Field trips,

First of all, apologies.  I haven't been very diligent about blogging.  Again there's no real excuse.  I just forget or get sucked into e-mail.
I'll try to be better.
So, we've gone a few class field trips.  One was to the National Gallery Scotland storage facility and then to their conservation labs.  I have to say that was fun.  I like storage for museums.  After all I was the one who organized the Nooks and Crannies tour of the Furniture Storage Center at Yale.  Ah, original Stickley and art deco.
The highlight for me in the conservation tour was seeing the curator studio for the paintings.  The curator was cleaning a Cezanne.  In fact she was cleaning this Cezanne.  http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2913/artist_name/Paul%20C%C3%A9zanne/record_id/2488

It's going on loan to the Prado, so it needs to be taken care of before shipping.
It was just sitting there on the easel.  I could have touched it!  I had never been that close to a masterpiece.  I breathed on it.  It was one of those spine tingling moments.

And I recognized it right off.  Oh I screwed up my identification of the artist at first.  I do that.  I get Cezanne and Gauguin confused for some reason.  But it took me back to art history 101.  As soon as I saw the mountain, I knew.  Apparently some lessons from Dr. Dixon sunk in.  It was seriously cool.

But the best part was the Monet.  It wasn't even on an easel!  It was on a table.  Ah Claude.  Just sitting there! It was scheduled for some cleaning.  I just love Monet.  I couldn't believe I was so close to one of his masterpieces in a non-gallery setting.
It's really hard to describe how thrilling it was.  Just amazing.  It was like being in a sacred presence. I wish I had a photo of the lab.

We also went to the Black Watch Castle and Museum.  As well as the Ferguson Gallery and the Perth Museum and Art Gallery.
I liked the Black Watch.  I have a fondness for the regiment.  It's not just the tartan.  Although I like that too.  They used it liberally throughout the museum...

My great aunt once told me that an uncle of hers served.  I just wish I remembered his name.  I saw a bunch of Milnes in the honor roll of the regiment and a few family names like George, Alexander and David.  Plus the Black Watch was pretty local in this part of Scotland.  The men from Fife, Angus and Perth signed up.  But there were a few from Forfar, where one side of the family came from.  The odds were good one of them was in the book.  This was the book from after WWI. 

They had newer stuff too.  Found this in the post war galleries.  Hmm, where have I heard about these cards?

After we left the Black Watch we went to Perth.  The museum there has a combination of stuff.  Natural history, social history, decorative arts, and paintings.
In an interesting coincidence I found someone I knew.  Sort of.

It's my dad!  Well, his name anyway. And as soon as I saw it I heard his voice.  I knew exactly what he'd say if he was there.  "Hey that's me!  There I am!"  Made me smile.  But it's hard too. I know he'd love to visit and be so proud that I was at this university so near where his parents came from.  I miss him. 
But we saw the stores in Perth too.  Lots of fun.  I had another encounter with home, as the museum has a dinosaur footprint from CT.  Actually it has one of the Connecticut state fossil footprints.  I recognized the footprint and the dino name before I saw the Connecticut tag on the label.
This was one of my favorite moments.  The museum is closing for a few months so some items are being sent on temporary exhibit around Perth.

I'm assuming they will pack them first.  There were other oddities.  Such as these.  I can't help but feel that was a terribly uncomfortable bike to ride.  And that dog/fox/whatever has a very sappy look on its face.  It's hard to tell with the horn, but there was no good angle for a photo.  Amazing what you find in storage.

 

New Adventures

I have embarked on a new adventure.  I went back to school.  While that doesn't sound very
adventurous on the face of it, that is only because I haven't told you where I am attending school.  I applied to and was accepted at the University of St. Andrews.  In Scotland.

In fact, I am sitting in their library writing this now.  Mostly because the internet hasn't been connected at my place.  All hail the power of free wifi! I can't WAIT till it gets connected at home. 

So the move was exciting, but very stressful.  I couldn't pack some stuff that I wanted, and had to wait until it was shipped.  There were other things I forgot to pack and needed.  Like my camera cord and a few more DVD's.  I've only really just got used to the place and not missing home all the time.  I do still miss my bed though. 

So a brief intro to what I'm studying and the views I see as I walk to class.  According to the university I'm an M.Litt student (fancy way of saying I'll have a Master of Arts in the fall.) in Museum and Gallery Studies.  It seemed like a good idea with my library and archives training.  It's really interesting, so far.  I've got an essay to write abut research and scholarship as a function of museums.  So I've been doing a lot of reading and note taking.  I like the topic and with my Yale experience it's kind of natural.  As you can see I was hard at work studying...

Today I did some exhibit prep and went to the museum collections unit to look at objects.  Historical science instruments.  I'm on the physics of sound group.  I'll wait while you laugh...I understand.  I did too.  'Cause I went into library science for the science of it. There are some really cool objects though.  My favorite is the wooden xylophone. I'm hoping we get to use that. 

I live about a 20 minute walk from the center of town.  It's not a bad hike, although I have a feeling in the winter it will be very cold.  I'm considering getting a bike.  I get to walk right past the ruins on my way to town, which is nice.  The old castle and cathedral suffered during the Reformation.  I blame the Calvinists. 
But it's hard to fault the views.  It's one of the best commutes I've ever had.
I like walking past the harbor, even if it adds a few minutes to the trip.  I would miss the ocean. 

