The End of Chapter One

I’ll be missing tomorrow’s closing circle and end of trimester party at the Vienna Academy of Visionary Arts because my Czech friends are picking me up at school this evening for a 3-day ski trip in the Austrian Alps.  I couldn’t pass up such a wonderful opportunity! I’m sure you understand…

Both my paintings are still too wet for me to paint on, so the break between trimesters will allow for good drying time – a good thing as I keep lifting previous layers, which are taking way longer than anyone expected to dry.  Here’s where I’m at with the one that’s advanced since the last blog post.  Many more layers to come.

Last night, after class, my buddy Donnalynne and I had our last little tourist adventure together as she won’t be returning after the holidays.  We froze our fingers off taking photos of all the Christmas lights on the several pedestrian malls that join up around St. Stephen’s cathedral (Vienna’s main landmark).  Each branch and the streets around them have a different set of hanging lights – gorgeous!  I sure wish my iPhone could read my finger touch with my gloves on, but alas, it doesn’t.  Once again, I didn’t have my real camera with me. 🙂

When hunger and cold discouraged any further picture-taking, we started looking for a place to eat.  I’m grateful that the first place we tried enveloped us with a cloud of cigarette smoke when we opened the doors because it sent us back out on the streets and to what turned out to be a fantastic experience.  Café Central is one of those traditional Viennese cafés with what I’m sure is a lot of history. Everything about it was great – the atmosphere, the live piano music, the architecture, the chic tall slim waiters (they all had the same look), the deserts (we shared a peanut brittle chocolate creme brulée pastry that disappeared too quickly for a photo ), and, of course, the food.  Although not the most aesthetic colour wise, my chicken with sauerkraut were great and Donnalynne loved her venison stew with sweet cabbage and dumplings. Thanks Donnalynne for your in-class coaching and friendship this trimester!