Happy Accidents

"We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents." -Bob Ross

We had our minds made up. The mission? Zara. when? TODAY.

We've heard about this luxurious, four story haven for far too long and we would go. GPS ready and metro card in hand, we started our trek towards Zara....

We feel pretty confident navigating the metro. We previously went to the beach by way of train so finding Zara was a piece of cake.

Enter metro, wait on train, get on said train. Easy. There we are just choo chooing along when, whoosh, blow right past our stop. We assume they are just working on our platform so we wait for the next stop to turn around. We change platforms going to where we just came from. There we are choo chooing along when, whoosh, again...

Come to realize the whole stop is down for the day and we are devastated... We've got to hoof it. I know you may think, "Girls, just walk to Zara. Its not that big of a deal."

*silent screaming* okkiiieee, YOU WALK 11 MILES A DAY AND TELL ME ITS NO BIG DEAL.

Not very happily we emerge from the metro and walk in the direction of the next bus stop. We weave in and out of precious cobblestone streets and drop pins of restaurants and shops we want to visit.

Suddenly, we look up...

This large sign slaps us in the face. We were immediately drawn in and curios. We followed strategically placed signage into the welcome center and asked the front desk what we had stumped upon.

It was a free gallery featuring an artist named Sylvie Fleury.

Images belong to cited article

Sylvie is a contemporary Swiss artist. She is known for her pop art style, mixed media, sculpture, and installations.

Her art was interesting and had solid reason. It just isn't the style of art that I get excited about. I was more interested in the space her art was displayed in. I felt she used the space to enhance her work and found a harmony that would highlight both her work and the space.

The estate is called Istituto Svizzero and it blew me away...

"Istituto Svizzero enjoys an exceptional location in the heart of the Italian capital, housed in an eclectic style villa built in 1905 by Emilio Maraini, an entrepreneur from Canton Ticino working in the sugar business. The villa and its grounds stand on an artificial hill, a former dump for waste materials, offering a panoramic view of the city from one Rome’s historic districts in the immediate proximity of the Spanish Steps and Villa Borghese."

https://www.istitutosvizzero.it/istituto-svizzero/

The entrance to the home

My favorite room of the home

Ceiling of my favorite room

The gardens are lush and pruned perfectly. I could just imagine sipping AMERICAN coffee in my robe, birds chirping, and strolling around these gardens.

Sometimes I get caught up in a plan or my schedule. Running into this gallery was a precious reminder to roll with what comes my way. I'm in the most beautiful city with history waiting for me around each corner.

*** we made it to Zara