Fiesole

Nostalgia as thick as gelato. We were at a small reception last night, and guess who we met? Someone from Florence!

The cone of gelato looks a little bit like the flame on the Statue of Liberty, don't you think?

J

Last day in Florence

Yesterday was our last day in Florence. We went up to Fiesole in the morning, which is about a 20 minute bus ride away from Florence. It is a gorgeous ride through the hills, and looks out upon Florence. After we got back from Fiesole, we sat around for a little while and reflected on the trip, and talked about our experiences. For lunch, we had lasagna made by Ashley, since all the ingredients that she had had to be used up. After lunch we had a few hours to ourselves, before our last dinner. We went to a nice restaurant called the Four Lions, and we could order whatever we wanted. Some of us got four different courses. It was a nice way to celebrate the last night of the trip. We got back to America today around 4:30, which officially concluded the trip.

Day 10 in Florence

This morning we took a short walk to the Medici Chapel. The Medici Chapel serves as a shrine to the entire Medici family, and although none of them are actually buried there, it was still very interesting to see inside of it. After we got back from the Chapel, we had nothing else planned so that tonight's group could prepare dinner. Night two of dinner was definitley another success. Tonight's menu included a "Philadelphia anitipasto loaf" which had bread, cream cheese, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatos, and pesto. The pasta was served with a trio of sauces, a tomato, a cream, and pesto to represent the Red, White, and Green of the Italian flag. The chicken was breaded and marinated in Italian dressing, and for dessert we had a dessert pizza, which had cookie dough, frosting, and strawberries and kiwis on top. After dinner, we had the option of going to a Classical concert with Lynn and John if we wanted to join them.

Silver and Gold

A group pic on the long walk up to Michelangelo Plaza, but the view of Florence was well worth the effort. Not seen here are a couple of weddings we had to thread our way through to get to the top. Loved those confetti bombs.
The next pictures are of the gilding workshop. Michelangelo and Botticelli are hard acts to follow in this slightly artsy little town, but our students did a great job and have some lovely souvenirs to take home, and perhaps give away. How far away is Mothers' Day?

J.

Enjoying Dinner

Day 9 in Florence

Today we didn't have anything planned as a group, so we had the whole day to do whatever we wanted. At 7:00 we had the first night of dinner prepared by us, and the half of us that didn't cook got to sit and enjoy the meal made by everyone else. Tonight's course included Bruschetta, shibobs with mozzerella, tomato, and salami, pasta with a butter and garlic sauce, chicken parm, and eggplant parm for the vegetarians, and canolis with fruit for dessert. The first night of cooking was definitely a success, and it will be nice to see how dinner turns out tomorrow night.

Florence day 8

Today we had our guilding workshop. We split up into 2 groups and half of us went from 9-1 and the other half went from 2:30-6:30. We got to try out several different guilding techniques for ourselves, and get first hand experience on how it's done. We made frames, and got to decorate them with 22 karat gold leaf. We also decorated the backing of the frame as well with whatever picture we wanted.

22 karat gold leaf

Day 7 in Florence

This morning we went to a Chapel. We talked about some of the artwork in the Chapel in detail, but unfortunatley we were only allowed to stay inside for 15 minutes. After the Chapel, we walked to the train station to talk about the architecture of it, and why it is so great. We had the afternoon free. At 5:30 we all met up to go inside the baptistry, where we got to enjoy the Mosaic ceiling, and talk about the artwork inside of that.

Day 6 in Florence

This morning we finally got to go on our walk with John. We stopped at a church on the way, where a lot of famous people are buried, including Michelangelo and Galileo. After the church, we then continued on our walk and walked up many hills and stairs to a place where you could see all of Florence. After we got to our destination, we had the rest of the afternoon free.

Day 4 in Florence

This morning we went to San Marco. San Marco used to be an operating monestary, but now it has been turned into a museum. You can still see all the dormitories that were used, and each one is decorated with a different painting. We spent a few hours talking about some of the paintings, and about how monestarys function. We were going to go for our walk after San Marco, but it was pouring, so the walk has been postponed again until Sunday morning. We have the rest of the day free, but its been raining on and off. Tomorrow we don't have anything planned as a group either, but the majority of us are taking a day trip to Rome.

