Stonehenge, Bath and Finding Emmiecat

Hey everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted the last couple of days, but they have been filled with activities.

Monday, we were very touristy and took an excursion to see Salisbury, Bath and Stonehenge! I had not been to any of those places so it was awesome for me to get that opportunity.

Salisbury is a small English town that features a glorious cathedral. Some of the inside features as well as the stain glass windows are modeled after the grand Cathedral in Chartres, France. In any event, the building is spectacular and houses one of the last remaining copies of the Magna Carta, which invoked some of the first ideas of Democratic society.

I doubt I have to say much Stonehenge probably because most of you are familiar with it and because not much is known about it. It is thought to be some type of worship symbol for either the moon or the sun. In any event, the stones took a century to move to that location and are quite famous.

Bath, England was our last stop and is home to the Roman Baths. In the early days of the AD era, England was occupied by the Romans who loved to bathe and made it part of their daily social life. Bath has naturally hot springs so this place was a haven for the Romans. The baths have been conserved now and Bath brings in tons of tourists every day to view them. Bath is also quite charming on its own and I wish we could've had more time to walk around.

On Tuesday, Dad took us on a walking tour of Charles Dickens London. These included spots where Dickens wrote and lived. We were even lucky enough to get to go into an office building where he wrote and read part of A Christmas Carol thanks to lovely little English man.

After that, we made our way to the Bangladesh section of London where we had lunch. I was deprived of this meal because it was finally time for the lovely Emmie Derback to make her appearance in London! Last night, I met up with her and one of her British friends and we had a night on the town. Today, we are going to explore Camden and other hotspots of London before meeting up with Vanessa Dorismond and her sister for the New Year.

More later!

First Day in London!

Hey everyone!

I am so ridiculously happy to be back in London. The city is even more beautiful than I remembered and the Christmas lights only add to the appeal.

The city is full of Europeans and few Americans, which is the way I prefer it because it gives you some perspective and view into the lives of real Europeans.

Upon arrival, we got to our hotel yesterday and then went for a long walk around South Kensington and Knightsbridge. I love both of these areas, which feature couture shopping and elegant restaurants.  Our first meal in London wasn't super elegant though as we ended up eating pub food, which of course means fish and chips with beer...or mulled wine if you happen to be me:)

Today, we started our first full day in London with the Victoria and Albert museum, which features a ton of cool art recreations, vintage fashion and rooms filled with ironworks, architecture and so much more.

I had never been there so it was nice to check something off of my London list. The rest of the afternoon featured a walk to Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and the theatre district.

Naturally, it wouldn't be a trip to London without me venturing out on my own, so once my parents were ready to retire, I returned to Trafalgar Square and walked back to our hotel while browsing shops and theaters on Shaftsbury Avenue. The area is near Covent Garden and is absolutely divine.

Based on my time in London, here are some tips for travelers to this fair city.

1.) Utilize the Tube.
The London Tube is one of the best transportation systems in the whole world. It can take you from Heathrow Airport all the way through Central London and beyond. There are stops at every major location and stations are only a few blocks apart. It can truly be a great and easy way to see a lot of the city while fitting in with the locals!

2.) Don't be afraid to get "lost" in London.
London is incredibly hard to get lost in as the city is well directed and easy to navigate. With that being said, don't be afraid to wander without a map. There are no "bad" parts of London in my opinion and it can be super fun to be walking back to your hotel from some part of the city and stumble upon a totally new neighborhood. And if you do get truly lost, the numerous Tube stations will help you find your bearings.

3.) Dress up for museum, theatre outings and meals in London.
London is a very chic city with tremendous fashion. It makes for a better and classier experience to dress for each occasion appropriately.

4.) Do some local activities.
These might include things like riding the Tube on the afternoon commute, taking a walk in Hyde Park or mingling with locals at the neighborhood pub. One of the most fascinating things about traveling to a foreign country is seeing how locals live their daily life. Some of your best moments in London might not be touring Westminster Abbey or Buckingham Palace. It just might be a conversation with a local in a pub!

Here are some shots from today! Tomorrow, we are breaking from London for a day to visit Stonehenge and Bath. Having done neither, I am excited to see what they have to offer!

Until tomorrow!
AL

A Return Trip to London!

Hey everyone!

Celebrating the end of 2014 just would not be complete without a trip to Europe.

