The V & A Museum - follow the pink-haired design students!

Christmas came early as it was the Hubs' idea to go to the Victoria and Albert museum for the fashion collection and "The Golden Age of Couture" exhibit. He figured (correctly) that spending hours poring over evening gowns from the 1950s, for me, was a lot like the map room in the Churchill museum for him: a magical place indeed. I have to give him credit. He was only one of two other guys in a crowd of hundreds of women.

The exhibit (which had the mandatory "Funny Face" screening in the background) showcased the time period between 1947 and 1957, which Dior called the "golden age" for couture houses. There was background history on the houses and designers (Balenciaga, Balmain and Fath included), the importance of the French union of sewers, fashion photographers like Cecil Beaton, and the rise of the woman's suit (Dior and Chanel featured heavily here, of course). The best part of the exhibit, which I wasn't allowed to take photos of (phooey), was the room full of evening gowns from that period. It was so awesome that I had to go back around for a second loop.

The dresses in the photos below are from the permanent collection, which is equally cool, but not quite as overwhelming as seeing all your favorite dresses in one room. By the way, did you know that the cocktail dress only appeared in the 1920s and was meant to be worn at gatherings between 6 and 8 (where people stood and mingled), and usually included elaborate details in the bustle or skirt which would be missed (or crushed) if the woman sat down? Dior preferred to make shorter cocktail frocks in black satin, taffeta, and chiffon, the elements of which came to embody "the little black dress." Now, I know this tidbit of info is only interesting to about 6 of you out there, but if you saw those dresses...you'd understand.

Holy Chihuly!

Let it be known that there are other neat things at the V & A - not just dresses. Take this Chihuly sculpture over the ticket counter. Cool, right?

Casts of Trajan's Column

The one in the gift shop was smaller.

Showing off at the sculpture gallery

Eve's doing that thing again, Mom.

I love you

For more dresses and costumes from the V and A collection (including this one by Jacques Heim) go here.

Floating Underwear

Cooler than it sounds.

A Boot

A bow to the Japanese designers

Sketchy Students

That's just the way I roll

I guess if I wore my evening dress on the plane, it would save me the hassle of trying to pack it.

You know how I feel about blue skies

Nothing could go wrong after seeing all those clothes at the V & A. This is outside the Natural History Museum which I didn't feel the need to go into. What am I going to do with a bunch of spiders and bones after staring at pretty things for 3 hours? Plus, we had 3 other museums to hit.

Ah, youth

Like a crazy old lady with a telephoto lens, I spied these girls at the ice-skating rink outside the Natural History museum. Don't they look festive? And maybe like they're planning an assassination?

Back

from

London.

Gosh, I feel like a country bumpkin saying this, but it was my first time to London this Thanksgiving. Is it unsophisticated to say that I loved it? I know I'm supposed to love edgier places, like Tbilisi or Urumqi, but I already live in an "earthy" place. Give me level sidewalks and queues.

I love London. That's even with the 2 dollar-to-the-pound conversion rate. I feel like we earned it, since we had so much drama getting there and coming back. There's this thing called fog that debilitates air traffic in Sofia every year. Last year they shut down the airport for 3 weeks because of it. If any of you know of people or machines that specialize in fog-busting, please call the mayor of Sofia and get him to invest.

Back to London. It was thrilling to see so many things that I had only read about when I was younger. There were Blake's etchings. Bacon's triptychs. That Parliament thingy. Churchill's war room. The pub where the Bloomsbury group drank behind "snob screens." And an amazing exhibit on "The Golden Age of Couture" at the Victoria and Albert museum (even more amazing - it was the Hubs' idea to go). Tack on to all that - great ethnic food. I almost started crying into my plate of ho fun and kai lan because, to use Carl's phrase, "it tasted like happiness."

I'm going back as soon as I can.

Monument to the Tsar Liberator (A Slow Day in Sofia)

This is the Monument to the Tsar Liberator, who helped free the Bulgarians from the Ottomans. I wish the Tsar Liberator would come and liberate me from the child who lives upstairs and throws tantrums all day. That's not a euphemism for the child in me getting frustrated because of my art; there really is a child upstairs who shrieks like a banshee. His screams are sapping my sarcasm. Anyhow, the monument is located between the National Assembly and the Radisson, which is rumored to have a great Sunday brunch (*perks up* - that old reviver of sarcastic one-liners).

Dead things for sale

Outside Alexander Nevski Cathedral (below), vendors set up a flea market during the day, where they sell copies of icons, soviet souvenirs, old furniture and fake faberge eggs.

Alexander Nevski Cathedral on Easter

Alexander Nevski Cathedral is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox churches in the world and a popular tourist destination. It also has a crypt which houses a famous collection of icons. As you can see, easter is a big holiday in Bulgaria (this photo was taken in April) . People end their fasting at midnight and gather around the church with candles to listen to the service.

