The Palladium Mall

The rest of Mom's visit was enjoyable and having her here helped me to relax. She went on two tours in and out of Prague and met a tourguide she recommended I talk with before I leave. We also went to a restaurant recommended by a couple she had met. They showed up as we were leaving, they were very friendly and cosmopolitan. I especially loved that the wife had a Katherine Hepburn style of talking. Classy.

Mom and I also visited the Charles Bridge together twice and rubbed the one statue for luck. I believe it was the statue of St. Francis, but I can't remember. Naomi came out to eat with us our last night and we enjoyed a full meal. One thing that is sometimes frustrating to me is how slow waiters are, but I believe it's because the Czechs like to enjoy their meals and actually spend a lot of time eating and conversing. During this dinner, Naomi gave me a suggestion that I ended up using for my film (I'm writing this after I became a group of one). I was really glad Naomi and Mom got to meet one another, Naomi's very charming and good to spend time with.

Needless to say, I was sad to see Mom go. I really love spending time with her. It's too bad Dad didn't come along to visit. I think Mom would have urged him to travel to other cities and it could have been just as much about travel as it had been about seeing me.

Anyway, the evening after Mom left, the mall close to our Studio FAMU building was scheduled to open. Given that we had all passed it everyday since we got here in September, we concluded it would be wrong of us to miss the opening. Those of us that were still in town met up for the show. The crowd was overwhelming once we got out of the metro, so we watched the one concert for about twenty minutes before going to Studio to play cards and pre-game.

When it got closer to ten, and some of us (not me, I haven't really been drinking lately) had gotten amply drunker, we headed back to the mall to see the rest of the show. By 9.30, another concert was wrapping up. Dancers kept coming out and flames kept being thrown, etc etc, basically crazy events planned to open this mall. There was even a Ryan Seacrest wannabe hosting the show with a co-host! It was insane how many people were there, our group kept yelling and treating it like New Years, I'm sure we pissed off a fair amount of people.

It's just crazy to see what opening a mall is like in a society that was formerly communist. Capitalism won and it's name is the Palladium Mall. Steve was hell bent on being the first American's in the mall and first ones to get kicked out. I thought we'd have to be pretty appauling to get kicked out, given how many people were there for the opening. It was mega crowded until at least midnight. We did document the first to use the ATM on the 5th level and the first to have shots in the Mayan themed restaurant. Other noteable moments was when four of the guys competed to build the best lego house in the toy store. I started talking with one of the clerks, she made fun of the guys and reminded them that the legos were for children.

All around, an interesting and memorable event.