I got this link (just click on the green words in this entry for the hyperlinks) from my sister a few days ago in an email, and my first instinct was cool, I can definitely do this. Then the devil–the one that’s an appendage from law school–on my shoulder whispered in my ear, are you sure this is not some quilting scam?
Here is the Facebook page for the IB♥L II where you can get more info and can hopefully contribute. Devil or no devil in my ear, I’ll be sending my package this week. Deadline is Oct 1, 2010. My only wish is that I could one day take you all along to the Middle East at my blog!
One of my favorite places in Vienna is the Belvedere, a Baroque palace complex so large it is divided into the Upper and Lower Belvedere, the orangery, and the palace stables. When I first walk through its gates
I am struck first by its symmetry and second by its grandeur. While I’m here, the water basin leading to the palace of the Upper half is undergoing some major work
but the great hole in the ground does not distract me from the sheer grandeur of the building which now serves as a museum where you will find a fantastic and large Klimt collection, including the iconic The Kiss…
There are multiple fountains
and numerous gardens
that separate the Upper from the Lower Belvedere:
And it is only from one end of the compound to the other that it is possible to take a panoramic view of the ornate buildings and its surroundings:
I don’t know if you can tell from my photos how huge the grounds are–it is a long, romantic walk from start to finish–and it simply like walking in a postcard. Vienna is full of incredible, enormous buildings, as I will reveal to you in days to come, but the Belvedere is where dreams and reality meet. If it is possible to fall in love with a building, then let the Belvedere be my one and only.
I adore Paris, but I think I have finally found a city that rivals Paris for my heart. I’ve arrived in Vienna this afternoon from Slovakia and this town truly has me at the get go. I cannot wait to tell you, or better yet, show you what a gorgeous place this is, but it is now midnight here for me and I’ve just come back to my hotel (God bless wifi when it works!) from a free outdoors concert at the Vienna Film Festival on the Rathausplatz. My throat is killing me and I’m crossing my fingers I’ve not caught a cold or something, so I’ll just post a few pics for now from this event and reveal the beauty of Vienna over the next few entries.
The film festival is running from now till September 12, and each night there is something fun (movies, opera, music, dance) shown on the big screen plastered against the magnificent City Hall. There are tons of vendors around the square selling any kind of food you can imagine.
Grab anything from the typical Austrian fare of wiener to pretzel to apple strudel…
Sidebar: if there’s only one thing to eat in Vienna it would be this for me. I can feel the calories going straight to my butt with every bite, but I suspect I will have it again a few more times before I leave here!
Anyway, there’s also Asian fusion food and tons others. For tonight’s event, it is all about the Russian Ballet (can life get any better for me!) performing to Debussy and Tchaikovsky.
As I hum to L’ Apres Midi d’une Faune, watching the ballet under a star filled night sky, nibbling on the aforementioned apple strudel with a thousand other lucky tourists and locals alike, all I can think is Ich liebe Wien.
Tags: Austria, Rathausplatz, Vienna, Vienna Film Festival, Wien
No matter how sick someone is, it is always a terrible shock when they pass. This past week the grandmother I wrote about in the last entry did not make it. I wasn’t sure about blogging about this at all, and it’s actually been a few days since the funeral took place, but I think it is fitting for me to pay tribute to her here.
From the solemn drive through the town where she grew up and raised a family,
we followed her hearse to the church where a solemnly beautiful mass took place.
Loss is a universal emotion that requires no translation. Rest in peace, Yetyet.
So Look 2 is really a way for me to eyeball how I might be able to use some of the tanks/shirts I’m packing for the hot weather.
Summer 2010 Trip: Look 2 Ann Taylor Loft white denim sailor pants, JCrew black ruffled tank, JCrew silk tank, Chanel cotton tank, Tory Burch navy lawn cotton shirt, and leather Converse sneakers.
I’m throwing a golden yellow raw silk scarf into the mix:
I really love these limited edition Kurt Cobain black leather converse sneakers…
but they haven’t been broken in yet, so I think I’ll either bring the dark navy leather pair or black suede pair that I have worn before instead…unless there’s enough room and I can sneak in a second pair of sneakers. But that’s how it always starts, leave the bag open for an extra pair of shoes and all of the sudden they multiply to ten pairs! I must resist the impulse. I must resist the impulse.
I must resist the impulse.
