utter ecstasy at the two hour mark spent wandering the halls of the reina sofia gallery…bliss!

i experienced some sort of epiphany-with-a-twist in between my museum-viewing afternoon yesterday. whenever traveling i always like to check out a city’s botanical gardens to really understand the spirit of a place, you know, flora and fauna background etc. after a few minutes in the sunshine i noticed a black cat appear out of nowhere. so i start photographing it and then, after several minutes, i then put my camera away and observe two cats suddenly appear from another direction, posing beside a sign indicating a particular botanical breed from – wait for it – australia! interpreting it as some sort of omen, i savor the moment and then head towards the exit. as i’m leaving i tell this older gentleman who is pruning the trees that i just saw the black cats. he looks at me like i am nuts and responds “there are no cats here.”

forty eight rooms spanning three floors from a gazillionaires collection with everything from kirchner’s to lichtenstein’s, a handful of bacon’s, dali, cezanne, matisse and a myriad of others. no photos allowed unfortunately but i played dumb and snuck in this shot of the famed collector couple on my way outta the building. for more info check it HERE

witnessing ryan mcginness’ work at studio franchise in madrid last night made me feel mega proud. i’ve known ryan since my early colette days and over the years have become friends with him and his wife, trish. importantly, ryan’s work has come such a long way, a fine example of an artist in flight of true evolution. and because i’m a believer in the ‘behind every great man is a great woman’ theory, i’m posting a pic of trish taken just a few hours ago, on a wonderful sunny afternoon in this fantastic spanish capital. greatness in effect.

witnessing ryan mcginness’ work at studio franchise in madrid last night made me feel mega proud. i’ve known ryan since my early colette days and over the years have become friends with him and his very cool wife, trish. importantly, ryan’s work has come such a long way even in the last few years, a true evolution of an artist. and because i’m a great believer in the ‘behind every great man is a great woman’ theory, i’m posting a pic of trish taken just a few hours ago, on a wonderful sunny afternoon. greatness in effect.

because there is nothing quite like rolling into your hotel at 9am after a big night out in madrid. especially if its with
ALISSA