KAITLYN ANN

Sketches

2009-08-31T14:06:00.000-07:00

Assignment Grand Tour Experience

2009-08-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

Italy. This is a country that can be expressed through its past times, architecture, and most of all loveliness. Fast paced, appealing language, intense heat, and beautiful flowers fill the lives of Italians daily and slowly became a part of mine as my time was spent there. The unique features of fountains, sculptures, and buildings expanded my learning and cultural experience by the effortless work each artists performs. The splendor of Italy can only be described by the history of the architecture that still remains. The places I saw represented what will continue to teach those the past of this country. As for the future, it will continue to be an inspiration towards upcoming design and architecture. Beauty is immersed through everything Italia has to offer, either through its scenic aspect or just the aurora it portrays.

France. This country offers the taste of fine pastries, present architecture extremities, and snooty luxury. It includes modern design intertwined with historical monuments creating a new way of expression: some hateful, some well done. The architecture reaches new limits with an artsy taste, yet still keeping the old in a continuous flow among everything else. The classy taste of each palace shows where their country stands and the beauty that lies within each exterior and interior. Gardens show the softer side of the country and the magnificent gem that is within. The French attitude can be considered to be more upfront easily relatable to the feel of New York. It is a perfect blend of poise and history.

England. This lush place is a perfect combination of city with countryside. It's filled with greenery, british accents, theatres, and culture. Its history has no end and is exemplified through many houses and palaces throughout each city. It includes iconic representations of the country’s personality through their architecture. Ornate details are shown throughout each piece of construction. The many free museums offer a great informational aspect that can be done leisurely. The weather would not be considered the most appealing aspect, rainy and cold is never a good mix. The sophistication of the population and structural design create an overall at ease feeling.

August 4th- Bonvage.

2009-08-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

Sadly this is last day of my 5 week journey through Italy, France, and now London. This is a bittersweet moment, I feel I have done my duties here but I have loved it so much. We ended our tours with Buckingham Palace. After having been on many tours throughout each place I have come to like an audio guide tour. They are informational, leisurely, and great. I knew nothing about Buckingham before going only that the Queen lives there. The architecture inside is amazing, it was done by John Nash. The ceilings were decorated with plaster and gold overlay. The cool part was that in one of the rooms there is a secret door where the Queen can come through. A palace isn't a palace without a secret door. I also learned that it was originally a house until with the help of Nash as an architect it was made into a palace. The staircase was really beautiful and it cost the money to show for it. We also went through a portion of the house where they had display cases of the dresses of the Queen. I thought it was really neat to see the different designs according to the commonwealth they were a part of. The colors of certain dresses related to the different countries she frequently visited. I also never knew that she was twenty six when she became Queen, very young yet classy. I thought it was a good opportunity to go here, I thought it was really pretty on the interior. It's weird we were in the same premises of the Queen, I wish I could say that I saw her. After seeing the greatness of what Buckingham had to offer, Lindsey and me went to hummingbird bakery. The cutest little bakery that is right by our flat. We indulged ourselves in a black bottom and red velvet cupcake. Only downside is that to eat in you must pay extra ha who would have thought that? We sure didn't, good thing for spare change right?Notice the orb, deemed as baby ghost. It's always by me I'm cursed. Nachos-a great lunch This day was summed up with a good clean of the flat and the packing of bags. We also had to have a farewell dinner to the great city of London. We went to Gourmet Burger Kitchen again as we ate deliciousness. Farewell London I did fancy my time I spent here, I hope to return one day.As a final goodbye we decided to make a small tribute to the less fortunate. Everyday we would walk past a man that sat outside the Tesco with his two dogs. There wasn't once that I didn't wonder how they all three survived and what he mumbled every time we passed. As a good deed we decided to offer up our change to him which he gladly accepted and let us pet his cute cute dogs. From now on we realized that he asked for spare change which is now obvious, it was well worth giving up my last few pence. Although he was smokin a cig, I don't care what he decides to spend that money on. As we were here we did notice he got a clean cut and shaved the beard. Good for him.
Lindsey and me locked out. No one wants to walk down seven flights of stairs and then back up to let us in. I don't blame them

August 3rd- Neck Injuries Advise

2009-08-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

Staines, England. To what this very city means to me is a very thrilling amusement park. Not to be mistaken as the size of six flags, but it can hold it's own. I would compare it to the size of Lagoon maybe bigger, but the rides are much much better. Despite the fact that their version of the rocket is probably half of ours. The first ride we went on was the best, it is called Stealth. It goes 0-80 in two seconds, it's Europe's fastest rollercoaster. I think I could continue going on this all day if the lines weren't so bad. We went on the new Saw ride, it looks very scary as you wait in line. Each ride was very well themed and decorated accordingly. As we got in the ride of Saw they had a lot of things from the movie, the first drop it looks like you are going to run into a saw and then you drop and come out. As for me I couldn't handle this ride, I would say it gave an insta headache since my head kept swinging from side to side with no support from the neck. I have never really been on a rollercoaster that has lots of twisty parts where you twist all the way around. This is definitely not good on the head, no wonder why they clearly advise those with neck problems. The ride that was fun, but gave the brain a shake was Colossus. Not to be confused with Lagoon's, the ride is much longer and includes a lot of twists and turns. We got to enjoy many ride throughout the day such as Nemesis Inferno, The Slammer, a much anticipated disappointing "rapid" river, and the great little Teacups. We had a great day at the park, it was fun to get out of the tours. We were lucky and didn't get rained on with a seventy percent chance, I would say it was the perfect day to go. The park was also surrounded by a lake which I thought was interesting I liked it though it kept us cool throughout the day. This was an overall successful trip minus the disappointing burger from Burger King inside the park. We were able to do Stealth twice which made my day, sadly we will probably never be able to return but I give props towards Thorpe. Also towards the 2 liter of DP we bought to get half priced tickets, this makes you feel like you got a great deal.

Excitement factor beforeDisappointment after

August 2nd- A great day for a Sundee

2009-08-04T06:52:00.000-07:00

Rounding our last weekend here, we had to spend our Sunday visiting the great Hyde Park Ward since they so graciously welcomed us last week. We decided to go to the family ward this time because it was earlier. We were all spiritually uplifted by the great fast and testimony meeting they had. After returning back to our two week humble abode we took the best nap ever, to prepare ourselves for a day of homework. That night, Ashley made us a great dinner as we tried to help but the kitchen is too small to make that happen. We have mastered or I should say Ash has mastered not having a stove top and using just the oven to cook. It gets a little tricky when you have to cook noodles, they just don't turn out the same. This night ended with a great feast and a joyful night talking with our other flatmates as they would call it here.

August 1st- A day consisting of three things

2009-08-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

Three day free weekend could not have gotten any better. I took today as my leisure day, basically I did the same thing I have done every free day. I slept, ate, sketched. The highlight of the day was going to the Gourmet Burger Kitchen. I have never had a hamburger that has tasted so well. Unfortunately I opted out on going to Lion King, a decision I regretted when I realized I hadn't moved from my bed until about nine o clock. I have learned that next time when I think not to go, I should go.Avocado Bacon. Food=Happiness Trying to attempt the "I'm a Jerk" video backward jig.