This year, I am blessed enough to be returning to my favorite city on Earth...London, England!

I  have been to London a few times, so the city is very familiar to me. I am actually past the point of wanting to go visit the traditional sights of London. I have done all that and know the city so I can't wait to just stroll around the city and explore areas that I haven't been to yet.

However, I will be returning to some of my favorite spots such as the National Gallery of Art, the Portobello Road Market on Saturday and Speaker's Corner on Sunday.

I also will be going to my favorite spot in the whole world, which is the Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park near Kensington Palace.

We will be staying near Russell Square and have stayed there before though I will be interested to go back to Earl's Court and wander around there to reminisce the days of studying Shakespeare with Georgetown as I did a couple years ago.

London and I have a truly special bond because of that trip so I cannot wait to get back to a truly glorious city.

We will also be there for New Year's Eve and I am super excited because two of my Georgetown teammates will be there. Emmie Derback played volleyball with me at Georgetown and is spending part of her vacation in Stockholm before joining me in London for the New Year.

Vanessa Dorismond, another Georgetown volleyball alum will also be joining us as she is visiting her sister in the United Kingdom.

This should all make for a truly lovely and exciting New Year's and vacation in general.

As always, I will update you all on our days spent being British!

That's all for now as it is close to being time to go to the airport to start the trip.

Gimme that Buckingham Palaceeeeeeee!

AL

Last Two Days in Florence..Don't Make Me Leave!!

Hey everyone!

Our last two days in Florence have been so spectacular that I am sad to think that we must leave this glorious city in the morning.

Yesterday morning, we went to visit the Palazzo Vecchio, which has been the seat of the Florentine government for some time. Pictures of the Palazzo Vecchio have appeared on the blog already but the piazza has many statue recreations from what previously stood there. Most prominently featured is a copy of Michelangelo's David, which is no where near as well done as the real one, but it is a copy.

In the afternoon, we visited the church of San Miniato. The Benedictan church sits on a hill and is home to a number of monks. We had to wait about a half hour until we could enter the church because the monks were conducting prayer. In this way, I felt the reality of the church as more than a tourist location because the monks dictated when we could enter the church. The wait was well worth it though because the inside of the church was gorgeous. The highlight of the interior is a mosaic depiction of Jesus, which had not been restored and was still mindblowingly beautiful. The fresco cycles on the walls of the church were also still very much in tact. We were also treated to an impromptu organ concert by one of the monks and it was absolutely amazing. Mom was excited because he played Toccata in D minor by Sebastian Bach and it was stunning. The entire concert was an unexpected treat.

While the interior of the church was a highlight, the church has an unbeatable view of Florence so naturally we took a few moments and took some pictures. See below for those!

In the evening, we had our farewell dinner with our group at Le Colonnine on the Via Del Benci. The meal was a five course, which included prosciutto with Tuscan croutons, vegetable soup, pasta with Tuscan meat sauce, roast pork loin with baked potatoes, and beefsteak Florentine style. Normally, I don't shout about meat but the beefsteak was cooked medium rare and was AMAZING! In the words of Robert Lee Abell, "FINALLY, someone knows how to cook a steak!". Dinner was followed by dessert, which was cheesecake for me. American restaurants should start using ricotta cheese in their cheesecake...it makes it so much softer!! We also tried Italian grappa as an after dinner drink, which was strong. You only need two shots!

This morning, we completed our trip with the tour at the Accadamia where Michelangelo's David is housed. I have seen many pictures of the David in class, but seeing the real thing is NOTHING like the photos. It absolutely took my breath away. It was truly a masterpiece. Interesting fact about Michelangelo, he used to sign his letters, "Michelangelo-Sculptor". After the David was finished, he just signed with "Michelangelo". I guess he knew he was going to be famous after that piece and he was right.

We also visited the Medici chapels, which were commissioned by Michelangelo who clearly was not a Medici fan as the chapel was not very attractive compared to his other work. After that, we said a farewell to our group and went on our way.

As Karen Blixen wrote, "it is a strange thing, farewell. There is such envy in it. Men go off to be tested, for courage. And if we're all tested at all, it's for patience, for doing without, for how well we can endure loneliness".

Sometimes, fascinating people come into our lives for just a moment and then they are gone, which is what happened today. Fortunately for me, everyone lives in DC, so it is conceivable that I will see them again. Dr. Ambrosio and his wife, Deborah are truly fantastic people who ran a wonderful trip. I learned so much and am blessed to have been apart of the journey.

