Catch up

I was incredibly busy during the final weeks of my stay in France, so I didn't have a chance to post updates. Here's a quick run down of some of the stuff I was up to!

• Tour of the Jean Vilar Theater in Saint-Quentin
• Assistant roast dinner
• French Passover Seder
• Last French conversation club
• Going away party with one of my classes
• Trip to Bordeaux with Haidee and Sarah
• Family vacation to London, Rome, Pompeii, and Florence
• Kate visiting Saint-Quentin
• Saying goodbye to teachers and friends in Saint-Quentin

Here are a few photos that skim the surface of my April and May abroad:

~ Ceiling of Jean Vilar Theater ~

~ Roast dinner with Haidee, Sarah, and Katie ~

~ Day trip from Bordeaux to the Dune du Pilat ~

~ Miroir d'eau, Bordeaux ~

~ At Buckingham Palace with the fam ~

~ With Kate and Harry at Pompeii ~

~ Florence ~

Weekend in Casablanca

My final trip during the recent vacation was a weekend in Casablanca with Madeleine and Katherine. We had a lovely time, seeing a lot while also having a relaxing stay (the 80-degree weather helped the weekend feel like a summer beach vacation). The main event was a tour of the Hassan II Mosque, Morocco's largest mosque. It was beautiful, with incredible mosaics and lovely architecture. We also did some shopping in the city's souk, visited the coastline, and made sure to try plenty of delicious Moroccan food.

~ Hassan II Mosque ~

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~ World's tallest minaret ~

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~ Prayer room ~

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~ Hamam ~

~ Outside the mosque ~

~ Coastline ~

~ Delicious appetizer at dinner~

Rome Take 2

My second trip during vacation was to Rome, where I met Haidee and Sarah for three days. We packed a lot into a short amount of time, hitting major monuments (Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps) and also spending a day at the Vatican museums and Saint Peter's Basilica. My favorite part of the trip was a guided tour of the Colosseum and Palatine Hill. Palatine Hill was especially beautiful, covered in trees and green spaces and overlooking the ancient Forum. This was my second trip to Rome (the first was during my semester in Nantes), and I was happy to find that there were plenty of new things to do (and plenty of gelato to eat)!

~ Exploring back streets ~

~ Inside the Pantheon ~

~ Trevi Fountain at night ~

~ Colosseum ~

~ Panorama inside the Colosseum ~

~ Palatine Hill ~

~ Orange trees on Palatine Hill ~

~ Roman Forum ruins ~

~ View from the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II~

~ Nero's bathtub ~

~ In the Vatican museum map room ~

~ Vatican museum ~

Berlin: Monuments, Museums, and Everything Else

My favorite site in Berlin was the East Side Gallery, but Harry and I saw a lot of other interesting things during our visit.  The Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, and the Holocaust Memorial were all near our hotel and very impressive. We also stopped by the Sony Center in Potsdamer Platz, which contains a large array of shiny modern buildings filled with offices, movie theaters, malls, and chic restaurants.

The Charlottenburg Palace was another cool site, featuring amazingly decorated rooms (the porcelain room was especially impressive). Our final stop during the trip was Berlin's Museum Island, where we visited several museums and saw an impressive variety of ancient artifacts.

~ At the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate ~

~ Charlottenburg Palace ~

~ Staircase inside the palace ~

~ Fun scarf displays on the main shopping street ~

~ Potsdamer Platz, near our hotel ~

~  Holocaust Memorial ~

~ Ishtar Gate ~

~ Islamic art ~

~ Islamic art ~

Berlin Wall: East Side Gallery

Harry and I had a great time in Berlin, and my favorite part was visiting the East Side Gallery. It's a stretch of Berlin Wall, one side of which was painted by artists in 1990 (the other side has also been decorated by graffiti artists over time). Some of the art is controversial and political, some conveys inspiring messages, and other images are just nice to look at. Here are some of my favorite paintings from the East Side Gallery.

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