Home again

We are back from France, having had a wonderful time and getting out before strikes, riots, terrorists, etc. could spoil our fun.  But watch this spot because Chautauqua is going to EGYPT!!!!!

What do the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty have in common?

Actually, they have several things in common.  Both were designed in France by Frenchmen.  And both were constructed by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel!

The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the People of the United States from the people of France to celebrate our county's 100 birthday.  The statue was designed by a French artist named Bartholdi in 1875.  Its real name is "Liberty Enlightening the World".  Although Bartholdi designed the look of the statue and participated in its construction, he needed the help of Mr. Eiffel to design the structural support that would hold the statue up and make it able to withstand both extremes of weather and millions of people visiting it.
Bartholdi made two smaller models of "Liberty", both of which are in Paris.  One is in the Luxumbourg Garden, which Pops and I have walked through several times.  The other is in another part of Paris, not far from the Eiffel Tower.

The statue really was a gift of the French people, since it was funded in large part by donations from ordinary French citizens.  Even the children of France raised money to pay for the construction of the wonderful gift to the country they had never even visited.  France paid for the cost of the statue, with the agreement that the United States pay for the building of the pedestal on which it stands.  Not everyone in the US thought this was a good way to spend money, but fortunately enough donations were received and the pedestal was built on what is now called Liberty Island.  The statue was built and transported in pieces and was finally assembled in 1886.  Mr Eiffel was then free to work on his next project, the building of a tall iron structure to be the centerpiece of the World Exhibition held in Paris in 1889! 

The Eiffel tower was the tallest structure in the world when it was built, but it was not intended to be permanent.  It was supposed to be torn down in 1909, but it was saved when it became useful as a broadcast tower.  Here is a great link to learn more about the Eiffel tower.
http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/

See you guys soon!

MPZ

More Impressionists

I received an e-mail from Heather Parker saying that you are working on Impressionist Art in her class again this year.  I can hardly wait to see the results.  It would be hard to beat last year's work!

We also went to visit another important place in the history of Impressionist Art.  The guys who went up north with me last February may remember that I wanted to visit an art museum in Washington, DC. (Of course, "snowmageddon" changed that plan!) The Phillips Collection is in a mansion near Mrs. McCauley's daughter Sara's house.  In the Phillips there is a painting called "The Luncheon of the Boating Party", by Pierre Auguste Renoir.  Renoir was one of the most famous Impressionist painters and he did most of his painting in and around Paris.  The "Luncheon of the Boating Party"  is a painting of a group of people enjoying lunch at a restaurant along the river Seine, supposedly after they had just been boating.  The restaurant was called Maison Fournaise, and two of the people in the painting are leaning on a railing and are the son and daughter of the people who own the restaurant.  The other people were friends and acquaintances of Renoir who agreed to pose for him.  That was quite a committment, because it took Renoir almost all summer to finish the painting!

Luncheon of the Boating Party

How does Mr. Z look as Alphonse Fournaise?

This is me as Alphonsine.  Try to imagine a hat.

This is the balcony where the group of models gathered all summer.

Today we plan to go to the Musee D'Orsay and a few other museums that are famous for impressionist collection.  However, those plans may change since there is a huge strike in Paris today and not many buses are running.  We may decide to walk to the museum, but we are not sure if it will be open.  I'll let you know what happens.  Meanwhile, I miss you guys and can hardly wait to see your Impressionist Art!

Impressionists

Last year, one of my favorite art projects with Heather Parker was the classes on Impressionist art.  Those were the beautiful pictures that you did that later were auctioned at the Empty Bowl Preview night.  Several of you chose to copy paintings by Monet, who was one of the first painters to paint in the Impressionist style.
In fact the name Impressionism came from a painting he did called Impression -Sunrise.  Art critics at first didn't like this style, saying it was hard to tell what the painting were, they were just "impressions" of things.
Monet and his friends who liked this style and began to use it more and more had the last laugh, since they are all famous now!  The painting by Monet is now in the Musee Marmottan, which Pops and I visited last week.

Impression - Sunrise

We were on an Impressionist roll then, so we decided to visit the place where Monet did a lot of his painting. Claude Monet lived in a town called Giverny, which is about 50 miles from Paris.  He had his second wife had 8 kids between them so he lived in a large house with a huge yard.  His two favorite things were gardening and painting, so his yard was filled with gorgeous flower gardens, paths, and ponds.  He wanted his garden to be like a painting, with the colors blending and something blooming almost all year round.  Many of his paintings were done in his garden. including huge murals of water lillies.  Believe it or not, it was unusual for painters to paint outside before then.  Most painters stayed in their art studios and while they may have gone outside to sketch or observe things, they did all their painting inside.  That Monet was really a rebel!

Monet's home in Giverny is beautiful.  Even though the gardens are over 100 years old they are still gorgeous.  We took a tour of his house, which is pretty big - of course, there were eight kids living there!
Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures on the inside, but I bought some postcards to show you.  His kitchen looks a lot like Mrs. McCauley's!

Place de la Concorde

A few days ago I posted a picture of Place de la Concord, promising that I would tell you more about it later.  Well, here it is...

Place de la Concorde is one of Europe's most magnificent and historic squares. It is in the shape of an octagon, with buildings on only one side.  Construction began in 1748 and took fifteen years to complete.  Its purpose was to provide a beautiful setting for a statue of King Louis.  The square was first called Place Louis XV.  It turned out to be a very unlucky spot.  In 1770 a fireworks display held here to celebrate the wedding of Marie Antoinette to future King Louis XVI turned deadly when one hundred and thirteen people were trampled to death in the crowd.

Nineteen years later the French revolution began and the square was renamed Place de Revolution.  Revolutionaries tore down the statue of the king.  In its place they erected a guillotine, which was used to behead 1,119 people, including both Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette!