After we departed from the group, Mom, Dad, Sara and I wandered around Florence. We had lunch at a pizzeria and took some pictures around the Ponte Vecchio and Santa Croce. Dad and I took a walk a little later around the church of Santa Maria Novella and retraced some steps from my EF trip of two years ago.

This evening, we took yet another walk and found the best gelato of the trip near the Uffizi Gallery. It is too bad it took us until the last night to find this place because it was so good that Mom and I both had two cups of it.

Our time in Florence might be over but we depart with fond memories of the beautiful city that we spent ten days in. Sometime when I'm older, I'll return to the city, close my eyes and recall days that have passed when I was a Georgetown student traveling to Florence with friends and family. I hope I get that chance.

I will share with you everyone's favorites of the trip though!

Sara
1. Church of San Miniato: seclusion on the hilltop, organ playing in the church. Feeling of the reality of the church where Monks control the visits.
2. Michelangelo's David--perfect true masterpiece.
3. Church of San Spirito--Brunelleschi's architecture

Mom
1. Donatello's David--bronze sculpture technique and the who androgynous effect
2. Duomo Baptistery Ceiling Mosaics
3. Views from San Miniato/Ponte Vecchio

Dad
1. Michelangelo's David
2. Frau Angelico's Innunciation
3. Masiacchio's "The Holy Trinity"

MINE!
1. Michelangelo's David--perfect in very way.
2. San Miniato--organ playing, seemed like a working church
3. Bargello Museum--Donatello's David, and other pieces
--Extra shout-out to Brancacci chapel and the Mosaccio fresco cycles.

I do hope you have enjoyed my blog! See below for pictures and make sure you read my blog whenever I take my next trip!

Near the Uffizi

THE DAVID!

View from San Miniato

I'm definitely going to return to Florence a third time!

There must be many pictures of the view from San Miniato

I will miss the proscuitto and delicious cheese!!

San Miniato

Me and Lil SRA

Dressed up for one final dinner

One last gelato!

May the wind be always at your back.

Ciao for now!

Annalee

Art..Art..Art...and SHOPPING!

Hey everyone!

We have had a great day in Florence as per usual!

We spent the morning at the Palazzo Pitti, which serves as museum, fashion site and former royal palace. We walked through the Renaissance museum which has a large collection of Botichelli and Raphael pieces. No photos were allowed so I have nothing to prove it...but we did go:) The pieces were spectacular and we were introduced to the mannerist style, which proved interesting.

The Palazzo Pitti is also home to the former royal chambers so some of the rooms were draped with finery and old-fashioned furniture, which I love. Other parts of the museum featured modern art and 12 paintings that were on loan from Musee D'Orsay in Paris so I got the pleasure of viewing some familiar Monet and Pizarro pieces. Such a great morning! On a side note, the Renaissance woman comment from the earlier post is working out really well for Mom...one of our group members even mentioned it to her a second time! She is a truly beautiful Renaissance woman:)

After the tour of the Palazzo Pitti, we wandered to Piazza Santo Spirito to find lunch. We ran across this small little pizzeria, which had fantastic pizza! Sara and I had this sweet sausage pizza with soft cheese and Dad had something similar with a different type of cheese. Mom had a pizza with zucchini and sheep cheese. Sara was later excited for her delicious chocolate cake, which she finally received.

Lunch was followed by a walk to the Ponte Vecchio neighborhood where Mom, Sara and I all bought LEATHER GLOVES! They are so soft and lined with cashmere. I'm so excited about them and I am sure they are too. Dad and Mom also bought a lovely decorative plate for the dining room, which will be an outstanding addition.

We walked back to the hotel and rested for a bit. In the evening, Mom, Dad and I walked around and went to a bakery at the Piazza Republica called Gilli's. We tried some pastries and I got to have the famous Italian hot chocolate, which is very thick. Delicious!

Tomorrow, we are touring the Palazzo Vecchio, which is now the location of the Florentine government and then gather some height for pictures from a church on the hill.

Make sure you check back tomorrow!!

Lunch!

A busy day in Florence:)

Views from the Palazzo Pitti

So beautiful!!

More views in Florence!

Modeling my new gloves:)

Delicious!!

