This morning, we entered the Netherlands…it is beautiful and somewhat like we have stepped into a version of It’s a Small World. All of the windmills and the houses with the perfectly manicured lawns are just so picturesque. Once we arrived in the Netherlands, we traveled by bike through world heritage windmill park. This was a tough ride as the rain was coming down and FREEZIN! I was also worried cuz I had not been on a bike for years. So that whole saying about riding a bike appears to be true…you never forget. I spent so many years on the 2 wheels of bike that I forgot how comfortable I m riding. I am excited to return home and ride the bike I purchased a few months ago Anyway, we go on this ride and we have a couple of girls that truly did not know how to ride a bike. Kim and I worked with them (Kim running along behind them pushing them along!) and both girls were able to ride and make the entire trip…it is experiences like this that make traveling with students amazing. The look of accomplishment in their eyes is just contagious!
Once we completed our ride, we went on a walking tour of the Hague, which is the seat of Dutch govt and royal family. The only problem with the tour is that it is Sunday and everything is closed down. It seems that throughout most of the countries that I have traveled to on this tour, everything shuts down on Sunday for church etc. No stores are open or anything! Makes walking tours kinda quiet
On our walking tour, we stopped to take pics outside of international court of justice, otherwise known as the "peace palace". The building in beautiful and built in the gothic style. Interestingly enough, while the building is beautiful, it has borne witness to some of the world’s worst crimes of humanity. Milosevic and Saddam were both tried here at one point. The international court of justice was established after WWII to prevent another genocide like Germany from happening. As we know, it does not prevent genocide but instead tries to bring justice to those affected by it….
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Day 7-Belgium
We have arrived in Belgium! We began our one day in Belgium in a town called Ypre...the site of the In flanders field museum. This was one of the most powerful museums that we went into on this trip so far. The way the museum is set up, you get a card of someone that was involved in wwI at Flanders field and then you follow their story throughout the museum. You learn all about their experience at the fields and how their story turns out. The process of the museum was set up to be an assault on your senses from every angle. This was pretty tough in that you can hear all of the sights and sounds of war. It truly brought home the horror that the thhousands of men of war experienced on the poppy fields behind Ypre. The city is a quiet lil town nestled along side the site of one of the major sites of battle of WWI....
After the Flanders field museum, we were taken to a chocolate shop and given an educational progra on the process of making chocolate and how it is imported etc. Of course, i had to purchase much chocolate for the family and now i can only hope that I can get it home without it being a melted mess! I was not concerned at first but now, the temp is rising oh dear!
After the chocolates, we indulged in a bit of belgian waffles with ice cream:) Woo Hoo!!
Finally, we stopped for pictures at the menin gate memorial. This is a memorial to the 55,000 people that lost their lives in WWI that were not able to have proper burial. When you see the names on the wall, it makes the tragedy of war real.
Day 6-Paris Take Two!
Our day started with a trip to Versailles…the palace of the Sun King, Louis the XIV of France. Louis was king during the times of the 3 muskateers and the movie “man in the iron mask” is written about some of the legends surrounding his reign. The palace is just simply over the top…everything is gold and gilded and insane. There is quite a lot of artwork and beautiful sculptures. The last time I was in Paris, I toured Versailles but it was the same day as the Louvre ad we were behind schedule so we had to rush through the palace. It was way better this time because we were able to do the audio tour learning the history behind the various rooms and royal apartments. The best part of the palace are the gardens with the maze and all of the greenery. Oh yeah! One thing I forgot, the last time I was at Versailles it was raining a river and today the weather was beautiful with the sun shining for our visit to the Sun Kings home
The afternoon is spent on a walking tour of paris and and ending with a visit to Notre Dame! Woo Hoo!!!! It is so beautiful in this cathedral. Makes me want to convert to Catholicism! Haha, just kidding mom
I took pictures of the amazing stained glass and all of the gothic architecture. The church is just astonishing to say the least. Pictures to come…
The evening ended with us in an area of Paris called monmartre. This is the artists’ village that saw the rise of the impressionist movement including Van gogh, Renoit etc. The village boosts another amazing church called the Sacre De Criste up on a hill overlooking paris in the distance. This church is beautiful In its own right but different than Notre Dame. The church is marble white and stands atop like 500 steps up over the city. Once I caught my breathe from the climb, I took it all in and I can see why there was such great artistic energy coming from this area. We had dinner up here and the kiddos all tried some escargot. I was very proud of them. Did I try it? Hell no! I have been a lil less adventurous with my food this time with all my allergy probs from this last year. Trying like crazy to not have any reactions over here!
Tomorrow we head for Belgium!
