Over my spring break from school my friend, Randi, and I traveled to Paris, France and Barcelona, Spain. We spent 4 days in each city and saw and did too many things to post on this blog. We saw the Mona Lisa and many other paintings in the Louve Museum, The Eiffel Tower, The Notre Dame cathedral, and ate crepes and croissants in Paris.
In Barcelona we relaxed on the beach, we ate paella (which is a typical rice dish), saw a Flamenco dancing show, and saw beautiful and interesting buildings. These are just some of the major things that we did but we also just walked around a lot and explored. I like seeing how people live in other places, not just the big monuments, although the Eiffel tower was pretty amazing!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Spring Break 2010: Paris
Inside of the Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame from the outside
Outdoor market in Paris that sold everything! Including fresh seafood.
Me, my friend Randi, and Clementine, the 2 year old daughter of the family we stayed with in Paris.Monday, April 26, 2010
Family trip to Assisi, Italy
Our Family: Maggie, Martina (8), Mamma Gianna, me, Ellie, Katie, Babbo Paolo, Sara.
The church of Saint Francis
Town and country. Beautiful!
The amazing restaurant where we ate lunch! The meat was grilled on this huge grill fueled by logs about 3 feet long! I got spaghetti and chicken! yum!On Sunday, March 14, 2010, our family piled into the car and drove about an hour to the town of Assisi which is on a hill overlooking the countryside. Assisi is known for its quaint feel and as being the home of St. Francis founder of the Franciscan monk order. We saw many beautiful churches and cute little streets too small for cars to drive down. We ate lunch and walked around and just had the most beautiful and relaxing day.
Monday, April 19, 2010
How a Volcano in Iceland is impacting me
Dear friends,
I am sure that by now you have heard about the volcano erupting in Iceland. Growing up in New Hampshire I didn't think a volcano would ever have a direct effect on my life. Well this one does. The interesting thing is that I have not directly seen any ash or noticed a big dark cloud of ash moving over Italy...but it has managed to interrupt my plans and the plans of my friends and thousands of other people around the world.
The volcano's effects on me and the people around me.
1. My friend Emilie, who also goes to Keene State College, couldn't come visit me from Dublin, Ireland this past weekend.
2. Emilie's friend, Rheanna, who was planning on meeting her here in Florence was without communication and came to Florence expecting to see Emilie but saw me instead when I met her at the train station. I had never met her before so it was nice to make a new friend and show Rheanna around Florence. However, now Rheanna is trying to get back to Paris, where she is studying abroad for the semester and she isn't sure how she will be able to get back because her flight has been canceled.
3. My roommate, Katie, was planning on going to Dublin, Ireland with her friends this weekend and couldn't because of the ash cloud. I was glad to have more company this weekend with her around but I know she was a little disappointed that she couldn't go.
4. My mom was planning on coming to visit me here in Florence this week because it is April vacation for her and she doesn't work. This would have been her first trip to Europe in about 30 years. We were both really excited to see each other and now we have to wait 4 more weeks until I come home to see each other.
5. My housemate, Paige, one of the other girls living with the same host family, was planning on having her parents and her grandparents come visit her and now they cannot come because of the ash. They were all going to travel around Italy for 2 weeks...
6. Another one of my friends is waiting until the end of the week to find out if her parents will be able to come over and see her.
Who knew that a volcano would have such a direct effect on myself and the people around me. But it isn't just the people I know who are being affected, it is thousands of people who had their flights canceled and who are now stuck in some place that isn't exactly where they were intending to be. The reason that this cloud of volcanic ash is so disruptive is because the ash has tiny particles of glass that could get into the engines of the airplanes and clog them but also scratch the windshields of the airplanes so that nothing can be seen.
This cloud of ash is moving south from Iceland to all over the rest of Europe, right now from France to Sweden to Russia. It is like a veil slowly being pulled over all of Europe and it is now headed toward Italy. It wont harm me physically because this is a cloud that is high in the air, but it is disrupting more and more flights and travelers' plans. All airports in Germany, and many other countries, were closed because no flights could take off or land safely. The Airlines are losing an estimated 200 million dollars a day because of this ash cloud. WOW!
Is this volcano affecting you? It is interesting to think about things that are far away that you would never think about...but this volcano, which I didn't know existed before Friday April 16, has affected my life in many ways and I am sure it is affecting people the most who live near it in Iceland.
I am sure that by now you have heard about the volcano erupting in Iceland. Growing up in New Hampshire I didn't think a volcano would ever have a direct effect on my life. Well this one does. The interesting thing is that I have not directly seen any ash or noticed a big dark cloud of ash moving over Italy...but it has managed to interrupt my plans and the plans of my friends and thousands of other people around the world.