 See what the Calvinists did?  Honestly...

 These are the Castle Sands(fancy way of saying Beach) right near the Museum of St Andrews(MUSA) where I have class every week. 

 And this is from the top of the hill looking out to the pier and the North Sea.

Now that I have my camera cord I can share photos! 

Su e Zo per il Ponti part 2 or Adventure in Venice.

Okay, I'm back now.  It's Monday morning here at the library.  After Venice cataloging isn't such a chore.  Although the law books don't make it easier.  But personally, I think Venice makes everything better.  It's such a strange city when you think about it.  But so magical.

I did get into Venice about 6 am, despite some worries in Verona.  We sat at the station for 90 minutes there.  I don't know why, but it didn't help me sleep.  (Not to mention the seats.)  The compartment was very cool.  Like the Hogwarts Express train cars.  Except no underage wizards and trunks.  I have photos.  See?

After getting into Venice I left my bags at Santa Lucia and got on the vaporetto to San Marco.  The city had barely changed since I was last there 13 years ago.  While that's part of it's charm, but it's also sad in a way, I think.  It's like a living archives not a real city.  But those are thoughts for another post.
I met another single traveler in for the day.  She was trying to figure out what to do and where to go. She had forgot her guidebook.  I felt for her.  I hate traveling without one too.
We wandered around Piazza San Marco for a while taking photos.  I had to buy my ticket for the Su e Zo and found out the starting time and place(the corner of the Doge's Palace and 10 am) then window shopped with Yula. She didn't quite understand the whole race thing, but that's okay.
I found this cute little bakery deal and had a chocolate brioche, yum.  Where else can you get chocolate in bread and consider it breakfast?  Okay, other than Paris? 
Since we were looking in the streets around San Marco everything was out of our price range, Versace usually is.  But it's fun to look, and the streets and the Square were so quiet.  Even the famed pigeons weren't out in force.

At a little before 10 I lined up with other 'racers'.  It's non-competitve, so racers isn't quite the right word.  But that's what they call us, so it's okay with me. 
There were flag waving displays, costumes, music, and ceremony for the start.  It's all  so typically Venetian.  Then at 10 the barrier was lowered and we were off! 
It starts out slow because of the first three bridges which all are in the first 5 minutes.  The trail ran us through the gardens into the actual homes and streets of Venice and around behind the Arsenale with a view to San Michele and into Castello and right by the church of S. Giovanni e S Pietro.  There are lots of celebrity tombs.  Renaissance celebs just so you know.  It's also quite beautiful.  We had our first snack right outside on the steps.  There are a few shops, restaurants and take-out places.  I saw a few people eating gelato instead of the raisin roll.  Which wasn't a bad choice, cause you know gelato...

I poked into some shops, bought some millefiori, and then started on leg 2.   By this time my feet were screaming for pity.  But we had to press on.  I really wanted that completion medal.  And when I say we, yes Larry came too. 

And yes, there are photos.  A few anyway.  He thought the whole thing terribly easy, but he got to be carried.  Cheater!

What's down the pike

The Untersberg is clouded a bit. I think that's a warning. Closer to the ground it's a wonderful day. Bright and warm.
Just came back from doing the mail and papers. We get the Financial Times, the International Herald Tribune and a few magazines. I really should make time to read them everyday.
I also finished packing all the session materials into storage boxes, since there is some construction going on here and they needed that wall where they lived. Well, actually they needed the space where the wall is.
There's still shelving and shifting to be done after lunch. I still have the YA lists to finish, but it's coming along.
I wish we could have a book sale for this stuff. No, it's not current, but certainly interesting to some young readers. Besides the library needs the money.
Busy weekend ahead. There's session people coming in and there will be lots of activities happening. Some of the sessions sound interesting.

Austria adventure

I took the plunge and went to Austria, Salzburg to be exact, for a few months. Because life is just too short to waste it.
I am interning at the Salzburg Global Seminar in the library there.
I arrived on Thursday. Jet lag ruled for a while. Well until Friday evening. Adjusting nicely now.
Settled into my room. It's not a bad space. A little too much IKEA for my personal tastes, but comfortable. It's the bed that is hard to adjust to. A bit small after the queen sized Stickley at home.
I worked a bit on Friday in the library. I have my own office in the library that looks out over the mountains. Very pretty. The library is a great space, but underused. Well it's something to work on.
Met the other interns here slowly. Which is nice. All are fun and interesting. I'm really enjoying getting to know them.
I've been indulging what Dad and my grandfather would call the 'Shand nose' by walking around the schloss. Oh, did I mention that my internship is in a palace? While I am not staying in the schloss, my office is there. So I've been doing some exploring of the place. It's seriously beautiful. Now that I have a new digital camera(the old one mysteriously died) I can start posting photos of the schloss and the grounds.
The Meierhof(where I stay) is great too. More modern, as you can see. Also has a kitchen, a gym, a small cafe, and a hang out room for interns.
Also saw some of Salzburg on Saturday. Got seriously lost. Sigh. But that too will get better.