The afternoon is spent on a walking tour of paris and and ending with a visit to Notre Dame! Woo Hoo!!!! It is so beautiful in this cathedral. Makes me want to convert to Catholicism! Haha, just kidding mom
I took pictures of the amazing stained glass and all of the gothic architecture. The church is just astonishing to say the least. Pictures to come…
The evening ended with us in an area of Paris called monmartre. This is the artists’ village that saw the rise of the impressionist movement including Van gogh, Renoit etc. The village boosts another amazing church called the Sacre De Criste up on a hill overlooking paris in the distance. This church is beautiful In its own right but different than Notre Dame. The church is marble white and stands atop like 500 steps up over the city. Once I caught my breathe from the climb, I took it all in and I can see why there was such great artistic energy coming from this area. We had dinner up here and the kiddos all tried some escargot. I was very proud of them. Did I try it? Hell no! I have been a lil less adventurous with my food this time with all my allergy probs from this last year. Trying like crazy to not have any reactions over here!
Tomorrow we head for Belgium!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Day 5-Paris, France
So today we began our crazy day with a trip to the Louvre! I was pretty excited about this since the last time I was here in Paris, our tour of the Louvre was cut short as we had run out of time. This time we had a guided tour of the all of the main exhibits for about an hour and a half. I was able to see the sculpture of Hamurabi's code...this is the first evidence from Mesopatamia of the earliest written laws. Many of the laws of civilization are still loosely based on the laws written on this statue...pretty amazing stuff. We also saw the Winged Victory, The Mona lisa and the famous pic of Napoleon crowning Jospehine at his coronation. Overall the tour was awesome and the guide was easy to follow. Also pretty cool aspect of the Louvre, the Ministry used to be based there and there were sections of the Louvre that were closed off last time I went that are now open...All in all, I would say that ths time, the Louvre was a victory!
After our trip to the Louvre, we had lunch and headed to the Eiffel tower. As you all know, I am scared to death of heights and so i was sweating bullets on this one! We got to the tower and lo and behild, i am in the firssst group going up...can you believe that crap? of course you can :) the elevator ride was WAY freaky but ironically once i was able to get outside in the open air, i felt great and was not afraid at all. we wandered around and took pics for a bit and then headed down to the ground level again.
All in all, a great day in Paris taking in the major sites and tomorrow, we take our waking tour and head to Notre Dame...woo hoo!
then til,
Thea
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Day 4-Caen, France
Well, today was an early start! We were up and out of the ferry by 5:45 am and on the beach in France! Classic french style breakfast of croissant and coffee...then off to the Normandy American Cemetary. This cemetary is American/French run in honor of the 9500 Americans that gave their lives in the D Day invasion. This museum/cemetary was breathtaking...sombering and overwhelming. Upon entering, people are able to look up any family members that may have been buried at the cemetary and then the staff will perform a special ceremony over the grave if they discover your relative there. We had an hour to tour the site, and take pictures. I will try to post one to this blog if it will upload...
From the Normandy cemetary, we went to Saint Laurent se mer where we had a memorial with the mayor of the town at Omaha Beach. This was beyond moving. THe mayor spoke at length about the United States role in the D Day invasion and how we saved Europe from Hitler. There was a flag raising ceremony with each flag of the ccountries that helped represented. This was so incredibly moving...i bawled like a baby for the anthem. The best part of the flag raising was that any student that had a relative that died or participated the war was able to raise the flags.
We had lunch on the beach and then headed to Caen where the WWII museum is located. We went through the museum for 2.5 hours. I will not lie, we did not board the ferry the night before until 11 pm and did not sleep til at least 12. Up by 4 made for a LONG two and a half hours through the museum.
Once we finished the tour, we headed into Paris at dusk and went directly to the hotel. We all went silently to bed and slept well! Tomorrow, the Louvre!!!! Woo Hoo:)
Til Then,
Thea
From the Normandy cemetary, we went to Saint Laurent se mer where we had a memorial with the mayor of the town at Omaha Beach. This was beyond moving. THe mayor spoke at length about the United States role in the D Day invasion and how we saved Europe from Hitler. There was a flag raising ceremony with each flag of the ccountries that helped represented. This was so incredibly moving...i bawled like a baby for the anthem. The best part of the flag raising was that any student that had a relative that died or participated the war was able to raise the flags.
We had lunch on the beach and then headed to Caen where the WWII museum is located. We went through the museum for 2.5 hours. I will not lie, we did not board the ferry the night before until 11 pm and did not sleep til at least 12. Up by 4 made for a LONG two and a half hours through the museum.
