Well the last time I did a FFF it wasn't even summer yet!
So I have some catching up to do!
Sadly, I could not get any of the videos from Claire's ballet show to upload onto my laptop. I will keep trying when I have some free moments in the next week as the show was just stunning and oh how I wanted to share them with you all. She had a senior solo and danced on pointe for the entire show minus the lyrical ballet duet she performed with her classmate.
For now, I will share what some of my faves were from Graduation Day and the last 2 weeks when I've been on vacation from teaching.
 |
| The tassle for all graduates of the high school |
 |
| Claire with Dave on Graduation Day! 24 June 2017 |
- HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE! Claire graduated with the other 447 members of her high school senior class on Saturday morning 24 June. She graduated in the top 5% of the class (there were 38 teens in that spot) and because she is in the National Honor Society, her cap displays the gold tassle vs the school colors one. She also has the National Honor Society pin that she chose not to wear, and the Russian languages pin that she chose not to wear. Around her neck is the medal for being in the top 5% of the class and the black cord around her neck (hard to see in the pic) is for earning the Bona Fide award for community service outside of the high school. There were about 20 teens who earned that award. It was a gorgeous morning and she was very happy to be done with high school!
 |
| my fave from the Rose Garden |
 |
| Rose Garden |
 |
| Claire standing in the entrance to the Rose Gardens at Jardin Botanique (Botanical Gardens) Montreal, Canada 25 June 2017 |
- MONTREAL! After graduation, we left for our drive to Montreal. It's only about 3 hours north of us so we stopped for dinner first near Lake Champlain and then got to our hotel and relaxed. Sunday the 25th we had most of the day before needing to get to the airport for Rome, so we checked out the Botanical Gardens of Montreal and we loved it! We had lunch at their lovely outdoor cafe and the weather was just perfect. It was great to spend some time outside before getting on a long flight.
 |
| at the train station in Florence 29 June 2017 |
- ITALY! We were in Italy from early Monday morning of 26 June until mid-day Monday 3 July. It was glorious! Rome is very interesting and I plan on doing a vacation post about the city with many photos. Here are just 3 of the highlights...faves I enjoyed in the city of Rome. The photo above was from our day in Florence as we wanted to vacate Rome the day of some huge Catholic holiday (day of Sts Peter and Paul). I actually preferred Florence over Rome although Rome and all the historic places were just absolutely amazing. Come back early next week to learn what I did and didn't like about Rome, Italy. My faves were: the Coloseo (the Colesseum), Villa Borghese, the Catacombs, Circus Maximus, and the Sistine Chapel. Of course we also went to Bocca della Verita, the Spanish Steps, and Trevi Fountain (Claire's fave). We did the Vatican City/Art Museum and St Peter's Basilica but honestly they were not my faves. Maybe because I'm not Catholic! But it was amazing to be there. Here are some pics:
 |
| the Colesseum from inside |
 |
| Colosseum from standing just outside it. We paid for a tour guide and loved the entire experience minus the heat! |
 |
| David and the sling Uffizi Gallery Florence |
 |
| the Forum |
 |
| Palatine Hill and the Forum |
 |
| One of my fave historical sites: The Circus Maximus where the Roman Chariot races took place (more in a different post) |
 |
| the gardens at Villa Borghese |
 |
| Claire on the Spanish Steps! Rome, Italy 2017 |
- HOME AGAIN! There is no place like home and by the end of the morning, Tuesday 4 July it was awesome to see this as we left Canada....just in time to celebrate our great country's birthday!
- WILDFLOWERS! My wildflowers were up but not blooming when we left on June 24th. I loved seeing them as we drove in to the driveway.....my oldest daughter took good care of my plants while we were away and I'm very thankful for that!
 |
| the wildflowers in the trellis box on deck |
Please do come back around Wednesday of next week to see more photos of Rome.
That wraps up my faves for this week and I hope you all have a wonderful summer weekend!!
8 comments:
Congratulations to your daughter - - and what a WONDERFUL trip!!!
Wow, this is the most action packed FFF ever! Congratulations to the graduate. Your trip sounds wonderful, can't wait to hear the details. There's no place like home, that's for sure. Happy belated 4th!
Congratulations to Claire! Both on her graduation and honors. The Rome trip sounds absolutely marvelous.
Congratulations to Claire on a high school well finished!
I loved Rome (back in 2001) although I haven't been to any other cities in Italy to compare. My favorites were Sistine Chapel and Catacombs, but I also loved the Forum and Palatine Hill. We also visited Hadrain's Villa. Query: how did you get a photo of Claire on the Spanish Steps with NO ONE ELSE in the picture? LOL
I'm looking forward to reading and seeing your posts on the rest of Italy.
Welcome home. Now it is time for a rest! I'm also looking forward to your photo album of recent experiences.
Congrats to Claire for her honours, graduation and dancing on Point.
I always love coming home after a trip, too. And your cherry eildflowrts gave y'all a wonderful hello.
Have a great week.
Rome is interesting but I didn't want to live there ! You had a great trip apparently.
Congrats to Claire. The trip looks amazing!
Congrats Claire
Sounds so exciting can't wait to see pictures
Post a Comment