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

IMG_5125 FullSizeRender-64 FullSizeRender-63

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.

FullSizeRender-66 Marble House FullSizeRender-65

More information:

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

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

A FUNNY MOVIE NIGHT AT SUNY NEW PALTZ UNIVERSITY

12023042_10207797994569518_1074997980_n

We almost come to the end of the fourth week of our “adventure” here in the US, and we haven’t lived yet the real life of a Suny New Paltz student. So we decided to take part at one of the various activities organized by the Center for Student Development: the movie night.
For me it was a totally new and exciting experience, especially because Italian universities usually don’t organize events like this. Indeed, we don’t have a real campus where students live and do activities together also during the evening.
And it’s a pity because, through campus entertainment events and activities, students can get involved in campus life, and this is a further opportunity to meet new people and mingle, getting the most during college education.
So, me and other girls decided to spend our Saturday night like a real American student, first having dinner at the Dining Hall and then watching a movie in one of the classrooms at the Lecture Center. Was our chance to meet other incoming Fall 2015 students and networking with them, after all it’s never too early to start making connections.

11927826_582586241883851_918515925161114705_o

During this totally free event, we were offered popcorn and drinks, with the chance to participate to the raffle drawing at the end of the weekly movie, Jurassic World.

The organizers were able to recreate the atmosphere of the cinema, putting at their ease those students who decided to participate.

During the show, it seemed to be in our bedroom surrounded by our friends, each of them was rejoicing and clapping with us during the most exciting scenes.
Little by little we surrendered to that familiar and funny atmosphere, finding ourselves commenting out loud along with everyone else.

11997185_10207797868646370_1090054281_n

Although it wasn’t one of my favorite, the level of involvement created in the room made this movie one of the most pleasant and beautiful I’ve ever seen.

 

The plot in a nutshell: Isla Nublar opens the gates: the dream of John Hammond to create a theme park with regenerated and cloned dinosaurs is now reality. The reptiles, now devoid of mystery and anxiety, are downgraded to almost circus animals in the service of multinationals and genetic experiments, the result of which is the most ferocious dinosaur ever: the “Indominus Rex”. Soon, however, the managers of “Jurassic World” will have to deal with their terrible creature.

Overall it was an enjoyable evening that I can not wait to repeat.

12025564_10207797867686346_1357851532_n

 

 The next movie event will be on Saturday, October 3 at the Lecture Center.

To keep up with the many activities offered by Suny New Paltz University, click like on this Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/SUNYNewPaltzClassof2019?fref=ts

Culinary Experience!

Last weekend we had the opportunity to visit The Culinary Institute of America, it is a culinary college located in Hyde Park founded in 1946.

Besides the impressive infrastructure they have and the fact of being one of the most privileged gastronomy institutions, the university has four restaurants that are attended by the students themselves.

This time we had the opportunity to visit the Bocuse restaurant, named in honor of the famous chef Paul Bocuse, famous for its excellent cuisine and innovative dishes.

If you love good food you should definitely visit this place and try their unique dishes.
A good place to visit while in New Paltz!

The Campus Beauty!

Even though it’s extremely cold and I have to wear triple layers of clothing, it’s so beautiful here! With the mountains in the background, the blue sky and the bright sun this campus is really impressing. Here’s some photos from my first week at SUNY New Paltz.