As part of the requirement to earn the completion certificate for Maps, you must create your own map in the new beta version of Google Maps Engine Lite. I'm sharing my map here for those interested!
Monday, June 17, 2013
Mapping Milano
While school is sloooooooooowly coming to an end here in Milan, I've been trying to squeeze in Google's latest MOOC (massive open online course) on Google Maps and Earth.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Futbol in Italia!
Several weeks back, Kate, Siri and I went to an AC Milan game at San Siro Stadium here in Milan. We had wanted to get to a game before Kate and Siri left, so Siri bought our tickets while she was in the US. Funny that you can't buy tickets online from within Italy, it seems, so this was an easier option. Also to be filed under strange, but true is the fact that your tickets must have your name and birthday on them and you must present them with a passport or identity card to get into the game. Since we bought our tickets second hand they came with name change forms. I think the security is tighter to get into a game than to get into the country.
We arrived at the stadium right before the game was to start so we rushed to the proper entrance, past the police in riot gear and over the ground covered in broken glass from the day's tailgaters. This site is one I'm sure would've indicated to my father that this event wasn't one we should classify as inherently safe.
We found our seats, buried within throngs of native Italians and die hard Milan fans. They were playing Napoli that night, who, at the time, was in 2nd place in the league while Milan was in third. A win was important for Milan to make up ground on Napoli.
The Milan fans sit at one end and the fans from the visiting team at the other. Thank goodness for this. I'm not sure if every game feels so aggressive, but the tension was palpable. The Milan fans had come with large quantities of huge signs that they changed and displayed about every 10 minutes. The Napoli fans had some large cannon sounding device that scared the crap out of us every time it went off. And, just for fun, each side brought a handful of flares to set off in their sections too.
In the end, the game tied at 1-1.
A little video to allow you in on the noise and excitement. Listen for the cannon and look for the smoke!
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| Siri, me and Kate |
We found our seats, buried within throngs of native Italians and die hard Milan fans. They were playing Napoli that night, who, at the time, was in 2nd place in the league while Milan was in third. A win was important for Milan to make up ground on Napoli.
The Milan fans sit at one end and the fans from the visiting team at the other. Thank goodness for this. I'm not sure if every game feels so aggressive, but the tension was palpable. The Milan fans had come with large quantities of huge signs that they changed and displayed about every 10 minutes. The Napoli fans had some large cannon sounding device that scared the crap out of us every time it went off. And, just for fun, each side brought a handful of flares to set off in their sections too.
In the end, the game tied at 1-1.
A little video to allow you in on the noise and excitement. Listen for the cannon and look for the smoke!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Off to Berlin!
The Italians were liberated from Nazi Germany on April 25, 1945 and now that day is a national holiday known as Liberation Day. It was the end of twenty years of Fascist rule in Italy and the end of five years of war. Kate and I took this opportunity to head to Berlin-- how ironic.
Berlin is not going to make Europe's list of top ten most beautiful cities anytime soon. It is gray and cold and still reflective of it's communist past in many ways. But the city is edgy, hip and cool. We took tours of Berlin, shopped in one of Europe's largest department stores, battled a 30 degree temperature difference over the course of two days, and ate lots of Asian food.
Kate and I took a free tour of the city on the most beautiful day we had seen in quite a while. Taylor, our Australian guide, kept things informative and fun. The tour started at the Brandenburg Gate and wandered all around what would have once been East Berlin. And it didn't hurt that they start their tours in front of a Starbucks either! This made me a very happy girl!
We also went to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This memorial is relatively new and the designer indicated no specific meaning by his design, leaving it to your own interpretation. It has 2,711 large concrete blocks of different heights spread out over a section of land.
On the tour we saw bits of the Berlin Wall that are still intact and wandered to the intersection where Checkpoint Charlie has been recreated. All of it was put back together for the tourists to enjoy, complete with actors playing American soldiers. That part, I think, they could do without. This intersection, though, was one of my favorites. Check out the picture to see why!
