Wow! What a trip we had! On Tuesday morning, we got up and ate breakfast at the club level and then met in the hotel lobby to check our bags for the day. We took cabs to the Hanesbrand Design Center and arrived promptly at 10 a.m. Once inside, we were treated to a second breakfast of fruit and pastries and coffee. It was wonderful! Afterward, we had a two-and-a-half hour tour of the design process from the research stage to the final product. It was AMAZING. The students were exposed to clothing and technical design as well as the creative process and critical analysis that goes into inventing fabric patterning for design. The entire staff was incredibly gracious and to have the team spend the time with us was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As an instructor, I learned a tremendous amount that I can filter back into the classroom and I am so grateful for the exposure offered to us from Hanesbrand!
After our tour, we went to Silo for lunch and enjoyed more wonderful food! Then, we began our journey across town. Liz and Kacy wanted to sample Dylan's Candy Bar: http://www.dylanscandybar.com/ and so we walked about 25 or so blocks to get there! We ate yet again and then I was insistent that we see art. So, we headed to a contemporary auction house that looked interesting but unfortunately was closed (as was the Whitney and MOMA). The Guggenheim was 2 miles away but we started walking in that direction anyway. I also wanted to see the Frick gallery so I was on my journey with the students to see how we would end up! During the second half of our trek, we stopped in Trump Towers, Tiffany's, and Longchamp. We saw a fleet of very expensive cars including several Maybachs and so we stood outside of the Four Seasons waiting to see who would emerge. We lost patience when no one showed up so we traveled to the other side of the block where the entire street was blocked off. It turns out that it was all for the Prime Minister of Israel: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40056917/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/ who was on a four-day stay in NYC. We did not see him but suspected that the fleet of cars we saw earlier was really for Netanyahu to leave the building. After this excitement, we passed a homeless man who asked me several times if anyone was home. I turned around to make sure he wasn't bothering the rest of my group only to have missed walking directly past Harrison Ford! Ms. Marshall grabbed Liz and she ran back and got a photo of him for our records! Wow!
Just when we thought that we would never make it to the art museum, we turned the corner to walk along Central Park and there it was - the home of Frick Collection: http://www.frick.org/collection/history.htm/! I treated everyone to a ticket to the museum compliments of the FCDS Arts Alliance and we spent 90-minutes touring the former home of Mr. Henry Clay Frick. Truly, it was one of the most impressive art collections I have seen in quite some time. The collection housed the likes of Goya, El Greco, Vermeer, Turner, Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Hans, Hals, Manet, Renoir, and many others, it was a staggering collection of Western art from the Renaissance to the late 19th Century! The students walked through the museum with me and although I am no expert on every time period, I was able to give a brief overview of each artist and point out important parts of many of the paintings. Seeing Vermeer and Rembrandt were the highlights of my day!
Once we departed the Frick House, we walked along Central Park and back to Times Square. Just when we thought that we could not walk another step, we found Ellen's Stardust diner: http://www.ellensstardustdiner.com/ and enjoyed dinner and entertainment! Afterward, we hit the grand opening of the Disney store and then headed back to the hotel to grab our bags and a taxi to LaGuardia for our 9:45 pm flight home. The group was more tired than we had ever been and the writer of this blog post wasn't sure she would make it! However, after sleeping the entire flight home, we arrived safe and sound in Greensboro and concluded our journey of RISD, Brown, Roger Williams University, the Hanesbrand Design Center, and NYC.
What a great experience!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Thayer Street!
Yesterday was a whirlwind day of cold rain, college tours, new sites, new smells, and many thoughts of the future and what could be. We toured RISD at 9:30 a.m. and got a good feel for an urban campus and what the daily life of an art student would be like. The girls asked a lot of great questions about class offerings, careers, and choices in the visual arts.
Kristen Orr met us at 11:15 a.m. in the RISD nature lab and we went to lunch on Thayer street. After walking through the Brown and RISD campus, this gave us a good feel for both campuses, fall in the North East, and the student life of both schools! Naturally, we hot the Brown bookstore and RISD store after lunch!
By 1:45 we were in Bristol, RI touring Roger Wiliams University. It is a beautiful campus on the water with a strong marine biology and architecture program! The students were impressed by the layout of the campus and the facilities available. At the end of our tour, one of the art professors spent another 30 minutes explaining the differences between the art degrees offered at Roger Williams or any other school and answered some great questions by the girls about choices in the visual arts.