July 31st- Best for Last

2009-08-01T04:21:00.000-07:00

Today we started at Haddon Hall located in Derbyshire, England. It is a medieval manor house that dates back to the 12th century. In the kitchen, the work surfaces were made out of oak. There was a giant stump used for a chopping block. The dining area had a long table that on the top it looked in decent conditon, but if you were to look underneath you could see all the dents from knives, etc. They have two sides to the table and when they are done eating they flip over the worn down side to make it look decent. Our tour guide also explained that they used to eat peacock and to do this they would mince up all the meat and keep the skin of the bird to put over it and then use the feathers to make them fan out for the presentation aspect. I love peacocks, this story was not okay with me. The gardens outside were small, but they were pretty. You could over look a large part of the countryside where everything is so green and lush. The next greatest thing to this place is a nice enjoyed meal of scones and clotted cream. This is a scone that really tastes like a biscuit and like whipped butter/cream with jam on the side. I'm definitely a fan of this and will miss it when I go home.After Haddon Hall just neighboring it was our next destination, Chatsworth. I have always been so excited to see this, I had to research this place as my topic for an assignment. This is also the place where they filmed a lot of Pride and Prejudice. The gardens are 105 acres which is extremely large. They were different from the others I have seen, I feel like they were a lot more interactive. They had a maze to go through and since I haven't gone in one we decided to give it a try. It would have been a lot better experience if it wasn't muddy everywhere and if we could have found the middle where a sculpture was. We found a place that was filled with different shapes rocks and we layed there for a bit enjoying the great scenery around us. There were these cute little boys playing on them and they kept chanting "I'm the king of the castle, your a dirty rascal" ha it's funny how different there sayings are from ours. It was really cute said in a little boy british accent. After the gardens we went inside to see the house, I will definitely say this was my favorite house so far. I feel like it was different from the others, they used tons of wood on the interiors. All the wood had really ornate carvings in them which is awesome to see the skill people had with few tools. I am really happy they saved this house for last because it was my favorite so far. If I ever came back to England I would love to visit this again.This awkward statue is Everywhere... Never should be repeated ha There were many of these adorable little boysAli was too afraid to make this leap on her own. Ha I helped her through it

July 30th- Broadway Day

2009-07-31T13:15:00.000-07:00

Today we had the option of going to Bath or having a free day to do what we please. It's obvious as to what my decision was since the week has been full of very long days. We decided that we would sleep in and go to a Broadway that night. We only have had a few more days left in London so we had to at least experience the entertainment aspect of this city.I am surprisingly not Broadways biggest fan, but I knew coming here I would at least have to see one. Billy Elliot was a show a lot of our group members suggested we should see. After purchasing a deal for obstructed seat tickets I was ready to go. Even though I couldn't see the right side of the stage or their feet, I liked it. It was a really entertaining show, it was funny along with some amusing dancing. Although it was three hours, I am really glad that I went. It was a good show to see, there was a little boy in it that was adorable. Billy was a good dancer and singer for how old he looked and probably was. The story line is based on the like a depression era where his family is on strike and Billy doesn't want to do boxing like others and he just wants to dance ha. His teacher discovers his talent and then he tries out for a ballet school. It had a great story behind it, and it was a good ending to a night. It was also funny to know that the f word to them isn't a swear word. This was definitely used every sentence I had to become numb to it. Also I would never think the actors would smoke real cigs on stage. Since we were in the front row it was all I could smell. Not cool.

July 29th- Rain Rain Go Away

2009-07-29T12:36:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Burghley House. Upon pulling up the first thing I spotted were deer outside on the grass walking in a herd. Since I have been gone, I have definitely been missing being able to pet and squish Lil Will and Rusty. I immediately ran over to the deer to see if they would allow me to pet them. The only way we could get them to come near enough for a pet was to give them a little treat. You could tell they were scared, but one in particular warmed up to us and let us pet him. They were so cute, I never knew that their antlers has fur on them and they were soft.This, besides the great palace in the background was the highlight of my day. I have pet a deer once before, but that's only because it was sick. I enjoyed having them all around me and loved how they weren't completely shy, running away like usual.As we entered into the house we started in the kitchen. It was huge, it was filled with all kinds of pans and different ovens. The thing I thought was funny was that they had tons of different molding dishes for food. Their teeth were so bad that had to mince up all their food and to make it look pleasant by putting it in a mold to shape it. The hallway through each room was really open, I liked that you could see a little of each room just by looking down. The paintings in the dining room were amazing they had a lot of detail and made objects look 3-D. We were able to see the rooms that were filmed in some of the movies done at the Burghley House.The movies that house is in is Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Da Vinci Code. I definitely want to watch these when I get home so I can recognize the places where they are.After seeing the house, we went into the town of Stamford not be confused with Stanford as so I thought. This would have been a lot more enjoyable to walk around if it was not pouring rain. It is supposed to rain here until August 15th. What a forecast right? As for now I hope it gets better, I can handle a little but this is too much to enjoy what we are seeing through an umbrella. We had an hour and a half of free time, which basically meant get off the bus and get soaking wet. I will not be pessimistic about this, ha I did enjoy that while I was in the rain I was in the UK. I also got a great pastery to make up for this. The town reminded me of Oxford and Cambridge, they are all so little and have the exact same feel. It would be a lot of fun going to school in places like these, they also have great shopping which is always a plus. After taking the train ride back home we decided to go to the Harry Potter craze of Platform 9 3/4. I did expect something different location wise, but it was really awesome to see. After seeing the movie, my excitement level for this platform went up ten notches.

July 28th-Secret Garden delight

2009-07-28T14:21:00.000-07:00

The Blenheim Palace. After waking up for what seemed like ten minutes that I slept, our "sleep in" day started at 7:50. Train rides are becoming something that I look forward to on the way to our destination, I realize that at least I can get in another hour of sleep although it will not be a comfortable one. The highlight on the way to the palace was the what we rode in, first Double Decker I have been on. We landed back of the bus where five seats fit the fab five perfectly. At times I did feel like I was going to tip over but overall it was a great first experience. The gate that greeted us was huge black and gold, as we made our way in we treked to the palace. The outside was pretty, I didn't expect to walk in and walk out into a courtyard where the palace was on the left usually it is just straight ahead.As we walked in to get our tour started, we made the mistake my taking the tour that gives "history" of the house. What we didn't know was that it was filled with manikins talking and video clips where the doors shut automatically and basically trap you in to listen to each thing. This was a wasted 40 minutes of what could have been used looking at least at the architecture of the house. As we were stuck in this room, we could see our other classmates playing on the beautiful green lawn. As soon as we got out of the trapping doors we made our way to the gardens. The back lawn goes on for miles, it was like a huge golf course. The intriguing part was the sign that said secret garden. We made our way to see what this had to offer. It was a peaceful little garden filled with trees, tons of plants and flowers. The best part was the gazebo, something that I have always loved. I did expect something secret about this garden, but to my disappointment nothing happened. But it was beautiful. We went back inside to see the actual house. We walked through the dining room and other areas mainly the birthing room of Winston Churchill, who is the cousin of the Duke. I learned that the palace only took 28 years to make, which is incredible for everything they accomplish.Since the rest of the day was our free time to spend in Oxford we decided to go into town. It reminded me a lot of Cambridge, just like a college city. We were in search of an Oxford sweatshirt and found many, I still have regrets that I didn't purchase one. After being starving for hours we found a small crepery where I got the best chicken and cheddar delight. Although it was a short day, it was enough to wear us out.We have all been sharing a room for the past week and it has been filled with some great times and some great laughs. It also has been filled with one very noisy bunk bed. Until today I did not realize how much it would suck to climb up and down from this each time. I feel bad for Ash, I told her I would offer up my bed with me but due to the fact that she hates to snuggle this just doesn't work out. We had a joyful time on that bed today as you can tell.

July 27th- Wilton, Salisbury, Stonehenge

2009-07-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Wilton House. The home of now Earl the 18th of Pembroke, who is very smashing as they would say. It's weird knowing that he currently is living there and we are taking tours of the grounds. I loved how we were reminded of who was living here by the modern photos of him and his sisters. Two of which could be identified as boys if you only glanced at the photo. The inside paintings were tons of Van Dyck which was neat to see. The best part was not only the free treats at the end consisting of pasteries and lemonade, but the gardens were beautiful outside. The grass is sooo green here, I love it. There is a small bridge out back that was done by the same person who did the Rialto Bridge in Venice. I loved being able to tell the similarities between everything we have seen.Salisbury Cathedral is where we spent most of the afternoon. We were able to take a grand tour around the church and then go up into the rafters and see how it was built. We also got to look out at the city from the tower. We were also able to see the Magna Carta, which was cool especially for the perfect penmanship. When we were learning about the building of this church I couldn't believe how far they traveled to get the stone they needed. I will never understand how they build the things they do. I found it interesting that they built the first half and put a roof over it so they could hold their sermon while construction was still in process. It also surprised me that they used to separate even in the church by a huge screen according to social classes blocking the frontal east view for the peasants. It was a really cool that what they used for materials have lasted seven centuries and are still holding strong. I did at times feel like the floor beneath me was going to fall down eighty two feet, but it held up. We were up right next to the bell when it started going off, although very loud it was cool to see it happening. I loved that our tour guide being in church swore the entire time through the tour. He was a real treat. I also learned that this church hold the Guinness World record for the tallest spier in the UK.The best part about today was going to Stonehenge. Who would have though a bunch of rocks randomly placed would become so well known? Ha it was really cool being able to see it. It was in the countryside, which I like because then it's easier to focus on just that and not a city around it. This is how I picture most famous sites, I don't know why but I imagine them to be sitting alone on a hill for people just to admire. I didn't really know much about it before going. I never knew that it was used as a sun dial to tell the different months. There are also a lot of myths about how it got there, I sure hope the alien one isn't true. I wish I could have seen it when all the stones were there and set up. I always thought that you could go walk through it and see what it was all about, but you have to stay behind the ropes to look. I enjoyed coming here, it was a great day in Salisbury.

