Maastricht is named for the Maas River that bisects the city.
I’m living in Maastricht, the Netherlands now (back home we call it Holland). My husband is teaching at Maastricht University for a semester, so we’ll be here until late in December. Maastricht is a beautiful city, full of ancient buildings, wonderful cafes, and lots of expensive shops. To tell family & friends about my experiences here I’ve started a blog called View From Sint Pieterstraat (the street where we live in Maastricht) Check it out: http://viewfromsintpieterstraat.blogspot.nl
Maastricht's Helpoort, built in the 1200s. But we’re so busy here, I haven’t had much time to post on the Sint Pieterstraat blog! My husband arrived here in mid August and I joined him in early September. Since then I’ve traveled in France, Italy, and Germany as well as the Netherlands. This week we head back to France- to Provence- where Vincent van Gogh lived and painted. It’s all so exciting!
An adventure in Italy...
My window at Spannocchia. In Italy I stayed with friends in an ancient villa near Siena called Spannocchia (www.spannocchia.com). The old tower attached to the villa was built in the 1100s; the rest of Spannochia’s buildings are “newer”- but still pretty old by American standards. I loved my room, even though it was a little spooky. It had very old, high painted wood ceilings, huge old furniture, and a library down the hall that’s supposed to be haunted! (I didn’t see any ghosts myself, thank goodness).
Spannocchia: click on images to enlarge
view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo After a week at Spannocchia I spent 3 nights in Florence. I studied art in Florence for a semester when I was in art school, a LONG time ago. This was the first time I had been back to that wonderful city. There were lots of happy memories for me there. I walked all around the center of the city, and in the neighborhood where I lived when I was a student. I was happy to see that the house I lived in is still standing, and looking good. It has been converted into apartments.
David, marble sculpture by Michelangelo I visited Michelangelo’s beautiful David statue at the Academia Museum, and spent two hours in the Uffizi Gallery, one of the world’s oldest and most famous art museums. I ate some delicious gelato (italian ice cream) and drank the best cappuccino ever in a little cafe near the church of Santa Maria Novella. Life is good in Europe!
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