I’m not usually one to publish blog posts about ‘reaching your full potential’ or ‘pushing yourself to the limit.’ (Unless, of course, we’re talking about 6 course tasting menus.)
In other words, I’m not one of those bloggers that talks about feelings and motivation and all that kind of life coachy, touchy feely stuff. I’ve got nothing wrong with it, but it’s just not my thing. I’m more about providing you with practical information whether it is a recipe, a restaurant or the name of a hotel. And every so often I just share pretty pictures.
But today’s blog post is a bit different, since I’m sharing an experience that almost didn’t happen. Although we had been planning on going to Christo’s The Floating Piers ever since it was announced, we almost got scared away by the reports of crowds and heat and general chaos that we had read in the press. We even got so far as nearby Bergamo, just 40 minutes away from Iseo, and still hadn’t quite decided if we were going to go or not. 3 hour lines? 90 degree heat? Just talking about it made us tired.
Still.
We really really wanted to see it. It truly seemed a once in a lifetime experience and to not go because of waiting in lines, crowds and a little heat just seemed stupid.
So we set our alarms for 4:45 am, and set out. And although we did wait in lines, and it was god awful hot, and there were hoards of people it was truly one of the most exciting and moving experiences I’d ever had. While the state of bliss could be partly due to heat stroke (told you it was hot) I think it had more to do not only with the pure beauty of walking on water, but the fact that we did push ourselves beyond our comfort zone. We don’t do that enough anymore. (actually, I don’t think I’ve ever been that kind of person).
So here are my photos, untouched. And if you have time and are anywhere in the vicinity in the next few days (it closes July 3) go. Push yourself. You’ll be glad you did.
The Floating Piers is a temporary work of art and will be dismantled on July 4. July 3 is the very last day you can visit it. It is open from 6:00am to 12 midnight. There is no entrance fee. See the website for arrival information. But check their Instagram account for weather updates (if the weather is bad, they close it).
So glad you shared this! It looks magical.
Beautiful and worth the heat to experience it!
Couldn’t agree more…..we loved it.
How fun to see this today, had coffee with my german neigbor, who had visited this on har drive down from Germany to Bolsena….she also showed me a lot of phots, guite amazing !!
How wonderful that you had the opportunity to experience this …. not many of us have ‘walked on water’ …enjoyed your photos (as always).
We were very lucky!!
We just drove into Milano today and have train tickets for tomorrow. After our experience with the Christo instaallation in Central Park, NYC, we knew we had to try to see this one. I’ll let you know how our day goes.
I’m glad you did go. And I’m glad for everyone else who were also reluctant about the whole thing but went for it anyway. Me, I had no excuse as I’m just an hour away (Lecco). Plus, I figure that if I could handle the insane craziness that was the Expo, then going to The Floating Piers would be a piece of cake. Gosh, it was a piece of cake with whipped cream and a cherry on top!
We drove down from Frankfurt to Brescia for the week end and we also woke up at 5.pm and loved it so much.a wondefull unique experience. Thank you for your review , you wrote so nicely about this unique experience
So lovely. Interactive art when done right can really leave an impression. A few years ago I walked through an installation by Ai Weiwei where antique Chinese stools were stacked in seemingly chaotic way but you could walk beneath them as well as around the installation that reached the tall gallery ceiling. It stuck with me.