Hanging Out in Slovenia

Dear Imaginary Friends, 

Yesterday was the amazing Kalorama Embassy Tour in Washington, DC. I was privileged to be a docent on Slovenian "soil."  I learned so much about Slovenia!! It is the shape of a chicken and it is roughly the size of New Jersey. Slovenia is 97% Catholic. Part of the former nation Yugoslavia, it boasts Alpine areas and the famous Lake Bled, as well as Mediterranean coastline. There is lots of polka dancing going on. 

I was supremely honored to meet the Slovenian ambassador, who is the nicest man ever, as well as the friendly Portuguese ambassador. Meeting them both was the highlight of my week.

Did you know that crystal has been manufactured in Slovenia since 1665, and that Slovenian crystal is used in Miss America's crown?

Slovenia is a beautiful country, with a lot to offer. I understand it has become a mecca for Hollywood shoots. If you have a moment, Google the image of the scenic Lake Bled: truly gorgeous, with a tiny church on an island in its midst.

Your virtual traveler,

Patsie

The modern Slovenian embassy on California Street in Kalorama.

The gold band on her hat indicates that she is married.

Check out the beautiful crystal in the right hand case.

The Embassy of Cyprus, Bernie Madoff, and Andy Warhol

 Dear Imaginary Friends Around the World,

 Thanks to my friend who was a State Department employee, I was invited to docent at the residence of the Ambassador of Cyprus today, and was greeted warmly by him and his wife, shown around, and treated like family. Ambassador and Mrs. Anastasiades were both extremely friendly. My job was to welcome the visitors, ask them to keep their mitts off the precious antiquities, and give them some facts. I was standing guard over two amphoras that dated to 8000 BC. That means that they predate the Egyptian dynasties and that the paint really should have chipped by now! IF they broke, I would be ...in big trouble! 

The stunning Beaux Arts mansion from 1918, which is for sale for a mere 5 mil, is on S street, off Massachusetts Ave., in the Kalorama section of northwest DC.

Fun facts about Cyprus: They have a wine industry. Tourism is very important to their economy. They speak Greek and are closer in location to Syria and Turkey than they are to Greece. Their flag is the only national flag that contains the outline of their country. Their national color is a vibrant apricot: a mix of yellow and orange, with all the warmth of a Mediterranean summer. In ancient mythology, Venus the goddess of beauty and love, was born from a clam-shell of the coast of Cyprus!

For my time, efforts, and body guarding of the amphoras, I was given a ticket to the embassy tour. With the ticket in hand, Carlo darted in to the Woodrow Wilson Home, and I visited a private residence that included original Calder prints and Warhol soup can paintings.

After that, we raced over to the Jewish Community Center, to see the play Imagining Madoff. There were three characters: Bernie Madoff, his dim witted secretary, and his Holocaust surviving older rabbi friend, whom Madoff made penniless. It was a very good play, and the acting very believable.
Check it out!

A full day, and now time to rest,

Patsie