Self-Reflections

Yea! Eileen is here visiting from New York! Erin and Al are visiting from Indiana!! The lowlight so far was taking Erin to an urgent care clinic to find relief from a bad allergic reaction to a sulfa drug. The highlight so far - "History Boys" at Studio Theater.

Beautiful Spring

My mom celebrated her 80th birthday with a surprise party my dad organized for her. It was a fun gathering.

The flowers in DC are so much ahead of what we'd be having in Madison. It's like getting an extra three months of summer.

Light Show

Friday night we went to the "Lighting to Unite" event at the Washington National Cathedral. Swiss artist Gerry Hofstetter projected images on to different sides of the cathedral. Some were photos of people, but the best scenes were the abstract images.

Earlier in the week, Debbie Kmetz was in DC visiting her Mom and came by to visit and work with Anne. Just so you readers know that we are not just touring, they got a lot of work done on the Wisconsin Teachers of Local Culture website redesign.

Ups and Downs

Bad day on Friday--I was in a minor bus accident and then my wallet was lost or stolen while waiting for the replacement bus. I got wonderful support from Nalini of the Arts Education Partnership (a woman I'd never met before) -- money so I could take the bus back home to start calling credit card companies.

Good day on Tuesday--on a beautiful spring evening, Ack and I went to the Czech Republic embassy to a cool outdoor concert with Chodska Vla, a bagpipe band that did rock versions of traditional tunes and songs. Check out the Bohemian style of bagpipe -- a different construction and a sweeter sound. (Click on the photo to make it larger.)

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.

Visits...

Kevin Monroe and Wendy were visiting the area, so Tim and Tom had a little party for them at their place in Baltimore. Ryan, Victor and Emanuale were there along with Ned and Harry. Dan was also there, but we missed Christine. It was a nice luncheon. The next day we meet Ryan and Victor at their church and then went out to breakfast. Anne and I also visited and hiked part of the National Arboretum to see the azaleas in bloom - wonderful!

Favorite Photos

Here are my two favorite photos from Bionca's visit--

One is Bionca on her first ever airplane ride, as we're flying from Madison to DC.

The other is Bionca in her favorite building in DC, the beautiful atrium that connects the National Portrait Gallery with the Smithsonian American Art Museum.