PARIS! and DISNEY!!!

Please enjoy some pictures from Paris...



















So I found out that my birthday surprise day was DISNEYLAND!! We headed to Disneyland Paris! and had a BLAST! I shall be updating videos/pictures and captions tomorrow, it's late and I'm pretty tired. Studio's been rough these past 2 nights...hope all is well, miss you all!




I will start to update these photos and comment on them all...please enjoy for now! LOVE YOU ALL! MISS YOU!

I LOVE MY PIPES

My Pipes called me and sang happy birthday to me...I love them.


PARIS NEWS AND PICS COMING SOON!

IN PARIS!

Well, it's finally come, my (and Matty's) 21st (and 22nd) birthday! We have arrived in Paris...and almost my entire itinerary minus tomorrow was/is a complete surprise from Matty. We are staying at this BEAUTIFUL chateau in a smaller town here in Paris, and it's unbelievably gorgeous. We have our own terrace! Vines, the works. I am going to take pictures tomorrow in the daylight. I cannot even believe it!

The ride into the hotel was QUITE an interesting one. We waited in line for a taxi (the line was enormous-because apparently there is a public transportation strike) and a Mercedes Benz pulls up...VERY exciting. So we get in, and this man speaks not a word of English (and obviously we don't speak a word of French) so Matty attempted to tell him the hotel we were staying at...the man didn't really understand, unfortunately for us. We showed him the name and the address in writing, and he whipped out his GPS (first sign...). As he was driving, he was clicking around on the GPS, and managed to click the wrong destination twice..getting directions to a completely different place. As he clicked it right the third time, we had about a 12 minute ride upon us (or so the GPS said). Halfway through the ride, he realizes he clicked the wrong place again, and turns around and heads back towards the airport...geez! FINALLY, we pull up into this little town, and this gorgeous chateau comes out of nowhere-GORGEOUS. There was a huge gate which opened as we entered...how important we are! And we got in...the hotel is just absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to post pictures tomorrow!

For now, I'm going to rest, I'm pretty exhausted from studio and everything week. Bright and early to the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and many other exciting things on the agenda! Talk to you all soon!

Another day in Rome!

Hello all,

Today has been a fairly relaxed day, but much schoolwork is upon us! We have a HUGE studio project coming up, and have a GIGANTIC midterm for our History Class on Thursday. Mostly, tonight, I will be studying, with some breaks :). No pictures today, but hopefully maybe some later after dinner! Miss you all!

Back in Rome! With Matt! VALENTINO EXHIBITION

So, I'm back in Rome, after our Hilltowns Tour! Matt got to Rome yesterday, and will be here for a few weeks on vacation, I'm so excited! Today, myself, Matt and some friends went to the Valentino show at the Ara Pacis Museum. Some photos:

One of Valentino's sketches, amazing.

One of the two gigantic "red dress" showcases.

The night Julia Roberts won the Oscars, from Erin Brokovich. Gorgeous!

Halle Berry's Dress..

Me with one of the dresses...

Another sketch, absolutely stunning!

Corsets.

The other "red gown showcase." I decided to get in on the action!

That's all for now. I am going to post pictures of my family dinner from tonight. I made (with the help of Matt, Morgan and Steph) STUFFED PEPPERS! I was absolutely stuffed. Have a good night all! Miss and love you all!

Hilltowns Tour

CIAO from Urbino, Italy! These past few days, I have been in Siena and arrived yesterday in Urbino! I have lots of pictures to come, but here are some to start out:

SIENA:

Inside the church:


Oliver was happy after our church visit! (My professor's son :))
Marching band in Siena!

Amazing view from the top of the tower in Piazza Al Mangia.

These are the stairs we climbed in order to get up!
At night, I got to hang out one last time with Alfredo and Alicia, the last time before the wedding!

Last night at Alicia's...

Well, this is my last night at Alicia and Alfredo's. I went today with Alicia and Alfredo's mom to try on her wedding dress! I have tons of pictures, but for obvious reasons, cannot reveal the dress until AFTER the wedding! It's gorgeous and she looks GORGEOUS in it. I'm so happy and excited. This is all for now!

CIAO from Siena!

Hello everyone from SIENA! On Friday I left for Alicia and Alfredo's in Siena, to be with them for a few days and then catch up with my class on our hilltowns tour. Between yesterday and today, I'm pretty sure I've met all of Alfredo's relatives. If I don't know italian by now, I'm in trouble. It was interesting being at a table with so many people and feeling so lost! Of course, unfortunately, I can understand mostly everything, or have at least a clue what's going on, but when it comes to speaking anything, and anyone looks at me to say just anything, I have only a pocchino of knowledge. I can say anything to get me around in Rome, "can I have this, is it possible to __," but real life conversation? Eh.

Some weird things: first of all, Alfredo's grandmother kept feeding and feeding me, I felt rediculous. I probably gained 10 pounds in the past 2 days. ALSO-they drink GRAPPA in their espresso. Not to mention, everyone drinks espresso like 24x a day.

Tomorrow: I will be going with Alicia to try on her wedding dress! I'm really excited to see it. At night, I'm meeting back up with my class, who will just be arriving in Siena for the beginning of our Hilltowns trip. How great does that work out?

Talk to you all soon! I will be on my tour for the next 5 days...and then MATT COMES TO ROME!!!

Hello to Pipes, Sleepy's, MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS! Love you all!!

LATE POST!

I'm sorry for not updating within this past week-ish. I've been in studio almost every night til the wee hours of the morning, haven't slept in about 3 days now. We have a HUGE critique today, for the completion of our partner projects on a site in Rome. Throughout the past few days, we have gone on a few walking tours. A couple days ago, we went to the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, as well as the Vatican Museums. I took tons of pictures and even some videos! Today, we just got back from a tour of the Capital Line Hill, as well as a visit to Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the most famous churches in Rome. I took a video there of people singing at mass in one of the side chapels, it was gorgeous! Enjoy the pictures and videos!

Very, very brief view of the Vatican and St. Peter's Square
Tuesday, Oct. 2



Santa Maria della Maggiore-Small "Side Chapel"
I have to apologize, I wasn't supposed to be using a camera, so the filming is terrible, but listen to the music!
Thursday, Oct. 4

Another mass in another side chapel!

I am in the middle of my critique right now, so I must get back to it. I'm ABSOLUTELY EXHAUSTED! This weekend I will most likely be visiting Alicia and Alfredo in SIENA, then off on Monday to our Hilltown Tour for 5 days! I will be posting my pictures later...but for now, arrivederci!