A double row of bricks has been laid in the streets of Berlin to indicate where the Wall once stood, helping you identify when you cross from sections of "East Berlin" to "West Berlin". I was old enough to remember seeing the evening news the night the Wall had fallen. I remember seeing footage recorded at night in Berlin with people dancing on the Wall and celebrating. It was interesting to listen to the story of the Wall falling actually being an accident. That was something I hadn't remember hearing previously.
A stretch of the Wall that's over a mile long is still standing as part of what is called the East Side Gallery. Various artisans have painted sections with interesting, colorful and unique designs.
There are also random sections of the Wall scattered about the city. Kate and I found these pieces and while they're a little out of date, they were really profound.
I took the opportunity while in Berlin to go to nearby Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. I think it's important to go to places like this to remember the past and honor the victims. This camp housed mostly political prisoners from 1936-1945 and records indicate that over 30,000 people died at this camp, even though this wasn't specifically a "death" camp. The prisoners weren't sent here to die, though many did because of poor living conditions, malnutrition, disease and medical testing. My greatest disappointment is that I went with a tour group to the camp. Being there with a group of people just didn't feel right to me. I wished that I had gone on my own and didn't have to experience it with forty other people around. But, a worthwhile experience, nonetheless.
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| A huge department store and all I bought was a jar of marshmallow fluff. |
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| Brandenburg Gate |
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| A view of a large section of the memorial |
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| Looking up to the sky between some of the larger concrete blocks |
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| It's my street! |
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| Bucket list check-off...be in two places at once! Check, check! |
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| Part of the East Side Gallery |
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| More Walls to Tear Down... |
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| Most of Sachsenhausen was torn down when the camp was evacuated. Then it was used by the Soviets for several years. While some parts of the camp are original, a lot was rebuilt from original materials left behind after the Soviets. |
So, on to happier news...
My friend Jessica gave birth this morning to a beautiful baby girl, Jamison! So happy for you and Matt!
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| Precious! I can't wait to meet her! |
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Lube-li-ah-na...am I saying that right?
While most of Spring Break was spent visiting places I had already been, Sheila and I agreed on spending the final days of her trip in Slovenia. Slovenia borders Italy to the east, so it was a good opportunity to make the trip there.
From Venice, we took a van to Ljubljana that I had reserved spaces for in advance. We had a few moments of anxiety when it wasn't exactly clear where this mysterious van would pick us up from, but after several conversations with people who had no idea, one person was finally able to help. Three hours later, we arrived in Slovenia wary of warnings of unscrupulous taxi drivers and no idea where our hotel was. Thankfully, the city of Ljubljana has free wifi that you can access for an hour a day. Who knew? You can't even get this in Italy, where tourists flock every day.
We stayed in one of the best hotels I've ever experienced and I don't often bother to mention hotels in my blog posts. But, if your travels ever take you to Ljubljana, stay at the Adora Hotel.
The first afternoon was rain free and we decided this was a good opportunity to get some pictures without having to hold an umbrella and manage a camera at the same time. We wandered the city and saw some of the sites while we stayed dry. This was such a nice change from the rainy mess we had been dealing with over so many days.
We found out about a free tour that was offered every day and had great reviews on Trip Advisor (of course I checked, no surprise there). So, the following morning we headed to the main square to meet this tour guide. It was RAINING again, and this time, freezing, to top it off. We spent the next two hours learning interesting aspects of Slovenia history while dancing in place to keep from losing our extremities to frostbite.
Later in the day, we headed to the Ljubljana Castle, which was relatively underwhelming, and a local area full of graffiti and strange art and sculpture.
The next day, we made plans to head to Lake Bled, about an hour away from Ljubljana. This place is the stuff Disney settings are made of...
It was, of course, a bit chilly, but it didn't rain all day and this made us so happy. We wandered around the lake, up to another castle, Bled Castle, and to the "Little Island" in the middle of the lake.
Slovenia would be such a great summer visit! They had lots of hiking and outdoor activities to offer, if only the weather had been better.