July 26th- A Little Piece of Home

2009-07-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

Today is the first time in weeks we have been able to go to church. It was an exciting day, I was not liking the feeling of my inactivity because of this trip. It didn't start until two thirty so we geared up all day for this. The church was cool inside, it had a modern flair to it, which you are never used to seeing. I enjoyed this sacrament meeting despite the fact it was so hot inside. There were three talks followed by words of the Quorum of the Seventy. The British accents were a treat throughout each meeting and I also enjoyed the fact that I got a Bounty bar out of this. A Bounty bar is the great goodness of an almond joy minus the almonds.The one thing about home that I miss is a great sunday dinner. We accomplished this here by improvising what we had to make chicken parmesan. Without a stove top that works things aren't as easy, we resort to having to cook noodles inside the oven and the microwave. The final product was more than excellent.

July 25th- Portobello Market

2009-07-26T03:16:00.000-07:00

Our journey began today by going to the Portobello Markets. The interesting part is what we witnessed on our way there. We walked over to the train and since we all wanted to sit together we choose a cart that was pretty much empty. What we didn't know is what they cart contained. The smell was worse than I could have ever imagined. It was like we were inside a garbage can. Soon I began to realize where this rancid smell was coming from, it wasn't hard to suspect who it was when he had flies all around his body. He stood up, walked to get off and all you could see down the back of his pants was brown. Yes they were supposed to be levi's, yet they are now made of flies and maggots. He walked off the train by a pole and decided to pee in the middle of the train station. Showing no shame he walked right back on and sat down. He obviously was numb to the fact that he smelled at all. He made the entire cart empty due to his lack of being able to take a shower ever. I would say I feel bad for him, but I would also say go jump in the next river you find and wash off everything you own. We decided that best option was to move carts and get on with the journey. Once arriving we walked down the street to find millions of markets. I love places like this, except it's better when you can pay with dollars instead of pounds then what you think is a good deal is really not. We were able to find a few good things including a mexican restaurant that we have been craving forever. Although it was so smoky in there our eyes were watery, I got a okay quesadilla but at least it did fulfill the craving. We ended the night by paying about twenty dollars to see the proposal. Even though it was my second time going, it was just as funny. It was an end to a good night. I have also never seen a movie theatre with three floors and a balcony that someone would pay 19 pounds for.The flippers must help him perform at his best, his advertisement states he's #1 at Guitar HeroThe newest advertisementWhat great three purchases Two thumbs up towards the movie I'd say

July 24th- Consisted of Sleeping, Eating, Sketching

2009-07-24T15:54:00.000-07:00

Free Free day. It's been on the go for the past two weeks it's about time to be able to sleep in. After being exhausted we decided to spend the day lounging around and catching up on assignments we have neglected. We didn't get ready until about 7 p.m. just so we could go to dinner. We ended up eating at an Italian place which was our third choice. Everywhere else we went they rejected us. London is different than back home, if there is no room there is no reason for you to try I guess. I think I am leaving my pasta days behind me now, I decided to get a ravoli which looked like hamburger meat thrown over noodles and bacon. When I asked the waiter what something was on the menu he did not understand and said it's probably just something Italian. ha We are at an Italian restaurant so of course it is! ha he looked as if he was completely out of his element. The food was not very good, so we decided to get cheesecake to make up for it. Who would think cheesecake would taste any different right? Ya after the first bite I knew something was up. It was like key lime pie, not my style but served as some great laughter. I came back home and to my surprise I received a Dr. Pepper in a can. Nothing could have made me happier. I have been craving this since I left, a can of pure joy.Best tuna sandi I've ever eaten. Thanks to Brady and AliThis is obviously a contest to see who looks the worst. This is also what we have looked like for the past 24 hours.We got jipped a good quarter of our cheescake

Pattern Assignment Post

2009-07-24T06:14:00.000-07:00

Due to the requirement of this to be on my blog here it is. Three patterns from the V&A, Tate Modern, and British Museum. They are inspired by a sculpture, pot, and piano. Each of our group had to find a way to make ours look like they are together. We decided to pin them up on the board in our hallway because of the lack of paper products while here ha.This is how great your picture can turn out when you have to sneak it and take it without looking. Anything for an inspiration.

July 23rd- Punting was worth not paying for a Gondola

2009-07-24T05:10:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Cambridge. We began our day with the usual train ride to Cambridge. The town is so cute, who wouldn't want to go to college here? They also had some great shopping places, we were all ready for when it was free time so we could have a chance to go. We started out with a walking tour with Sally. Ha She was a cute old lady with a thick British accent it was great, she also had a ravishing dark blue eyeshadow on. I enjoyed my few hours with her, she took us to King's College and inside the chapel. It was a cool chapel, the first one here that I have seen fan vaulting in. Each horizontal separator piece weighs about 1 ton. It's crazy how much everything can weigh, I wish I could remember what she said the entire ceiling was. We asked her how much it costs to go to school at Cambridge and it was only 3,000 which is basically the same at home. The thing that costs most is the housing. Despite the exchange rate I was surprised that they weren't far in price from what we pay, you would think it would be a lot more. I loved being able to spend the day in this town, it's a great little college city with lots of character. I can't believe the school is over 800 years old. We went to a small pub for lunch where I surprisingly got some fish and chips, my Poppy would be very proud. I was a little sketch that the skin was still on part of it, but I ate it and to my surprise it didn't taste that fishy at all. I am glad I can say I had my first fish and chips. I probably would never choose to order it again but I did it. The place we went to was cool because on the ceiling there is written in candle wax the signature of some military from the war forever ago, it's covered in glass now and they are always going to preserve it. Then we made our way to the Fitz William museum where we got to see some more great paintings from the early and high Renaissance as well as Impressionists. After a long day of walking it was nice to go on a punting tour. Which is where we sit in a boat and the punter gives us a small tour on the river that goes past a couple colleges. Although it was raining right before and I had to sit in water it was well worth the relaxing ride down the river.This is one less fish I have to worry about when I jump into a lake ha I have to be honest I didn't know what our tour guide really looked like until this picture was taken. I never turned around due to my laziness.Oh don't worry she's just rolling up a doobie right on the street by punting. As for her friends they are just pouring themselves drinks of straight up vodka.

