not so mini-vans and Montebelli, at last!

The journey to Tuscany was an exciting one, to say the least. The mini-vans that we reserved turned out to be...well...maxi-vans. Ms. Darling had a smaller version, in blue. Stylish, as always. Needless to say, the kids were riding in style, which was good thing as it turned out to be a challenge to exit Florence. Once that was accomplished, we headed to the ever intimidating walled city of Monteriggioni for a delectable meal. The best pasta, hands down, ever. We all agreed. We then took a very long ride down to Montebelli, with a slight unwanted detour through Guincarico, a mountain town with VERY narrow, VERY steep streets. The students enjoyed this immensely. Couldn't get to Montebelli fast enough! We were welcomed by the warm staff, sweet dogs, and clouds of jasmine. For dinner we had personal pizzas cooked il forno, as well as a full antipasta bar. Best of all, we got a swim in the pool afterward!

Florence--Day 2

A fabulous night's rest in our quaint little tents set us up for another fun day in Florence. On our way to the Duomo, we stopped by the famous Boar fountain to rub his nose for good luck. We then admired the gorgeous Duomo and waited in line *forever* until we finally got to climb to the top. Many, many stairs later we all agreed--what a view! After the long descent, we grabbed some cappuccini and panini and headed over to see David in the Accademia. Grabbed a few treasures in the market and headed back towards homebase. Stopped along the way at an enoteca for a delicious dinner.

San Giovanni's Day

Well, as we returned from our first day in the city, we walked past the Piazzalle Michelangelo to find it completely blocked off. Turns out, that is where they would be shooting off fireworks from! Right next to our campsite, no less! We had dinner close by, in anticipation of the view we would have. Sure enough, at around ten, as Kali aptly described before, the heavens opened. FOR AN HOUR! The kids the topped off the evening by taking over the empty dance floor at the restaurant. A wonderful night.

Due to lack of service...

I'll be updating the blog a bit, now that we have returned. Internet access was spotty, as expected. We were also on the go until ten in the evening, at least, so blogging took a back seat. I'll also add a few thoughts to previous posts, as well as photos.

The train to Florence was exciting, but we were all a little tired and disoriented upon arrival. We caught the bus up to our campground and dropped our stuff off so that we could hurry down to the Uffizi for our appointment. Inside, we saw many Italian pieces from the 11th century and talked about the iconographic style of that period. Most of the pieces were very religious, which created an easy segue to Lady Gaga. We moved on to the influence of the Medici's on the study of art, specifically Bronzini's work (which Nadia presented for us) as well as Bottecelli's (which Constantine presented). Unfortunately, Zoe's Uccello painting was out on exhibition, but we did see a similar one of his in the Louvre. We headed back to the campsite, stopping for a well-deserved gelato on the way. BTW, Coach Delinsky, the girls wanted me to take a pic of them running up to the campsite to show you that they really did work out!

Flags and drumming in Siena

Yesterday we went to Siena, and saw many of the preparations for the Palio. Although it was very hot outside it was a lot of fun being in the city. Some of us visited the museum of torture instruments, which was a little creepy. We also went to a church called San Dominico (I think), which has the head of Saint Catherine on display. My favorite part of Siena was seeing the parades. We saw parades for two different contradas. I don’t remember what the first contrada was, but the second one was the Snail. The Snails’ parade was flashy and exciting. They were all wearing costumes with the contrada’s colors and they had drummers and people waving giant flags. They also had people from the contrada following and cheering and singing songs. It was fun to watch, and it looked like so much fun to participate in!

Mrs Thompson writes:

A very exciting day in Siena. Parking was a challenge, but once we got inside the gates, we were swept up into the preparations of the Palio. The Palio is a famous horse race that occurs in Siena's Campo twice a year. Each neighborhood, or contrada, gets a chance to race in one of the races. The winner gets bragging rights for the rest of the year. The winning horse eats at the head of the contrada's feast table, which winds down the main street of the neighborhood. The parades take place for days before the race. The whole contrada takes part: men, women and children. Each of our students was given a contrada to study. The minute we found a vendor, everyone bought the scarf for their respective contrada and wore it for the day. When we went to the main cathedral to admire the gorgeous stone work, the lady letting us in suggested we have our own race!

Train to Italy

After an adventurous stay in France, we took the overnight train to Florence.

Kali documents...

"Thank God, Drew had brought Nutella with him and we had a major Nutella party. Rachel was talking in the other cabin with Gordon, Zoe and Constantine. Then we arrived to Italy. It was magical. The views and the colors are just breathtaking. That night there was a fair there and apparently there were fireworks that I personally didn’t know about, and ended up figuring it out when one went off practically right next to us while we were eating dinner. Stephen and I thought the rest of the group went down to the cliff. The fireworks were incomparable to what we see every year on July 4^th. It was like the heavens opened above and the dust was falling on us. After that we went completely crazy on the dance floor. Then we got to Montebelli and this farm is just a dream come true. There’s a pool, horses, and the view, oh that view; its like a painting painted by Monet. Even a picture can’t capture its beauty. Even though I do miss my home, I will deeply miss Italy, as will everyone else."

