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La Giraudière
La Giraudière
Monday, August 2, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
And finally we saw Bernini and Caravaggio all day long!
Our last day in Rome was one filled with Bernini and Caravaggio (2 of my absolute favorite artists)- for me, this was a very exciting day. Apparently, it was the favorite of many of the girls as well. In the morning, we took a quick metro ride and then a long leisurely stroll through the Borghese Gardens. Much to everyone's surprise, including that of John, we arrived much earlier than anticipated and so we got to enjoy the gardens for awhile before we toured the museum. As we sat in the beautiful gardens and admired the trees and the sound of a sole musician playing Renaissance and Classical pieces on a recorder under a tree somewhere, we relaxed and prepared for our last day of art in Rome.
Borghese Gardens and Borghese Villa Museum
In the Borghese Museum, we saw a beautiful collection which was highlighted by 3 of my favorite sculptures - all by Bernini! I still cannot believe they were all three in the same museum. We saw Bernini's David, his Apollo and Daphne, and The Rape of Persephone. What amazing Baroque sculptures! We all were spellbound as we walked around and around these pieces trying to take in every angle. The drama, the movement, the action, the emotion evoked by these sculptures as well as the technical genius of Bernini made these some of the favorite works of the tour. (You know how St. Mary's girls love some drama!) Not being allowed a camera while viewing these works was somewhat disappointing but it actually allowed for a more thorough, less interrupted viewing.
After the excitement of Bernini, we moved on to the drama of Caravaggio. We visited 3 churches which have managed to hold onto to paintings created by Caravaggio over 400 years ago! There is nothing like seeing a work in the spot the artist originally designed it for! The girls and teachers and guides alike were thrilled to see works such as The Conversion of St. Paul, The Calling of St. Matthew, The Cruxifixion of St. Peter and many more! Like the Bernini sculptures, the technical realism, the drama, the lighting, the engaging qualities of these paintings were quadrupled when we got to see them in real life and not just in an Art History slide show. We, of course, also were highly moved by Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Theresa, viewed in its original setting in the Cornaro Chapel.
Borghese Gardens and Borghese Villa Museum
In the Borghese Museum, we saw a beautiful collection which was highlighted by 3 of my favorite sculptures - all by Bernini! I still cannot believe they were all three in the same museum. We saw Bernini's David, his Apollo and Daphne, and The Rape of Persephone. What amazing Baroque sculptures! We all were spellbound as we walked around and around these pieces trying to take in every angle. The drama, the movement, the action, the emotion evoked by these sculptures as well as the technical genius of Bernini made these some of the favorite works of the tour. (You know how St. Mary's girls love some drama!) Not being allowed a camera while viewing these works was somewhat disappointing but it actually allowed for a more thorough, less interrupted viewing.
After the excitement of Bernini, we moved on to the drama of Caravaggio. We visited 3 churches which have managed to hold onto to paintings created by Caravaggio over 400 years ago! There is nothing like seeing a work in the spot the artist originally designed it for! The girls and teachers and guides alike were thrilled to see works such as The Conversion of St. Paul, The Calling of St. Matthew, The Cruxifixion of St. Peter and many more! Like the Bernini sculptures, the technical realism, the drama, the lighting, the engaging qualities of these paintings were quadrupled when we got to see them in real life and not just in an Art History slide show. We, of course, also were highly moved by Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Theresa, viewed in its original setting in the Cornaro Chapel.
Still blogging!
I know I said the last post would be my final one but it got long fast and I had not even begun to talk about all we did and saw during those crazy days in Rome. So here goes another entry.... Our first full day in Rome was one of the most exciting! We were scheduled to go to the Vatican City Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and to St. Peter's Cathedral. A handful of us were also on a quest to find rose-scented rosaries made from real crushed roses. We met our guide Carolina bright and early in the morning wearing our most modest clothes - no knees, no shoulders allowed in the Vatican. We wondered through the Vatican Museum collection, hitting the highlights and soaking in the beautiful works which ranged from ancient Greek and Roman sculptures to modern art. My favorite was the Laocoön Group - a beautifully carved swirling, twisting, dramatic, sculpture done during the Hellenistic Period at the end of the Late Classical Period. We all took lots of pictures for Mrs. Umfress since it is one of her favorites too.
