A Raphael Print

When I was 10 years-old, my mother took me to my first auction.  We walked among the beautiful old furniture, antiques and art treasures before the sale and mother marked the items she wanted to bid on.  The excitement and suspense of waiting, bidding, losing and finally winning, instilled in me the love of the hunt.  It is almost (almost!) as good as the purchase itself.

We went home that day with a rocking chair and a Raphael print of his Madonna della Seggiola.  The original was painted in 1513-14 and hangs in the Pitti Palace in Florence.  It hung in our old Midwestern home for many years until I moved to California, and mother gave it to me as a gift.

When I visited Florence, the Number One item on my Must-See List, even above the David, was to see the original Raphael painting, but when I got to the room, breath abated, there was only an empty spot and a tacky sheet of white paper posted in its place:  "Temporarily removed for restoration."

Since then, I've had other disappointments.  Travel, to me, is a way of life, and I've learned to make the best of unpredictable circumstances.  There's far more to the art of travel than what's listed in your guidebook.

"Besides," Mimi reminds me every time we cook pasta under the Madonna's loving gaze, "It's a reason to go back."