2nd Jan - Dali Gallery

Until I went to this gallery, I had absolutely no idea how sexually adventurous/frustrated/uninhibited Dali was. We spent a couple of hours in the gallery pondering over his images which often portrayed the most unusual aspects of sexuality & humanness. He was a devout Catholic, yet also a very sexual man. So this obviously clashed dramatically at the boundaries & must have caused him more than a bit of anxiety in his life.
A must see if you like art & find yourself in London!

Out & About In Vienna (incl Impressionismus Exhibition)

We were only in Vienna for a couple of days & hadn’t planned out anything to do. On the second day, we wandered about Vienna having a look about. Found a delicious Vietnamese restaurant in the afternoon & had a great feed. We also visited a great art exhibition called ‘Impressionismus’ featuring the best Impressionist artists in history. At least a good 3 hours was spent in the gallery before we found one of the oldest (& most expensive) cafes in Vienna located just across the road. A decadent hot chocolate, some gluwein, & cake & we were ready to head back to the hotel. Really loved Vienna & I’d love to come back here.

Sightseeing in Amsterdam - Part 2

Part 2 of my sightseeing comprised of a day full of art.

First of all, the Rijksmuseum, the national gallery of the Netherlands. The artwork was stunning & included many of Rembrandt's painting including 'The Night Watch', together with Vermeer's 'The Milk Maid' & many more Dutch artists. I spent a good two hours there.

Next was the Van Gogh Museum that houses the largest collection of his art in the world. A whole floor filled with Van Gogh's painting, sketches, & sculptures. Just splendid!

The National Gallery, A Bite to Eat & a Lovely Walk

I met Zuzana outside the Cathedral at the Prague Castle at 6pm & we walked around the courtyard to the National Gallery. She had planned to attend a talk on women painters there & had invited me to join her. The talk was in Czech, & there wasn’t much of an opportunity to chat with her during the session to find out what was being said (would annoy the hell out of her I imagine), so instead I wandered about the gallery. There were some fine works of art, including this beautifully vibrant one called ’The Red Parasol’.
After the talk, we walked through the palace grounds & came upon a homely restaurant where we both ordered a fine serving of goulash - YUM! It was here, over dinner, that I discovered that it was possible Zuzana may be a princess (well maybe not an actual one) & I was thankful then that I’d always treated her with the utmost reverence.
After dinner, we wandered over the beautiful Charles Bridge with all its statues & even a place or two to make a wish, which I did. We sauntered back past the National Theatre built twice (onec it burned down) with money contributed by the people many years ago.

Cool Graffiti Art on the Old Wall

There was a large piece of the Berlin Wall that had remained intact down on the East side that was well worth a visit.

2009 is the 20 year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This part of the wall was now branded the ‘East Side Gallery’ as artists from around the world had been invited to paint their art on the wall. IThis piece of the wall probably ran for about 800-1000m, filled almost completely with art, although some blank spaces were left for new art. The east side of the wall had been painted first as it represented the overcoming of the repression of artistic & cultural freedom.
The wall was originally raised to stop mass emigration of the people to West Berlin. But many of the people, after having left East Berlin that night in 1989, came back home within a week. They didn’t really want to leave their home - what they did want was the freedom to be able to travel & leave if they so desired. I kinda like that freedom too.

The Vatican Museums

Well, what else can be said about the Vatican Museums but...spectacular.

Antiquities preserved (after being stolen & brought back to Italy/France) from ancient Egypt, including a well-preserved mummy. And the statues - corridors of them to behold.

Then there's the paintings & frescoes from the greats including Raphael & Michelangelo. I spent 4 hours here while many of the tourists on the 'See Rome in a half day' tour rushed by some incredible works by Dali & Chagall, as well as many others.

And all the while I couldn't help but wonder at all the wealth the Catholic Church holds, & how much actually gets channelled to those in need.

Musei Capitolini

The oldest antiquities museum in the world, the Capitoline Museum was a veritable feast of art. Recognised as one of the best museums/galleries in Roma, it was a treasure trove of paintings & sculptures from some of the greats. It took me at least 3 hours to get all the way through, in a thorough fashion, of course.

The Uffizi Galleria - Florence

My second day in Florence I planned on getting up early to beat the long queues at the Uffizi Gallery (Galleria Degli Uffizi) which has the largest collection of Renaissance art in Italy. But I found it hard to get out of bed & didn’t end up getting there until 9:30, & expected a huge line up. But there wasn’t one, & I walked straight in without having to wait at all. I spent 4 hours at the Uffizi that day. So much to take in by an incredible range of legendary artists. Long halls lined with numerous statues. Room after room filled with paintings & more statues. I was enthralled by it all. It’s a must see.

And outside the gallery was a piazza with a variety of statues where people gathered for a chat. It all adds to the wonderful ambience of Florence.

18th June - First Day in Florence

For Florence, I’d booked at the Hotel Helvetia cause it was cheap. But the cheap room wasn't available (shame about that) so they assigned me to a room (a nice double with bathroom) in the Hotel Elite (a Pensione) about 100 metres down the road. Nadia at the Hotel Elite was just great - very friendly & really informative. It was quiet & had heaps of character.

I did my orientation walk around the city that afternoon, visiting the Duomo cathedral & the Galleria Dell Accademia. The Duomo (Cathedral di S. Maria del Fiore) is one of the biggest cathedrals in Europe, but I didn’t think it was that impressive, apart from its size. At the Galleria Dell Accademia, I saw the statue, David, by Michelangelo - truly a masterpiece. It was much larger (5 m) than I expected & I was in awe of its beauty & I viewed it from many angles for at least an hour.
At dinner on the first night, I met a young woman called Anne from Germany who was sitting at the next table by herself. We started up a lengthy conversation & at the end said we’d catch up again the next day, which we did. I spent quite a bit of time with her while I was in Florence, staying up late in the evening chatting away. It was lovely to have connected so well with someone new on my trip.