the perfect bike ride :)

yesterday me and brittney went to versailles and rented bikes! we rode all through the gardens and its was the most amazing time ever! first off i miss bike riding so much, it brings me back to my childhood days when i use to ride around with my siblings and neighbors until it was dark out. whenever i get on a bike again i just dont want to stop. the weather was p e r f e c t. its been pratty cold lately but for some reason yesterday it was beautiful, i didnt even wear a jacket.  we were surrounded my trees and the huge pond and tons of trails to bike down. it was the exact refreshing experience i needed and i will never forget the feeling. 

only two more weeks left of my european experience. its pretty insane to think that this is all about to be over but i think im ready to be home! i miss my family and friends and just comforts of home. but this trip isnt over yet. i have a lot to cram into these next two weeks. 

well see if i have time to write about it all, if not im sure ill come back to this once im home and reflect on the craziness of merging back into the american lifestyle!

painting class this morning

this morning was most definitely the best morning in paris yet. me dana meg clarke and megan gilbert headed to Kathy's studio for painting class in the cold and rain. we were the only ones that went this morning because the rest of the class was sick or had registration problems.  we got there and expected her to be a little disappointed but instead just like her normal optimistic self, she gave us a big grin and said well were just going to have our own private girls only class.  i modeled first and were worked on vertical measurement (painting an entire portrait only using vertical lines). we talked the enitire time while we painted and asked kathy about her life and basically had girl talk for three hours.  kathy even set up her own easel and painted both me and megan gilbert it was incredible..when do you get to be painted by a professional painter! ..between each model we all sat around and had coffee and cookies and talked about our art work. ill post some pictures so you can see everyones work. it was the best painting class by far and it made my day so i thought id share :)

(the first picture is kathy's portrait of me, and the other ones are our class paintings)

Okay so I admit that ive pretty much failed at keeping up with this. I don’t think I realized when I decided to start this blog that I would also be trying to keep up with so many other things that I wouldn’t even have a chance to think about blogging. Aside from this ive been journaling, writing letters, facebooking, taking pictures, trying to keep up with my visual journal for class along  with my sketch book and other class work.

Anyway instead of updating about the overall experience because theres just way too much at this point I think that ill try to highlight the small things that happen that make my day or week or just things that im reflecting on.

so a couple things happened this weekend that were amazing…for one I finally had some time to just relax and not have any set plans for the day.. I went on aimless walks and did some exploring. Last night me john scott l and dana went on a “dice” adventure. Basically we took a much of dice and took the metro to the Eiffel tower where we started and we just rolled the dice to decide what street to take, what metro line to get on, and how many stops until we got off as well as asking random questions like what item to buy from a sketchy vending machine. We covered a TON of the city and did a bunch of random stuff on the way including throwing glow sticks into the seine and landing them on boats, climbing up three flights of a dark apartment building that was unlocked, ordering tomatoes from a kfc euro menu, and doing ridiculous and uncouth things on the metros. It was a perfect .

this weekend was the first time I felt like  ive got some sort of  grasp on this city.  Im finally getting out there and exploring and just feeling grounded.  I think the weekends are going to be the perfect times to do this, when im not overwhelmed or exhausted from classes and museums.

sunday morning I went to this church called hillsong paris…it was amazing the worship was incredible they played all hillsong music and they had a huge band and they sang half the songs in French and the sermon was translated into French too which was really cool to hear. the message was so simple and relevant to where I am right now and I just felt like it was a boost I needed. Its been weird not being connected to a church or being able to worship and sing out.  So basically im pumped and refreshed and will be going back next Sunday for sure

Okay im going to end this one but I promise to write on this more in bits and pieces. Love you all  -anne

a glimpse from today.

today i woke up at seven forty five, ate a croissant, apple sauce, and coffee (typical french breakfast.) i left the fiap (our home in paris) and felt the brisk fall air as i walked to the metro. i took a forty five minute metro across paris to my first painting class in kathy's studio. we walked up three flights of winding stairs to the studio and set up our paint pallets and easels. today we practiced capturing the gestures and contour lines in a portrait. a few of us took turns being the model for the rest of the class. at one point during the three hour class i turned to meg clarke standing at her easel next to mine and said..hey meg were taking a painting class in a studio in paris. theres been times on this trip where im hit with the reality of what im doing. i hope that this entire experience never settles in cause i love these moments. after class me a few other girls explored the district around the studio and found some warm panini's at a boulangerie and sat at a bench and had lunch. the streets here are beautiful. little shops one after another with their unique awnings that fill the streets with colors. and rows of tall trees on the brink of turning their fall shades. after we picked up some new sketch books and pens we headed back to the fiap for a nap and some wifi :)

okay i promise to rewind and let you all know about rome and austria soon when i have more time! until then im finally settled for the next two months here in paris with wifi on the main floor so lets skype or ichat! i love you all. au revior. 