Day Three in Florence

This morning we went to the Acadamia, where Michelangelo's David statue is. I think the David was a lot bigger than any of of us anticipated. We saw some paintings, and a lot of statues. The museum also had a section dedicated to music, and it had models of instruments from centuries ago, and it was intereseting to see how they've developed over time. We were supposed to go a mid-afternoon walk, but John wasn't feeling well, so the walk will be tomorrow.

Florence Day 2

This morning the group went to the art restoration school, where we spent a couple of hours learning how pieces of art are restored. We saw a couple of famous paintings that are in the process of being restored, a frame, among other things. After that, we all went to this market so we could buy food for cooking if we wanted. After the market, we had the afternoon free. We might still be doing something with the group tonight, but that still hasn't been decided. At the moment, we have the whole night to ourselves.

Florence!

We finally made it to Florence. Our flight left Paris at about 12:45, and we arrived at our apartments in Florence at around 4:30. We took a short walk down the street to a supermarket in case we wanted to buy food for dinner. At 8:45 we're meeting up again for a walk.

Stuck in Paris

So, unfortunatley, we were not able to leave for Italy this morning as planned. The volcano in Iceland went off AGAIN and our flight was cancelled. We're all staying at Le Pension for one more night, and tomorrow we're checking out of our rooms at 9:30. We have a few hours to spend in city, before we leave around 4 for a hotel near the Orly airport, where we will spend the night. As of now, we will fly out of Paris Tuesday afternoon for Italy, hopefully that doesn't change again.

Day 15

We have been in Paris for 2 whole weeks now. This morning we all had our last French class. After class we didn't have anything planned with the group so we had the whole day to ourselves. We don't have anything planned tomorrow either, so I'm sure everyone will take advantage of the last day in the City, and try to fit in everything that there is left to do. Sunday morning we leave here at 6:15 in the morning for the airport, and fly to Italy around 9.

Day 14

This morning we had class at the Alliance Francaise. Tomorrow is our last day of classes in Paris. After class, we took the metro, and went on a chocolate tour. We stopped at 4 chocolate stores, and came out with bags of chocolate, and enjoyed delicious hot chocolate. Some of us went to a special Mustard store to try some samples. Between the chocolate stores, we enjoyed a nice long walk through Paris, and stopped at some little shops on the way

We got back from the chocolate tour just in time for dinner. It was our last group dinner at Le Pension. After dinner, we had about 45 minutes until we had to meet up again, for a concert at Saint Chapelle. The concert was classical music, and it had violins, a flute, and a cello. After the concert, we got back on the metro and returned to Le Pension.

Day 13

Another morning of class at the Alliance Francaise. Only 2 more days left. After class, we had time for lunch and at 3:30 we went to a Marionette show in the Luxembourg Gardens. The show was directed more towards young children, but it was still interesting to watch.

After the show, we ate dinner with the group like usual, and then after dinner we went straight to the Pompidou, a museum of modern art. At about 8:50 we got kicked out of the museum because of a "suspect bag", and had to wait to get the coats, and bags that were checked in, because they wouldn't let us back in to get them. While we were waiting, we all enjoyed hot chocolate at Amorino Gelato, and eventually we were allowed back into the museum to get our bags.

Day 12

This morning we had class as usual at the Alliance Francaise. After school, all of the people who didn't go on the cheese tasting last week went today. The other half of us had the afternoon free. We had dinner as a group at 6:30, and then had the night to ourselves.

Day 11

Another cold rainy day in Paris. Today we started the 2nd week of classes at the Alliance Francaise. Some of us were put with new teachers, and new classes. After class, the afternoon was free until dinner with the group at 6:30. After dinner, we had the night to ourselves.

Day 9/ Day 10

Saturday was a completely open day. Some of us went to see the arc de triomphe, others went to disneyland paris.. among other popular places. Today we all went to lunch at 404, which is a North African restaurant. Some of the food included couscous, lamb, chicken, and vegetables. After lunch, we had the rest of the afternoon and the whole night free.