Annalee

A Day of Sculpture and Church Visits in Florence

Hey everyone!

The art tour of Florence continues! Today was one of our most memorable days so far, which is saying a lot since we have seen some spectacular pieces already.

We began our morning at the Bargello, which is home to many famous Michelangelo and Donatello pieces. I was especially moved by the Brutus bust created by Michelangelo and Donatello's "David". Michelangelo was able to accurately depict the two faces of Brutus through small lines in the face. It was his way of saying that Brutus was the worst kind of traitor even though he was allegedly fighting for the Roman republic.

Donatello's "David" is a sculpture of the biblical King David of Israel immediately after he kills Goliath. The sculpture has a hint of homoeroticism and gender ambiguity. I'm not entirely sure why Donatello used those characteristics, but it could suggest that heroes come in all shapes and sizes.

After the Bargello, we went on to the Duomo Museum, which houses Michelangelo's Florentine Pieta. Those who have been to the Vatican will remember that there is Pieta there as well. Milan also boasts a Pieta by Michelangelo. However, the Florentine Pieta was commissioned by Michelangelo himself for his grave, but he thought it too ugly and became ashamed of it. I was flabbergasted by that knowledge because it is quite spectacular.

Now..the important stuff....LUNCH! We went back to the Ristorante Parone from the first day because Dad said he wanted to try other things on their menu. I ordered lobster spaghetti while Dad went back to the wild boar with pallenta. Mom had sea bass and Sara had pasta with a tomato/cream sauce. All DELICIOUS!

For dessert, I ordered creme brûlée, Dad had cheesecake and Mom had tiramisu. Now, the basic cheesecake might have been invented in New York City, but the Parone has perfected it. By far the most delicious dessert.

This afternoon, we continued our art journey and visited the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine and the Brancacchi chapel. Last night, we saw some slides on the fresco cycles so it was stunning to see it in person. The cycle features Adam and Eve depictions and the crucifixion of Saint Peter among others. Stunning!

Tonight, we relaxed a little and then went out for some gelato. Dad found this place near the Duomo that was top rated and it was spectacular. I had hazelnut, candied chestnut and egg cream, which were all great. I doubt I will encounter any food in Italy that I dislike!

Tomorrow, we have another full day of art tours so be sure to check back:)

Lobster Spaghetti!

Adam and Eve fresco 

The most perfect cheesecake

Saint Peter's Death

The banishment of Adam and Eve from Eden

Donatello's David. 

New Year's Eve in Florence!

Happy New Year!

I hope 2014 is off to a great start for all of you. Yesterday in Florence was relaxed during the day and crazy at night.

In the morning, we visited the Church of Santa Maria Novella located near the train station with the same name. I had been to this piazza before so it was memorable trip for me. The church has a history of Dominican order, which is obvious in the decoration. The frescoes are lovely with incredible attention to detail. They cover the walls and ceilings of the church parallel to the altar as well as behind it.

After we visited the church, we moved onto the Baptistery of the Duomo, which has a ceiling covered in mosaics depicting classic biblical scenes such as Adam and Eve, The Exodus from Egypt and the Crucifixion of Jesus. I have seen a great many pieces of art in churches throughout my life but this one blew me away. Never have I seen anything as detailed that ceiling keeping in mind that I have been to the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

In the afternoon, we walked around and had a delicious lunch of prosciutto and ravioli. I will never get tired of the Italian food:)

On New Years Eve, we gathered with our group for dinner. The menu was set with a champagne reception followed by salted cod w/ chickpeas, risotto with artichokes & shrimp, LOBSTER!,  and wild berry soup with panettone.

We had ordered coffee but then realized that midnight was only 15 minutes away so we ditched out on coffee and headed for the Palazzo Vecchio. It was packed with 20 year olds and people were going CRAZY! Firecrackers and Fireworks were being set off in the streets and people were throwing champagne bottles in the air. The Italians definitely know how to throw a good party. After the partying was over, we started 2014 in good Italian fashion with GELATO! A delicious way to being the New Year.

Today, we slept in because all the museums and locations were closed. After a late breakfast, we walked around the northern part of Firenze, which is mostly residential. It was a nice walk that we followed with lunch. I had a divine pumpkin soup coupled with a sirloin steak w/ arugula and Parmesan.

Tomorrow, we will start back with our academic visits so make sure you check back:)

Annalee