I’m down to two remaining days in Venice. Between finishing the last of my final essays, packing, saying goodbyes, Closing Ceremony, making some last-minute visits, and getting logistics worked for the summer, I’ve been playing the following songs on repeat to get me through this period of a million different emotions:

• Fleetwood Mac: “Gypsy”
• Train: “Drops of Jupiter”
• Goo Goo Dolls: “Still Your Song”
• Joy Williams: “Charmed Life”
• Beyonce: “Irreplaceable”
• Owl City: “If My Heart Was a House”
• Karmin: “Brokenhearted”
• Black Eyed Peas: “Party All the Time”
• Private: “My Secret Lover (Diplo Remix)”
• Phil Collins: “You’ll Be In My Heart”

A big thank you to Marcello Masiero for letting Melanie and I model for him this past weekend around Venice, and in the process, taking us on a unique tour of the island city, off the beaten path, naturally with food stops along the way.

Dress & belt: Zara. Sandals: custom from Capri, Italy.

“I think the only arenas where I’ve made clear choices to sacrifice for the greater good have been as a parent and as a leader.  Every day, good parents put their own comfort, convenience and preferences aside in order to create a better life for their children.  From the big things like forgoing current pleasures to save for college, to the day-to-day choices to spend time loving and teaching and listening to your kids when you’d rather be doing something else, parenting often involves a good deal of self-sacrifice.

Truly good leaders make some of the same choices.  They do things that are personally uncomfortable or even risky for the good of the enterprise, or to protect the people who follow them. They may take a pay cut to avoid lay-offs in lean times; they may share bad news when they just want to avoid the conversation; they may apologize for a mistake so someone else doesn’t get blamed. And they sometimes make choices they know will put an extra burden on them – emotionally or in terms of time and energy – in order to benefit their followers or their customers. And most important, they make ethical choices that may not be comfortable or lucrative – but are the right thing to do.

And why is this good?  I believe that when we consciously put aside our own ease, benefit or preference for a greater good, it exercises a kind of ‘moral muscle’ in us. It strengthens us by showing us that we are not simply selfish, hedonistic creatures; that we can make a determination about what is right and what is important to us, and act accordingly.  And it creates stronger bonds of trust and mutual respect between us and other human beings, reminding us that living on this planet is a group endeavor; that none of us can survive alone.”

—Erika Andersen, for Forbes

The Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, understated in design but definitely not understated in collection. Taken from today’s little field trip.

I’ve accumulated such a significant amount of Swiss-Alps-from-the-plane pictures it’s almost as if I visited. Until next time.

Having walked in the Mucha Museum in Nové Město knowing little about Art Nouveau (and much less about Alfons Mucha), I was pleasantly surprised by what turned out to be a fantastic decision on a last stop in Prague. The level of detail, design, color, and lines in every piece was captivating in the sense that you find yourself staring off into the distance in the illustration to inspect these little things before you can even consider it as a whole. That’s how I felt when I came across Mucha’s series of Fours—Four Times of Day, Four Seasons, Four Flowers (above), namely the “Rose” (last). The straight-on stare-down, the halo of flowers, muted pastels, and the elegant collar on the otherwise simple white gown that brings out not just the flower it is titled after, but the personality of it too. The most magical part of it all, however, is finding a postcard sized version of the “Rose” in duty-free at the Prague Airport (of all places!) after scouring the Mucha gift shop, souvenir shops, and street vendors the night before looking for the replica. 

Travel suggestion: head to the Mucha a little before closing (17-18:00) when it’s relatively calm. Give yourself a hour or two—It isn’t a large museum, just one level. Afterwards, walk or take the metro to Café Louvre on Národní for a sip of Czech culture.

“I have not discovered much but at least I am now convinced that Tangier is a place where the past and the present exist simultaneously in proportionate degree, where a very much alive today is given an added depth of reality by the presence of an equally alive yesterday.”

—Paul Bowles, quoted.

I can’t stop staring at pictures of Morocco. I want to go back, Italy is looking like it’s lacking color to me now.

So that happened this weekend on the exciting and culturally eye-opening trip I’ve been on thus far. Already counting down to my next visit to this beautiful country. Photos: Tanger, Morocco, courtesy of Melanie C.

The ladies from mom’s side. Happy Mother’s Day.

As much as I love traveling all over Europe, some of my favorite moments abroad are taking trains out to nearby Italian cities and towns and spending the day exploring the area. I’ve found that the smaller cities are often less touristy and more quintessentially Italian. This past weekend in Padova, a city 40 km west of Venice, provided the respite needed from a tourist-crowded Venice and trans-E.U. flights. Some of my favorite moments: 1. delicious baci (nocciola and chocolate) and caffè gelato from Pretto, 2. the adorable little message on the soles of a pair of ballet flats (translation: “I’m happy to stay at your feet, take me walking!”), 3. pink lilac roses from the flower market that came very close to coming back with me on the train to Venice, 4. a star-filled ceiling at the Basilica of St. Anthony, a beautiful church in the center of Padova that is well worth visiting…and revisiting.

When I think about the cities I was fortunate enough to have visited thus far and the experiences, sights, culture I bore witness to, this list actually really humbles me because, as always, there are still more hidden gems all around the world, waiting to be discovered. While some cities on this list are self-explanatory (London, Florence, Tokyo), there are some places that I either didn’t immediately recognize (Mogashan, China) or that I couldn’t ever guess would be a “Place to Go to” (Oakland, CA?). The NYT Travel section has an odd way of constantly reminding me that the most beautiful places can be hidden in the most unlikely places.