we no speak Americano!

After five incredible months, it's finally here: my last day in Italy. I can't really express what an inspiring, exciting time it has been, especially this past month spent in Venice meeting the most amazing people and spending my days with Picasso, Braque, Kandinsky, Delaunay, Ernst and a host of old friends over at Peggy's house.

As much as I'm sad to go, I'm excited to be headed toward a really exciting new beginning, the start of grad school in New York this fall! I am definitely ready to get back to the states, to home and family, and I know I'll be back in Europe soon.

After one last hurrah on Campo with everyone, I'll be boarding a night-train to Rome, where I'll arrive tomorrow and get on a flight to London and Boston. Thanks for sticking me throughout this great new blogging experience - I've really enjoyed it, and I'll definitely continue once I'm home!

xo

Peggy Who?

I've given a couple of public talks now on Peggy Guggenheim, and I have to say, she was one firecracker of a lady - in the museum she's so very present, it honestly feels like she's just going to walk around a corner.




What an energetic, passionate and flamboyant woman. It was her friendships and relationships with some of Modern Art's most important players that led to a collection that is incredibly comprehensive, representing equally from the ranks of the Surrealists and from the abstract artists.



She's equally famous now for her sartorial choices. The iconic batwing glasses were designed by American artist Edward Melcarth (above). Below, a relatively recent Harper's Bazaar editorial inspired by aforementioned glasses (courtesy harpersbazaar.com)

I ended up sharing a boat with her former neighbors a couple of weeks ago, and they remember Peggy in her 70s, sunbathing on the roof of her palazzo in a bikini, surrounded by handsome young men. She always took an evening ride in her private gondola around Venice.

I really recommend reading her autobiography, titled Out of this Century. It's quite a rollicking read to say the least! Below is a picture of Peggy's onetime New York gallery space, courtesy of guggenheim.com:


The other two images are from the Guggenheim and Rijksmuseum websites.

catching up

It is so hot here in Venice, I'm sitting in the kitchen with the fan pointed directly at me and dreaming of cool breezes. So I thought I'd post some pictures of my short trip to London a couple of weeks ago, to remind myself of temperate climates. I was lucky enough to spend each day in London with friends who all seemed to be there by some wonderful coincidence, and I had a really great time.

These first sumptuous shots are of our tea at Maison Berteaux, a quirky and adorable cafe on Greek Street. My friend and I shared the fruit tart and massive almond croissant and a big pot of Earl Grey tea.



My friend and I were strolling around after a late lunch and realized that England had won a World Cup game against Slovenia (or Slovakia? I forget). All hell was breaking loose in Trafalgar Square - these guys had climbed IN the fountain and were cheering and going crazy. Though England didn't make it much further in the competition, these celebrations were quite a sight!


I saw Macbeth at the Globe Theatre! Such a dream come true, fulfilled after years of high school Shakespeare plays.



My friend works at this gorgeous little perfume shop, Penhaligon's. I spent an afternoon with her and ended up getting a cute little set of four scents. The Queen, Crown Prince, Princess Di and Winston Churchill all use/used Penhaligon's perfumes.


Hyde Park. The weather was incredible during my week in London.


At the Brick Lane Sunday market (curry + vintage clothing + art + hipsters), we stumbled upon a huge photography degree show. These were a couple of my favorites.



The Enchanted Palace exhibition at Kensington Palace was incredible. It was like entering into an impossibly chic Lewis Carrol/Tim Burton sort of world, only the stories were real!


fish and chips, and a good old burger. pub food is definitely the way to go in London, especially after months of only eating Italian! My friend and I had a great time hanging out in different pubs and sipping warm British ale.


I had a really relaxing visit in London. It was a great vacation from Italy, and felt more like home. I had an incredible time, even with a raging case of pink-eye, hence the lack of photos of yours truly (thanks the pharmacist at Boots who sorted me out!).

And thanks to my London and non-London friends for the time spent in great company :)

I'm pinching myself...

because I live here!!!



and I work here, at the big white palazzo in the center!

It still hasn't sunk in yet.

my new apartment

I'm trying out posting new larger pictures, because I love my camera so much that it seems a shame to stick to such small images.

I really wanted to show some shots of my new pad in Venice (*pinch me please*). I have two fantastic roommates who are also interns. The other night, we had an inaugural meeting of the Salad Club, in which we feasted on salad and prosecco and my favorite garlic-Parmesan dipping oil, all on our gorgeous old wooden table. That's the gang, above.

And below, some more pictures I've snapped:




The living room area. We lit candles and sipped bellinis after dinner.


The apartment is filled with quirky antique-y touches, like these guys. I'll have to find a name for them.


Salad night! So delicious.


Our closets. They remind me of those vintage little pods people used to change in when they went to the beach.

I'm so happy to be living here!

Venezia Venezia

Well. I am finally settled in glorious Venice and have worked my first week as an intern at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, one of my favorite museums in the world. Before Venice, I spent a fantastic weekend in London seeing a ton of old and new friends, and I'll get to posting about that eventually.

Things have been so incredible and busy, and I'm having such a fantastic time here. More later, I need to prep for a massive salad dinner we're having at our apartment.