Jerome, AZ; Grand Canyon; and Las Vegas
On Spring Break 2012, I went with Harris to Sedona, about 30 miles from Ruben's birthplace--Jerome, AZ. We did a lot of research and sightseeing from there. Then, on to Grand Canyon and Vegas where we went into around a dozen casinos--Paris was my favorite with the Venetian right behind. I'm getting ready for Europe!
These are some of the photos I shot that are not in other places on this website.
These are some of the photos I shot that are not in other places on this website.
Montezuma's Castle, Jerome, Grand Canyon
George Washington University, Mount Vernon Campus
While we were in DC, we had stayed in the dorms and had classes in the mornings most days at GW. Speakers were brought in to discuss specific topics such as the American Army of D-Day, WW II on the Home Front, the Secret War--Intelligence & Deception, Operations Neptune and Overlord.
We watched Saving Private Ryan, researched our soldier/sailor at the National Archives, and did a walking tour of the Washington National Mall and Memorial Park. All in hot, humid weather with seemingly constant threats of rain.
On our last day in DC, we went to the National Air and Space Museum II that is by Dulles Airport. It had everything from Wright Brothers planes to the space shuttle Discovery. I was surprised to find the Enola Gay there. I didn't know it still existed! From there, we checked in with Iceland Air for our two flights to Reykjavik and then Paris.
We watched Saving Private Ryan, researched our soldier/sailor at the National Archives, and did a walking tour of the Washington National Mall and Memorial Park. All in hot, humid weather with seemingly constant threats of rain.
On our last day in DC, we went to the National Air and Space Museum II that is by Dulles Airport. It had everything from Wright Brothers planes to the space shuttle Discovery. I was surprised to find the Enola Gay there. I didn't know it still existed! From there, we checked in with Iceland Air for our two flights to Reykjavik and then Paris.
Washington DC
While in DC, Harris and I toured the US Congress, Library of Congress, walked the Mall, and over to the White House before the Institute began. And no, the Mall has nothing to do with shopping. The Washington Mall goes from the US Congress to the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. As part of the institute, we all went on a monument tour and visited museums. Some of our photos are below:
Researching at the National Archives in DC
French Ambassador's Residence in DC
We were invited to visit the home of France's ambassador to the US. While he was not there, we met his wife, had a tour of the first floor, kitchen, and saw beautiful paintings from the staircase to the second floor. There is a wonderful painting of George Washington across from one of the Marquis de Lafayette.
The house is beautiful. It was the actual French Embassy from 1936 until 1985 when the current embassy was built. Its architectural styling is a combination of Tudor Revival and Jacobean Revival. It was designed in 1920 by Jules Henri de Sibour. In 1989, it was listed in the National Registry of Historic Places
The house is beautiful. It was the actual French Embassy from 1936 until 1985 when the current embassy was built. Its architectural styling is a combination of Tudor Revival and Jacobean Revival. It was designed in 1920 by Jules Henri de Sibour. In 1989, it was listed in the National Registry of Historic Places
Iceland? Yes, Iceland!
We flew from Washington, DC, to Reykjavik, Iceland. We had a stopover and went through a passport check. Each of our passports got an Iceland stamp! Then, on to Paris! We got another Icelandic stamp on our return trip to the USA.
Normandy
After flying all night and morning, we arrived in Paris around noon where we got on a bus for a five-hour ride to Bayeux, France. Our Normandy site photos are on the next page of this site. They deserve a page of their own.
Paris
Before heading back home, we had a short stay in Paris--two nights, one day. I could have been there longer very happily. Harris and I walked to the Eiffel Tour the night we arrived, our hotel was close by. The next day, we were free until 4 pm, so Harris and I took the Batobus. It is a tour boat on the Seine with eight stops. We got off at Notre Dame, saw the cathedral, and ate lunch in a cafe on the square. We walked by Shakespeare & Co, an English bookstore about 100 years old! Paris is incredible!
Tour Eiffel
It was far too hot and humid to stand in a long line to go up into the tower. But, it is an intricate structure worth seeing, even from the ground.
Sorry, but you'll have to watch it sideways...oops
Cruising the Seine
These are the pics from our Batobus cruise on the Seine. We cruised for about four hours! We started and ended at the stop by Tour Eiffel. From there we cruised by St Germain des Pres, Jardin des Plantes, Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame, Hotel de Ville, and Champs Elysees. We only had time to get off at Notre Dame. We needed to be back in time to get on the bus at 4 pm to go to the American Ambassador's Residence.
Notre Dame Cathedral
We got off the Batobus at Notre Dame and went into the cathedral. There was a service going on in the center, but the cathedral was so large that there was plenty of room for tourists like us to walk around the perimeter and see the cathedral. We then had lunch at a cafe in the square.
US Ambassador to France's Residence in Paris,
AKA: Hotel de Pontalba
This is an amazingly beautiful home. And at the end of our tour, the embassy gave each of us two books about art in American embassies around the world and about a statue created for this Parisian embassy La Flamme de La Liberte', The Flame of Liberty. The US ambassador to France has called this home since 1971.
The land was originally purchased by the Chancellor of France in 1710 and he built a house ten years later. Since him, it has gone through many owners. New Orleans born Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba bought it in 1836 and six years later had the house torn down and built one she liked better. She lived in it until her death. Her heirs sold it to Baron Edmond James de Rothschild in 1876. He had it substantially renovated, enlarged, and embellished the residence, leaving only the original gatehouse and portals intact, but following much of the H-shaped ground floor plan.
During WW II, the mansion was still owned by a Rothschild. Being Jews, the Rothschilds took much of the interior of the house and moved with it to their properties in the United States. Then Germany took the building for its own use.
After the war, it was rented out to the British, and then to the U.S.
In 1948, the American government purchased the building from the Rothschilds to use for the US Information Service. Later, the house was restored to be what it had been when the Rothschilds owned it. The US was able to purchase much of the previous furnishing that had been in it. The building then became the official residence of the US ambassador to France.
Our tour was incredible.
The land was originally purchased by the Chancellor of France in 1710 and he built a house ten years later. Since him, it has gone through many owners. New Orleans born Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba bought it in 1836 and six years later had the house torn down and built one she liked better. She lived in it until her death. Her heirs sold it to Baron Edmond James de Rothschild in 1876. He had it substantially renovated, enlarged, and embellished the residence, leaving only the original gatehouse and portals intact, but following much of the H-shaped ground floor plan.
During WW II, the mansion was still owned by a Rothschild. Being Jews, the Rothschilds took much of the interior of the house and moved with it to their properties in the United States. Then Germany took the building for its own use.
After the war, it was rented out to the British, and then to the U.S.
In 1948, the American government purchased the building from the Rothschilds to use for the US Information Service. Later, the house was restored to be what it had been when the Rothschilds owned it. The US was able to purchase much of the previous furnishing that had been in it. The building then became the official residence of the US ambassador to France.
Our tour was incredible.
Institute Finale: Dinner at La Cercle de l'Union Interalliee
The institute's last event was a dinner at a social club founded in 1917. The club's purpose was and is to continue to promote friendship between the Allied nations of WW I. The building is between the embassies of the UK and Japan.