DC Embassy Weekend – EU Open House with Passport DC

July 9, 2025July 7, 2025 MstldelanoLeave a comment

I mentioned Passport DC and the DC Embassy Weekends in a previous post (I attended the Around the World Embassy Tour event during the first weekend of May 2024). However, this post will share the fun I had during the EU Open House Weekend in 2024. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the embassies this year, but I’m so glad I will be able to attend next year!

During EU Open House Weekend, a few friends and I toured the Embassies of Luxembourg, Estonia, Latvia, and Croatia. We ended the afternoon with a meal at Mad Hatter, a cute bar with lots of Alice in Wonderland-themed artwork.

Each embassy had some amazing things to offer. Luxembourg had delicious beverages and fantastic tins of cookies that they gave away to visitors. I was also fascinated by their history with roses: as it turns out, they were once known as the Rose Country for quite a few years, and these exquisite blooms were often sent out as decorations to royal and presidential gardens.

Luxembourg explains their rose tradition

Perfect place settings at the Luxembourgish Embassy

Estonia was quite a treat: along with candies and beautiful modern decor within the embassy, they provided excellent information in flyers about this Baltic country. I was fascinated by the research that was published through Estonian universities, and the information provided made me eager to visit.

More exquisite art at the Estonian Embassy

The Latvian Embassy not only had dancers in the front, but they also had one of the most gorgeous tile floors of all of the Embassies we toured (I know that’s random, but I love decor). The mix of traditional and modern touches made Latvia a very special embassy to tour, and I can’t wait to either visit again, or go to the country in person.

Beautiful dining space at the Latvian Embassy

Beautiful oil painting in the stairwell of the Latvian Embassy

(From left to right) Flag of Latvia, Flag of the European Union, and Flag of the USA

As it turned out, a couple of non-EU embassies were open on this day as well. We were able to visit one of my all time favorites, the Embassy of Haiti, where a number of Haitian vendors were selling Mother’s Day gifts (this holiday was one day after the embassy events). I tried Askanya chocolates, bought some perfume, and just had an all-around great time viewing the Haitian Embassy again.

The Haitian art gallery is my favorite embassy feature

Glorious metalwork on the exterior of the Haitian Embassy

Our last stop on our EU “tour” was the Croatian Embassy, which had several beverages to try, wonderful art, and a fantastic setup for taking pictures. I was very excited to hear that Croatian cuisine heavily features seafood: as a traveler that often has to alter her diet in order to accommodate local food availability, I love that one of my favorite food options is readily available in Croatia.

The perfect space for taking a photo at the Croatian Embassy

Ending our day with the embassies at Mad Hatter was great! The food was solid, but the artwork really enhanced the overall experience. I couldn’t get enough of the Alice in Wonderland pictures and paintings.

Poster of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland

Artwork from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland

That’s a quick roundup of the Passport DC EU Open House Weekend. I can’t wait to return next year and make my rounds at some of the embassies that I missed in 2024!

culture · festivals · international · life curation · music · travel

My Time in Portugal, Part 2 – Rock In Rio Lisboa

August 9, 2022July 31, 2022 Mstldelano1 Comment

In the middle of my time in Lisboa, I got to attend the Rock in Rio Lisboa concert. The event was held at Parque da Bela Vista on June 25th. This major music festival featured Bush, A-ha, UB40, and Duran Duran, along with numerous other artists from around the world (including the one and only Ney Matogrosso).

It. Was. AWESOME!

I wish I could have taken you all there with me. But, then again, given the size of the festival, maybe you were there 🙂 Here are some of the pics from the event. Enjoy!

festivals · travel

Throwback Thursday Travel: Texas and Louisiana

June 18, 2020June 17, 2020 MstldelanoLeave a comment

Back in 2013, I took my first trip to Texas. I visited my former in-laws nearby Houston, and then we went to Crowley, LA for the Rice Festival. I wish I had taken more photos, but I never knew that I’d be adding these photos to a blog post one day. I also didn’t know that I would be divorced and traveling to Texas would no longer be a normal occurrence. However, the time was fun, and I look back fondly on this trip. I’m happy to share the photos that I have. Enjoy!

festivals

Vive La Festival!