The volcano's effects on me and the people around me.
1. My friend Emilie, who also goes to Keene State College, couldn't come visit me from Dublin, Ireland this past weekend.
2. Emilie's friend, Rheanna, who was planning on meeting her here in Florence was without communication and came to Florence expecting to see Emilie but saw me instead when I met her at the train station. I had never met her before so it was nice to make a new friend and show Rheanna around Florence. However, now Rheanna is trying to get back to Paris, where she is studying abroad for the semester and she isn't sure how she will be able to get back because her flight has been canceled.
3. My roommate, Katie, was planning on going to Dublin, Ireland with her friends this weekend and couldn't because of the ash cloud. I was glad to have more company this weekend with her around but I know she was a little disappointed that she couldn't go.
4. My mom was planning on coming to visit me here in Florence this week because it is April vacation for her and she doesn't work. This would have been her first trip to Europe in about 30 years. We were both really excited to see each other and now we have to wait 4 more weeks until I come home to see each other.
5. My housemate, Paige, one of the other girls living with the same host family, was planning on having her parents and her grandparents come visit her and now they cannot come because of the ash. They were all going to travel around Italy for 2 weeks...
6. Another one of my friends is waiting until the end of the week to find out if her parents will be able to come over and see her.
Who knew that a volcano would have such a direct effect on myself and the people around me. But it isn't just the people I know who are being affected, it is thousands of people who had their flights canceled and who are now stuck in some place that isn't exactly where they were intending to be. The reason that this cloud of volcanic ash is so disruptive is because the ash has tiny particles of glass that could get into the engines of the airplanes and clog them but also scratch the windshields of the airplanes so that nothing can be seen.
This cloud of ash is moving south from Iceland to all over the rest of Europe, right now from France to Sweden to Russia. It is like a veil slowly being pulled over all of Europe and it is now headed toward Italy. It wont harm me physically because this is a cloud that is high in the air, but it is disrupting more and more flights and travelers' plans. All airports in Germany, and many other countries, were closed because no flights could take off or land safely. The Airlines are losing an estimated 200 million dollars a day because of this ash cloud. WOW!
Is this volcano affecting you? It is interesting to think about things that are far away that you would never think about...but this volcano, which I didn't know existed before Friday April 16, has affected my life in many ways and I am sure it is affecting people the most who live near it in Iceland.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Mask Painting Workshop
On Friday March 12th I went to a Carnival Mask painting workshop at a professional mask painter's workshop. There were several students from my school that went with me and one of our advisors. We got to choose a mask and then paint it with a base coat of paint. I chose black. Then I brushed gold paint on my mask and hand painted the rest with a brush and a small pointed tube of gold paint. It took me about an hour and a half to finish painting and for my mask to dry. There were many other masks hanging on the walls of the workshop so it was easy to get inspiration but difficult to choose a design at first.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Dear Friends
My dear friends,
I wanted to let you know that I have not forgotten about you, but I have been very busy this week because I had my midterm exams. I did well, I think, and am glad to have them finished. Apart from studying all week I have been preparing for my spring break trip. My friend from school, Randi Brown, and I are going to travel to Paris, France and Barcelona, Spain and stay in each place for 4 nights. I am very excited but also nervous! She and I are in art class together and are excited to see many artsy things and practice our drawing skills.
When I come back I will have pictures to put up of a Mask Painting workshop I attended where I got to go to a professional mask maker's studio shop and paint my own Carnevale mask! I also have many things to tell you about my wonderful day with my host family in Assisi, Italy. It was one of the most beautiful places and we had the most relaxing sunny days. : )
I am going to be in Paris from March 19-March 23 and then in Barcelona from March 23-March 27.
I wanted to let you know that I have not forgotten about you, but I have been very busy this week because I had my midterm exams. I did well, I think, and am glad to have them finished. Apart from studying all week I have been preparing for my spring break trip. My friend from school, Randi Brown, and I are going to travel to Paris, France and Barcelona, Spain and stay in each place for 4 nights. I am very excited but also nervous! She and I are in art class together and are excited to see many artsy things and practice our drawing skills.
When I come back I will have pictures to put up of a Mask Painting workshop I attended where I got to go to a professional mask maker's studio shop and paint my own Carnevale mask! I also have many things to tell you about my wonderful day with my host family in Assisi, Italy. It was one of the most beautiful places and we had the most relaxing sunny days. : )
I am going to be in Paris from March 19-March 23 and then in Barcelona from March 23-March 27.
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