July 22nd- Carpets Carpets Carpets

2009-07-24T04:46:00.000-07:00

The day began with me losing my passport. Not the greatest thing when you have to catch a train at 5:30 in the morning, although I was still able to get on I was lucky. We were headed to Brinton Carpet's for the day which I was really excited for. A lot of interior design students do their internships for this company and they have come out to talk to us in seminar so it was great to see it for real. We got to go through four different sections while we were there. We started out walking through the factory and seeing how they make each carpet. We got to see where they dyed each yarn for what color they wanted to where a lady would go through an entire carpet and pick out the mistakes to re-sow them in. I thought it was interesting how they did everything, I still don't know how they make so much with the patterns so perfect. We moved on into a seminar with the head of the designers where he talked about different projects they had been apart of. Then we went into the archives where all their patterns are housed. They had so many patterns dating back so far that they still use frequently today if the time period fits. I love when they can take something that was made forever ago and reuse it today for ideas. They had a lot of japenese prints that were like carved out of leather and were so intricite. It is so cool how they were able to do these patterns with not that many resources like we have today. The last stop was the designers where they talked about color match and different projects they were doing. They move so fast on their computers, the guy showed us a huge carpet they had been working on for a year for a hotel. It was really awesome to be able to go and see how they work each part of the company. They were nice enough to even feed us lunch for the day which was wonderful. Despite the rolls that looks like apple pie and instead had a thick slice of sausage ha sick.I will never get used to entering a bus on the left side. I will never get used to why they drive this wayThanks to Brinton's for the free complimentary flash drive haAs you can tell we are pretty worn out by this point, it was too funny not to capture this momentI want to know how that is comfortable
This is what happens when you have zero pictures for the day

July 21st- One full day

2009-07-22T13:21:00.001-07:00

We started out by going to the Sir John Sloan Museum. It is a row house of Sir John Sloan full of his collections and architectural features. When I walked up I wasn't expecting that we would be arriving at a museum because of the many houses that surrounded me. I thought the house looked small and I would be out in no time. Little did I know that it full of collections from Rome of column features and Hogarth paintings. The inside has so many quirks, yet great ideas for opening up a space. He added mirrors everywhere to make the room appear bigger and to add more archways. There were so many different places to go throughout the house I kept feeling like I had seen it all but then they was another hallway. In one room that contained paintings on the wall also had another set of doors behind those that housed more paintings. It was so cool seeing how much he had collected over the years. There was a sarcophagus in the basement of an Egyptian god. I thought it was cool that he wanted to make his house a museum as he had left it and he wanted people to see the things that he appreciated and enjoyed in his lifetime. I was glad to be able to go, although it was smaller I thought it had cool artifacts as well as his design in the architecture.On to museum number two for the day, the British Museum in search of some more inspiring patterns. We were really excited because we had heard you could see the Rosetta stone, but to our disappointment it was only a cast of it. We walked throughout the Egyptians times and we were able to see a lot of the artifacts they had. I have never realized how many patterns are out there until I had to start looking for them. The museum have been great, especially because they are all free here ha. On the way back we stopped at St. Paul's cathedral which was really awesome inside. I liked it even though all the churches we have seen are starting to blend together this one stood out to me. I wish I was able to catch photos of it, but I wasn't allowed I got yelled at for trying. The best part about this church is that it supposedly has a whispering dome or so they say. It didn't quite work out as well as we though. About 250 steps later we failed at trying to hear each other by a whisper from across the room. I'm glad I can say I at least tried.

July 20th- A Fire Alarm worth remembering

2009-07-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

The V&A Museum or the Victoria and Albert Museum is where today's journey began. We were split off into different groups to start working with patterns a little bit more. This assignment started because of the Juniors project last year working with Angela Adams. She would take things from nature and abstract them to make a pattern for rugs. I love her work, I love the concept that she uses I just wish I was able to do it as well. We went through the museum for inspirations through the artwork and sculptures. The first room I went into was really cool, the lighting was dark and it had huge graphics on the walls. It was a modern approach, really abstract furniture and art work. I thought it was awesome and I wish I could have taken pictures inside. The rest of the museum was full of different things like ironwork, jewerly, sculptures. Its cool to see how far they date back each object and how much it changes over time. In honor of their jewelry room I got a ring that is really big, but I like it.We walked across the London Bridge which was cool although the song instantly got stuck in my head. We passed the London City Hall, I have always wanted to see it and it's so much better in person.The next museum we visited was the Tate Modern, which was not what I expect from looking at it on the outside. It is a brick brown building and on the inside it is a modern museum I would have never thought. There were some parts that reminded me of the Pompidou especially the rooms marked that they contained adult portions. Ha we stayed just long enough to grasp ideas for our patterns.On our way back we got to walk across Milennium Bridge, which is the only walking bridge in London. The design of the bridge is supposed to balance the modern and traditional elements. It is the only just walking bridge in London. This pathway led us to our first grocery store experience. It was alright ha being able to determine the difference from pounds to dollars and still figure out whether or not something was a good deal was difficult. Carrying the bags out was a different story ha this is the disadvantage of not living in the suburbs. We went into the subway, back to the flat, and up seven flights of stairs.
All of us really wanted to go see Harry Potter, so what better time when in London. We decided that buying the tickets online would be easier, what we didn't know was that there are two Leichester Squares. Ha So we went to the theatre all excited with Harry Potter scars drawn on our foreheads with bags full of treats and we were disappointed to find out that our tickets were not there but in a place that was not even in London. After already paying six pounds we weren't sure if we wanted to buy another ticket without any refund. We had to go back to another theatre across the street that was the same company of where we purchased our first tickets. After feeling out of luck we were able to get a refund and somehow we made it just in time all sitting together. It also was the biggest theatre I have ever been too, I can't imagine how many people we in there. I will have to say that I definitely enjoyed this movie, not being the biggest fan this whole time it made me want to re watch the others.After a long day I went to go take a nice shower after quickly claiming a spot in the bathroom line. I had just turned on the water for about a minute and to my surprise in the background I hear the sound of an alarm chiming. I thought, could this be real? Oh yes it was. I was all wet and this flat is the kind that you bring your own towel. The floor was soaking wet, and I was stuck not knowing whether to just go in a towel or get my clothes really wet and have to deal with a mold smell later from them drying. I opened the door seeing why it was going off and everyone was in a frantic to get out. I basically just went in a dress with my towel over and drenched hair. I can honestly say I have never had everyone look so much and I'll I could do was laugh. This was the wonderful end to the night.

July 19th- Train transfer London next Stop

2009-07-19T15:14:00.001-07:00

This morning we took the Eurostar for a two hour ride to London! I was a little scared when we had to go through border control because they were questioning everyone in our group. We had to say we were traveling with a group of friends and leave it at that because they get weird about schools coming in. I was happy to make it through and sleep my way into London.
We are staying in Flats in South Kensington, which is like the richest area in London. Thus the rule that if we talk after eleven we will be fined thousands of pounds. Although the flats aren't the best ever I think they are great, just like school dorm rooms but bigger. We have one flat that has like 6 separate apartments filled with like four beds each except for some single rooms. Three bathrooms total, I am hoping it won't be an issue when it comes to showering ha. The worst part about our room is that for some reason it has a glass door that is like kinda opaque but more see through than anything. This is an issue.We went for a small walking tour around London, to see the basics of the city. We walked pass Big Ben which everyone knows and the Houses of Parliment. We also passed Westminster Abby which is across the street from Big Ben. It's really weird to see everyone driving on the other side of the rode and having the steering wheel on the right. It's also weird to be able to understand what people are saying and what each sign means. After being in Italy and France for the past two and a half weeks you realize that now people will understand me. London has a definite city feel and I know that I am going to love it with everything there is to see.

July 18th-Top of Eiffel, Picnic, Vaux=Perfect

2009-07-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

This morning we had hoped to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We were only able to make it to the second floor due to our time limit before we had to leave to Fountainbleau. It was a really pretty site, after waiting in line for about an hour and a half it was well worth it. There was so many people there, something we had not taken account of before going. Thankfully there was a clown in the center going up to people and surprising them which was really funny. He went on to pretending a bird was on a leash which was the best part.We took a bus to Fountainbleau, a predecessor of Versialles. This place was deemed a royal hunting lodge and a chapel by Louis VII. In one part of the house they decided to make it be a birthing room, this is where Henry III was born. The inside was pretty, every chateau we have been too is starting to remind me of each other. They have lots of rooms filled with gold ceilings and chandeliers. There was been noticable differences in different patterns in flooring though. The best part of Fountainbleau was the back courtyard that was filled with a huge lake. They also had the best sorbet stand ever.After Fountainbleau, we got on the bus to go to the grocery store to get food for a picnic. We were able to eat it in the forest in a picnic area in front of Vaux de Vicomte. ha I'm so glad we were able to do this, it was so much fun. As soon as we pulled down the tree lined lane to Vaux, I knew I was going to love it. We were suppose to have a candlelit tour through the inside and outside, unfortunately we were welcomed by rain. Everywhere we decide to go rain follows us. The inside was cool especially with the candles lit, it really makes me appreciate lighting when you can barely see half the room. The funny part about the inside museum was that they had manikins with projected real life faces speaking. It was almost creepy trying to follow what they were saying. Once we made it to the outside gardens I was very happy. Although still raining, they were so pretty we couldn't help but explore. I loved how they were symmetrical and perfect. No wonder why Louis XIV was jealous of this place and had Nichloas Fonquet killed because of it. The outside wasn't able to be lit up because of rain, but we were able to make it a good time. There was opera music playing in the background everywhere, which is why we decided to make a few movies. The forest behind the gardens had a pathway to go through. This is also where Eva Longoria had her wedding, which if that was ever an option it would definitely happen here for me. It would never be, but I can only hope ha kidding. I loved everything about Vaux, it was definitely my favorite place in Paris and it was a good ending for the week we spent here.
This video is due to the fact of boredom as well as complimentary music provided by Vaux