Ending today's posts with a couple special shout outs on this RAINY Milano day... a big happy 4th birthday to my friend Christy's little boy, Grady, and an even more special wedding day to my friend, Lori. Here's wishing you and John a lifetime of happiness! Wish I could celebrate with you!
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| the river running through central Ljubljana |
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| the dragon- the symbol of Ljubljana |
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| from the Dragon Bridge |
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| view of Ljubljana from the castle |
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| there was lots of interesting graffiti all over |
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| The tour guide mentioned that this area was similar to Christiana in Copenhagen, a self-governing place with rules differing from the rest of the local area. |
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| the "Little Island" in the middle of Lake Bled |
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| the Bled Castle is up high on the hill |
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| looking down at Bled from the castle |
Ending today's posts with a couple special shout outs on this RAINY Milano day... a big happy 4th birthday to my friend Christy's little boy, Grady, and an even more special wedding day to my friend, Lori. Here's wishing you and John a lifetime of happiness! Wish I could celebrate with you!
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| Happy Happy Birthday! |
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| today's bride and groom ; ) |
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Venezia, Verona, and Vino!
Ciao a tutti! Spring Break is over, the weather has finally taken a change for the better and we are rolling towards the end of the school year here...though it is still TEN weeks away. I bet those 10 weeks are going to feel like forever!
However, over the break, Janet and Sheila came to visit and we explored much of northern Italy together. We started in Milan, of course, and they had the chance to visit the Duomo, La Scala, Sforza Castle, and Santa Maria della Grazie where da Vinci's Last Supper is located. But, I made sure they also experienced a few other local highlights, like Luini's Panzerotti.
We spent the afternoon at Cimitero Monumentale. I think they thought I was crazy when I told them we were going to the cemetery and walked for what seemed like forever, in the rain, through Milan's Chinatown to our destination. But, we arrived, and found crypts like this...and any thoughts about me being crazy quickly disappeared.
After our time in Milan, we headed to the Lake Como area. The weather was pretty gross, rainy, and cold. So, it's always a good idea to have a glass of wine, or two, or three. We stumbled upon this small enoteca built underground. It had hams hanging from the ceiling and was lined with bottle after bottle of Italian wines. They even had a tasting menu of three glasses in different varieties. Such a great little find!
After Lake Como, we headed to Verona, where it rained some more! UGH!
And then it was on to Venice! Where it rained some more! But, thankfully not as much as it had it some other places.
We took the vaporetto to Murano and Burano. Murano is the island famous for glassmaking and Burano is famous for hand made lace.
After our time in Venice, Janet headed home and Sheila and I were off to Slovenia! Another post to come soon!
However, over the break, Janet and Sheila came to visit and we explored much of northern Italy together. We started in Milan, of course, and they had the chance to visit the Duomo, La Scala, Sforza Castle, and Santa Maria della Grazie where da Vinci's Last Supper is located. But, I made sure they also experienced a few other local highlights, like Luini's Panzerotti.
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| OMG! It's the best. snack. ever! |
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| The tombs here are totally nuts! |
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| In front of Sforza Castle, Milano |
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| the enoteca in Bellagio |
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| this is how you utilize the tub... |
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| from the tower of the Campanile...looking over St. Mark's and the rest of Venice |
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| Rialto Bridge, Venice |
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| Burano is also famous for its brightly painted houses! |
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| clear blue skies! so happy : ) |
Sunday, March 24, 2013
London Calling
Over St. Patrick's Day weekend, I headed to London for the ECIS (European Council of International Schools) Technology Conference. I had sent a proposal for a break out session presentation in the Fall, had my proposal accepted in January and was set to present over this weekend. The conference was held at ACS Schools Cobham campus, south of London.
I've shared all my presentation information on my CoETaIL blog so you can check out everything I shared with the links I've included. My presentation was well received and I'm excited to be able to add this to my resume.
