Sorry about that....

Hello!!!

I apologize for my tardiness in writing. I have had a tumultuous couple of weeks but soooo much to talk about!! Mom was here for two and half weeks, and I have to say it was amazing to have her here and to be able to share some of my favorite places and things in Florence. This experience has been life-changing but it has had its moments of loneliness as can be expected from a complete transformation and transplantation.

We spent a lot of time in Florence, walking and seeing some of the many sights and enjoying the amazing food, and obvious to anyone who knows the two of us, we did some shopping :) For my midterm break we headed to Vienna for an inhospitable Hotel, and beautiful sights. I found a new love, one that made up for missing the performance of the Spanish Riding School, ironic that a new love would make up for the loss of an old passion, riding. In Vienna, we toured the incredible Kunsthistoriches Museum and I fell madly in love with Egon Schele. His work grabbed me, and I must say (and apologize to Mom for dragging her to the Leopold to see the largest collection of his work) that I have become obsessed with his work and life. But that is a story for another time!! I find it funny that I came to Italy for Italian art.... and men :)... and fell for an Austrian. After a lovely time in Austria, made much less so by the Hotel Astoria's employees who did their best to sabotage what they could, we headed off to Prague and the wackiness that awaited us there in its splendid glory.

Our first impression of Prague was, shall we say, less than promising, as we disembarked from our train unto a platform that I believe had not been rebuilt since the days of Communism... which of course was THAT long ago for the Czech Republic. As we left the station to look for a taxi, we found the taxi drivers were not fighting FOR our business but rather fighting NOT to take us. After this lovely interlude we finally made it to our hotel. Being the intrepid travelers we are, Mom and I decided to forgo rest and immediately headed to the Sternberg Palace to see the National Collection of Old Masters..... well not quite immediately as no one knew where it was! Astonishingly, the Gallery, which houses works by Tintoretto, Titian, Durer, El Greco, and other such distinguished company, was not well know to our front desk or even our driver who however did know where the Museum of Czech Baroque Art was, and dropped us off there instead. Yes its true.... there is an entire museum dedicated to the Baroque Art of the Czech Republic, I was obviously unaware :) After much asking around, and some less than stellar map reading we located the "Palace" in the former stables of Prague Castle. Inside we found Durer's Madonna of the Rosary in an over-heated room with the precious oil paints slowly separating from the panel before our eyes... from this sad sight we moved upstairs to the Italian collection, where though thankfully the Rubens and Tintoretto's were in climate controlled rooms, they were regrettably unmonitored or even alarmed.

After living in New York last summer, and Florence now surrounded by the most incredible art collections... and fittingly the most daunting security systems and climate regulations, the lack of either in the National Collection was very interesting to encounter.

I must end here with a promise to continue my tales of my and Mom's travels through Prague soon, and believe me some of the best is yet to come.

Stay tuned for Golem tales, concentration camp horrors, and one of the most awesome Contemporary Art Museums in the world.....

Kisses and Hugs!