Thursday: Sacre Coeur in Montmartre

Stephen says:

"This morning, we left on the metro to Abysses to climb up a few billion stairs to a basilica on a hilltop with a view of the whole city. Once at the top, after taking in the view, we settled down with our cameras and/or sketchbooks and whipped up some more sketches. We had lunch in a cafe on the hill with awesome hotdogs. Some of the students (me included) paid the six euros to enter the Basilica dome. Once at the top, we agreed it was worth thirty euros. We could see the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Centre Pompidou, and pretty much the entire city. It was awesome to say the least. We traipsed through the tourist trap market at the bottom of the hill and took the metro back to the hotel. We're leaving for Italy in a moment. Au revoir, Paris. Ciao Florence."

More street art

Now we see it everywhere we go!

Il fait pleut...

Well, the Musée D'Orsay was still on stike so we decided to go on to the Centre Pompidieu for some modern art. Rain, rain go AWAY! Then off to the Musée des Arts Decoratifs to see Ralph Lauren's fancy cars and have a tour of the Animal exhibit. No pics of the cars allowed, but we had an amazing tour. Our guide was funny and engaging and gave us lots of history and background. Then a few hours in the Tuileries. Finally a blazing self-guided tour (three hours) of the Louvre. Students talked about the paintings and artists that they had researched. A very late dinner near the Eiffel tower.

Bathrooms in Paris

Believe it or not, they were on strike too...

Street Art--Space Invader

Nadia says:

"Nadia Fallahi

During my sleepless, seven hour flight, Ms. Donoghue had suggested that I watched a movie called “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” The movie is about a few really cool underground street artists. It talks about Thierry Guerra, a Parisian man who had moved to Los Angeles and opened a high-end thrift store, and how he began to pick up a video camera and film everywhere he went. When Thierry returned to Paris for a holiday, he visited with his cousin, a street artist named Space Invader. Space Invader’s work is based off of the game called Space Invaders, and he replicates the little characters in tiles. The movie also talks about Sheppard Fairrey as well as the notorious and insane Banksy. Banksy and Space Invader never show their faces in the movie, most likely to keep their identity a secret. On one of our days in Paris, we had been walking along the Seine to Sennelier, a very famous art supply store. A few of us had walked across the street from the shop to take some pictures by the water. Upon returning to the other side where our group was, Kali was showing Ms. Thompson a picture she had taken of a Space Invader piece right next to where we stood, yet she never bothered to tell us! Those of us that had seen the movie were quite excited. During the rest of our day, we had seen two others as well as two the day after. Hopefully we can get our hands on some Space Invader shirts before we leave!"

French politics up close...

"Strike? Why would they want to go on strike when they can make money?" Learning about France and its wonderful history of protest and revolution has become an integral part of our trip, inadvertently. Musée D'Orsay? Closed. Alors. Off we went to enjoy the Left Bank, instead. We did get to see Sarkozy leaving the National Assembly...with lots of protection.

Lucy says:

"Paris has been an interesting experience. Because government workers have been going on strike (only on Tuesdays and Thursdays), a number of the museums have been closed and the metro was packed because the train got shut down too. Packing ourselves into the burning hot metro cars was quite the experience but still exciting nonetheless. While the strikes have made for some unexpected plan-making, I think we are all happy to have been part of what is going on in France and it makes for some good stories."

Went to Sennelier to buy beautiful supplies and made lots of art outside the various churches we visited. The students attracted a tour group (pictured) that watched them work. Shopped for perfume at Annick Goutal in the shadow of St. Sulpice. Compared architecture of the various cathedrals. Saw a Street Art show...kind of a contradiction. More on that later.

Zoe says:

"The buildings in France are beautiful. It’s hard to pick a favorite. I’ve drawn two pictures that I really like. I drew one of them outside of the St. Sulpice church. There were two people, a man and a woman, sitting outside the church talking, so I drew them. Then, while we were sitting in the grass outside the Louvre I saw two men laughing and I drew them. I like both of these drawings a lot, mostly because the people in them look like they are having a great time. I also drew some buildings, but I don’t think they are as good as the people."

Paris!

Kali says:

"Paris. One of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to. My first impression of this place was murky and dirty, not really somewhere I want to be staying in. Then, I came with this group and my opinion on it changed completely. This is a beautiful city filled with art and culture, something you can’t exactly find in our area back in the U.S. Even though we had minor, or great set backs, for example the rain and cold even though the weather channel forecasted sunshine and warmth and having poor Gordon stuck at the airport… Subtracting all that, this has been a once in a life time experience."

Drew says:

"Notre Dame is giant and it is very gothic. The friezes on the cathedral are spectacular."

Flight in.