For your FYI

I wonder if Kate knows. This shop is actually located in Russe (a Bulgarian city 5 hours north of Sofia on the Danube opposite Romania). If you come visit Sofia we could probably wrassle-up something as good to meet all your odd-sign needs. For instance, we have a clothing store called "Ugly Fox."

Welcome back to Lopyan!

Tomislava came out to meet me at the car, so of course I'm going to post her picture first. Clever girl. This weekend, a group of us went back to Lopyan to visit the kids, pass out clothes, and administer flu vaccines. Don't worry, I didn't handle any needles. As you might or might not know, these children live at the village school because their families can't afford to raise them at home. It was great to see them, hug them, and even meet some new kids.

A wet, but happy reunion

That's Scott (detail shot next), Ivan ("Quiet and sensitive type"), and Victoria, who gathered the funds to buy the clothes and flu shots. Doesn't she rock, folks?!

Scott's conjoined twins

The kids immediately took to Scott.

Mitko!

He ran out of the school and gave the Hubs a hug as soon as he got out of the car.

American Eagle Boy

Someone get this kid an agent!

Thumbs-up to flu shots!

One dissatisfied customer

This little boy was not into getting his flu shot and was quite angry with us all. Then we made him model his new scarf, mittens, and hat. Doubley not happy. But still cute.

Julietta!

Still on the fence about the color, I guess.

Ivan and the kids

Ivan is a Bulgarian student who volunteers for a non-profit organization here. He was great with helping the kids with their hats and gloves, and of course, all the little girls had crushes on him.

Stand still, Stoyancho!

That's Victoria (left) and Carolyn (right) trying to get gloves on Stoyancho, who was so excited about his new accessories that he couldn't stop from shaking. I have also felt this way about accessories.

Under the watchful eye of Vasil Levski

The flu vaccines were administered by Dr. Spassov in the geography room of the school, where a portrait of the Bulgarian hero, Vasil Levski is prominently displayed. Levski led the 19th century revolution against the Ottoman empire, and is considered one of the most famous historical figures in Bulgarian history. Go Levski! (It's also the name of a Bulgarian football team.)

This is the back of one of the school's main buildings. I'm not sure what the train car is for.

Girl's dorm

Until next time!

Serious Snow

This time it stuck. Today we revisited the kids at Lopyan village (new pictures to come) in the snow, which made the drive way more scenic than before. I actually noticed the mountains this time. Amazing what a fresh coat of white will do.

What a lovely...oh my god, what's that ugly thing on the right?

That's the falling down monument to a 1300-year-old Bulgaria. It was only erected in the 80s. I asked our Bulgarian friend about it, and he said no one wants to pay to have it rebuilt or taken down. The graffiti around it is kind of interesting.

George Michael was here.

I'm sorry. Actually he wasn't. But Robin Gibb of the BeeGees performed here a few weeks ago. This is the National Palace of Culture, which houses concert halls, shops, and movie theaters, and hosts festivals in and outside its buildings year-round. George Michael did come to Sofia in May and performed at some stadium. But maybe he'll be here in the future and that's good enough for me. I don't think a George Michael concert would be too funky for this place, do you?

Maybe they could string Christmas lights on the roof?

Just a little trick I learned in college to give a place a more intimate feeling. This is the national history museum, which holds around 650,000 archaeological items. Nothing funny about that. While Bulgaria is a center for archaeological digs and finds, the country doesn't have (strict or enforced?) laws regulating who can claim, buy, or keep the artifacts. Many are stolen or bought by private collectors and as a result, they end up outside the country. Most coveted are items from the bad-ass Thracians warriors, who fought on the side of the Trojans in the Iliad.

Hey! That's pretty!

The National theater in downtown Sofia.

Be a man, play chess

You don't have to play chess to be a man, or be a man to play chess. But it seems that you have to be an older, trash-talking man to play chess in Bulgaria. I thought it would be really cool to get good at chess (or cheat) and then show up here at the tables in front of the National theater and challenge all these guys to a match. Then I'd be a legend! In Bulgaria! The lone girl who came one cold day, check-mated grandpas with moves not seen since Bobby Fischer, and then disappeared into the trees.

But it's kind of getting cold. Maybe I'll just play online.

Hello, Friend

These little guys are everywhere in Bulgaria. You should probably get used to them if you want to hang here. For the most part, they're friendly, dirty and very intelligent. I saw one dog wait patiently at the street corner until the pedestrian crossing sign turned green before he started walking to the other side. This obedience to traffic signs is unheard of in Bulgaria, where humans don't even follow the rules.

