Amsterdam ... the last place we went unless you count driving through Belgium

So Amsterdam was the last place that I visited on my spring break unless you count getting off the bus in Belgium to get snacks, visiting Belgium. Audrey and I went on an awesome tour that wound around Amsterda's confusing straats (streets). It was a great tour detailing the history of the country, the city, its historical monuments, and other interesting factoids. The tour guide was adept at including interesting tidbits and maintained somewhat of a humerous commentary throughout various points in the tour. All in all it was a great way to see the majority of Amsterdam in an afternoon. We also explored Amsterdam on our own, going to the red light disrict, the Van Gogh museum, visiting a brown cafe, and walking by the plethora of coffee shops. If the US is considered the melting pot of the wetern hemisphere that Amsterdam is surely the melting pot of the eastern one.

It started in Napoli ....

Spring break, finally I was getting out of Angers. Haha! Napoli was the first stop on my itinerary and as a professor once told me it was home to the "best of everything and the worst of everything) an interesting mix of trash and treasures .... literally. Jess and I explored the city's National Archaeological Museum, one of its castles, and a great number of its (very confusing) twisting streets. And to think we only managed to get hopelessly lost a few times. It was there that I had probably the best pizza of my entire life. Recommended to us by our host Davide, the small family owned pizzeria (where ONLY Italian was spoken) boasted only a handful of tables and (in my opinion) had the best stone fire oven baked pizza ever! The pizza was so amazing I ate the entire thing in one sitting (it was quite a feat)! In the background you can see the main city of Napoli, the bay, and Mount Vesuvius.

L'Universite Catholique d'Ouest

Here are a few pictures of my school, or at least the prettiest part of my school. While many of the building are designed in this same style several (Batiment Bazin and the Science Building) are not as ... nice looking as the others. The Palais (the building below) is one of the oldest and most architecturally pleasing buildings on campus. Currently the Palais is under construction and is being restored and remodeled.

This is a small park in front of the Palais building along the avenue that leads up to it.

This is a rear view of the Palais and the entrance to the library.

This is a picture of the library. Although it does not look like much, the basement of the library is very cool. Extendin undreneath the Palais, the library's basement is filled with tunnels, skylights, and catacomb-esque study rooms. It has a very cool ambiance.

My House

I know that this post is a little overdue, but here are some pictures outside my house. The smaller house thing next to my house is really a shed - I think for the house that is next to us. The tree and the area around is is the neighbor's garden.

Musee des Beaux Arts - Angers

This past weekend Liz and I went to the Musee des Beaux Arts Angers. Much to our surprise and excitement we found out that the museums in Angers are free to students. How cool! So we spend several hours walking around and getting terribly lost in the art museum. Unfortunatly their signage is a bit lacking and consequently we never made it to the 3rd and 4th floors. But there is always next time ... All in all the museum was really neat. The permenant exhibit began with artifacts recovered from excavations in and around the main city of Angers. There were also artifacts from the chateau and the royal family that used to reside there. The remainder of the permanent exhibit was dedicated to various artists and time periods, including the modern one.

The temprary exhibit consisted of the busts and a few scultures done by the artist Auguste Rodin. He is a favorite sculpter of mine, and I hope to see the rest of his work someday. For now I was able to see some of his unfinished work, various busts, and some practice pieces.

This is one of the main galleries that houses the largest paintings in the museum. The interesting thing about this picture however is not the art on the walls. If you notice, next to Elizabeth on the wall is a flat screen TV. On the TV you may be able to vaguely see the woman. When I first saw this I though wow that is a really lifelike sculpture - then she moved! Yeah I was freaked out too. It turns out it is a black and white video recording of a woman who stands in different poses in this room. It was a little abstract/weird for me.

These next several painting are done by a modern artist named Isabelle Levenez. I might not understand them, but they are definitely interesting.

This region is famous for its apples and pears. This exhibit commemorates the long and ancient history of those fruits in the region.

If you notice, this painting has a curtain next to it. The painting is only uncovered for a couple months each year, as a tribute to the artist that the painting is of. For the rest of the year it is hid behind a curtain.

These are some of Auguste Rodin's busts.

This one is fairly famous and is entitled "Man with a broken nose"

This is one of Rodin's unfinished sculptures

This is a painting of the french artist Auguste Rodin

The Saturday Market

This past Saturday Liz and I visited one of the local markets at the Jardin du Mail. In the parking lot next to the jardin (garden) there were a bunch of stands for fresh fruit, vegetables, some baked goods, meat, and cheese. This region is well known for its apples and pears, but there were also a ton of oranges. Then along the street across from the parking lot, vendors set up stands for flowers, clothing, bread, wine, etc, etc. It was a pretty large market all in all, and I cannot wait to see the ones that are held in the summer. The above picture is of me in front of the fountain at the jardin. I ended up buying some grapes because they were about 4 euro cheaper than at the store. I have unfortunately discovered that grapes here are outrageously expensive.

Another Acceptance!

Today I heard back from the University of Missouri Columbia. They have accepted me into their geography masters program and are offering me both an assistantship and a fellowship! YEAH! Sorry, I am a little bit excited. I just wanted to let you all know. I am still waiting to hear back from the University of Oregon and George Washington University, but will let you know what happens.