisu for Addie, chocolate cake for me), surrounded by beautiful gardens and more sculptures tucked in each corner.

We decided to visit the temporary exhibition in the upper building, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva: Anatomy of Space. What an incredible retrospective of her work! Addie and I meandered through the small rooms, awed by each piece.

Eventually, we were ushered out of the museum, as it was closing. We headed back to Piazza San Marco and met up with Kendra and the twins for dinner. We found a little place on a side street – Antico Calice. The food and service were fantastic, and it was filled with mostly locals. I think dessert was the biggest hit with kids as the server set their creme brulee on fire table-side. 

Now we are nestled back in the Airbnb, hoping for some good sleep and a better day for Evan tomorrow.