Sometimes You Don't Even Need Fancy Things to Live the Good Life

So there I was, reading the travel issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, enjoying all the fine tales of elite travelers and their fancy perks. Then I hit the second to last paragraph of an article about the Concierge of the Stafford Hotel in London, and I completely lost it:

"Among his most challenging assignments was helping a doctor from Hawaii who was on a quest to see all 35 of Vermeer’s paintings. The doctor had seen 32 of them when he contacted Laino: The next one on his list was in Buckingham Palace. There are semi-private tours of certain rooms in the palace, but the painting was not in any of those. Laino managed to get the client a private viewing of The Music Lesson. Don’t ask him how."

To think that I was able to see that painting on my own (ok, with a little help from my concierges, aka my parents) with determination, attention to detail, and as much stalking as is possible of a dead painter. Sure, I may not have seen The Music Lesson during a private tour of Buckingham Palace, but I got to see it and that's what counts. It's crazy that in just a few months I am going to fulfill this same dream of seeing all of Vermeer's paintings, and all it took was passion, focus, and a little help from my family and friends.