Once we finished the tour, we headed into Paris at dusk and went directly to the hotel. We all went silently to bed and slept well! Tomorrow, the Louvre!!!! Woo Hoo:)
Til Then,
Thea
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Day 3 :) The London Eye/Parliament
Today was a lil bit hectic! We ran late due to the bus being stuck in traffic so the day had a rocky start. We headed to the London Eye straightaway at a brisk pace:) the London eye (see weblink) is the world's largest ferris wheel. sooooooooo i thought i would be freaking out but once I came to the front of the line, i realized that the situation was not gonna be too bad:) The Eye is more like a tramway than a ferris wheel. The pods are HUGE (we fit 20 people in ours) and completely encased in glass. We got to see the best view of London from all angles and took a bunch of pics. I hope to post the pics soon as well! While in the Eye, we could see a huge fire burning in London's west end. What is it with me and fires lately???? Anyway, the EYE was awesome and I highly recommend it to everyone for some great pics of London!
From the London Eye, we made tracks to the London School of Economics to meet with a former member of Parliament...this was hampered by the aforementioned fire. At first, we did not think we were going to make it as the bulk of the West End was being evacuated. Our delegation manager worked with the police (Bobbies as they are called here) who helped us plan another route to the meeting at the school. We met with the MP and he talked with the students about the differences between our governments. The students asked a lot of good questions and the meeting went off without a hitch once we diverted around the fire.
Lndon School of Economics
Fom the meeting with the MP, we had a quick lunch and headed to an old shopping district in London called Covenant Gardens. Not too much to see here, so street vendors with the usual wares and a lot of store we have back home...Sketchers (yes, Eric i thought of you!), Fossil etc.
After shopping, we drove to Portsmouth, England to catch the overnight ferry to Caen, France....pretty quiet day overall if you discount the running an hour behind, diverting around a huge fire and such quiet:)
Til tomorrow...
thea
Day 2! Tour of London...
Today was a trek around London to be sure:) We started out the day driving into the city for our tour. We saw Westminster Abbey on our drive in as well as Big Ben. We met up with our tour guide Sarah and she showed us the sites! We took many pics walking along downtown london around the church, of Ben Ben and the parliament buildings. We then took a walk through Henry VIII's gardens, talk about some beautiful flowers and well trimme hedges:)
From there, we took scenic pictures of Buckingham palace and witnessed the changing of the guard. What a cool event that happens multiple times per day. There was a band playing and the whole nine yards! I had to have a lil chuckle though since i do not really approve of this crazy lil shuffle marching thing they do to get into their places...looks a lil silly if you ask me. I am just sayin!
From there, we hopped on a bus over THE london bridge and headed for the Tower:) The tower is not actually one tower but a series of towers built over centuries by kings through the ages. You all must know that I was in my glory with all of the history from the Tudors to Richard III (he was very naughty!) and down through the ages. I FINALLY felt validated reading all those damned history plays in my advanced Shakespeare courses in college:) We saw the crown jewels at the tower and holy CRAP! those are some diamonds:) There were videos of the queen's coronation etc. Pretty cool stuff...
Saw the spot where Anne was executed along with Henry's 5th wife years later. The two bishops Henry executed for not recognnizing him as the head of the church Sir Thomas Moore and that other guy that I cannot remember.
So much history within those walls. I was blown away the entire time i was there....
Once we were done with the tower, we headed into town for a quick dinner (sheppard's pie) and off to the theater. We saw the sequel to Phantom of the Opera! The talent was awesome and the story line was pretty cool. Andrew Lloyd Webber produced all the music again for this one. What a treat! London's west end is very much like our broadway but maybe a lil bigger with more fancy signs:)
Anyway, we were exhausted by the end of the day since we left the hotel at 8 AM and got back after 11 PM.....
needless to say, I needed a shower and sleep:) Tomorrow, The London Eye-worlds tallest ferris wheel....
Helpful Links:
http://www.lovenervedies.com/
www.hrp.uk.org/toweroflondon
http://www.westminster-abbey.org/
From there, we took scenic pictures of Buckingham palace and witnessed the changing of the guard. What a cool event that happens multiple times per day. There was a band playing and the whole nine yards! I had to have a lil chuckle though since i do not really approve of this crazy lil shuffle marching thing they do to get into their places...looks a lil silly if you ask me. I am just sayin!
From there, we hopped on a bus over THE london bridge and headed for the Tower:) The tower is not actually one tower but a series of towers built over centuries by kings through the ages. You all must know that I was in my glory with all of the history from the Tudors to Richard III (he was very naughty!) and down through the ages. I FINALLY felt validated reading all those damned history plays in my advanced Shakespeare courses in college:) We saw the crown jewels at the tower and holy CRAP! those are some diamonds:) There were videos of the queen's coronation etc. Pretty cool stuff...