Once the conference ended, I headed into the city of London to enjoy what it has to offer. I bought a ticket to The Lion King in advance since I had never seen it. I made myself resist seeing Wicked for the 6th time, though I can't say I won't ever let that happen. The Lion King was a good show and the performance was fun. But, the stars of that show are the costumes. The hyenas were amazing and the ingenuity that was behind the all of the costumes and the design of the masks that moved with the performers to give a more realistic profile at times was incredible.
On Sunday, St. Patrick's Day, I decided to wander about London's famous sites and do my part for my cousin's 2nd grade son who sent me "Flat Alex" a few weeks ago.
Later, I met up with my friend Stephanie, who I also met at the Boston job fair, just like Stella and Peg from my trip to Zurich. Stephanie teaches at TASIS- England and took me to a cute little place with American brunch items on the menu! Eggs benedict. YUM! Then we wandered about a bit, passing bits of the parade and through the festival in Trafalgar Square. Since it was a tad rainy, we settled on having a beer to celebrate the day. Then I had to rush off to Heathrow to head back to Milan. This work thing always seems to interfere with my travel plans! : P
This week is a four day work week leading up to Spring Break. My Savannah friends, Janet and Sheila, are coming to spend the time with me here in Italy. I'm excited to share my Italian life with them! We're planning on visiting Lake Como, Verona, Venice and then Sheila and I will explore Slovenia for a few days.
La bella vita!
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| 3/4 of our Tech Team at ACS- Stephen, Director of Tech (left); Tammy- Upper School Tech and Math; and me! Our missing 1/4 is taking the picture. |
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| We spent Friday night of the conference at an English winery, with a "Splash Mountain" type ride, of course, minus the splash but with the added benefit of a glass of wine as soon as you finished the tour. |
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| Waiting for The Lion King! |
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| Flat Alex visiting the Queen! |
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| One of the floats for the parade, Puca, a giant inflatable dragon |
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| Why, yes, I am dressed like a pineapple. |
La bella vita!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Swiss Miss
This March I was happy to add country #17 to my "Where I've Traveled" list- Switzerland! Funny that it is so close to Milan, yet took me so long to get across the border!
What a beautiful country! It was so stereotypical Swiss that it looks like it is straight out of a fairy tale. There were clocks everywhere and plenty of chocolate.
Kate and I toured an interesting church with stained glass windows designed by artist Marc Chagall. So different from any stained glass I've seen previously. Check out the link to see some images of the glass.
We wandered the city of Zurich and had a traditional Swiss lunch of sliced veal in a mushroom gravy with hash browns. Yum! I bought some cool coral colored sunglasses since the sun surprised us and showed itself during the chilly weekend.
The real reason for traveling to Zurich was to see the Avett Brothers concert on Saturday night. What an experience that was! The venue couldn't have held more than 300 people so we were able to get up close to the stage. Those guys are pretty talented playing multiple instruments at one time and many different instruments throughout the night.
I also got to see my friend, Stella, that I met in Boston at the job fair in 2011 and meet Peg, who was also at the fair that year. We didn't meet then, but we've been following each other's travels on Facebook for quite a while. They both teach at the American International School of Bucharest in Romania.
The only downfall to Zurich was the cost!! It was pretty pricey and the money looks crazy!
Ah, Svizzera! I can't wait to see you again!
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| See the double towered church on the right? The next picture is from the top of the first tower. |
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| View from the Grossmunster tower... climbing up and down this tower left us a little shaky! |
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| Scott, left, and Seth, right |
I shot a little bit of video during the Avett Brothers show and it turned out decent enough to edit together. So, if you love Seth and Scott, or have never heard of them, take a listen.
I also got to see my friend, Stella, that I met in Boston at the job fair in 2011 and meet Peg, who was also at the fair that year. We didn't meet then, but we've been following each other's travels on Facebook for quite a while. They both teach at the American International School of Bucharest in Romania.
