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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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.   

Cinematic Undertakings

Since we have been at La Giraudiere here in France, we have been able to watch an assortment of movies and t.v. shows as part of our classes and just for fun. The Green Room downstairs has a projector with a big screen where we play our movies.

Our moviewatching started with a Meg Ryan "classic" rom-com called I.Q. recommended by Doc to emphasize our studies of Romantic and Classical personalities. Meg Ryan is the niece of Albert Einstein who tries to set her up with a common car mechanic, Ed. Ed is a hopeless romantic who immediately feels the spark of love when he first lays eyes on Meg Ryan. Meg, on the other hand, is already engaged to a boring, scientist and fills her time studying and contemplating the wonders of physics: a classic Classical mind. This unlikely pair is pushed together with the help of Einstein and his motley crew of physicist friends. Ed masquerades as a genius scientist to attract Meg's attention, while Meg tries her best to ignore her growing feelings for this new man. Finally in the romantic setting of a sailboat with hair blowing in the breeze under the moonlit sky and with no fiancee in sight, Meg confesses that she truly loves Ed! Ed of course is estatic and the two lovers share a kiss under the comet that Meg's father discovered.

The acting in this movie was sub-par and the plot was a little contrived, to put it lightly. However, the lesson that the movie presented, though in an elementary way, of the balance between Romanticism and Classicism came off crystal clear.

Mary and Anna's Rating: B-

Our second required watching was a bit more heavy. 3 hours of biopic epic in the form of the 1983 Academy Award winning Amadeus. This movie was a huge step away from the light comedy that preceeded it. Amadeus is the story of Mozart's life told from the perspective of his jealous rival composer Salieri, who lived with the guilt of driving Mozart to his grave. Salieri was jealous of the genius musical mind of Mozart which was bestowed on an almost childly immature man. The acting in this movie was amazing and the film painted a historically accurate(ish) portrait of Mozart, who wrote some of the most textbook Classical music but lived a rather Romantic life. The interesting contrast of these two elements of Mozart, and his continual difficulty putting together his yin and yang was very interesting.

We accidentally watched the director's cut of the film which added a "bonus" thirty minutes of run-time. These extra scenes amounted in a three hour epic with long operatic numbers that seemed to never end. Although long, the movie was entertaining and informative, we give it an A-.

Now we get into student choice. Last night we watched the Bachelorette in which Ali visited the homes of her four remaining suitors and was forced to eliminate one at the end of the show. Roberto, Chris, Frank, and Kirk all vied for the love of Ali. Roberto is a fan favorite with the SMS girls, although there are some Chris fans among us. Frank keeps questioning the relationship and none of us really think he is right for Ali. Kirk is kind of immature, and he has never actually had a serious girlfriend before this show. Also, his father is a taxidermist which Ali found kind of creepy. After visiting four families, Ali was forced to make her decision and she eliminated Kirk because she thought he needed some heartbreak. This seemed like the best choice for her although we all hope she gets rid of Frank next episode.

Roberto and Chris are both super sweet and will be great with Ali. Some of us are worried though that Ali will choose no one at the end of the show because she dropped some hints this episode about her "cold feet." We are two hoping she finds love!

Mary and Anna's rating: B+

Pretty Little Liars. This is our personal favorite. We can't tell the entire back story because the show is ridiculously confusing but it is also amazing! Four best friends witnessed the kidnapping of their fifth friend Allison one year ago. Now Allison has been found dead and a person named "A" has been harassing them anonymously through text messaging threatening to tell all of the friends' secrets, including what happened to Allison. In this thriller of an episode, the four friends go to prom together where one is elected homecoming queen, and another finds out that her date played a role in Allison's death. Just what that role could have been remains unknown until the next installment. The episode started out pretty chill but built up to a climactic ending in which one of the girls is locked in the chemistry lab with Allison's killer! As the friends on the show all tried to run together for safety, we SMS girls in the green room also huddled together for safety fearing what would happen next.

Then our worst fears were realized as we heard a clamor coming from the back window. Could it be "A" or even a BAT?!? We screamed in terror, knocking over chairs and cups in our rush to find safety. On the screen, a gloved hand marked the death of one of the citizens of the sleepy town in which the show takes place while we counted and recounted our own numbers to ensure we were all still breathing! We were still reeling in shock and terror when we heard an unmistakeable chuckle coming from the door. Doc Millen slyly slunk inside laughing openly at our fright. He had been at the window, but could someone else still be watching?