July 17th- Let them eat cake

2009-07-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

Versialles is very large. Thank you to the great tour guide named Sid, who came along with an extreme braided rat tail, he was able to make the day quite entertaining. It took awhile to get started and while waiting outside I was reminded of why I brought pants. It was so cold, the wind was blowing and it was a downpour last night. We started out by walking through the King's state apartment which was filled with furniture and some cool fabrics. We also got to see where Marie Antonette slept and where Loius did. It was cool being able to learn the history behind Versialles and why it came to be there. Orginally to be built as a hunting lodge and then they made the capitol.They definitely carried it through the generations on to one Louis to the next. My subject title to due to the story of Marie Antonette and how she told the peasants that had been starving to just eat cake as if they could afford that before bread. This was right before they took them and beheaded them, well deserved for no food from rich people right? ha I loved walking through the Hall of Mirrors, I have always wanted to see that part. It reminded me a lot of the Paris Opera house where the mirrors reflect the outside. From the windows you could see a view of the gardens that went on for miles. I can't imagine trying to do the landscaping for an area that large. On a small part we were at he said it took 70 gardeners just to up keep it. On the exterior, I learned that the gold on the outside was not the original, they just recently replaced it over the gold leafing. I would have loved to see how it looked before because the gold was too bright.The gardens were 19,000 acres and now they are 7,000 acres. Quite the chop down right? It was still so HUGE! Despite the beauty, the land would take forever to walk through. The Grand Canal part is a mile long, walking that was not an option. We were able to see some though, the green trees are beautiful. On the Grand Canal people we rowing boats and there was ducks swimming, it looked like fun besides the fish everywhere. After walking through the forest, we made our way to Marie Antonette's Estate which was amazing. It looked unreal, each house was so old exactly what you would picture houses in France to be like. They had thatched roofs and flower boxes everywhere. There was a cool staircase made out of wood that had seen it's better days, but I liked it. She had some great taste, I would love to live there it looked like a small little city surrounding a pond in the middle.For lunch we went to a stand inside Versailles that had the best panini's ever. I think I could eat one every day. Another great aspect was that they had Oragina and a great place to sit by the Grand Canal. Luckily after a long at Versailles we were able to make our way home and enjoy the rest of the day for free time which means sleeping.

July 16th- 24 dollars Later

2009-07-16T12:24:00.000-07:00

Today my journey began on a metro, train, and bus to the great Villa Savoye. It was better than I had imagined, I liked how it wasn't in the city and had it's own piece of land around it. It was much more peaceful and it didn't feel like we were in Paris anymore. I am a big fan of the modern architecture. According to Le Corbusier, this house is perfect in his eyes because it has all the 5 elements it needs. Stlits, horizontal windows, rooftop gardens, open floor plan, and free floating facade. The interior and exterior has a lot of white and black, what I didn't know was that the bottom part is green. I guess I have never really looked that close in pictures to realize that it wasn't just two colors. The staircase in the house is one of my favorite parts, it is spiral and has thick concrete sides. I also enjoyed the rooftop gardens with the huge glass doors leading into the sitting room. There was a few of his chairs there, I definitely loved sitting in the Chaise Lounge chair it was very comfortable. I would also like to purchase a Petit Comfort just so I could sit in it all day. It was really cool to be able to walk inside and see each room, pictures can't do much compared to seeing it. Although there wasn't much inside the architecture was awesome. We sat on the lawn and sketched it, my pictures or sketches will never it do justice.Next came a lunch from heaven at the Phillipe Stark restaurant called Kong. Although a burger and fries cost 17 euro equalling about 24 dollars. It was the most expensive hamburger I have ever eaten, but being able to sit in a Ghost chair was completely worth it. It was so cool having Ghost chairs everywhere because they are transparent and made the room look so much larger. I felt like I was eating in a blimp ha with the glass windows all around and being high up in the building. I will always remember this experience of eating a burger while in a Ghost chair. This influences me to one day hope to have them in my house.Musee de Orsay was the next stop. It was awesome inside, it is an old train station that was converted into a museum. I like being there because it was really open. I felt that it was easier to look at more than the Louvre. I saw lots of Impressionist painting which was cool. Lots of Degas of his painted ballet dancers, also Van Gogh and his greatness. Starry Night was not present, but there was a painting that looked quite similar. It is our Professor's favorite musuem, so I was glad to be able to enjoy it as well.

July 15th- Church, Pompidou, Louvre- One long/exciting day

2009-07-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

It is a day that is filled with many things. We started at St. Chapelle Cathedral, the chapel was on the second floor which was different. It was filled with stained glass everywhere with gold, it was so pretty. It has been a around forever, so it is great to see that such decorative windows made it through all this time. After seeing the church we made our way over to the Pompidou, which I have always wanted to see so I was very excited. I learned about it in Art History, it is cool that you can see all the elements of the building from the outside. People either hate it or they like because of how modern it is in the city like Paris. I think it's an awesome building and inside it is filled with very modern art. I have never seen so much interesting/weird stuff in my life, there were tv's everywhere filled with different videos made by people. As soon as I saw a naked lady hoola hooping with barbwire that was the end for me ha. I think it is awesome how abstract people can think though, there were lots of things that are one of kind in there. I got to see some Pollock and Rothko paintings which was awesome. I know they switch around the projects in there every once in a while so maybe next time I go it will be completely different. As for now, ha I would rather not see naked body doing weird things, I would be happy just to enjoy the architecture. The Pompidou was amazing, I am lucky I was able to finally see it in real life.After that, we all went to the Louvre which is so huge! It went on forever, the inside is so big I could be lost in there for days and no one would find me. The best part about it was that I was able to see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. It is so much better seeing it in person whereas just a picture on the internet. The Mona Lisa is so much smaller than I imagined. There were millions of people gathering around it so I just got a glimpse. I was happy with that and to say that I have actually been to the Louvre. The outside is amazing, the land goes on forever. There are fountains right by the triangular glass structure that you can put your feet in and after walking all day it sure did feel nice. I loved the glass part about the Louvre, same as the Pompidou you either love it or hate it and I actually liked it. It helped being in the atmosphere and seeing it all together, it's a great juxtaposition of the old with the new. In the gardens of the Louvre you can look straight down and see the Arc de Triumph, which was so cool. It was deceiving how close it really seemed, ha I felt like I walked three miles on my way to get there. It was worth the voyage down there, although my day was long and my feet were about to fall off I enjoyed everything I saw.For dinner we went to a small cafe that is by our hotel. I got a hamburger and to my surprise the French make them differently ha inside of a bun, it's a fried egg? Ha I would never have been them together, but I have no complaints. After a long day anything will taste good if you get to sit down.