Then we continued on to the Map Rooms and the Raphael Rooms where we saw of course the famous School of Athens - the girls were so excited to see something they had studied in so many classes before - Art History, History, Humanities, etc.
Next we arrived at the much anticipated Sistine Chapel where we squeezed in with a crowd of other pilgrims to witness the absolute genius of Michelangelo in his Sistine Ceiling paintings and his Last Judgement on the back wall. As I stood there, I remembered being in a Michelangelo Art History class studying the Sistine Ceiling thinking "I will never get to go there, not in a million years." It made me want to cry thinking that I had indeed made it there and that it was just as amazing as I thought it would be. Finally, we saw another of my all-time must see sculptures in St. Peter's - Michaelangelo's Pietà - again there were tears. Even though, we had to fight the crowds and view this masterpiece through thick plexiglass, it was one of the most beautiful and moving pieces I have ever laid eyes on. If Michelangelo's intent (as the title suggests) was to instill pity in the viewer, he absolutely succeeded.
Ok, Sistine Ceiling, Laocoön, Pietà.... you would think I would be satisfied, right? WRONG! There was so much more to come - Bernini and Caravaggio galore!
However, the next day, we got a lovely respite from the constant walking, the oppressive heat, and noise and crowds of the city, just in time. We rode on a bus out of Rome to Tivoli to see the hauntingly beautiful ruins of Hadrian's Villa - can we say the simple title of "villa" does not begin to explain it? It is much more like a compound, a country kingdom. Anyway, as we strolled through the ruins, the olive trees, and the pools of water, it was not hard to imagine what splendour would have filled the eyes of the lucky elite who would have been entertained there. After a lovely but rather sunny morning, we took the bus to our next venue - the cool and mysterious depths of the catacombs. Although, there were a few girls who were a bit creeped out and a few adults who were a bit worried about claustrophobia, everyone ventured down and enjoyed the tour, not to mention our wonderful tour guide who had the girls sing to calm their nerves. She told them that the Early Christians would have sung so that they should too. It was so neat to listen to the girls singing chapel hymns and harmonizing as we slowly processed through the catacombs filled with a holy and sacred peace. Also, the temperature was much to everyone's liking as well. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures of the catacombs.
Walking through Hadrian's Villa
Next we arrived at the much anticipated Sistine Chapel where we squeezed in with a crowd of other pilgrims to witness the absolute genius of Michelangelo in his Sistine Ceiling paintings and his Last Judgement on the back wall. As I stood there, I remembered being in a Michelangelo Art History class studying the Sistine Ceiling thinking "I will never get to go there, not in a million years." It made me want to cry thinking that I had indeed made it there and that it was just as amazing as I thought it would be. Finally, we saw another of my all-time must see sculptures in St. Peter's - Michaelangelo's Pietà - again there were tears. Even though, we had to fight the crowds and view this masterpiece through thick plexiglass, it was one of the most beautiful and moving pieces I have ever laid eyes on. If Michelangelo's intent (as the title suggests) was to instill pity in the viewer, he absolutely succeeded.
Ok, Sistine Ceiling, Laocoön, Pietà.... you would think I would be satisfied, right? WRONG! There was so much more to come - Bernini and Caravaggio galore!
However, the next day, we got a lovely respite from the constant walking, the oppressive heat, and noise and crowds of the city, just in time. We rode on a bus out of Rome to Tivoli to see the hauntingly beautiful ruins of Hadrian's Villa - can we say the simple title of "villa" does not begin to explain it? It is much more like a compound, a country kingdom. Anyway, as we strolled through the ruins, the olive trees, and the pools of water, it was not hard to imagine what splendour would have filled the eyes of the lucky elite who would have been entertained there. After a lovely but rather sunny morning, we took the bus to our next venue - the cool and mysterious depths of the catacombs. Although, there were a few girls who were a bit creeped out and a few adults who were a bit worried about claustrophobia, everyone ventured down and enjoyed the tour, not to mention our wonderful tour guide who had the girls sing to calm their nerves. She told them that the Early Christians would have sung so that they should too. It was so neat to listen to the girls singing chapel hymns and harmonizing as we slowly processed through the catacombs filled with a holy and sacred peace. Also, the temperature was much to everyone's liking as well. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures of the catacombs.