After the revolution, the square was renamed Place de la Concord, hoping that it could become a monument to peace.  Additional statues and fountains were added, all of which had something to do with the beauty of France.  However, the center piece of the square, the Luxor Obelisk has little to do with French history.  Obelisks are tall, tapering monuments, with a top in the shape of a pyramid.  Many were built in ancient Egypt, then transported all over the world.

Luxor Obelisk

The Luxor Obelisk is made of pink granite and stands over 73 ft high.  It is over 3300 years old and stood for centuries at the tomb of Pharaoh Rames II of Egypt.  It is covered in hieroglyphics that tell of the glory of his reign. Egypt gave it and another obelisk to France as a gift in 1829 and the French Government was relieved to be able to place something non political in this tragic square.   However, getting the 220 ton monument to France from Egypt was no easy matter.  The transport took over three years and raising the obelisk in the square was a grand event witnessed by over 20,000 people!  In order for future generations to appreciate the effort that went into bringing this obelisk to Paris, the story of how it was transported and raised is engraved in the base.  The second obelisk never came to France.  It remained in Egypt, although it was considered the property of France. A few years ago France officially returned it to Egypt (Even though it never left!)

At the same time that Egypt gave this obelisk to France it also gave one to England and to the United States.  The obelisk in England sits along the Thames River in London, while the one in the US is in Central Park in New York City.

Central Park Obelisk

Most of us have also seen another famous obelisk in the United States.  Think about it before clicking this link.  www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc72.htm

I think it is amazing how things connect.  Chautauqua has been to London, DC, Paris, and maybe soon Egypt.  I think we should add obelisk to our website!

More about Heidelberg

I am happy to report that Heidelberg was much more "disability friendly" than Paris.  In the "Old City" the streets were cobblestone or brick, which would make wheelchair travel difficult, but not impossible.  Some, but not all of the shops and restaurants were accessible, but most of the restaurants had outside seating.  This was perfect for this time of year, but I suppose is not ideal in winter!  However, the buses had ramps and wheelchair sections. We saw a number of people in wheelchairs using them without difficulty.

The newer part of the city seemed to be even more accessible.  Streets included curb cuts, and the train station included accessible bathrooms. We spent most of our time in the city in the Werkstattens, which of course were completely accessible.  I will get more info on the rest of the city and report back.

Heidelberg

This past week Mr. Z. and I took a train trip to Heidelberg, Germany.   We traveled using the TGV, which is the French high speed train.  After traveling so quickly through the French/German country side, the last leg of our trip, a bus ride from the train station to our hotel, seemd like a "turtle" pace!  We stayed in the section of Heidelberg referred to as the "Old Town".  The buildings were several hundred years old and extremely picturesque.  Much of Germany was destroyed during World War II, so it is very fortunate that this beautiful and historic part of the city was undisturbed by bombs.

A typical street in the "Old City"
of Heidelberg.

"The Old Town" sits on the Neckar River, and mountains rise both across the river and at the edge of the city.  In fact many homes and buildings are nestled in the trees on the mountainside.  The most famous is the Heidelberg castle, which can be scene from just about anywhere in Old Town.  The castel was first built in 1214 as a fortress.  Looking down the mountainside and across the river, it was easy to see any enemies coming and almosst impossible to capture.  It did not become a royal residence until after 1398. (That's almost one hundred years before Columbus sailed to America!) Over the centuries, new buildings were added to the complex, but many were destroyed by wars and fires.  It has not been inhabited since 1680.   Enough of it is still standing (as you can see from the picture) that it is possible to get a glimpse into what life must have been like living in this magnificent castle.  There is lots more to know about the Heidelberg castle - check it out on the internet! Here is a good link. http://visit-heidelberg.com/tours/castle.htm

Heidelberg Castle

 Although it is possible to reach the castle walking up the mountain, the most popular way to get there is by "funicular".  A funicular is a cable system used to go up and down hills.  Two cars sit on parallel tracks and are attached to each other through a pulley at the top of the hill.  The weight of one car going down the track pulls the other car up the hill, usually with some mechanical assistance.  The cars take turns going up and down, pulling each other along.  (Pittsburgh has two funiculars, called "inclines" locally, that take people from downtown Pittsburgh to a residential area above the city)

Remember us?  Here we are standing outside the Castle.

Looking down on the city from the castle

While we were in Heidelberg we visited several Werkstattens.  Werkstattens are a combination of a school and a worksite for individuals with disabilities.  At age 18 a person is entitled to attend a Werkstatten for vocational training and assessment.  For the first two years the students have the opportunity to practice life skills, as well as try out several vocational opportunities.  Some people learn how to operate machinery, others learn landscaping skills and still others learn how to assemble and pack materials for shipping.  After two years, in some cases sooner, the students choose which job they prefer and go to work!  Those who are more severely disabled continue to come to the workstatten, but spend the day in a classroom or recreational area.  At the Werkstattens we visited, the employees were making parts for printing presses, then packaging and shipping them.  The German government requires all companies to hire some people with disabilities.   Many companies, such as the Heidelberg Printing Company, meet this requirement by having a contract with a Werkstatten.  The companies pay the Werkstatten to produce parts or provide a service.  Sometimes they loan the Werkstatten the money to buy the equipment needed to make the parts, but the Werkstatten must pay it back within a few years. The managers at the Werkstatten provide the supervision and "quality control" for its employees.  Employees (students) are paid by the Werkstatten.  Once a person has gone to work at a Werkstatten they can stay until retirement age of 65!  Many employees live in nearby supervised housing, but it is not required. 





These women are assembling a packing box which will ship
parts of the printin press assembly.

This man works a machine that creates parts
for a printing press.