July 14th- Fireworks off the Eiffel Tower ,Couldn't Imagine Anything Better

2009-07-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

Today we started off with the Paris Opera House, which in fact is amazing inside. It is so pretty, I loved being able to walk inside and see where they watch the operas. There was a room that was filled with gold and had porches overlooking parts of the city it was so beautiful. I love the ornate detail they put inside these places, I can't imagine how long they take to complete. I love the Phantom of the Opera, so it was cool to see where they filmed some of it or at least I think they did.The rest of the day was filled with a shopping and a nap leading up to the excitement of the big night to come. The Eiffel Tower was going to have fireworks and concerts all around. There were millions of people outside, it was packed like New York is at New Year's Eve. I was so scared I was going to get pick pocketed or at least taken because we are naive Americans. We decided that if anyone tried to talk to us we just wouldn't, and we were from Canada ha. We were able to find a good view of the Eiffel Tower across the river of what we felt like wouldn't be as crowded, what we didn't know was that on the grass right in front of it there was a whole other show that we missed out on. The fireworks made the night for me though. Not being home for the 4th of July was kinda sad, but that can't compare to this greatness. Although, there was so many people we were smashed up against everyone it was a pleasant time during the show. The worst part came when it was over, we definitely had to do the buddy system and link arms as the five of us tried to find a metro back home. Good thing we had Brady with us, or I don't think we would have gotten away so easy from the French men. They definitely aren't afraid to say what they are thinking and laying it out on the line. I have never been groped so much by strangers in my life. There were so many people pushing to get home, there was one guy that was bloody on a stretcher that got beat up. The metro was absolutely crazy, when you see peoples faces against the glass inside the train that is when you know there are too many people. In order to get out at our stop we had to slam everyone to move. Ashley and me were also being hit on by a man who was drinking inside the metro and kept asking us to go dancing, all we could do is act like we didn't understand. Thankfully as we got closer and closer to our faces Brady came over and boxed him out of the way. Lets just say it was a very fun night, despite the violence, groping, and people. The fireworks made up for anything scary we saw.

July 13th- Arrival into Paris has come

2009-07-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

This morning we arrived in the beautiful city of Paris. After what was not a great night of rest, the hotel right off the Eiffel Tower has made my day. It is so close to us, it is weird being able to walk a couple blocks down and sit on the grass in front of it, which is what we did. We went and got a sandwich at this excellent pastry shop I loved every minute of eating it. I also got to enjoy eating an éclair filled with chocolate pudding while sitting a few feet from a very important structure. Although we did have to sketch and show everyone what we did, it was a pretty good time being in front of it. They are setting up for concerts all around because tomorrow is Bastille Day, so we weren’t able to get way close.After our first experience in Paris seeing the most famous and well known structure we were able to finally do our laundry. It was been awhile, especially with rained on clothes it doesn’t help what they should smell like. The only problem was that when we got there the directions were in French which is no surprise since we are in France. Luckily, the nice man next door working in the bar also worked there and was able helped us out. He thought we were from California and didn’t understand what Utah was ha. He wanted us to come behind the bar and take a picture because he thought it would be worth having. Thus we made our way into the bar and smiled for him, I honestly couldn’t understand what he was saying half the time.Later that night we went on a boat tour to see some of the major sites at night. Despite getting bit by mosquitoes every ten minutes, it was a good time to be able to get out at night. Also on the way over we stopped and saw Norte Dome, which was awesome. I used to love the movie when I was little, so it is so much better being able to see it in real life. Overall it was a good first day in Paris. Very different from the others, but I do think it is pretty here. I’m excited for things to come here it will be a good week. I have also newly discovered the drink Orangina, it is great like a creamsicle carbonated drink!

July 12th- A Train Ride That Was Nothing Like I Expected

2009-07-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

Today we had free time up until we had to leave for our train ride to Paris. We started out the day by going to St. Mark’s. Little did we know that it would be closed inside for mass and the top floor cost extra. We waited in line for about an hour and it led us to the line that had “not to code stairs” and the money it cost wasn’t worth it to see it from the very top. We had to hike back down the stairs and we were only able to see the inside area of some mosaics. They were however incredible and it was worth going just to see the outside and how amazing the architecture is. Each mosaic piece is so tiny I don’t know how the pictures come out so clear on a curved surface. After that, we were able to walk around Venice for our last day in paradise. It was so beautiful there, I loved everything about it. We shopped for a little, but I think everyone was just ready to make it to the train to get going. We got one finally crepe, and made our way to Paris.

The train was a completely different experience. I had no idea they would fit six people in probably a five foot by seven foot room three beds stacked on each side. Also, that the air didn’t turn on until the train did, so for a half hour we were in stifling heat trying to make our bags fit in a little space that we all had to share. It was a night to remember and a first experience for all of us. It is nothing like the train in Harry Potter, although I think we all wished it was. The best part is that we had to ration all our food together because we were starving. We had a first course consisting of cheese and crackers, the second course consisting of granola bars, and the third course consisting of every candy we could find from our backpacks. This was all before we knew there was a train restaurant, who would have thought? Luckily we were all filled up on sugar and ready for a not so good night’s rest. I am glad I was able to experience what it feels like to sleep with a sheet that feels like paper and a wool blanket in an eighty degree room. Maybe my next time on a train will be a better adventure as for now we did have some good laughs that made the whole twelve hours worth it!

As you can tell by my face I was not having a good time and I look like a pouty four year old. Good thing we were all so close that if we wanted to hold hands, it was an option.

July 11th – Where Topless is Alright

2009-07-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Last night we also had an adventure on our own. We wanted to see the ocean at night in Venice. Little did we know, that the night streets here are sketchy. We were constantly scared that people were following us, the best past was Brady was in our hotel robe walking the streets ha. On the way back there was a guy behind us following, we took off in a frenze and that was the end of taking nightly strolls. I also discovered an abnormal bug bite on my shin... I hope I didn't contract something weird.

Today we got to go to Murano Glass to see their product as well as how they make a few things. We got to take boats over to the island of Murano and it was a great adventure being in the open ocean on a boat. The showrooms were absolutely amazing! I can’t believe how much work they put into what they do. They have the most brilliant work, ha but it is quite expensive. I learned today that you can’t learn to become glass blower you have to be born into it to know the secrets of making these unique sculptures. The man who did our demonstration made a glass horse in under a minute, he is one of the top three in the world. It was one of the most talented things I have ever seen. He would just blow a little and use a few tools to shape this flaming piece of glass into a standing horse. There are nine different rooms filled with chandeliers, vases, and all sorts of sculptures. I can’t imagine how long it must take them to make each of them. The guy was telling us that it is usually one person as the main person with five assistants helping him to complete it. This was a great opportunity for us to come to, thanks to our USU connections they were able to make it happen. I also got a sweet ring from there, although way overpriced it is worth it to say that it was actually made by Murano glass.After the glass shop, we decided that we wanted to go to the beach in Lida. We had to wait about an hour before we could find the right boat to take us there. Every time you go on you are supposed to pay, but no one ever checks for tickets ha so yes we used this to our advantage snuck our way on. It is a great technique for a free ride for our free day. The beach that we went to was pretty, despite the many topless women and Speedo men. It is so weird what a different culture it is here and how it is normal for people to change in front of everyone with no shame. Ha I saw a lot of things I wish I hadn’t today, but I came out with a nice burn so I will at least have a tan for a little. Even though I do not like marine life at all, I was able to get to at least my knees in the water before thinking that a fish was close. It is a fun day, I am glad I was able to enjoy a beach in Venice!

July 10th - This is what makes me excited to Design

2009-07-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

This morning for breakfast the food was great. I got granola that I love and have been craving since making it in Logan. The breakfast area is so pretty each chair has white slip covers on them with black granite tables and some cute red flowers. I loved being able to enjoy my morning in there, they also had any kind of fruit you could have wanted with pastries as well. This actually lets me look forward to waking up and eating ha.After eating we were able to go to the fabric designer called Rubelli. It was awesome to see how they started out making it on a loom and now they have made it into a well known company. They are located in a palace that was on the water front of the main canal. It was really pretty inside we got to take a look at all their fabrics designs as well as their magazines. They showed us how their incorporate designs that have been around for centuries and still stay in the family of Rubelli. I loved their fabrics, I feel like the fabric on our hotel walls was made by them. They were selling samples of their great fabric and I’m sad now that I didn’t buy any because they are all so pretty.The second place we got to see was Fortuny. They also make fabrics, but theirs are much different than Rubelli. None of their fabrics are the same, they are each different just by a little bit unless requested that it must match. Their fabrics are very well known and are used by many celebrities. A girl in our group interned for Jamie Drake this summer and he actually was uses two of the fabrics for pillows in a bedroom. If only I could use them, but at 360 dollars a yard I will have to opt out. I loved their patterns though, it was interesting to me that they have about 200 different patterns and continually use those but they change the colors of the fabrics behind them making each one unique. The patterns come from Mariano Fortuny and they have the original sketches, so if they wanted to create a new one they search only in his works. After we looked where some fabric was displayed, we went out back by the factory where each roll was made and there were gardens with a pool. It was really neat to see where all these different fabric originate and make their way into the states.Today was an awesome day we were able to see more of Venice while walking to the different designers it is definitely a place I am enjoying. Although today one girl in our group went to take a picture by the edge of the water and it was so slippery she fell down the stairs and her camera flew in the water! It was worst case scenario, I felt really bad for her. The best thing was her great optimistic attitude about it, I feel like I should be like that. After losing all her pictures, she was a great sport. I will give a 10 on the fall, even though it should not be funny. Shout out to Josie ha. Linds and I were able to make a trip to Mcdonald’s and let’s just say they have up’d their game, the inside was the nicest one I have seen. It was so modern and I loved it. I would go there just there to sit and observe all the great things about it. Ha. Venice is just wonderful all around.