Walking through Hadrian's Villa
Arrivederci Florence, Buon giorno Roma!
Well of course, we are back home now and I am sending out this final blog from a comfy chair in the States because we did not have internet connection in Rome. Believe it or not, our Roman adventures were even more of a whirlwind than those in Florence. Once we arrived in Rome and checked into the hotel (with the oh-so-tiny rooms), we headed out to see the sights. We started off on the metro (Dr. Ray's favorite ;0) and ended up traveling by foot and by bus as well. Our first stop found us gawking in amazement at the Colosseum and The Arch of Constantine. The Latin girls were so excited and soon busied themselves taking as many pictures as they could to show to Dr. McFadden.
After that, we walked and walked and walked, all the while looking wide-eyed at the various monuments, fountains, and ancient ruins around the city. We had a great view of the Forum, from above, as the sun began to set and our guide John brought the ancient ruins to life with his descriptions of the grandeur of these structures erected in ancient times.
As we walked the streets of Rome, we really began to get a sense of the history and life of the city. Everywhere we looked, we saw examples of the contrast that we have been discussing in this course - the past juxtaposed with the present, the ancient vs the modern, the pagaen vs Christian, etc.
One of the most fun things about the city, not to mention refreshing, in the super humid, hot, and steamy streets of Rome, was the ever-present abundance of water. There are fountains, grand and small, all over the city. The smaller fountains, on the sides of walls, hanging off of the edges of buildings, etc. became mini-oases, little spots where the weary traveler, the parched tourist, and Roman businessman alike could stop and cleanse their hands, splash some cool water on their face or drink to quench their thirst. How economical - you just buy one water bottle and then carry it around and fill it up at the various drinking fountains around the town!
Here, Megan has mastered the art of turning this fountain into a drinking fountain. A few of us were not so skilled and ended up covered in water.
Speaking of fountains, there really was an endless supply of favorites but I think we all agreed that the Trevi Fountain was the most fabulous of all. John would typically lead us through the narrow Roman streets ( I would call them alleys but the Romans seemed to think they were big enough to accommodate an endless stream of pedestrian, motorcycles, cars, and even delivery trucks!) often not explaining exactly where we were going. Then, all of a sudden, we would turn a corner and voilà, there would be an opening suddenly filled with a huge building, monument, or fountain (or all three). One night we turned the corner and we happened upon the Trevi Fountain, which is unbelievably huge and beautiful and very crowded, and we were all instantly awe-struck and charmed. We all immediately knew that this must be the Trevi Fountain. Of course, we had to dig out our coins and join the crowd in performing the ritual of tossing a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder while your back is turned to the fountain. Why? Well, as John explained, you must do this to insure that you will return to Rome. He went on to tell us that he always does this every time he comes to Rome and well, here he is again in Rome! That convinced every girl to dig through their change purses to sacrifice some shopping coins to insure future visits.
After that, we walked and walked and walked, all the while looking wide-eyed at the various monuments, fountains, and ancient ruins around the city. We had a great view of the Forum, from above, as the sun began to set and our guide John brought the ancient ruins to life with his descriptions of the grandeur of these structures erected in ancient times.
As we walked the streets of Rome, we really began to get a sense of the history and life of the city. Everywhere we looked, we saw examples of the contrast that we have been discussing in this course - the past juxtaposed with the present, the ancient vs the modern, the pagaen vs Christian, etc.
One of the most fun things about the city, not to mention refreshing, in the super humid, hot, and steamy streets of Rome, was the ever-present abundance of water. There are fountains, grand and small, all over the city. The smaller fountains, on the sides of walls, hanging off of the edges of buildings, etc. became mini-oases, little spots where the weary traveler, the parched tourist, and Roman businessman alike could stop and cleanse their hands, splash some cool water on their face or drink to quench their thirst. How economical - you just buy one water bottle and then carry it around and fill it up at the various drinking fountains around the town!
Here, Megan has mastered the art of turning this fountain into a drinking fountain. A few of us were not so skilled and ended up covered in water.
