Embassy Visits

Anne is up in NY celebrating her Mom's 80th birthday. She took the 6:20 am Amtrak. Ack went on an Embassy tour, visiting 6 embassies; starting with the Italian (photo). I expected a Romanesque design but the embassy's architecture was very modern. We were only allowed into the first floor and one of the outside gardens. They had a movie playing about opera. The furniture was very modern, made of nice leather, and very old paintings hung on the wall. They had gelato, but charged $2 for a dish, but I bought it anyway. The coffee gelato was good. 

Then on to Slovenia which had a much more welcoming setting . Unlike the Italians, they didn't search bags. They gave a tour of the offices which had lots of windows and open space. The building had modern architecture as well and free sweet bread. The country looks like a nice place to vacation. 

Next stop the Netherlands, which of course had the outside grounds lined with tulips. They had a self guided tour booklet for 4 rooms and the paintings inside. When you left you got a very tasty cookie and a little bottle of water - very practical of them. 

I skipped United Kingdom as the line was long and you had to clear security - they were wanding everyone and asking for IDs. I heard later that the UK was giving away a lot of stuff, including bag, T-shirt and thumb drive. Still not worth the wait in the sun to clear security. 

The Embassy of Finland was again a modern design with tall ceilings, walls made of windows and very square interior walls. They didn't have tight security (which is nice) but you had to sign in. The food was free, lots of it and lots of tasty treats - including a few wonderful salmon dishes and great cheeses. A berry drink was cool and refreshing. The Ambassador was there and would every now and then get on a microphone and welcome everyone. There is a sauna there too but it wasn't open to the tour. One of the hosts said that if you called them, they could arrange a tour for individuals. 

Next stop was Belgium where they looked into any bags. It was a very business like embassy beyond the main entrance and marble staircase. They gave you 3 pieces of good chocolate as soon as you entered, along with some butter cookies and a pen. When you left, there was Belgium beer tasting. The cherry beer was very refreshing on a day with 80F temperatures. That was my favorite visit. 

The final stop for me was Malta. The smallest country on my mini-tour (400,000 people) and a small embassy - basically a 3-floor row house. There was a wait to get in but not because of security; it was the program which included a warm welcome by the Ambassador's wife and some cake. You then went up stairs where the Ambassador greeted you into a room and gave a history lesson and answered questions. A very nice gentlemen with a good sense of humor, he talked too much as his wife had warned.