castles castles everywhere

I was extremely excited about visiting the Loire Valley—who doesn’t like castles. My excitement was increased when our tour guide turned out to be the most wonderfully entertaining and one of the most knowledgeable women in the Loire Valley. She was just perfect for our group.
I loved that she told us about the people of the castles and châteaux, because when you simply hear about the buildings or the furniture or the artwork your mind begins to run together but when you hear about the people that is when the stories come alive.
The people and the history of Europe have always fascinated me. I particularly love imagining life as it would have been for the people of the middle Ages, and it was awesome to hear about some of the very people that have always interested me—Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
With this background of people and history I was able to really appreciate the castles more. I was able to imagine all of the work and the life that was conducted in these huge homes.
My favorite castle was probably Chiverny—Francois I huge hunting lodge. I loved it because of its grandeur and the intricate design that you could look at forever but held a certain harmony that pleased your eye at the same time. The winding stairs were particularly wonderful (however I do not see how plays were held on them).
The entire Loire Valley holds a sort of mystery and amazing since of the past it just makes your heart come alive with imagination and the beauty pleases your senses and leaves you breath taken.
I <3 the Loire Valley.

monet's garden aka heaven on earth

When I read on our calendar that we were going to Giverny I had no initial excitement or extreme interest, because I had no idea what or even where Giverny was. When I found out that it would the place of Monet’s gardens I was very pleased: I like Monet it would be nice to see the garden’s that he painted so often.
If I had only known in that moment—when we walked up to Monet’s house you could not help but fall in love with everything around you.
The colors of the flowers were magnificent, and as our tour guide told us, were very particularly planted by Monet. He mixed certain warm and cool colors together to create a feeling or to draw your eyes in a certain way. Monet would love to see how the light played off of the different mixtures of color—it was just amazing to hear all of the specific detail he placed in his garden.
When we crossed the road toward the Japanese water garden my mind was still on the rows and rows of flowers back at the house, but when we came upon the water and the weeping willows my heart was stolen again. Monet really knew how to capture the imagination through natural beauty. He saw how humanity grows and can really live through nature. He was a little eccentric (a little more than most) but his genius has left the world with beautiful works of art and with a garden restored to its original beauty to again tempt the public as it had tempted him.

notre dame de paris: quasie wasn't home

When people all over the world hear the phrase “Notre Dame” most minds automatically go to the qwentisensal cathedral that is Notre Dame de Paris.
It is a beautiful cathedral with history and characterizes in an ideal form the Gothic style of architecture, but I do not personally believe that is it the “best” or most exciting Gothic cathedral of its kind. I have a personal soft spot for the Notre Dame de Reims—which exhibits the Gothic style at a higher stage but also in a larger scale. It is not as famous as the Notre Dame de Paris but it defiantly can compete in the “looks” department.
While visiting Notre Dame de Paris I could not help but think about Victor Hugo’s fictitious tale: “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. I continued to picture Quasimodo climbing the great tower to ring the bells to announce to Paris a celebration or a religious event. It was just amazing to be sitting in and looking at the building that inspired the story that is so well know throughout the world.
I enjoyed the Notre Dame; it has some of the most beautiful stain glass I have seen in France. The brilliant colors illuminate onto the stone pillars that hold up the structure—they are defiantly a highlight of the cathedral.
Notre Dame holds history and stories—it may not be my favorite but it is defiantly a “must see” in Paris.

the GRAND Louvre

Thousands of pieces of artwork; masterpieces housed in a single grand palace built for kings—the idea is humbling.
I have always heard that the Louvre museum is extremely overwhelming; not only because of its sheer size but also because of that small fact I mentioned—thousands of works of art and ancient artifacts that are just waiting to be looked at. It is overwhelming if you try and completely soak up each and every piece—which could take a lifetime if done correctly; but I personally found the Louvre intriguing and wonderfully “whelming”—I was neither under nor over whelmed.
As I searched through the halls and floors I found myself stopping at certain pieces and just walking past others. I found those pieces and artifacts that I could appreciate and understand and drew myself to them; I soaked them in, I thought about the hands that painted or made the piece. I imagined what was going through the artist’s head when they painted, sculpted or “mummified”. I took a step further with the pieces I identified with or could find a deeper appreciation for.
There were some pieces that I did not find myself drawn to; not because there was a lack of appreciation or recognition of genius, I just did not want to dig further. And that is the most wonderful thing about art—it doesn’t have to speak the in same way or form to everyone. One person can be completely touched by the Mona Lisa and another (me) can simply see it for a second and walk away filled.
Art is personal and can be interpreted and appreciated in every mind—this is why art is eternal, because at one point, even if it was just for one person, the art meant something deep to someone.

so we went to see the HUF kids

(SO as you might have noticed have been going back and writing about things that have already happened....yes well since i have not done a good job at keeping up along the way i am GOING BACK and posting some journals i had to write for a class! ENJOY)

France to Italy—it was a switch but it was made smoothly. I had never appreciated the little French I knew until I found myself in Italy, without any significant knowledge of the language. It was very humbling to find myself basically dumb to what was going on around me; I was extremely glad that there are a large number of American students in Florence along side thousands of tourists. I was not alone in my ignorance.
Florence is home to the Italian Renaissance and it is completely evident when you look out onto the city—after we arrived on our night train (we were looking good) Robbie Shakelford took us to a point where we could over look the entire city—the view was awesome. The Dumo stood out amongst the other buildings but once your eyes surveyed the mass that floated about the Dumo you could not help but let your mind wander to what used to take place in those streets. The ideas and the men (and women) that walks the streets of Firenze changing history while they lived their lives day to day as they saw fit.
Santa Croce—is an amazing sight in its own accord. Almost every major writer, philosopher or Renaissance man is buried underneath this church. Including: Dante, Alberti, Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Galileo; just knowing that these great men of thought and art were buried in this place made the building that much more alluring. Architecturally it was not my favorite but the people of the Renaissance defiantly make this church amazing.
Florence was awesome because of its history and art—but I would prefer the land of the Franks to the land of the Italians any day.

strasbourg NOT salzburg

Near the border of France and Germany, Strasbourg showcases an amazing mixture of French and Germany culture. It can be seen immediately in the architecture, which savors strongly of timber framed houses, generally associated with Germany, and built closely together along the Rhine River. Strasbourg was one of my favorite cities that we have visited this semester. The harmony of the German influenced mixed with French heritage is so smoothly spread throughout the old city that it just mesmerized me, and I fell in love with everything about Strasbourg.
One building that made my interest in Strasbourg peak was the amazing sandstone cathedral that towers over the city. It is massive; and has a uniquely “pink and deep red” color that distinguished it from the many other cathedrals we have seen. We I walked into the cathedral I literally gasped at the size of the nave and was in awe of the domed alter at the head of the nave. It is defiantly my favorite cathedral in France, next to “ours” in Reims.
The boat tour we took of the city was extremely memorable; not just because of the sights and the history or even going through the “lock and dam” system that is essential for life on the Rhine—no it was memorable because of the audio guide. The translation from French to English was well done, but literal and hilarious in many ways. Language is amazing in the ways that it translates and then doesn’t. Many phrases were said or stories were told that did not make a lot of sense in our native English; and the speaker was not as “chipper” as he could have been—none the less we were entertained and enjoyed our trip to Strasbourg immensely.
oh yeah and we got to sit in on a session of the EUROPEAN UNION which is based in strasbourg....too cool, huh?