Speaking of fountains, there really was an endless supply of favorites but I think we all agreed that the Trevi Fountain was the most fabulous of all. John would typically lead us through the narrow Roman streets ( I would call them alleys but the Romans seemed to think they were big enough to accommodate an endless stream of pedestrian, motorcycles, cars, and even delivery trucks!) often not explaining exactly where we were going. Then, all of a sudden, we would turn a corner and voilà, there would be an opening suddenly filled with a huge building, monument, or fountain (or all three). One night we turned the corner and we happened upon the Trevi Fountain, which is unbelievably huge and beautiful and very crowded, and we were all instantly awe-struck and charmed. We all immediately knew that this must be the Trevi Fountain. Of course, we had to dig out our coins and join the crowd in performing the ritual of tossing a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder while your back is turned to the fountain. Why? Well, as John explained, you must do this to insure that you will return to Rome. He went on to tell us that he always does this every time he comes to Rome and well, here he is again in Rome! That convinced every girl to dig through their change purses to sacrifice some shopping coins to insure future visits.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Paris and Florence at the speed of light
We have been very busy the last few days since we left the slow and easy pace of La Giraudière. The girls and the teachers met up with John Lionnet, our fabulous guide, our last night at La Giraudière. Then we bussed it all the way to Paris where we hit the ground running and I do mean running. In our first few hours, we visited the Arc de Triomphe, strolled down the Champs Élysées, checked out the crazy Centre Pompidou, paid hommage to the grand Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral and had dinner on the Left Bank. This could only be topped by sprinting to the top of a large flight of very steep stairs to get to the prime picture-taking location before the lights on the Eiffel Tour stopped blinking. Those girls can run and pose for a picture. Of course, the evening would not be complete without a crepe or two. As one of the girls commented, "They just taste better when you are eating them while looking at the Eiffel Tower." Bien sûr! Here is one of those great group pictures with the sparkling Eiffel Tower in the background.
Day 2 in Paris, we flew through the Louvre before continuing on through the Tuilerie Gardens in search of the Musée d'Orsay where we saw our favorite Impressionist and Post-Impressionist oeuvres. After our morning of museum tours, we had some shopping time and a nice leisurely lunch. While lunching, we ran into a St. Mary's alum who was strolling down the street with her parents - Linley Prosterman! What are the odds?
Believe it or not.... we swept through the 2 most famous Parisian art museums in one morning!
Since our exciting overnight train trip and our arrival in Florence, the pace has not let up a bit. We are on a mission to be culturally stimulated 24/7 and we have also been trying to walk off all of the gelato we have been tasting! While in Florence, we have seen many great master works by Michelangelo, Alberti, Brunelleschi, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Caravaggio, Masaccio, and the list goes on and on and on.... We even braved our fatigue and fear of heights to climb almost 400 steps to view the beautiful vista from the top of the dome of the church of the Santa Maria del Fiore - better known as Il Duomo! Here are some of our beautiful photos from this adventure.
Mme Bell and Lucy Wade posing for a victory picture after conquering the dome - just not too close to the railing!
The girls are all smiles coming down from the top of the dome - it is much easier descending ...unless of course, you are afraid of heights! Yikes, those are some steep steps.
After all of our busy touring, we stopped for a good-bye pose with our great local Florence guide - Jann - who was charmed by and impressed with the grace, knowledge, and curiosity of our students. Here is yet another stunning group picture.
Of course, the girls have not missed out on any of the fine culinary or shopping opportunities afforded by the abundant city of Florence. Here are some pictures to document the fun.
Here are the girls modeling some of their new outfits as we sit in the lobby of our hotel, aptly named the Hotel Leonardo da Vinci. (See the Vitruvian Man in the background? Don't know who or what that is? Ask your daughters!)
Pizza! Yummmmm....
Meg was the honored student guest at the teacher table last night. Such glorious food. Just look at how happy they are.
We have one more morning of shopping and strolling in Florence before we board the bus and make our way to Rome tomorrow. No telling what adventures await us there. I know we will be seeing so many beautiful master works and am sure we will stumble upon countless other treasures along the way. Stay tuned and the next time I can find an internet connection, I promise to send an update.
