Visit the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Vanderbilt´s Marble House

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The school organized a trip to the home of 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Vanderbilt Mansion Historic Site, historically known as Hyde Park- Vanderbilt Mansion National Park. The Park encompasses over 200 acres of the original estate which was home to prominent New Yorkers for nearly two centuries. Both sites were amazing in itself.

The FDR estate is much more unpretentious that the Vanderbilt Mansion. Nevertheless it is definitely worth and very interesting to take the tour and see how the young Franklin D. Roosevelt lived, where he studied and later had official meetings. Moreover it is interesting to see the modifications that where made to make him live comfortable during the time he had to spent in a wheelchair, when being stricken with poliomyelitis. Roosevelt fought to regain the use of his legs and succeeded. The Presidential Museum is very modern and uses different types of media to inform and entertain its visitors. It allows to gain a comprehensive knowledge about Franklin D. Roosevelt and also about his wife Eleanor that was politically very active.

The Vanderbilt Mansion is only 30 minutes away and is one of the smallest residences that belonged to the Vanderbilt´s. It was a summer house where Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt regularly lived in. The interior is amazing and consists of more than 500,000 cubic feet of marble. When it was completed, Mr. Vanderbilt presented  the house to his wife as a 39th birthday present. since 2006 the Marble House is a National Historic Landmark and open to the public.

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More information:

FDR House: http://www.nps.gov/hofr/index.htm

Marble House: http://www.newportmansions.org/explore/marble-house

THE SKY IS "AZZURRO" IN NEW YORK TODAY!

This post is a “Pre-recorded Broadcast” ;-)… but enjoy it!!!

Yesterday was an ordinary day for me.
I was in New York with a friend of mine and my only concern was to find the right shoes at Macy’s rather than the right Jacket at Zara store….Then, something happened.
Rumors came from the street and I surprisingly found out that Roberta Vinci, a 33 years old unseeded Italian veteran, playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal, had defeated Serena Williams, considered by many the best female tennis player in History.
WOOOOW… Let me say it, a day to forget for the great Serena!… But that wasn’t the biggest News!
The second finalist who had to “fight for the crown” with Vinci, in the Grand Slam final, was another Italian girl, Flavia Pennetta.
Thus, to sum up: Two girls, not only from Italy but also from my beloved Puglia… One Grand Slam final… The US Open 2015… and no one (NO ONE) could have ever imagined it!
How could I miss the opportunity to watch this entirely Italian, Live and Epic One-Time Event???
Well, I couldn’t! So, my day became a race against time to find this one GOLD ticket for the final match… And after a while I found it!!!! 😉
The next day, I went back to NYC, took the train from Penn Station to the Arthur Ashe Stadium which is incredible by the way, and reached my craved destination.
I was by myself but too excited to feel lonely!!!
People from all around the world were there to see the match and I felt the adrenaline running into my body as never before!
The game started and the few Italians that luckily were there didn’t know who to cheer for! So, everyone started cheering and whooping and hollering for both the Italian girls that actually knew each other since childhood… and it was amazing.
At the end, Flavia Pennetta won but that was a victory for Roberta Vinci as well because they will both be remembered as the two Italian girls who left America speechless!
When I thought it was enough for one day, another crazy thing happened. After winning the US Open 2015, Pennetta announced her retirement in front of the entire world…
… and I realized that, one day, THAT moment would have become an adventure worth telling to my grandchildren, great grandchildren and friends!

Hope you loved the story as I loved living it!!!
Hugs and Kisses.
Gaia.

No body, no crime.

A Swedish Web site that offers free access to millions of copyrighted songs; movies; and so on, bills itself as the world’s largest Bit Torrent tracker.

The Pirate Bay provides a search engine that responds to user queries for music tracks or specific movie titles, TV series and computer programs generating a list of search results that includes the links of P2P networks where you can find the content you are looking for. To keep it simple: they don’t have the material, but they show you where to find it.

The US government pressured the Swedish government to strengthen its copyright laws, and what the founders of the company claimed, were that the copyright laws interfere with the free flow of information on the Internet. Just in case, they dispersed multiple copies of its program to other countries.

Source: Kenneth Laudon

Happy Birthday Martin Luther King!!!

Our first Monday in the States was Martin Luther King’s Day, so we decided to visit his monument in Washington DC…and we had a great time!!

We left the snowy New Paltz and headed towards the Capital of the United States. Fortunately, the weather was really nice: sunny and not that chilly. We walked a lot and visited many monuments and museums. It was a great start for this once in a lifetime experience!

We have now landed in New Paltz and are ready for what’s to come!