We give this an A+ because we were too scared to leave it at an A.

Morning Classes

So, as many of you know, though our afternoon activities vary daily, our mornings are fairly constant. We get up, get breakfast, and go the the green room, journals in hand, for our "class". The subject has varied from philosophic discussions, to music lessons, to art slides. It's kind of like a cross between Humanities, Art History, and Music History. We have discussed the emotional aspect of art (in all its forms-painting, music, sculpture, architecture, etc), focusing on what draws us to it, and how that initial reaction defines our own personalities and lifestyles. We have learned how everything in art, and life, has a balance- a yin and a yang.
This balance relates directly to the two types of art we have talked about, romantic and classical. These two genres are important as a means of understanding different types of art and how while a painter may have a certain style of approaching art, his actual art could be completely different. We have watched two movies that relate to our studies as they apply to this contrast. First we watched IQ, a movie about Einstein and his mathematical niece and how she falls in love. We saw how Einstein, who was obviously able to produce orderly and rational physics (classical) actually had a more romantic nature, continually prompting his niece to fall for the lesser intelligent, but more charming, mechanic. This contrast is an obvious example of the yin and the yang and how the two balance each other in one being. The second movie we watched was Amadeus, a reinterpretation of Mozart and his supposed killer, Salieri. In this film we were able to again see the contrast of yin and yang that is found within a single individual, Mozart. Known as one of the most rational and orderly musicians known to man, he actually possessed an incredibly romantic approach not only to how he made his music, but also to how he lived his life. These films helped solidify the notion of yin and yang, balance and contrast, and how these tendencies appear in art.

Dr. Dall, Bruno, and Mohammad

Dr. Dal, Bruno, and Mohammad!
At Chateau La Giraudiere we have a lot of help from Dr. Dal, Bruno, and Mohammad. Dr. Dal is always helping. One morning we were having class and there was a big bug that was distracting everyone and about to sting one of us but then Dr. Dal came in and killed it with his fingers right away. He is always willing to go get anything anyone needs. Bruno and Mohammad are getting our food every meal that we have and preparing it for us. Mohammad hangs out with us and he always fixes stuff if we break it. All of them do our laundry and they also have to deal with an all girls group of 18 everyday. They have they cutest accents and are so very sweet. We couldn't do it with out them!

TRAVEL!

Traveling

Once we meandered our way to the gate, we were divided into groups: The Millens, The Bell(e)s, and The Rays. We kind of just sat there for a little while before it occurred to us that we had to eat breakfast. I went to Starbucks, and had some oatmeal. This is probably the last healthy meal I have had. Chaney then dragged Dia and me to Hudson News, where we got headphones and tabloids and candy and all the important things that we can't live without. We later got on a small plane....I mean SMALL....I am usually not scared of tight spaces, but this plane seemed miniscule! However, we all arrived at the Houston Airport safe and sound. If I had one word for the Houston Airport, it would be GARGANTUAN! It was so hard to navigate and change terminals, but we somehow managed to find the gate. I went with Dia and Chaney just to explore the mall...I mean airport. We (the sophmores) ate lunch at a little 50's style diner, then we traveled around on the moving sidewalks. Finally our plane arrived and we got on board. I sat next to a trumpet player from New Orleans who basically fell asleep the first second we left the ground. I watched one of the in-flight movies, Made of Honor. We ate the nasty plane food...ugh...I moved seats so that I was nearer to the SMS group. I sat down next to a guy who was sleeping, so when he woke up he jumped when he saw me. I slept on the plane...sort of... I don't recommend sleeping on planes at all! When I woke up, I watched The Suite Life on Deck because...well...because....well...I don't know why! We had nasty plane breakfast. Once we landed we went through customs pretty quickly, and got our baggage. We got ion the bus with the specific instructions to not sleep on the way to La Giraudiere or else our sleeping patterns would be messed up. Basically, everyone slept on the way to the chateau because the ride to the chateau was 6 hours. The ride was supposed to be 2 hours long. Finally we arrived at the most beautiful country chateau imaginable: La Giraudiere!!!!!!!!!

