.All Trips / Europe / Italy

Da Vinci’s Magnificent Last Supper, Milan

00 Last Supper

One of the main reasons we picked Milan as a travel destination was our desire to see Leonardo da Vinci’s greatest work, the “Last Supper”.
It’s not easy getting the opportunity to see this masterpiece in person.  There are a limited number of timed tickets issued for viewing of the Last Supper, so it is vital that you try to reserve your tickets just after they are issued because they sell out  quickly — often within a day or so of being released.  I got up in the middle of the night to buy ours — successfully, thank goodness.  If you can’t arrange the purchase of your tickets in advance, it is likely you can take a city tour in Milan …

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Central USA / Kansas / North America

“Pic of the Week”, June 26, 2020: Van Gogh Easel, Goodland, Kansas

00 Van Gogh Easel, Goodland (6)

It’s not every day you get to see an enormous Van Gogh painting sitting on an easel in a small prairie town.  But that’s what we encountered recently when traveling through Kansas.
Goodland, in western Kansas, is said to have the World’s Largest Easel.  It’s 80 feet tall and holds a 32 x 24-foot representation of one of Van Gogh’s “Sunflower” paintings.  The painting was constructed using 24 sheets of plywood surrounded by fiberglass mattes and layered with an industrial gel coat.  The paint used was industrial acrylic urethane enamel, known for it’s hardiness in extreme weather conditions.  The easel is built of steel, weighing more than 40,000 pounds. The supports are sunk 35 feet into the ground. 
Goodland’s painting is a …

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“Pic of the Week”, March 6, 2020: The Mona Lisa

03 Mona Lisa, Louvre

What’s that small thing everyone’s staring at?  Arguably it’s the world’s most famous painting.  If you want a closer look, you’ll have to push your way through the crowd at Paris’ Louvre to get to it.  And be sure to lock your valuables somewhere on your person because the room is well known as a den of thieves.   Pickpockets rule here, and signs everywhere warn you to be careful.

One of my most anti-climatic moments as a traveler came when seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time.  I’d read and heard so much about it — one of the great Leonardo da Vinci’s few paintings, and of a mystery woman (possibly Lisa del Giocondo) with such an unusual smile.  …

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“Pic of the Week”, August 1, 2015: Artists in Montmartre

12 Paris 05-2013.  Montmartre (65)

Known as one of Paris’ most charming neighborhoods, Montmartre sits on a hill overlooking the city’s downtown to the south.  It’s a great place in which to wander, with curvy lanes that take you up and down hills, charming markets, inviting cafes and bakeries, and the crown jewel of the neighborhood, beautiful Sacré Coeur cathedral.

Montmartre has been home to artists for well over a century.  Great impressionist painters like Van Gogh and Renoir frequented these very streets and lived nearby.  You can still find artists struggling to make a living when you explore Montmartre today.

During our visit to Montmartre, one square in particular was lined by local artists and their work.  We ended up chatting and buying a painting from …

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