We follow the Tour de France each year, sometimes on TV alone but sometimes we fly to Europe and hop from town to town. In 2012 the Grande Depart was in Liege, Belgium, and as it often happens, the Tour took us to a city we had never been and the chance to see some impressive architecture. In Liege, it was their train station.
Our trip to Spain included a bus ride north to see Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Warm winds, a winding river, and the sun bouncing off Frank Gehry’s billowing titanium curves made for a dreamy rest stop after a visit to the museum.
Exquisite wood carving on a masterpiece of Portuguese furniture that I came across on a visit to Casa-Museu Guerra Junqueiro in Porto, Portugal. The house museum is an 18th century Baroque gem, and I marveled at the extent of the unique collection which included rare ceramics, silverware, and Flemish tapestries. Guerra Junqueiro was quite the prolific collector. – Frank Moniz
Dressing for Downton came to a close on April 13, 2014 after a five-week sold out run at Spadina Museum: Historic House & Gardens. Our creative director, Nancy, has been a Downton Abbey groupie since she discovered the series during a trip to England in 2010, so she jumped at the chance to volunteer. The exhibit featured 20 costumes from the highly-acclaimed TV drama and a selection of dresses and accessories from the City of Toronto’s collection of the same era. Before visitors were taken to the exhibit (via the servants’ stairs!), display panels offered a glimpse into Spadina Museum’s history, the gift shop tempted them with Downton Abbey and era-themed souvenirs, and her volunteer comrade, Jane, peppered them with Downton Abbey trivia. Following their time on the third floor with the costumes, visitors were taken on a Downton Abbey-themed tour of the Spadina House. The fantastic spin-off from hosting the exhibit at Spadina Museum was the number of first-time visitors it drew from Toronto and beyond. A virtual high five for the city’s heritage.
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- Spadina Museum
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- Mrs. Hughes’s Chatelaine
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- The Downton era in Toronto
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- The Downton era in Toronto
From our visit to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in 2013. Located in Hamilton, Ontario, the museum houses a collection of aircraft flown by Canadians and the Canadian military services from the beginning of World War II to the present.
A must-see on our Berlin trip was Pariser Platz 3, designed by Frank Gehry. A mixed-use building comprised of the DZ Bank and a residential component, its glass-covered inner courtyard was, fortunately, in all its glory under a sunny sky on this particular day.
We visited the museum in 2012, and in July 2014 the museum will reopen with new First World War Galleries and a newly configured atrium. To stand in the old atrium and look up at the suspended aircraft was impressive enough; we’re looking forward to seeing the renovations. The Holocaust Exhibition at the museum is fantastically designed and highly recommended.
