First stop on our eighth day of adventure was to see Accademia! They, too, had strict rules indicating no photography was allowed. I guess it was a nice break for my camera. The one that caught my attention the most was The Feast in the House of Levi by Paolo Veronese. The canvas is one of the largest sizes in the 16th century measuring to be 18 x 42 feet. The focal point is obviously Jesus in the center since he is more spaced out than the rest of the subject matter. The guests are packed to the far left and far right of the canvas. You get a sense of chaos and an idea that it must be a banquet with all that people. I enjoy the bravery of using such a large canvas while keeping everything proportional, detailed ripples in their wardrobe, and use of vibrant hues.
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Me in front of an Andy Warhol original
Next Peggy Guggenheim Museum! I didn't realize just how many art belonging to contemporary artists would be there! Just about every artist there was mentioned in my art history classes with Dr. Pitts such as Picasso, Calder, Warhol, Dali, Ernest, Pollock, etc. I felt impressed with myself to be able to acknowledge some of the paintings/installations. I loved that I was able to get up close to see the brush strokes of artwork belonging to Pollock or the smooth transitional shading of Salvador Dali. The humorous part of the trip was I ever so slightly bumped a table while I was admiring art when I hear a lady say, "That's part of the exhibit. Don't touch." The table didn't look anything special or artistic to me so I wondered if maybe just maybe it belonged to Guggenheim herself. Definitely one of my favorite museums in Venice. 

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Caitlin and I figured this would be a perfect opportunity after Peggy Guggenheim to go see Murano, the island of glass! I think I'm in love, Murano is beautiful and anything ranging from large to small glass items are everywhere! Went to a store called "Al Dogi" where artisans have live performances blowing glass. They moved speedy too with no hesitation! There is literally no time for error when dealing with glass blowing. I purchased a Murano glass horse figurine from Al Dogi and I think I got a pretty good deal for it, 7 euro. I got quite a bit of souvenirs overall in Murano. I was nervous though how much glass I was going to have to put in my carry on. Afterwards, Caitlin and I sat at the edge of the sidewalk, our feet almost touching the water, while we sketched the scenery. After a while, we caught up with Professor Slagle and his wife, Stacey.  We joined his group and traveled right over to Burano.

Burano is absolutely beautiful! The whole town is just a masterpiece itself! Way more colorful than Rainbow Row in Charleston. So of course we had to take loads and loads of photos. The reflection of the colorful houses in the water gave it such a beautifully surreal feeling. Almost like a Doctor Seus book. Surprisingly, I did not purchase any lace in Burano, but in my opinion the pictures themselves were more beautiful than the lace. We then ate at a restaurant that Robert De Niro himself even ate at in the past. It was like a dream to have such a beautiful scenery while eating filet mignon and a huge chocolate cake that I shared with Sean. I could easily have done that whole day all over again the same way. Except maybe for the misquitos we encountered at night but I had my handy dandy bug spray that saved our group, an Australian family, and other tourist. To top off the evening, to entertain ourselves on the water bus back to Ca d'oro we did stop motion photography, sang camp songs that Sean taught us, and saw fireworks off in the distance. 
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The view I got when eating outside the restaurant
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Burano at night
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Deliciously rich chocolate cake that I shared with Sean
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Where I stuck my "You Are Beautiful" sticker in Burano
See from my perspective of Burano!



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    Erin Ferguson

    A senior at Lander University. Visual Arts major with an emphasis of Graphic Design. I'm excited to blog all my adventures that I will encounter in Italy!

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