How to love Sofia

Actually, it's not hard to love (okay, maybe just really like) this city, but I've spent months touting the charms of other European cities, so you might think it's best to pass over Sofia on your way to Kosovo. Au contraire. Much like Glenn Close would not be ignored in "Fatal Attraction," Sofia is worth your attention. Granted, it is quirky (e.g. The police decided to take a vacation over the next 3 days), and sometimes frustrating (e.g. Why no smooth roads?), but mostly it's a fun town with some hip places and really generous people. It's really cheap, too. So, over the next couple weeks I'll post more photos from Sofia (and around Bulgaria) to show you that it can hang with the small-to-medium-sized dogs.

Prague Overview: What we learned

Observation 1: I get in trouble everywhere I go for taking photos, not only in Bulgaria. This is a contraband photo from the Mucha museum - a Czech guard tapped me on the shoulder right after I took this and said, "No photo, no photo." *Sigh*

So this is the end, or the beginning, depending when you tuned in, of my Prague trip. I've included some overview titles, because a photo is just no good unless I caption it with something snarky.

A few weeks more in Sofia, and then it's off to London - yahoo! But between then and now, there's a certain ball which will most certainly make it into the blog for it's general richness in shenanigans.

Observation 2: You can't take a bad photo in Prague

Try it. I bet you can't. For example, I initially intended to photograph only the street sign here, but this tower popped into the picture because it somehow knew that the picture would be more interesting with it. It's like the random drunk tourist who butts into your photos.

Observation 3: Blue skies help

But you probably already knew that.

Observation 4: Getting medieval isn't always violent

Unless you're talking about actual medieval times. But my point is that castles make skylines and cities pretty. Also, a castle's coolness rating goes up if you get to shoot crossbows (see "A Dream Come True" posting), which I guess means that I do appreciate some violence when getting medieval. I'm still working this one out.

Observation 5: Architecture Shmarchitecture, give me some soviet blocs

Just kidding.

Observation 6: Justin Timberlake needs to bring Art Nouveau back

Observation 7: Hang in there

We would've tried to catch him, but who wants to make a scene? I'm sure he found a way down.

Observation 8: Friends make good times

Observation 9: Never fear, beer is everywhere

Observation 10: Sunsets are surprising

I never usually seek out a sunset, but when I happen to catch one, it always surprises me because I forgot how pretty the last one was.

Don't wait for it.

When the clock strikes the hour in the old square, the guidebooks say something special happens. Now we know: the little figures move their arms up and down and there is a weird tooting sound that comes from up high. Little doors open which may display the tooting thing, but you won't be able to see it due to the MASSIVE crowds. The clock itself is cool, but the hourly cuckoo show goes on the list of overrated things-to-see. It's up there with the Mannequin du Pis in Brussels, but at least they dress him up in Elvis costumes. Anyhow, this is the important sights chapter of my (now month-long) Prague blog, and except for the clock show, I loved the following.

Nothing wrong with Old Square

Jewish Town

Prague's Jewish Town was probably my favorite area. Franz Kafka was born on the edge of the Jewish quarter, there's the Old-New Synagogue (where the famous Rabbi Loew hid the body of the Golem - more on that later), and the Old Jewish cemetery.

The Old-New Synagogue

Built in 1270, the gothic Old-New Synagogue still holds services and is the oldest synagogue in Europe. Legend has it that beloved Rabbi Loew (1525-1609), who dabbled in alchemy, created a Golem (not the pathetic, scrawny one in Lord of the Rings but a hulking hero-type) to be the defender of the Jews. He supposedly hid the body in the attic of the synagogue, but it was never revived to defend the Jews during hardship because the magic word which would have breathed life into the hero had been forgotten.

The Old Jewish Cemetery

There are 12,000 tombstones crammed into this tiny area (used between the 15th and 18th century), and over 100,000 Jews buried here. Some graves go 20 deep since the plot is so small. Rabbi Loew is buried here, where people leave rocks symbolizing respect, luck and blessings.

The gravestones are topped with carvings of symbols which represent family names or professions. For example, the Cohen family has gravestones with carved hands.

A dream come true

Golden Lane, located in the Prague castle, has an armor and weapons gallery, and if you pass all the fun hats (er, fancy helmets) and torture rooms, you end up at the best gallery of them all: the shooting gallery! But with a crossbow, which I think would have been my weapon of choice in the days of yore and will always be now, if I ever go out packing. Ask the Hubs or Karl - I shot the crossbow better than the two guys who went before me.

I tear up just thinking about it

St. Vitus Rules

St. Vitus cathedral, which took six centuries to complete, has lots of cool stuff - a Mucha stained glass window, St. Wenceslas chapel, and the tombs of Czech kings. The pretty pinks and yellows are from the stained glass.