"It is the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting."

My journey to some of the greatest architectural wonders of the world was similar to the one undertaken by Paulo Coelho's protagonist in The Alchemist. Sitting in summery Princeton I look back on this summer and I know that I discovered as much about myself as I have learned about architecture.

"He still had a long way to go... and some day this morning would just be a memory."

24"x36" ~ watercolor on paper

From a seat in the ruins of an amphitheater, I sat and watched the breathtaking sunset light up the Athenian Acropolis.

Drawing this took me back to the A'Level Art days, complete with the standard 300-rupee Winsor and Newton paper, watercolor box, wooden board and masking tape.

This was also a way to make an architecture drawing project more interesting because people are important and without them architecture is just background stuff. Here they are one and the same thing. Some detail photographs follow.

Carthusian Monasteries ~ 40"x54" ~ acrylics & ink on paper

My search for the right Fermata del Autobus was successful.

The bus I took left a Florence full of tourists wearing shorts and sneakers, carrying maps, and eating ice cream on sunny pavements. In thirty minutes I arrived at the Certosa del Galluzzo (also called the Certosa di Val d'Ema), a peaceful place made more serene by the fact that no one here spoke English.

I have written more about the monasteries here.