July 2, 2018June 30, 2018 MstldelanoLeave a comment

This is my favorite time of year, because when it’s hot, people want to get outside and do fun things. That being said, I’m eager to check out the festivals occurring in Virginia and Washington, DC over the next several weeks.

I’m narrowing down my list of festival possibilities based on when I’ll be out of town and when I’ll have enough time and energy to attend. Surprisingly, the festival that is currently ranking highest on my “must do” list is the Virginia State Peach Festival. I’m usually not a huge fan of produce festivals (heat + sweet fruits = lots of insects) but I adore peaches and the opportunity to try freshly grown, local peaches is too tempting to pass up.

peach

Mmm, peaches

The only downside is that the event occurs on Friday, August 17, in southwest Virginia, which means I’d have to take time off from work in order to attend (it’s a substantial drive from my home to Stuart, VA). But who knows – maybe things will come together in my favor. I’m open to all of the possibilities!

I’m also thinking about the Seawall Art Show in Portsmouth, VA. The drive is a lot shorter, and the event occurs on the weekend (August 25 and 26). I haven’t been to an art show in years, so I’m sure I’d enjoy it. It’s very likely I’ll attend this event, and if I go, you all know that I will share info about it here on this blog.

art2

I’m excited to check out the art in Portsmouth

There are two festivals in Richmond that I may check out – but they occur on the same weekend. The Filipino Festival (August 10 and 11) and the Richmond Jazz Festival (August 9 – 12) are two very different events but will give a fresh injection of culture into Richmond for the weekend. Who knows – maybe I’ll be able to check out both events!

jazz

Richmond Jazz Fest is coming up soon!

Any upcoming cool festivals where you are? Let me know in the comments below!

art

New Exhibitions Coming to Washington DC

May 31, 2018May 26, 2018 MstldelanoLeave a comment

museum

Happy Thursday, friends! Before we welcome the month of June, I thought you all might enjoy a list of some of the exhibitions coming to DC during the month. Have fun planning your museum trips! I know that I will.

portugal

Second Nature: Portuguese Contemporary Art from the EDP Foundation Collection

Kreeger Museum, June 5 – July 31, 2018: The art for this exhibit is coming from the Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology (MAAT) in Lisbon. This museum is fairly new: it opened to the public in October 2016. This is a special exhibition because it is the first group exhibition of 21st century Portuguese art of the 21st century to be presented in the United States.

vmfa_Faberge_700x700-700x700

Fabergé piece on display at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Fabergé Rediscovered

Hillwood Estate, Museum and Garden, June 9, 2018 – January 13, 2019: As a lover of all things bejeweled and antique, Peter Carl Fabergé’s work is an eternal fave. So I won’t miss this exhibition at Hillwood Estate, Museum and Garden in DC. Fortunately, this exhibit will be here for several months, so if you can’t make it this summer, you have until early 2019 to visit and check it out.

daguerre

Daguerrotype of Louis Daguerre, one of the fathers of photography

Daguerreotypes: Five Decades of Collecting

National Portrait Gallery, June 15, 2018 – June 2, 2019: The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) will be exhibiting daguerrotypes collected over 50 years. This early form of photography was the predecessor to photography as we know it today. The collection has some very famous faces, like P. T. Barnum and Matthew C. Perry, within it. The museum is celebrating it’s golden anniversary this year, so you can bet that there will be a lot of great exhibits throughout the year.

folkart

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

National Mall, June 27 – July 1, 2018; July 4 – 8, 2018

June ends on a strong note with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. This year’s festival will highlight Armenia, Catalonia and the Sisterfire Concerts. It’s technically not an art exhibition, but if you’re in the area, you can’t miss the festival. This is always a great opportunity to take in international culture over several days.