It has been wonderful in France! I miss my family, but I am having a wonderful time! The people here at the chateau are just delightful, and I will be rather sad to leave!!!
Love,
Helena Kathryn Anderson

The Night Guest

It all started at the 12th chime of the bell-- midnight. Meg Gould and I were unwinding from a fun filled day basking in the sun on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Whilst chatting about our day and folding laundry, a sudden fluttering caught the eye of one Meg Nickle Gould. "BIRD!" she shrieked as a black winged animal darted just past me into the corner of our room. My instincts told me to flee, which was exactly what I did. In the search for assistance, I managed to sprint the 2nd flight of stairs to Doc. Millen's room. In my haste, I knocked on his door, with urgency. "Just a minute," he responded. Whilst I was away, Meg was jumping on the bed (with bravery), throwing hair ties in the direction of the "bird." Finally, Doc came to the door. "Um... there is some sort of dark creature flying about in our room." "Oh" was the response I received. Walking down the stairs, we were greeted by the shrieks of Meg, still on the bed. Doc valiantly charged across the room to kick the bag in which the creature was using as a hiding place. Alas, no flutter, no noise. Once more he kicked the bag. Again no flutter, no noise. Suddenly a clatter was heard across the room. We turned our heads simultaneously to catch a glimpse of what we thought was a bird, but in actuality it was a BAT with a wingspan of approximately 9 1/2 inches of pure jet black terror. Doc leapt to his feet, knowing exactly what to do. He sprinted down the stairs, closely followed by Meg. I had had enough action for the night and decided to observe from the 2nd story stairwell. Downstairs, a commotion was brewing between Doc, Meg, and Bat. Returning from the first floor, news reached me of the bats escape into the shadows of the house. Unalarmed by the fact tat the bat had made its way to Muhammad (our friendly helper of the chateau)'s room, Doc prompted us to close our doors and windows to prevent the bat, or any other night creatures, from entering our room. "What about Muhammad?!" Meg and I screamed at once. Doc convinced us that the bat was harmless and our near death experience was coming to an end. When we recounted the story to Margaret and Whitney, the other two members of our room, they were quite upset that they missed out on the action. Alas, the whereabouts of the bat are still unknown. Chateau? Bus? Barn? The mystery still remains.

As told by Bria with additions by Meg

French Cuisine

As St. Mary's girls the one thing we all have in common is our love of food. We are were all quite excited to try new French dishes. On the first day we had salad and carrots for lunch. For dinner we ate carrots, spaghetti and meatballs, and for dessert we had custard with fresh cherries and a second dessert to celebrate Shelby's birthday. Every morning we wake up to a delicious breakfast of raspberries, yogurt and French bread with Nutella of course. On day two we had vegetable salad mixed in a cream sauce, delicious local fish with potatoes in a lemon sauce, and for dessert we had apple tarts. For dinner we had hard boiled eggs in a special sauce, Sheperd's pie which is mashed potatoes with ground meat and cheese, and for dessert we had starwberries with a white cheese, which tasted similar to yogurt. On day three lunch was comprised of potatoe salad, pork with peas and carrots, and for dessert chocolate moose (our favorite). For dinner we had pate, which is simliar to spam and was not very popular, salad, herb omlets, and choclate eclairs for dessert. On day four we ventured to a small town for lunch and for dinner we had all kinds of pizza including chicken and potatoes, meat lovers, and slamon. We ate our pizza and salad as we watched the FIFA World Cup. On day five we had country bread for breakfast because the bakerys are closed on mondays. For lunch we ate beets, lintles and sausage and for dessert strawberry sauce & apple sauce & merenge. For dinner that night we had tabouli which is like cous cous, ham slices, green beans and the floating island for dessert which tasted like marshmellow merenge with a cream sauce. On day six we enjoyed salad with tuna, rice pilaf and chicken with a cheesy cream sauce and fruit salad. For dinner we had tomatoes with basil, croque monsieur (a ham and melted cheese sandwhich), salad and peach apple sauce with a crust. Over all the food at the Chateau in France is delicious and we have never gone hungry. We all enjoy trying new foods and eating old favorites!

Top 5 Things Seen on the Top Floor!

5. The Hospital Room: the Hospital Room is one of the 5 bedrooms that the girls stay in. This room has nine cots that remind us of a hospital!
4. Three showers for 14 people: The nine person room has to use the two person and three person room to save time or else it would take forever for everyone to shower.
3. Pillow Talk: Late night chat about the day and life in general. Then Doc having to get mad at us for staying up and talking too loud.
2. Ping chat:Because it cost to much to text we decided to use Ping chat! Which is an app on the iPhone or iTouch where you can group chat with anyone who has wifi and and iTouch.
1. THE HEAT: The 1st day we arrived it was surprisingly hot! That night, the sophomore room was so hot that we had to sleep with our windows open even though it was drizzling outside! but then we figured out that it was due th the fact that we were sleeping under to wool blankets covered by another blanket! But over all the third floor has been a wonderful experience!