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| post-concert cocktails! |
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| Swiss francs- photo courtesy of Peg! |
Monday, June 17, 2013
Mapping Milano
While school is sloooooooooowly coming to an end here in Milan, I've been trying to squeeze in Google's latest MOOC (massive open online course) on Google Maps and Earth.
As part of the requirement to earn the completion certificate for Maps, you must create your own map in the new beta version of Google Maps Engine Lite. I'm sharing my map here for those interested!
Monday, June 3, 2013
Futbol in Italia!
Several weeks back, Kate, Siri and I went to an AC Milan game at San Siro Stadium here in Milan. We had wanted to get to a game before Kate and Siri left, so Siri bought our tickets while she was in the US. Funny that you can't buy tickets online from within Italy, it seems, so this was an easier option. Also to be filed under strange, but true is the fact that your tickets must have your name and birthday on them and you must present them with a passport or identity card to get into the game. Since we bought our tickets second hand they came with name change forms. I think the security is tighter to get into a game than to get into the country.
We arrived at the stadium right before the game was to start so we rushed to the proper entrance, past the police in riot gear and over the ground covered in broken glass from the day's tailgaters. This site is one I'm sure would've indicated to my father that this event wasn't one we should classify as inherently safe.
We found our seats, buried within throngs of native Italians and die hard Milan fans. They were playing Napoli that night, who, at the time, was in 2nd place in the league while Milan was in third. A win was important for Milan to make up ground on Napoli.
The Milan fans sit at one end and the fans from the visiting team at the other. Thank goodness for this. I'm not sure if every game feels so aggressive, but the tension was palpable. The Milan fans had come with large quantities of huge signs that they changed and displayed about every 10 minutes. The Napoli fans had some large cannon sounding device that scared the crap out of us every time it went off. And, just for fun, each side brought a handful of flares to set off in their sections too.
In the end, the game tied at 1-1.
A little video to allow you in on the noise and excitement. Listen for the cannon and look for the smoke!
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| Siri, me and Kate |
We found our seats, buried within throngs of native Italians and die hard Milan fans. They were playing Napoli that night, who, at the time, was in 2nd place in the league while Milan was in third. A win was important for Milan to make up ground on Napoli.
The Milan fans sit at one end and the fans from the visiting team at the other. Thank goodness for this. I'm not sure if every game feels so aggressive, but the tension was palpable. The Milan fans had come with large quantities of huge signs that they changed and displayed about every 10 minutes. The Napoli fans had some large cannon sounding device that scared the crap out of us every time it went off. And, just for fun, each side brought a handful of flares to set off in their sections too.
In the end, the game tied at 1-1.
A little video to allow you in on the noise and excitement. Listen for the cannon and look for the smoke!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Off to Berlin!
The Italians were liberated from Nazi Germany on April 25, 1945 and now that day is a national holiday known as Liberation Day. It was the end of twenty years of Fascist rule in Italy and the end of five years of war. Kate and I took this opportunity to head to Berlin-- how ironic.
Berlin is not going to make Europe's list of top ten most beautiful cities anytime soon. It is gray and cold and still reflective of it's communist past in many ways. But the city is edgy, hip and cool. We took tours of Berlin, shopped in one of Europe's largest department stores, battled a 30 degree temperature difference over the course of two days, and ate lots of Asian food.
Kate and I took a free tour of the city on the most beautiful day we had seen in quite a while. Taylor, our Australian guide, kept things informative and fun. The tour started at the Brandenburg Gate and wandered all around what would have once been East Berlin. And it didn't hurt that they start their tours in front of a Starbucks either! This made me a very happy girl!
We also went to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This memorial is relatively new and the designer indicated no specific meaning by his design, leaving it to your own interpretation. It has 2,711 large concrete blocks of different heights spread out over a section of land.
On the tour we saw bits of the Berlin Wall that are still intact and wandered to the intersection where Checkpoint Charlie has been recreated. All of it was put back together for the tourists to enjoy, complete with actors playing American soldiers. That part, I think, they could do without. This intersection, though, was one of my favorites. Check out the picture to see why!