Saw the spot where Anne was executed along with Henry's 5th wife years later. The two bishops Henry executed for not recognnizing him as the head of the church Sir Thomas Moore and that other guy that I cannot remember.
So much history within those walls. I was blown away the entire time i was there....
Once we were done with the tower, we headed into town for a quick dinner (sheppard's pie) and off to the theater. We saw the sequel to Phantom of the Opera! The talent was awesome and the story line was pretty cool. Andrew Lloyd Webber produced all the music again for this one. What a treat! London's west end is very much like our broadway but maybe a lil bigger with more fancy signs:)
Anyway, we were exhausted by the end of the day since we left the hotel at 8 AM and got back after 11 PM.....
needless to say, I needed a shower and sleep:) Tomorrow, The London Eye-worlds tallest ferris wheel....
Helpful Links:
http://www.lovenervedies.com/
www.hrp.uk.org/toweroflondon
http://www.westminster-abbey.org/
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Hampton Court-6/12/2011
I think mom should get a fireplace like this in her new house:) Heehee....one of the many kitchens of Henry! I mean that is what i would call a matanza pops!!!!!
Day 1-London, England
So, I am gonn try this whole blogging from the road thing out...Never done anything like this for a trip but thought it would be a cool way to get info out in a quick wholesale fashion AND use the bog as the journaling for my scrapbook when I come home.
So yesterday we left the HOT HOT town of El Paso, TX at about 1 PM. We flew to atlanta where we had a four hour layover...while there a few of our girls learned that they are not to leave their bags unattended in airports:) Kim and i carted thir bags around the airport like baag ladies looking for them, imagine how fun that convo was for them heehee.....
We got on the plane and thank you angioedema, I took my antihistamine and GOOD NIGHT world!!! I slept until they fed us "dinner at 1230 ish and then again til breakfast and again til touchdown. What the 8 hours of sleep on a plane. OH to have had that when we went down under! So we arrived at the airport a lil smelly but refreshed!
Upn arrival, we were greeted by Kat our delegation manager...she is from Austria and jsut completed her MA in English. She has traveled with P2P before so it is nice to have a leader who has travelled this program before with us for the journey.
We left the airport and went to a pub for lunch. We had sausages with mash aka saugases and mashed peetatoes (as Ayden would say). It was pretty darned good and it came with a coke so who am I to complain?!
After lunch we headed to Hampton Court....so this is Henry VIII's castle. I was way excited considering how much I LOVE the Tudors (Audra I know you are feeling me on this one!) and the Other Bolyen Girl. We toured the whole castle and went all through Henry's apartments etc. I was pretty darned excited. I got some brochures and maps that I can share when I get home.
Then we had a lil dinner at a mall food court type place and back to the hotel. The kiddies are in bed for the night and tomorrow we head on a walking tour of London. Changing of the guard, Crown Jewels, Buckingham Palace and the TOWER of London...I expect one of you to come for me if they decide that I am too brash and want to lop off my head! See you tomorrow!
Love,
Thea
So yesterday we left the HOT HOT town of El Paso, TX at about 1 PM. We flew to atlanta where we had a four hour layover...while there a few of our girls learned that they are not to leave their bags unattended in airports:) Kim and i carted thir bags around the airport like baag ladies looking for them, imagine how fun that convo was for them heehee.....
We got on the plane and thank you angioedema, I took my antihistamine and GOOD NIGHT world!!! I slept until they fed us "dinner at 1230 ish and then again til breakfast and again til touchdown. What the 8 hours of sleep on a plane. OH to have had that when we went down under! So we arrived at the airport a lil smelly but refreshed!
Upn arrival, we were greeted by Kat our delegation manager...she is from Austria and jsut completed her MA in English. She has traveled with P2P before so it is nice to have a leader who has travelled this program before with us for the journey.
We left the airport and went to a pub for lunch. We had sausages with mash aka saugases and mashed peetatoes (as Ayden would say). It was pretty darned good and it came with a coke so who am I to complain?!
After lunch we headed to Hampton Court....so this is Henry VIII's castle. I was way excited considering how much I LOVE the Tudors (Audra I know you are feeling me on this one!) and the Other Bolyen Girl. We toured the whole castle and went all through Henry's apartments etc. I was pretty darned excited. I got some brochures and maps that I can share when I get home.
Then we had a lil dinner at a mall food court type place and back to the hotel. The kiddies are in bed for the night and tomorrow we head on a walking tour of London. Changing of the guard, Crown Jewels, Buckingham Palace and the TOWER of London...I expect one of you to come for me if they decide that I am too brash and want to lop off my head! See you tomorrow!
Love,
Thea
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