Where in the world is…

We just returned from a truly remarkable vacation in Florence, Italy and London, England. I am very fortunate to be married to an amazing guy who is interested in almost anything I am enthusiastic about, so we spent a great deal of this trip doing things that had to do with art. It all started with an invitation from two dear friends who were planning their own trip to Florence and asked us to join them there if we were planning a trip in that part of the world anyway. We had already decided to go to England this fall since we have family there, and so the trip to Italy was an easy yes. My friend Cy studied in Florence and it has become a second home for him. So we got to see not the tourist’s view of Florence (although we did that a little bit too) but the artist’s view of Florence.

There is too much to talk about in one post, so I just want to give you a taste of what’s to come.

We spent a day and got a private tour at the Fondazione Lisio, which is a school specializing in weaving of silk velvet and brocade.
We spent a morning in the studio with master paper marbler Enrico Giannini.
We visited the breathtaking shop of mask maker Agostino Dessi. (I was already a big fan of Ago’s before we went, but his shop blew me away.)
We chatted with Kath Thomas who was just opening up her brand new book binding studio.
We shopped at the Valmar La Passamaneria shop for woven silk ribbons and trims.
We ate and ate and ate at Tratorria Za-Za, Trattoria Omero, Trattoria Ruggero (my favorite).
We had a private tour at the Museo del Tessuto di Prato (Textile Museum).
The World Cup Bike Race was happening while we were there.
We visited the Museo Gallileo (a little something for my science geek.)
We talked to the artists in the piazza and toured the Pitti Palace.
Then we went on to London where we went to the Maritime Museum, Liberty Fabrics and Howarth Oboes, Kensington Palace and listened to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at Royal Albert Hall.