Scotland+Venice Diaries: Welcome welcome, new team!

Buongiorno a tutti!

Now that Alex, Clare, Emma and Fran have said their goodbyes and returned to home turf, you have a new set of Information Assistants to follow! We are Amy Dolan, John Kellock, Lauren McGhee (all recent graduates from The Glasgow School of Art) and Ashleigh Reid (artist and Information Assistant at The Fruitmarket Gallery).

As we approach the end of our second week in the big Karla Black house, we are all feeling like we need a bit of a lie down after getting suitably excited by all things Venice…but, to be honest, we are much more likely to knock back a few shots of espresso and keep going! There is just too much waiting to be explored.

On our adventures so far we have been blown away by the Capo dei Frari-a cluster of Franciscan alters joined by one grand ceiling and home to endless holy relics, paintings and sculptures- located in the San Polo district. It is well worth a visit and is only €3 entry for students and under 26s. Having explored the Giardini and Arsenale and been over-whelmed by the volume and standard of art on display, we have collectively decided (as did our Information Assistant predecessors) that the more local Mexican pavilion holds the number one spot.

Meanwhile, back at the Palazzo, it has not taken long for us to settle into our new jobs and to start calling this beautiful palace home. Living with three excellent cooks, I was a bit nervous at the thought of helping with the nest building and taking my turn behind the stove. But, either by fluke or thanks to fresh Italian produce, my courgette frittata and chorizo and green bean salad went down a treat! However, unfortunately for my teammates, that is the extent of my culinary repertoire. I really hope everyone is fanatical about eggs…

Amy