Day Eight

This morning was the 5th day of class, and the end of the first week. This morning, it was drizzling while we were walking to class, and that was really the first time the sun hadn't come out since we've been here. Thankfully, the sun did eventually come out. After class, we had the whole afternoon to ourselves, and we had nothing until 6:30 where we met at the Louvre. We spent about 2 hours walking around the museum, and discussing the pictures that each person chose as one of their favorites last weekend. We then had the rest of the night to ourselves, and don't have anything as a group again until Sunday morning.

The Mona Lisa

Day Seven

Today was our 4th day of school. Around 3, we took the metro and walked around Le Marais. We passed a lot of shops, and went to the Muji, a small convenience store. We stopped for pastries at Le Loir dans la theiere, which has an Alice and Wonderland theme. After that, we kept walking and passed the Bastille, pretty gardens, and the Sully Hotel. Then we got back just in time for our normal dinner at 6:30 and had the rest of the night free.

Day Six

This morning we went to class at the Alliance Francaise. Right after school, we all took the metro and went to the Orsee Museum, where we spent several hours discussing pictures in detail. After the museum, we had a few hours free until dinner, and at 6:30 we all ate together again, like every other night.

Day Five

Today was our 2nd day of class at the Alliance Francaise. After school, half of the group went to Androuet for Cheese tasting, where we learned a little about the history of different cheeses in Paris, and tried about 5 or 6 different kinds. We met for dinner at 6:30 like usual, and have had the rest of the night to ourselves.

Day Four

Today was our first day of class at the Alliance Francaise. After breakfast, we walked to the school, bought our books and were split up into 4 different classes. All the beginners are in the same class, and the 4 people who have taken French before are in 3 higher levels. After class, we had the afternoon free, until we all met up for our first dinner at Le Pension, which included chicken, french fries, vegetables, and flan.

More pictures from the city of happiness, radical politics and the endless consumption of coffee. It makes us very happy to come across our students sitting at cafés looking very Parisian and Existential indeed.

Day Three

Today we had most of the morning and afternoon free to do what we wanted. Several people decided to go to the Eiffel Tower. At 5:00 we went to an Organ concert at Saint Eustache. After that we all went our separate ways again, until a little before 8, where we started our boat tour along the Seine, where we saw a lot of the main sights in Paris. After the boat tour, we stopped and got ice cream. After ice cream, some of us went out for crepes, and everyone else returned to Le Pension. Tomorrow is our first day of class at the Alliance Francaise, which should be fun.

Lunch at La Coupole. Not a complete gastronomic success, but fun to eat with the ghosts of Hemingway and Simone de Beauvoir.  Madame Le Professeur.  Men playing boules in the Luxembourg Gardens.

Day Two in Paris

Today the whole group went to eat lunch at La Coupole. This is one of the more famous restaurants in Paris, as a lot of artists used to dine there. We all had either a two or a three course meal which included items such as chicken, beef, fish, and duck liver for the more daring.

After lunch, most of us went to visit the Louvre Museum, and had the rest of the afternoon free. At 9:00 we met up with John, and took a walking tour down to the Seine river, and the Louvre, and found out a lot about the city along the way. It was about a 2 hour walk, but it was very enjoyable to see Paris at night.

Luxembourg

Class picture in the Luxembourg Gardens.

After The Volcano

A few sidewalk scenes from sleepy, sunny Day One in Paris. I never get tired of watching people sitting at their tiny cafe tables watching the world go by.  John 

First Day in Paris

Today we arrived in Paris, after a short delay after the Volcanic eruption in Iceland. We left Boston at around 6 pm, and landed in Paris at about 6:45 this morning, or 12:45 EST.

After we all checked in, and claimed our baggage, we all took taxis back to Le Pension, where we will be staying for the next couple of weeks. The afternoon was basically free to explore the city, unpack, or catch up on much needed sleep. We took a mini tour in the late afternoon, where we were shown where to find important things such as the laundromat, the atm, the closest metro station, and of course, where to find a good croissant. After the mini tour, everyone went their separate ways for dinner, and to do whatever they wanted for the rest of the night. The rest of the weekend, is pretty much free as well, and we have a lot of time to explore what we each want to see in Paris.

eiffel_tower

eiffel_tower, originally uploaded by tracepapier.

Beautiful view of the Eiffel Tour with "Northern Lights" background.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason_stevens_photography/4345401830/

Notre Dame on a "sunny" day

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintzileos/400058093/