Free Time: The Chateau

Top Fifteen Things to do at the Chateau:
1. WordWarp
2. Ping pong
3. Truth or Dare
4. Eating Nutella
5. Volleyball/Soccer
6. Eat chocolate
7. Blogging
8. Pillow talk
9. Dropping laundry from the top floor
10. Finding bunnies/ the bat
11. Nap
12. Talking to Muhammad (the chateau's helper)
13. Summer reading
14. Doing abs
15. Playing cards



This is a video of the pin pong game that we made up at the chateau. We like to call it around the world ping pong. Basically the rules include running round the table and each person playing a different point. Each player gets two strikes before she is out. The game is great because it allows everyone to play. After many games, certain people such as Lucy Wade emerged on top every time, so she was given a handicap (playing with her left hand). However even though we have played it multiple times, the game still holds our interest.

Chocolate Factory (not Charlie's : ) )

Two days ago, July 12, in rows of two we ventured to Chocolate factory a few miles down the road. We walked through the French Countryside and eventually made it to the Chocolate factory. When we arrived, the two owners/brothers greeted us and spoke to us in pure French so Madame Bell thankfully translated for us. We learned all about the business side of chocolate and where it originated. Then we learned about the process of making chocolate and we got to try the chocolate at various stages. That was definitely our favorite part!!! After our tour of the chocolate factory, we were allowed to actually buy some chocolate. I can safely say we increased their business exponentially.  : )   

love!

Katie and Whitney  

The Bachelorette

Tuesday night everyone, even Coach Ray, but not Doc., gathered in the Green Room to watch The Bachelorette episode 8. We had been very excited all day to watch Ali visit Frank, Chris, Kirk, and Roberto's homes, and see who she would send home. Lucy Wade found the video before dinner, but not easily since some, actually most, video players do not work out of the US. Yet, Lucy Wade found the video, and let it load all during dinner. We all gathered in the Green Room, and pressed play, but the video did not work. We asked for the portable wireless box, and tried to use that internet because it was stronger. We tried to reload the page, but the video would not load fast enough. Whenever we tried to press play, we could watch the video for about 5 seconds and then it would stop. In the end we were forced to give up. The night ended on a sad note, and we are all forced to wait until we return to Memphis to watch The Bachelorette.

THE BEACH!

This is Katie, Margaret, Morgan, Bria, and Meg (under water) at the beach! We arrived at the beach and had convinced ourselves that we were all going to get into the water! The teachers had warned us about how cold the water would be, but that didn't stop us! We were approached by some interesting french boys, who tried to speak to us. One of them came up to Morgan with seaweed on his head, imitating her braids and trying to talk to all of us. None of us knew what to do so we just turned around and went underwater! Morgan and Margaret enjoyed body-surfing the waves. The water was very cold, full of seaweed, and had very rough waves. But clearly, we are having a great time!
love, Morgan and Margaret

Le Chateau d'Azay le Rideau et l'Abbaye de Fontevraud

Yesterday, after a delicious nutella-filled breakfast, an art history lesson and an hour and a half of driving, we arrived at Le Château d'Azay le Rideau. Built during the reign of François I in the early 16th century, this was the chateau of all chateaus. We had time to walk around, visit bedrooms, dining rooms, and the grounds around the chateau, all of which were beautiful and incredibly well preserved. The view of the chateau was just breathtaking; pictures can't even do it justice. Once we finished walking around, we headed to the Abbaye de Fontevraud, a monastic center for both monks and nuns built beginning in the 12th century. Interestingly enough, when Napolean I took control of France after the Revolution, he turned this monastery into a prison; closed in 1963, this prison housed at least 2,000 prisoners. We walked around the entirety of the monastery, visiting places like the Romanesque kitchens, the dormitories, and the cloisters. Overall we had done a ton of walking over the last day, so we cooled off with fresh "glace," or ice cream, and headed back to the chateau. Though the sites we visited were amazing, I think most of us enjoyed that ice cream at the end most of all!

Azay-le-Rideau and Abbaye de Fontevraud

Azay-le-Rideau

In front of the gate at Azay-le-Rideau

The cloister of the Grand Moutier at Abbaye de Fontevraud

The upper dormitories at Abbaye de Fontevraud

The Chateau

Here is a brief look at our current residence, La Giraudiere.

The Chocolate Factory

Here is the group in front of Cesbron Chocolate Factory with the two brothers and owners.