July 9th- Venice is where It's at

2009-07-09T12:33:00.000-07:00

This morning we got to spend a few more hours shopping around before we took a wonderful two hour train ride to the beautiful city of Venice. This has been a dream of mine to go here since I was little and let’s just say it’s more amazing than I ever could have imagined. There are gondolas everywhere, and just the fact that there are no cars anywhere makes it so much quieter. The moment I walked out into the city I knew I was going to love it, just seeing the boats and the way each house is set up. I loved how there are actually legit old brick walls with half stucco on them, and shutters that are beautiful that make each house unique. We did hear someone jamming on their boat on the way to their house just the same as we do in our cars. I can’t even dream of what it would be like to live here, it would be a lot different but it would be a great experience. So far, Venice tops every place that I have been everything I see I love ha besides the fact there are jellyfish everywhere in the river we saw like five just floating while we were waiting for our hotel. The water taxi and somewhat like subways ha except on the water. They do not wait an extra second for someone to get on after you, half of our group got left behind because we had to try to fit our luggage but it took too long so they just drive away. I would definitely not want to get lost here. There are so many alley ways. The hotel we are staying at is so pretty. I am obsessed with my room and could lay in it all day. It is probably one of the nicest rooms I have ever stayed at before. I’m glad that it was in my favorite place too because it just made this day so much more complete.

Venice is amazing and I’m excited to walk around the city more and see everything it has to offer. We were able to go see the Ponte de Rialto Bridge where it overlooks a great part of Venice. It has little shops in the middle and is great for walking around. All the other bridges that we walked over to get places had different patterns and designs on the railings so it was really neat to see each one. We ate dinner at a place just off the bridge and I got spaghetti that was just delightful. We found a crepe shop for dessert that was awesome I have never seen them make crepes like it before. My friend Ashlee’s goal was to kiss an Italian man and she made it happen with the crepe maker. It was a really fun day and night. I am so happy to be in Venice.

July 8th – I Love Sleeping In

2009-07-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

Since I have been gone from home I haven’t been able to have my usual sleep in every day with nothing to worry about. I got my opportunity on my free day in Florence. Although I should have been up enjoying more architecture, I thought I get a pretty good grasp from the tour guide the past two days. She took us to all the many places I wanted to see plus more. I think Florence is absolutely beautiful and I would love to come back here one day.Right outside our hotel there are so many street vendors filled with shopping of jewelry, scarves, ties, leather goods, etc. It reminds me a lot of Canal Street in New York it is about the same business except Euros are worth a lot more than a dollar to us here ha. So what is cheap to them is not quite as cheap to us. It was great to be able to walk around to what different things they had to offer. We were able to make it to H&M here which was awesome, but not quite since there was no A/C. I swear here they love to be hot and decide never turn A/C on in their cars or rooms. I will never understand why someone would want to voluntarily be hot when they could cool themselves down.This was a good day to do some of the homework I have been neglecting. The internet has been a definite probably since we got here, but I was happy to get some of my posts up so everyone could see what I was doing. Although the computer/breakfast nook area is stifling hot I was able to make it through the night.

July 7th -A View Makes an Entire Trip Worth It

2009-07-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

To start the day off we continued on another walking tour that included the Uffizi Gallery and Academia. Although I was really tired throughout the entire thing, we were able to see the David and many Botticelli paintings. The David is awesome to see in real life, it so monumental. I have never seen pictures from all sides, so it was great to walk around the structure. An interesting fact I learned was that Michelangelo had a 40 ton slab of marble for David and sculpted it down to 7 tons. It amazing how they can make a sculpture out of a block of nothing, every move they make has to be correct so they don’t mess it up. I was excited to the Botticelli painting called the Birth of Venus where she is on a conch shell being born from the ocean. I like the people on the side how they are flying and have flowers around them because that means they are in love. It was interesting to see these things because never in my life would I think I would be able to.

After the tour ended, we went on a group outing to look at the Santa Maria del Fiore and the baptistery doors. There are three sets of doors on this cathedral the one that stands out the most is definitely the ones in gold. Inside the ceiling is filled with golden mosaics, similar to the Borghese museum but with much more color. The Santa Maria del Fiore was so colorful with red and green painting on the outside, I have always thought that it was just gray. So it is interesting to see how different it is from a picture to actually seeing it in real life. The outing continued to us walking for a group sketching activity. We first sketched the Pontevecchio bridge and then broke off into smaller groups for other sketches. The bridge is also it has houses located on it with different venders all around it is stretched across the Arno River which when I looked over has too much moss for my liking ha.After sketching was done which is not my forte, we were able to hike to church where you can see all of Florence. The church also included some great chanting from a few monks. The view was beautiful despite the fact we had to hike up inclined street as well as so many stairs! I was out of breath by the time I got there, but the view was absolutely amazing. It was cool to see the Duomo rise above the city. I could also see the lavish villas that were in the hills which is what you picture when you think of Italy.Overall it was a very tiring but great day. I was very glad I got to see Florence from a different view and I would hike up those stairs any day along with a nicely filled water bottle. The smoothie I had today was a great added bonus as well. I guess I have learned to appreciate American food and I will say that with pride. Who doesn't want pasta in Italy? Apparently me and my pickyness.

July 6th- Here I Come Firenze/Florence

2009-07-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

This morning we took at train from Rome to Florence. I definitely decided to get some shut eye during this two hour train ride. As soon as we arrived we walked straight to our hotel. I could already tell that Florence was a lot different than Rome it is much more quaint. About twenty minutes after arriving we got our welcoming rain storm. Good thing my backpack came fit with a rain cover so my much prized possession as in my laptop was safe. This didn’t last long, just in time for us to start a second walking tour with our guide Tonya. Let’s just say now that she knows more than I could have ever thought and I basically could only hear half because the loud city and the not so great volume on the machines. It was a great adventure going through town though being able to actually see all the buildings Florence has to offer was awesome. Everything from our hotel is so close to walk to, it has been easy to see a lot more of the city because we are close. Our last hotel we had to take taxis to get into town, so this saves money by walking and is much quicker.During the tour she took us to the Brancacci Chapel, this is where there are ceiling frescos of Adam and Eve and also Tribute Money. Any painting that I have learned more than just the name about I get very excited to see, I love being able to say why it’s important and not just any other painting. Tribute Money is a part of paintings of the cycle of St. Peter’s life. The Adam and Eve painting is where they having the explosion of them out of the Garden of Eden. On the opposite side of the wall it shows another painting of Adam and Eve that is done by a completely different artist. It amazing to see the talent and authenticity of each artist and what they can do.

After our four hour tour we were able to stop at a great little restaurant where I got lasagna. Tasted much different, but it was one of the better meals I had. During our whole dinner the creeper worker stared at us the entire time. Ha but on the way there Lindsey and I found a great smoothie stand that will hold me over for something to eat for lunch because there meat is much different here ha the white stuff in it is not cheese it’s fat! I didn’t know that until Linds told me.Thanks to the great hotel down the street we are able to receive some great WiFi. Due to the fact that it was overbooked so we had to stay at the sister hotel which is not all so great. Four girls in a very small bathroom does not work out so well. The best part is the drain is in the middle of the bathroom floor so water gets everywhere from the shower. It will be an interesting two more nights of this Hotel Nizza.