A double row of bricks has been laid in the streets of Berlin to indicate where the Wall once stood, helping you identify when you cross from sections of "East Berlin" to "West Berlin". I was old enough to remember seeing the evening news the night the Wall had fallen. I remember seeing footage recorded at night in Berlin with people dancing on the Wall and celebrating. It was interesting to listen to the story of the Wall falling actually being an accident. That was something I hadn't remember hearing previously.
A stretch of the Wall that's over a mile long is still standing as part of what is called the East Side Gallery. Various artisans have painted sections with interesting, colorful and unique designs.
There are also random sections of the Wall scattered about the city. Kate and I found these pieces and while they're a little out of date, they were really profound.
I took the opportunity while in Berlin to go to nearby Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. I think it's important to go to places like this to remember the past and honor the victims. This camp housed mostly political prisoners from 1936-1945 and records indicate that over 30,000 people died at this camp, even though this wasn't specifically a "death" camp. The prisoners weren't sent here to die, though many did because of poor living conditions, malnutrition, disease and medical testing. My greatest disappointment is that I went with a tour group to the camp. Being there with a group of people just didn't feel right to me. I wished that I had gone on my own and didn't have to experience it with forty other people around. But, a worthwhile experience, nonetheless.
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| A huge department store and all I bought was a jar of marshmallow fluff. |
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| Brandenburg Gate |
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| A view of a large section of the memorial |
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| Looking up to the sky between some of the larger concrete blocks |
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| It's my street! |
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| Bucket list check-off...be in two places at once! Check, check! |
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| Part of the East Side Gallery |
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| More Walls to Tear Down... |
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| Most of Sachsenhausen was torn down when the camp was evacuated. Then it was used by the Soviets for several years. While some parts of the camp are original, a lot was rebuilt from original materials left behind after the Soviets. |
So, on to happier news...
My friend Jessica gave birth this morning to a beautiful baby girl, Jamison! So happy for you and Matt!
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| Precious! I can't wait to meet her! |
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Lube-li-ah-na...am I saying that right?
While most of Spring Break was spent visiting places I had already been, Sheila and I agreed on spending the final days of her trip in Slovenia. Slovenia borders Italy to the east, so it was a good opportunity to make the trip there.
From Venice, we took a van to Ljubljana that I had reserved spaces for in advance. We had a few moments of anxiety when it wasn't exactly clear where this mysterious van would pick us up from, but after several conversations with people who had no idea, one person was finally able to help. Three hours later, we arrived in Slovenia wary of warnings of unscrupulous taxi drivers and no idea where our hotel was. Thankfully, the city of Ljubljana has free wifi that you can access for an hour a day. Who knew? You can't even get this in Italy, where tourists flock every day.
We stayed in one of the best hotels I've ever experienced and I don't often bother to mention hotels in my blog posts. But, if your travels ever take you to Ljubljana, stay at the Adora Hotel.
The first afternoon was rain free and we decided this was a good opportunity to get some pictures without having to hold an umbrella and manage a camera at the same time. We wandered the city and saw some of the sites while we stayed dry. This was such a nice change from the rainy mess we had been dealing with over so many days.
We found out about a free tour that was offered every day and had great reviews on Trip Advisor (of course I checked, no surprise there). So, the following morning we headed to the main square to meet this tour guide. It was RAINING again, and this time, freezing, to top it off. We spent the next two hours learning interesting aspects of Slovenia history while dancing in place to keep from losing our extremities to frostbite.
Later in the day, we headed to the Ljubljana Castle, which was relatively underwhelming, and a local area full of graffiti and strange art and sculpture.
The next day, we made plans to head to Lake Bled, about an hour away from Ljubljana. This place is the stuff Disney settings are made of...
It was, of course, a bit chilly, but it didn't rain all day and this made us so happy. We wandered around the lake, up to another castle, Bled Castle, and to the "Little Island" in the middle of the lake.