The Christmas tree of raincoats.

The rainbow of raincoats before walking to the Chocolate Factory.

St. Mary's and the Chocolate Factory

We started out the day with daily diet of Nutella and bread. At 9:30 on the dot, we started our seminar. We learned about classical and romantic music. Doc compared Mozart and Beethoven as examples of different composers. Mozart used a pattern for his sonatas which made them easier to write; in contrast, Beethoven wrote music according to his emotions. After the seminar, we took a break for lunch. Today's lunch was red beets, sausage and lentils, and strawberry and apple meringue which most every liked. After lunch, we rested before our trip to the chocolate factory. We painted our nails, relaxed, and played Word Warp, which is our favorite way to pass time. At three o' clock, we headed outside to begin our walk to the chocolate factory. However, we could not start until we had properly documented our various colored rain jackets. We then walked for thirty minutes in the french country-side. When we arrived at the chocolate factory, we walked through the gift shop filled with a tempting variety of different chocolates. the factory was a rather large room filled with machines and a table. With Madame Bell translating, we learned about the long process of making chocolate. The chocolate company, G & G Cesbron, was created by two brothers. The brothers received the chocolate already made and created beautiful (and tasty!) pieces of art. Then it was every St. Mary's girl's dream; we were allowed to taste the different stages of chocolate. The first piece was very bitter and caused a lot of us to make funny faces. Then we tried the white, milk, and dark chocolate. We could not get enough of that chocolate. I am sure that by the time we left we had emptied all three bowls of chocolate. The brothers then showed us how they coat pieces of chocolate with more chocolate. The pieces of chocolate would go through the machine and be coated on both sides of the chocolate. In the machine, there was a pool of chocolate that would simply be re-used again. Afterwards, we went the gift shop and bought lots and lots of chocolate to take home. We then walked back to the chateau. I think that the best part of the trip for us was eating all of the chocolate.

Pin the tune on the image

Today has been a really busy day. This morning, many of the girls got an early start running around the path that surrounds the grounds. Yes, they are in training for volleyball, soccer, dance, etc. Then after breakfast, which included fresh raspberries (framboises) and strawberries (fraises) from the farm next door, French bread, fresh from the bakery, and of course jars of Nutella, we began our seminar for the morning. After discussing some key differences between the classical and romantic approaches to art and music, they played an exciting and challenging game of Pin the Tune on the Image. We gave each of 4 groups the same 6 images and 6 tunes and their task was to analyze them and match them up. Of course, they had to discuss this within their group and then come up with a justification to share with the larger group. The results were quite impressive. After a brief break (w/ cookies and Orangina), we had a group French lesson in anticipation of our afternoon excursion into Angers, the nearby city where we visited a beautiful ancient fortified château (castle) before we hit the ground shopping! I was so proud of the girls as I watched them greet others, thank them politely, ask for directions, prices and information, buy dresses, icecream, and stamps - all in French! Even the Latin and Spanish students made valiant efforts to speak French. Real world learning is so exciting for the students and their teachers too!

Pin the Tune on the Image

Joyeux Anniversaire - Happy Birthday to Shelby!

Tonight we had a fabulous dinner and blowout celebration of Shelby's 18th birthday. After dinner, we continued the birthday celebration tradition at La Giraudière with the famous napkin dance and a delicious cake. Lights out at 11 tonight and we did not even have to remind anyone. We are all tired and adventures await us tomorrow so bonne nuit (good night) et à demain (until tomorrow)...
Mme Bell

Celebrating Shelby with the birthday napkin dance

Happy Birthday Shelby!

The whole group posing in front of the "château" - our home for the next 9 days!

L'arrivée enfin! (At last, we have arrived!)

Bonjour from La Giraudière! After many hours (too many to mention) of travel by plane and bus, we finally arrived at La Giraudière at around 5 pm France time (that is 7 hours later than Memphis time). When we arrived, we were welcomed by Dr. Reginald Dalle and his brother Bruno Dalle and after finding our rooms and exploring a bit, we went out to the "barn" (a beautiful gathering space) for a cold buffet and some much needed cold drinks - Orangina was of course the favorite choice of students and teachers alike. Fortunately, the airport signal is working just great so I am updating the blog tout de suite (right away). La Giraudière is so beautiful and the girls are settling in nicely. Stay tuned, I will be adding more pictures after dinner (and showers!).  A tout à l'heure! (See you later!)
Mme Bell

                       At the beginning of the long bus ride before we all fell asleep!