At 3:45 we were on our bus back to the Amtrak station where we boarded a 5:05 train to NYC. At this point, we were TIRED and hungry after a full day of walking through cold rain and wind! Most of the girls got snacks for the train and then we had a three hour ride. Liz did a fine job entertaining her area with stories of school, her family, and anything else that came to mind! The train ride was very bearable thanks to Liz! :)
Once we got into NYC, we took cabs to the Marriott Marquis (great hotel), checked in, changed into dry clothes and headed across the street to Junior's for dinner and cheesecake. This was the first meal since 12:30 so needless to say, it was appreciated and tasted delicious! The cheesecake was over the top! By midnight, the girls were in their rooms and had strict instructions to go to sleep!
Today we tour the Hanesbrand Champion Design center at 10:00 and then will go to a museum afterwards (we have yet to make a decision for what we will do). We will do a lot of sight-seeing and looking at art today! The girls will call before we board the planes tonight so that they can confirm the flights are on time.
Kristen Orr met us at 11:15 a.m. in the RISD nature lab and we went to lunch on Thayer street. After walking through the Brown and RISD campus, this gave us a good feel for both campuses, fall in the North East, and the student life of both schools! Naturally, we hot the Brown bookstore and RISD store after lunch!
By 1:45 we were in Bristol, RI touring Roger Wiliams University. It is a beautiful campus on the water with a strong marine biology and architecture program! The students were impressed by the layout of the campus and the facilities available. At the end of our tour, one of the art professors spent another 30 minutes explaining the differences between the art degrees offered at Roger Williams or any other school and answered some great questions by the girls about choices in the visual arts.
At 3:45 we were on our bus back to the Amtrak station where we boarded a 5:05 train to NYC. At this point, we were TIRED and hungry after a full day of walking through cold rain and wind! Most of the girls got snacks for the train and then we had a three hour ride. Liz did a fine job entertaining her area with stories of school, her family, and anything else that came to mind! The train ride was very bearable thanks to Liz! :)
Once we got into NYC, we took cabs to the Marriott Marquis (great hotel), checked in, changed into dry clothes and headed across the street to Junior's for dinner and cheesecake. This was the first meal since 12:30 so needless to say, it was appreciated and tasted delicious! The cheesecake was over the top! By midnight, the girls were in their rooms and had strict instructions to go to sleep!
Today we tour the Hanesbrand Champion Design center at 10:00 and then will go to a museum afterwards (we have yet to make a decision for what we will do). We will do a lot of sight-seeing and looking at art today! The girls will call before we board the planes tonight so that they can confirm the flights are on time.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Friends!
We ate dinner at Angelo's in Federal Hill and enjoyed a lovely evening of Italian food! After dinner, we walked up and down Federal Hill and took MANY photos of the local landscape and enjoyed the time sightseeing. We ended up walking back to the hotel and by the time we returned, the girls were exhausted. By 8:30 p.m., everyone was begging to go to their rooms. I had Haagen Dazs ice cream delivered to all the at 9:00 and hopefully, everyone enjoyed the treat! Lights are out by 11:00 p.m.!
Our personal bus in Providence, RI!
We arrived safely in Providence around 1:30 and were picked up by our bus and chauffeur driver! It is COLD! I am so glad all the girls dressed warm! Our hotel is right next to the Providence mall so you can imagine that since we were all starving, the mall was an easy choice for lunch! The girls had a few hours to eat and browse before we checked into the hotel. We are staying at the Elite level in the hotel and each pair of girls has a suite with two queen beds. Truly, they are in heaven! Currently, they needed some lounge time and they are all in one room playing card games. We are leaving for dinner and Federal Hill in 10 minutes and more pics will follow!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Boarding Passes!
I have printed everyone's boarding pass! Meet me at 8 a.m. in front of the US Airways ticket counter!
It's all in the details....
Bring your camera (cell phone cameras will also work) for lots of great pictures and memories for the field trip! I will compile all of our photos into an album to share and remember our adventures later.
Remember hats, gloves, and scarves so that you don't freeze when we walk around Times Square on Monday night.
Bring your driver's license or other form of ID.
Feel free to bring your Ipod for the plane trip or book to read, etc.
Don't forget spending money for food, gift shops, college book stores, etc.
Dress warm and casual. Look nice for our tour of the Champion Design center. But, be comfortable. I don't want any miserable students with sore feet on this trip! :)
Meet me in front of the US Airways ticket counter at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning at the Greensboro airport!
Remember hats, gloves, and scarves so that you don't freeze when we walk around Times Square on Monday night.
Bring your driver's license or other form of ID.
Feel free to bring your Ipod for the plane trip or book to read, etc.
Don't forget spending money for food, gift shops, college book stores, etc.
Dress warm and casual. Look nice for our tour of the Champion Design center. But, be comfortable. I don't want any miserable students with sore feet on this trip! :)
Meet me in front of the US Airways ticket counter at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning at the Greensboro airport!
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