FLORENCE.

im sitting here in my florence hotel room listening to a thunder and rain storm outside. the wind is blowing through the window, making the orange curtains dance, and the rainfall is so heavy i can hear it over jack johnson's melodious voice :) 

florence has been so full of exploring, l o n g walks and too many scoops of gelato to keep track of. weve been here now since tuesday and everyday has held new art, new streets, and new discoveries.  weve seen some amazing and famous art..including the birth of venus, the sixteen foot statue of david, and some of the most gorgeous and powerful architecture i have ever seen. one afternoon we walked up to a hill with a cathedral and a view of all of florence. no words can explain how beautiful it was. you could see all the cathedrals, the dome, the canal and bridges, and all the streets and alleys in between.  we sat and read some poetry for our literature class.. including Up at the Villa- Down in the City by Browning, it talked all about the city and the villas to our left. we listened as we looked out and saw first hand what the poet so beautifully put into words. weve been talking about the power of a word verse the power of an image and it was a really cool experience reading something and at the same time seeing what inspired the words. 

this past saturday was a free day so we decided to use one of our free travel passes and go to cingue terre! but instead of sticking to the plan of leaving early in the morning..me kristin sean and scott spontaneously decided to leave friday night and get the most use out of our euro pass..we ran to the train station, picked a random town called pistoia, hopped on the train and hoped for the best.  it was pretty sketch at first but we found a huge local hangout hidden in the back streets of the town..we hung-out for a while then found this perfect empty square with a bell tower and cathedral. we sat on the steps for hours, talking, listening to scott play guitar, watching locals pass by, and dozing off a little.  eventually by the early morning we took the train and made it to cinque -terre, which proved to be the most beautiful city in italy. its a group of five little cities along the west coast of italy.  theres a hiking trail along the cost that takes you from city to city.  it was so beautiful. the best view ive seen in europe yet.  the ocean was SO blue and the cities looked like they were out of a story book.  everything was just so serene and natural.  we stopped at the second city after about an hour and a half of hiking and we got into the chilled blue water and found some huge rocks to jump off of! it was perfect. me and kristin were hiking buddies and we ended up going about five miles and then took the train the rest of the way..and finally made it back to florence and crashed..i slept a good twelve hours..definitely the longest night of sleep so far in europe.

florence has been a perfect place to wander..the next morning, on sunday, i left the hotel and wandered on my own for hours..it was the perfect time to reflect on the past couple of days, get some coffee and a croissant,  have some devotion time, sit and sketch, and just be independent and spontaneous. i got kinda lost a couple of times but i found my way back eventually.

tonight is the last night here and then were off to rome tomorrow. im excited to see and explore rome although im starting to realize i may not be cut out for this type of traveling. its hard to just start feeling settled somewhere and then be up-rooted again and onto a new place.  but i am so thankful and blessed to be able to do this and im trying to take in everyday and be flexible and open to constant change! and paris will be all the better when we get to settle for two months! 

well were going to have to see what the wifi situation is in rome but ill be updating soon im sure. miss you all very much! ciao. 

Just Got to Florence!

venice was amazing. 

so beautiful and laid back yet time seemed to go really fast..we went to a bunch of museums including the biennale which was amazing..the museum was in these old rustic buildings with old brick and rusting walls and each room was filled in contemporary art and i was inspired room after room. we also had a free beach day where we went to the lido, an island off of venezia and finally got to swim! it was incredible and so nice to just relax for the day..i walked on the beach for a while by myself and just reflected on everything thats been going on around me. 

the roads and alleys were so fun to explore throughout venice. we found tons of cute shops, LOTS of gelati (my record was three in one day), and some interesting night life..including a communist rally that played a ton of reggae by the docks haha and an awesome dance hangout place on the beach at lido..it was so much fun they set up a stage and huge lounge chairs on the beach and played such random music but we did what we do best and started up a dance party on the beach it was great. 

the week in venice went by so fast..yesterday i went for a walk through the streets by our apartment and listened to hillsong and just took in everything one last time and i had one of those rushes of emotions, i was so at peace, yet so overwhelmed with satisfaction and thankfulness to be living and just blessed so much by God...i found a nice spot by a small bridge crossing one of the canals and sat and sketched. i miss venice already, just the combination of natural and historic surroundings around every corner. 

but were in florence now! and haven't seen much yet.. im going to go and explore in a bit..but i have wifi here and so maybe i can finally skype some of you guys later :)  love you all and will update on florence life soon :) 

VENICE

okay so ive been slacking..but theres so much happening all the time and not nearly enough time to reflect on it all..especially with limited wifi..but here i am in VENICE updating in a mcdonalds :) 

the last few days of london were so fun, they included some amazing markets, camden town!, long naps, and then we traveled to paris for the night. we were only there for one night just passing through to venice but we definitely got a taste of what it will be like once were back for two months! and i cannot wait..we went out to dinner and i had escargot :) and liked it. and we walked to the eiffel tower from our hostel at night and it was AMAZING better than i imagined ..it was one of those moments..like im actually here and this is happening. the next day we took an overnight train which was definitely an experience..six girls crammed into a small sleeping cart with beds pilled up above each other.. it was really fun we had some intense rounds of rummikub and  "never have i ever" :) and with some tylenol pm i made it through the night..

and now were in venice and i still cant believe it..everything is beautiful literally every corner you turn is another hidden cobblestone path with brick walls and chipped paint..little shops and bridges that cross over the canal..its surreal. i still feel like im in a movie set. weve already seen some amazing art and we cooked dinner last night..oh i forgot to mention we have apartments! so sickkk..im with six girls in our own apartment in venice!..we made dinner last night and the other girls are cooking for us tonight as i type this!..im loving getting to know the streets and just feeling like i live here instead of a being a typical tourist :) theres still so much that were going to experience here so i will most certainly update soon. i miss you all! :)

ps. theresa i think about you all the time here :) 

pss. pictures from london will be up soon on facebook i promise!

arrivederci!