A bientôt (see you soon),
Mme Bell
PS. On behalf of myself, Dr. Ray, Dr. Millen, our tour guide John Lionnet, our local guides, and every person with whom we have come in contact, thank you for raising and sending such delightful, inquisitive, kind, and well-behaved young ladies to explore the world with us. It has been a pleasure so far and makes us so proud to be representing St. Mary's and Memphis.
Day 2 in Paris, we flew through the Louvre before continuing on through the Tuilerie Gardens in search of the Musée d'Orsay where we saw our favorite Impressionist and Post-Impressionist oeuvres. After our morning of museum tours, we had some shopping time and a nice leisurely lunch. While lunching, we ran into a St. Mary's alum who was strolling down the street with her parents - Linley Prosterman! What are the odds?
Believe it or not.... we swept through the 2 most famous Parisian art museums in one morning!
Since our exciting overnight train trip and our arrival in Florence, the pace has not let up a bit. We are on a mission to be culturally stimulated 24/7 and we have also been trying to walk off all of the gelato we have been tasting! While in Florence, we have seen many great master works by Michelangelo, Alberti, Brunelleschi, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Caravaggio, Masaccio, and the list goes on and on and on.... We even braved our fatigue and fear of heights to climb almost 400 steps to view the beautiful vista from the top of the dome of the church of the Santa Maria del Fiore - better known as Il Duomo! Here are some of our beautiful photos from this adventure.
Here are the girls modeling some of their new outfits as we sit in the lobby of our hotel, aptly named the Hotel Leonardo da Vinci. (See the Vitruvian Man in the background? Don't know who or what that is? Ask your daughters!)
We have one more morning of shopping and strolling in Florence before we board the bus and make our way to Rome tomorrow. No telling what adventures await us there. I know we will be seeing so many beautiful master works and am sure we will stumble upon countless other treasures along the way. Stay tuned and the next time I can find an internet connection, I promise to send an update.
A bientôt (see you soon),
Mme Bell
PS. On behalf of myself, Dr. Ray, Dr. Millen, our tour guide John Lionnet, our local guides, and every person with whom we have come in contact, thank you for raising and sending such delightful, inquisitive, kind, and well-behaved young ladies to explore the world with us. It has been a pleasure so far and makes us so proud to be representing St. Mary's and Memphis.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Competitions at the Chataeau
We are competitive. This is a known fact. And our St. Mary's spirit of competition has in no way taken a vacation while we are here in France. We have found a multitude of ways to spice up our days with some friendly battles, from betting on the World Cup to initiating a ping pong tournament.
In case you're wondering, Megan correctly bet on the World Cup's outcome, Spain winning 1-0. Doc triumphed over Coach Ray, who had previously replaced Dr. Ray, to win the ping pong tournament, and Meg Gould and Mary tied in that particular card game. It should be very interesting to see what sort of challenges we think of next!
In case you're wondering, Megan correctly bet on the World Cup's outcome, Spain winning 1-0. Doc triumphed over Coach Ray, who had previously replaced Dr. Ray, to win the ping pong tournament, and Meg Gould and Mary tied in that particular card game. It should be very interesting to see what sort of challenges we think of next!
The Mystery Bathroom
After 81 showers in a small shower that is shared with 9 other girls, the hospital room (our room reminds us of a WWII hospital) made an incredible discovery. While putting a computer away in Doc's room, Medgie and I turned to close the door when we noticed a mysterious closed door on the other side. Medgie looked at the sign on the door with disbelief. Could this really be it? Another bathroom for the 9 person room? Medgie and I quickly decided that this must be Doc's bathroom since it is right next to his room. However, when we reentered Doc's room, we realized that in fact he has his own bathroom in his room. That is when the shouting began. "Are you serious?!?!?" "We have another bathroom?!?!" "We are leaving tomorrow and we just discovered this?!?" We ran downstairs to inform the rest of the hospital room about our discovery. Everyone was shocked and dashed upstairs to see this mysterious extra bathroom. All 9 members of the hospital room are still
staring in disbelief. This bathroom is not only cleaner than ours but the shower is more than twice the size of our shower. As I write this, I can still hear people looking at the bathroom and even turning the shower on to gawk at its beauty. One thing is for sure, this mysterious bathroom will definitely speed up the nightly showering process.
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