Arts Abroad
This week Ariana and I left the comfort of our Lithuanian flat for a bit of traveling. Because we work remotely, we have the flexibility to go anywhere while still doing our research for Algis. Because we are truly motivated we decided to do a little networking during our travels! Ariana reached out to a W&M Law alum who is working for King & Spalding in Paris! He invited us to meet him at his office to chat, we were positively teeming with questions about his experience as an international arbitrator. We arrived at his office fairly early and waited outside so as not to appear to eager, the office building also housed Dior, which might be the most Paris thing that has ever happened to me! We were ushered into a conferences room and offered an array of beverages, as I had been unable to get any server to give me tap water the entirety of the trip I gulped down a full bottle of water in about a minute.
It was wonderful to meet an alumnus in person, and he gave us a lot of advice on how to establish ourselves internationally! I have to say W&M has the most welcoming and kind graduates and fortunately for us, they work all over the world!
Our trip was pretty spectacular, although not cheap. Our biggest unexpected expense was museums. I think we went to about seven or eight museums which ranged from Medieval to Modern. While each was amazing, some of the tickets were a bit pricey, around $20 without a student discount. I loved the Monet Museum the most, I knew of the Water Lilies but did not know that thee curved panels took up two entire rooms! It’s difficult to capture this scene in a picture but I’ll give you just a taste. I could have looked at those paintings for hours, but we had sights to see and croissants to eat.
We also visited a new and immersive exhibit where the paintings of Gustav Klimt were projected across the entire room, growing and changing with music. The lights played off the walls of the room and the people, while competing or harmonizing with the accompanying music. My favorite part was when small flowers bloomed, spiraling across the walls and floor while classical music played.
At maybe our fifth museum we developed a game to add some levity to the many floors of Medieval and Renaissance artwork, we dog spotted! We would point out every dog we saw in the paintings, I love dogs and I think part of my obsession has transferred to Ariana, we really had a blast searching for the painted puppies.
In Croatia we traded in wandering through museums for laying on the beach! Split might be the most beautiful place I have ever been. The water was crystal clear, I could have, and did, spend all day alternating between my book and the smooth waves. We just so happened to be in Split the night they won the World Cup Semi Finals, the excitement was tangible and very loud!
We had a one day stop in Warsaw before heading back to Vilnius and the city really exceeded my expectations! It was beautiful with old buildings, powerful monuments, and vast green parks. Because it was pouring rain for most of the day I don’t have any pictures of the city, we spent all day in the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. This museum started with the 14th century and worked up to present day. It took us FIVE HOURS to get through!! We learned so much I don’t dare try to condense it to fit in this blog post it was truly incredible and eye-opening.
I honestly don’t remember where we were when we ate this Ethiopian food because it was a transcendent experience where nothing existed besides me, the mouthwatering sour bread and the variety of powerful flavors. It was so good, as was our trip as a whole!