Slovenia would be such a great summer visit! They had lots of hiking and outdoor activities to offer, if only the weather had been better.
Ending today's posts with a couple special shout outs on this RAINY Milano day... a big happy 4th birthday to my friend Christy's little boy, Grady, and an even more special wedding day to my friend, Lori. Here's wishing you and John a lifetime of happiness! Wish I could celebrate with you!
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| the river running through central Ljubljana |
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| the dragon- the symbol of Ljubljana |
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| from the Dragon Bridge |
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| view of Ljubljana from the castle |
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| there was lots of interesting graffiti all over |
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| The tour guide mentioned that this area was similar to Christiana in Copenhagen, a self-governing place with rules differing from the rest of the local area. |
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| the "Little Island" in the middle of Lake Bled |
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| the Bled Castle is up high on the hill |
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| looking down at Bled from the castle |
Ending today's posts with a couple special shout outs on this RAINY Milano day... a big happy 4th birthday to my friend Christy's little boy, Grady, and an even more special wedding day to my friend, Lori. Here's wishing you and John a lifetime of happiness! Wish I could celebrate with you!
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| Happy Happy Birthday! |
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| today's bride and groom ; ) |
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Venezia, Verona, and Vino!
Ciao a tutti! Spring Break is over, the weather has finally taken a change for the better and we are rolling towards the end of the school year here...though it is still TEN weeks away. I bet those 10 weeks are going to feel like forever!
However, over the break, Janet and Sheila came to visit and we explored much of northern Italy together. We started in Milan, of course, and they had the chance to visit the Duomo, La Scala, Sforza Castle, and Santa Maria della Grazie where da Vinci's Last Supper is located. But, I made sure they also experienced a few other local highlights, like Luini's Panzerotti.
We spent the afternoon at Cimitero Monumentale. I think they thought I was crazy when I told them we were going to the cemetery and walked for what seemed like forever, in the rain, through Milan's Chinatown to our destination. But, we arrived, and found crypts like this...and any thoughts about me being crazy quickly disappeared.
After our time in Milan, we headed to the Lake Como area. The weather was pretty gross, rainy, and cold. So, it's always a good idea to have a glass of wine, or two, or three. We stumbled upon this small enoteca built underground. It had hams hanging from the ceiling and was lined with bottle after bottle of Italian wines. They even had a tasting menu of three glasses in different varieties. Such a great little find!
After Lake Como, we headed to Verona, where it rained some more! UGH!
And then it was on to Venice! Where it rained some more! But, thankfully not as much as it had it some other places.
We took the vaporetto to Murano and Burano. Murano is the island famous for glassmaking and Burano is famous for hand made lace.
After our time in Venice, Janet headed home and Sheila and I were off to Slovenia! Another post to come soon!
However, over the break, Janet and Sheila came to visit and we explored much of northern Italy together. We started in Milan, of course, and they had the chance to visit the Duomo, La Scala, Sforza Castle, and Santa Maria della Grazie where da Vinci's Last Supper is located. But, I made sure they also experienced a few other local highlights, like Luini's Panzerotti.
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| OMG! It's the best. snack. ever! |
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| The tombs here are totally nuts! |
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| In front of Sforza Castle, Milano |
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| the enoteca in Bellagio |
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| this is how you utilize the tub... |
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| from the tower of the Campanile...looking over St. Mark's and the rest of Venice |
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| Rialto Bridge, Venice |
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| Burano is also famous for its brightly painted houses! |
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| clear blue skies! so happy : ) |
Sunday, March 24, 2013
London Calling
Over St. Patrick's Day weekend, I headed to London for the ECIS (European Council of International Schools) Technology Conference. I had sent a proposal for a break out session presentation in the Fall, had my proposal accepted in January and was set to present over this weekend. The conference was held at ACS Schools Cobham campus, south of London.
I've shared all my presentation information on my CoETaIL blog so you can check out everything I shared with the links I've included. My presentation was well received and I'm excited to be able to add this to my resume.