July 5th- A great day for a free day

2009-07-08T11:49:00.000-07:00

This was our one day in Rome to do what we wanted and instead of sleeping in which I would have loved to do we decided to go to mass at St. Peter's. It was different than anything I have every seen. I couldn't understand anything they were saying because they was not once where English was spoken. It was very long and the standing up part was not my favorite because my feet were not having that. This definitely encourages me to never skip my third hour of church:) ha I know my poppy would love to hear that. It was a interesting experience to say the least, I mean who can say they went to mass at St. Peter's and saw the Pope outside his window on a casual Sunday. Being inside the St. Peter's Basilica is something I will never forget. Every detail is something is so cool. After being indulged by mass, we never took advantage of our time fully then by taking a nap for five hours. It was absolutely great to finally get some rest in after these long few jet lagged days.Later that night, Lindsey and I decided to go to a restaurant for some pasta. Little did we know that this experience would have last three hours long and we would be receiving some free gifts before getting our check. Next time I will remember that if you never ask for the check they wait until you do. I decided to get a pizza ha and what I didn't know is that is would be three times what I could ever eat. Then came the free alcoholic drinks, which we did decline and tell him we didn't drink but he would not let us get by without them. Luckily, we ordered sodas that came with a can so very casually we poured them into the can when he was not looking. Then he decided to bring us some dessert tiramisu which is something that I don't like. It has coffee on the top and inside which is a taste that I hate. Lindsey was a good sport and ate as much as she could so our waiter would not feel rejected by the free gift.Dinner was a long and funny night, but we were able to meet up with some other girls before going home to go get some gelato. It was fun being able to talk about the Interior Design program with others while having a delightful treat.

Happy American Day!

2009-07-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!! Sadly, I had to miss this great day which is also my half birthday. I was happy to see that on this day we did see an American flag over a doorway which brought some joy to my American pride. I will say that later that night we did watch fireworks over youtube on our T.V.
Early this morning, we went to the Vatican, which is a city that is within Rome and has a huge wall around the entire thing. It is also where the Pope lives in St. Peter's. Inside the Vatican, it was beautiful the ceilings were amazing filled with gold frames of little pictures everywhere. The first part you walk into is about a mile long and it is just filled with artwork, I wish I could have enjoyed this much more but I was not feeling good at all. I wasn't able to get half the pictures I wanted. Thankfully I started to feel better throughout the day. The Sistine Chapel is so amazing, I was happy to see many of the paintings I learned about in Art History. It was darker in there than I would have thought, but it has so many cool paintings that consist of the creation and life of Christ. After being inside we went out to St. Peter's Square which is huge! It was filled with people and still had tons of space to spare. I loved it especially all the statues around the curved arches. The best experience at the Vatican was hiking up to the top of dome so we could overlook the entire city of Rome. Although it was about 300 or more stairs with walls curving in I will never regret going. It was one thing when you come here you should do because you can see every part of Rome and the beautiful greenery that is everywhere. The inside of St. Peter's is so big! There was so much to look at, I also touched St. Peter's foot and made of wish that should come true or so they say.On the way to the Pantheon, we stopped and saw the Castel Sant' Angelo which for those who are Angels and Demons fans this was in the movie. It was right before huge bridge that was neat to see how they put statues throughout it. The Pantheon was different than I thought, I never knew it was in the middle of the city surrounded by buildings. I thought it was cool to see the oculus in the center with the light shining through.Since the day was more than scorching we decided there wouldn't be a greater time to spend outside at our pool. The best part about it was that we had to wear blue swim caps. Probably the least flattering things ever, it was funny to wear. I didn't understand the purpose fully because the moment I jumped in it slipped right off my head causing my hair to be in the pool which is what they didn't want.This day ended with a long search to find a Mcdonald's in hope for some normal food. When we found it after about an hour of walking it was not worth going ha. A happy meal was about six bucks and not the same! I'm glad that for dessert they consider a packaged piece of old pineapple good. Fanta orange drink is definitely not the same here too I will never be drinking it again. The great part about it was of course my hamburger which you would think could never taste different, but yes it did. It's fine. ha. On our way home in search of a taxi we ran into a group of older people that were drunk because there bus broke down so they were just hanging out talking to people who came past for something to do. They were very funny and ended my day quite nicely with constant laughing.

July 3rd- Long day, yet knowledgable and fun

2009-07-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

I started out the day some breakfast at the hotel ha and lets just say things do not taste at all the same! The yogurt tasted like day old much more tart... and there were other food that I will have to be getting used to. After I ate, we headed out the the Borghese Museum. It is a beautiful white building, the inside consisted of these cool floor mosaics everywhere. I wasn't able to capture any photos of it because we couldn't take pictures. There is a statue that I loved there which is Apollo and Daphne where she is turning into a tree as he touches her.
Since the Coliseum rained the first day we went, we weren't able to go inside so today we got to see what it was all about. I never expected it to be so large it was so awesome though. On the bottom arena floor there is some sort of a maze. The different levels were cool to see and know that people once went there for their entertainment.
After the Coliseum we went on a guided walking tour with Antonella. She was a good tour guide very knowlegdable, my sis would be lovin her. Although, we had to walk around with these dinky little headsets, I was able to see many churches on our three hour walk. It's amazing how long these churches have been here and stay in the condition they are at. I saw a church that I learned about in Art History called San Quattro alle Fontane by Borromini, I loved it because it has two separate ornate facades so it looks like two places from each side. I also saw the Moses marble sculpture by Michelangelo, which was originally sculpted to have him facing forward but later her turned his head, it was intended to be placed at St. Peter's but is not in a small church called San Pietro.
The last place on the tour was the Trevi Fountain which is one of the most famous and beautiful fountain in Rome. The tale is that if you toss a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder you will return to Rome one day, if you toss two you will meet and Italian boy and if you toss three you will marry that Italian boy. At least that is what our tour guide said, I definitely just tossed one in hope of returning to Rome again. It is neat in Rome because they have these fountains everywhere that you can just feel up your water bottle with, there water is great I'm just waiting until I will have to buy water for every time I need a drink in other places.Later that night for dinner we went to a small pizza place that was really small but cute. I got some good pizza for a great price although there was a small leak in the ceiling that kept dripping on us it was well worth it. The most enjoyable part of the meal was the gelato afterwards, there are millions of stands everywhere offering it. I am glad that will be able to have a great treat even when I don't like my choices of food.

July 1st/2nd! Arrival day:)

2009-07-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday/Today was a very long day it consisted of: flying, layovers, sleeping, and eating. Throwing my schedule completely off by the eight hour time change and my feet are as swollen as a nine month pregnant women. Rome is beautiful the architecture is amazing and so much bigger than I could have imagined. Our hotel is really nice, I didn't expect to be in a place that would be so great and would also have a pretty courtyard with a pool. The first adventure for the day was when we went the Coliseum, stepping right off the subway there it was. I never expected it to be right in the center of the city, this was the architecture I researched so I was glad I knew extra things about it . It is awesome, it was one of my favorite places I have been. For at least ten minutes we were able to take pictures before there was a complete down pour! Everyone was soaked as well as hit by giant hail which you would never expect to see here. After the rain slowed down a bit we continued our journey through our first day in Rome. We walked into a museum, Palazzo dei Conservatori soaking wet, but they still let us come in and enjoy. Iwas able to see the Colossal Statue of Constantine I which was in separate pieces in the courtyard, and there were also many other cool architectural details.Later that night, we went to Hard Rock Cafe which was great to enjoy some American food in Rome. It was a really good meal, it was different using Euros. I'm not used to getting a horrible exchange rate and spending twice as much as I want to. On the way home we took a taxi that was a crazy driver. He drove on the tracks and everywhere, we were able to see a lot of Rome though it was so fun it reminded me a lot of New York the way the streets are. It was a very long but enjoyable day! I'm so happy to be here! Despite the heat and constant humidity, but it is something to get used to.

Farewell Din and Off to Europe!

2009-06-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

Since I will be gone for the next five weeks for some great Europe adventures, my friends and I all went to dinner for one final bye! I have to give them a shout for what great friends they are! I will miss them, but I will be back in no time. I'm excited for what's to come, but not necessarily my flight that is going to last a day with no time to rest when I get there. I'm nervous, anxious, but extremely excited!:)