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On arrival yesterday we took vaporetto No. 2 to Giudecca where we'd rented an apartment for eight nights. It was dark, the weather stormy, and the water in the wide canal, also called Giudecca, was choppy. We were early to meet the property manager.

Soon a small boat pulled up, just off the sidewalk, which has no railing, the Italians trusting pedestrians to avoid falling in like they also trust drivers not to mow down pedestrians when they share a ferry ramp, anyway this small boat pulled up with a young fellow at the controls. He smiled and said he was there to let us in to the apartment but he couldn't get out of the boat, something about a problem with the engine, if he turned it off it'd be hard to restart. So, he said, here are the keys. He tossed them to us and said the instructions are in the apartment. Ciao he said then he disappeared into the dark canal.

The keys opened a nondescript door just opposite from where he left us, and, we'd discover in the morning, next to a patisserie, where you'd find me every morning with a cappuccino and pastry. The door opened into a very long and very narrow hallway, faced with plaster that remains on your shoulders when you brush it, then two flights of stairs and then into a wonderful, almost perfect, a tiny demerit as the patio wasn't waterfront, apartment. It's large, modern, light-filled, quiet, and supplied with every amenity we need. A detailed instruction book was sitting on the dining table. Bonus points for great waterfront views, a shower that doesn't leak, plenty of electrical outlets, and that nearby vaporetto stop (Giudecca Palanca if you're looking at a map) that gets us quickly to the heart of Venice.

We then acquainted ourselves with the immediate neighborhood and stocked the fridge with the results from a run to the nearby Coop grocery so that the next morning, the morning of this post, we could take vaporetto No. 2 across the canal to Dorsoduro to begin our explorations. And that's what we did today, we wandered a tiny bit of Venice where we quickly ran into three exhibits, hence the title of this post, one from Azerbaijan and two from Iran, each a part of the Biennale. Along the way my attitude towards Venice changed. I'm really glad we're here.