Saturday, March 18, 2006
The Countess arrives in South Beach!
After many flight delays and various travel snafus, I arrived at the Hotel Victor next to the palace. It is a splendid hotel. Check it out: http://www.hotelvictorsouthbeach.com/hotelvictor_1024.html
I settled into the suite and then went next door to the palace looking for Alexis. No one knew where he was and his cell phone was out of commission but Miguel, the bartender, served a good scotch and so I settled in to wait and see what or who would turn up. I got into a conversation with Paul who turned out to be a bellman at my hotel and a fellow New York City lover. There was a lot of hustle and bustle out on Ocean Drive and the whole scene seemed surreal. Especially the fact that I was there in the first place!
I decided to wander down to The Tides to check it out after leaving a message for Mr. Brian on his cell phone. As I'm standing in front of The Tides my phone rings and I hear: Countess, is that you? But I hear it in my ear and in the air. I look up and see Alexis, Ian, Brian, Jesse, and Mark strolling down the sidewalk and all of them grinning like fools. Brian picks me up and swings me around (and that is a testament to how strong he is!). And so we meet in person! It was so wonderful to finally meet face to face.
I told Alexis and Ian that I had written a little story about them in my Live Journal and they wanted to read it; so here it is:
Internet Romance can have a happy ending!
Once upon a time a countess in a palace in Miami sent out carrier pigeons with messages from her tower. These birds found a resting place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the home of the crown prince, Ian.This is not a fairy tale of olden days. This is a fairy tale of modern times.
Ian is a young gay man from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Two years ago he suffered a stroke which paralyzed his right side. He was a dancer, singer, and actor and his life was totally destroyed. You can read his story here: http://mundodeian.blogspot.com/ He is much more eloquent than I.
Suffice to say that Ian is an exceptional person who has worked hard to overcome the tragic circumstances that befell him. Part of his attempt to bring some sanity into his life was the creation of his English Blog. Little did he know how many people he would meet through this journal and how his life would change so dramatically because of it.
Meanwhile in South Beach, Miami, Alexis had created a blog to pass the time and record some of his adventures in the New York society world of the 70's and 80's. The world of Studio 54 and Andy Warhol, fabulous drag queens, Kitty Carlysle, and other icons of the era. Alexis knew them all and partied with them all. He took his camera with him everywhere and accumulated a library of photographic recollections of fabulous parties and fabulous people. You can check out his blog here: http://themrsastor.blogspot.com/
Alexis found Ian's blog just like most of us do these things. You click on one site and find an interesting comment and click on that site, etc. After reading Ian's chronicle of his struggle to overcome his stroke, Alexis wrote a comment in his blog just about one year ago. One thing led to another and over the course of several months, these two unlikely souls fell in love and decided to marry.
This wedding will take place at The Palace, 1200 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, on Saturday, March 18th. I am privileged to be their friend and to be attending this wedding. It is really a modern fairy tale.
I settled into the suite and then went next door to the palace looking for Alexis. No one knew where he was and his cell phone was out of commission but Miguel, the bartender, served a good scotch and so I settled in to wait and see what or who would turn up. I got into a conversation with Paul who turned out to be a bellman at my hotel and a fellow New York City lover. There was a lot of hustle and bustle out on Ocean Drive and the whole scene seemed surreal. Especially the fact that I was there in the first place!
I decided to wander down to The Tides to check it out after leaving a message for Mr. Brian on his cell phone. As I'm standing in front of The Tides my phone rings and I hear: Countess, is that you? But I hear it in my ear and in the air. I look up and see Alexis, Ian, Brian, Jesse, and Mark strolling down the sidewalk and all of them grinning like fools. Brian picks me up and swings me around (and that is a testament to how strong he is!). And so we meet in person! It was so wonderful to finally meet face to face.
I told Alexis and Ian that I had written a little story about them in my Live Journal and they wanted to read it; so here it is:
Internet Romance can have a happy ending!
Once upon a time a countess in a palace in Miami sent out carrier pigeons with messages from her tower. These birds found a resting place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the home of the crown prince, Ian.This is not a fairy tale of olden days. This is a fairy tale of modern times.
Ian is a young gay man from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Two years ago he suffered a stroke which paralyzed his right side. He was a dancer, singer, and actor and his life was totally destroyed. You can read his story here: http://mundodeian.blogspot.com/ He is much more eloquent than I.
Suffice to say that Ian is an exceptional person who has worked hard to overcome the tragic circumstances that befell him. Part of his attempt to bring some sanity into his life was the creation of his English Blog. Little did he know how many people he would meet through this journal and how his life would change so dramatically because of it.
Meanwhile in South Beach, Miami, Alexis had created a blog to pass the time and record some of his adventures in the New York society world of the 70's and 80's. The world of Studio 54 and Andy Warhol, fabulous drag queens, Kitty Carlysle, and other icons of the era. Alexis knew them all and partied with them all. He took his camera with him everywhere and accumulated a library of photographic recollections of fabulous parties and fabulous people. You can check out his blog here: http://themrsastor.blogspot.com/
Alexis found Ian's blog just like most of us do these things. You click on one site and find an interesting comment and click on that site, etc. After reading Ian's chronicle of his struggle to overcome his stroke, Alexis wrote a comment in his blog just about one year ago. One thing led to another and over the course of several months, these two unlikely souls fell in love and decided to marry.
This wedding will take place at The Palace, 1200 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, on Saturday, March 18th. I am privileged to be their friend and to be attending this wedding. It is really a modern fairy tale.
Countess Bedelia 3/18/2006 09:59:00 AM