Once the conference ended, I headed into the city of London to enjoy what it has to offer. I bought a ticket to The Lion King in advance since I had never seen it. I made myself resist seeing Wicked for the 6th time, though I can't say I won't ever let that happen. The Lion King was a good show and the performance was fun. But, the stars of that show are the costumes. The hyenas were amazing and the ingenuity that was behind the all of the costumes and the design of the masks that moved with the performers to give a more realistic profile at times was incredible.
On Sunday, St. Patrick's Day, I decided to wander about London's famous sites and do my part for my cousin's 2nd grade son who sent me "Flat Alex" a few weeks ago.
Later, I met up with my friend Stephanie, who I also met at the Boston job fair, just like Stella and Peg from my trip to Zurich. Stephanie teaches at TASIS- England and took me to a cute little place with American brunch items on the menu! Eggs benedict. YUM! Then we wandered about a bit, passing bits of the parade and through the festival in Trafalgar Square. Since it was a tad rainy, we settled on having a beer to celebrate the day. Then I had to rush off to Heathrow to head back to Milan. This work thing always seems to interfere with my travel plans! : P
This week is a four day work week leading up to Spring Break. My Savannah friends, Janet and Sheila, are coming to spend the time with me here in Italy. I'm excited to share my Italian life with them! We're planning on visiting Lake Como, Verona, Venice and then Sheila and I will explore Slovenia for a few days.
La bella vita!
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| 3/4 of our Tech Team at ACS- Stephen, Director of Tech (left); Tammy- Upper School Tech and Math; and me! Our missing 1/4 is taking the picture. |
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| We spent Friday night of the conference at an English winery, with a "Splash Mountain" type ride, of course, minus the splash but with the added benefit of a glass of wine as soon as you finished the tour. |
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| Waiting for The Lion King! |
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| Flat Alex visiting the Queen! |
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| One of the floats for the parade, Puca, a giant inflatable dragon |
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| Why, yes, I am dressed like a pineapple. |
La bella vita!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Swiss Miss
This March I was happy to add country #17 to my "Where I've Traveled" list- Switzerland! Funny that it is so close to Milan, yet took me so long to get across the border!
What a beautiful country! It was so stereotypical Swiss that it looks like it is straight out of a fairy tale. There were clocks everywhere and plenty of chocolate.
Kate and I toured an interesting church with stained glass windows designed by artist Marc Chagall. So different from any stained glass I've seen previously. Check out the link to see some images of the glass.
We wandered the city of Zurich and had a traditional Swiss lunch of sliced veal in a mushroom gravy with hash browns. Yum! I bought some cool coral colored sunglasses since the sun surprised us and showed itself during the chilly weekend.
The real reason for traveling to Zurich was to see the Avett Brothers concert on Saturday night. What an experience that was! The venue couldn't have held more than 300 people so we were able to get up close to the stage. Those guys are pretty talented playing multiple instruments at one time and many different instruments throughout the night.
I also got to see my friend, Stella, that I met in Boston at the job fair in 2011 and meet Peg, who was also at the fair that year. We didn't meet then, but we've been following each other's travels on Facebook for quite a while. They both teach at the American International School of Bucharest in Romania.
The only downfall to Zurich was the cost!! It was pretty pricey and the money looks crazy!
Ah, Svizzera! I can't wait to see you again!
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| See the double towered church on the right? The next picture is from the top of the first tower. |
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| View from the Grossmunster tower... climbing up and down this tower left us a little shaky! |
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| Scott, left, and Seth, right |
I shot a little bit of video during the Avett Brothers show and it turned out decent enough to edit together. So, if you love Seth and Scott, or have never heard of them, take a listen.
I also got to see my friend, Stella, that I met in Boston at the job fair in 2011 and meet Peg, who was also at the fair that year. We didn't meet then, but we've been following each other's travels on Facebook for quite a while. They both teach at the American International School of Bucharest in Romania.
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| post-concert cocktails! |
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| Swiss francs- photo courtesy of Peg! |
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