Well, it has been a while since our last post and lots has happened. We flew over in one of the new HUGE Airbus 380. It has two levels and we even had a camera view from the tail!

Upon arrival in Paris, we ran into a delay (I'll allow the Constantine to speak about that) but we prevailed!

Constantine says:

"Preface: he’s just fine. After about 12 hours of grogginess and recycled air with my left arm and leg buried under a landslide of fat European man, I stumbled into the tunnels under the airport towards customs. As we pooled together on the French side of customs, our headcount was down one, and in our sleep deprivation we couldn’t quite figure out who it was, until Joe mentioned, “I thought I saw the Interpol walk Gordon into an interrogation room.” We would not see him again until the afternoon, and he won’t say much about his time."

The real story: Gordon has used an old passport accidentally and Interpol took four hours to figure out that he wouldn't be a threat to their national security (!!!). He was a trooper, and Mrs Donoghue stayed by him the entire time, shooting daggers at the curt policemen with her eyes. We all continued on to the hotel and checked in. Our rooms are cozy and clean and close to the sights.

Last minute thoughts...

Ok...so I was at H&M picking up a few last minute items and...lo and behold...I hear "Mrs. Thompson?" I got to see Esther a day earlier than expected! Perhaps you too are still up at 11:50 packing, like I am, out of sheer anticipation. Or, maybe you are clever like Mrs. Donoghue, whom I assume went to bed hours ago. Nevertheless, we will all sleep soundly on the plane and it is a good thing because we are going to be VERY busy very soon! Really. I can't wait. New addition: On the 22nd, we are going to have a tour of the Animal exhibit at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris--all items inspired by animals! Then we will go see Ralph Lauren's famous car collection and sketch away. See you tomorrow!
Link for Animal exhibit
Link for Lauren exhibit

Weather!

Check out the new weather icons, peeps! Paris will be nice and cool, it seems. Hopefully, the weather will hold off. If not, we can always duck into a nice warm cafe for chocolat! Italy, of course, will be a little warmer. Bring layers, kids, layers.

Map our trip on Google maps

Follow us through Paris and Italy!


View Bullis Art Intensive 2011 in a larger map

Tips for getting ready!! (a repost)

Here are a few things that you might consider while you are packing up to go. First, make sure that you notify your credit card company that you (or your child) will be traveling and where that will be. That way, when they see charges in Paris they won't think that someone unauthorized has taken off with your card. Students: be sure to bring along your student ID or some other way of identifying how old you are so that you do not have to tote around your passport. Many attractions in Paris are free for under 18's and reduced for 18-25's. Also, for your carry-on, you may want to consider a comfortable bag that zips shut. That way, when we are walking around you will have piece of mind that your wallet won't walk! Also be sure to keep an eye on the weather...

Lastly, furnish your mind these last weeks before the trip.
Visit the Slow Travel site (the link is posted for you). This site is INVALUABLE! It gives lots of great advice on things you would never think of (like bathroom etiquette in Paris, who knew?). Brush up on your Art History (good book: The Story of Art) and look up the sights we will be seeing online. Look on google maps at the satellite view of the places we will be staying to give yourself a sense of space. Finally watch some movies, especially those with subtitles so you get used to listening to the language. Here is a list of some that I have enjoyed, but feel free to post others!! French: Amelie, Chacun Cherche Son Chat (have not seen this but have heard that it is great), Trois Couleurs: Bleu, Blanc, et Rouge, An American in Paris, Ronin, The Bourne Identity (some scenes, though it gives you a feel for Europe) and if you must: The DaVinci Code. Italy: A Room With a View (!!), Under the Tuscan Sun, Tea with Mussolini, Il Postino (about Neruda, the poet), Stealing Beauty (though this might be a bit risque, I've heard and read it is a great portrait of Toscana ). A bit of a warning: pretty much any movie about Tuscany has a subplot about some American being swept off her feet by her new-found lack of inhibitions or a hot Italian. Parisian movies sometimes have uncomfortably realistic love scenes. Just want you to be prepared...but don't let that scare you-just fast-forward. It is worth it to see the places and hear the language.
Books: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Miserables, A Tale of Two Cities, DaVinci Code (hey, it's fun), The Lives of the Artists (Vasari), The Italians (fascinating), the Rough Guides to Paris and Tuscany, Rick Steves books and videos, phrasebooks, pod casts on learning French and Italian (!!)

Playdate tomorrow at Noon rm 224!

Dear Travelers, please bring your sketchbooks, because Ms. Donoghue, Ms. Darling and Ms Thompson have been working hard to find lots of goodies for you to paste inside. Paintings, architectural features, drawing and writing prompts, even some puzzles. Most importantly, you will be getting your artists to research. Be there or be square!

Thank Heavens for Street View! Or rather...thank Google.

Interested in seeing where our hotel is in Paris? Check out street view and take a walk around the neighborhood. Just drag the little yellow figure down to the streets and take a look around!