Author: Penny

Hi! Bonjour! Ciao! Hola! My name is Penny and I come from Penn State. I love to travel and play 'Where in the World is Penny?!' I love to educate everyone about the history of where I travel. I am searching for my prince gnome, and hope to find him in the most unexpected place. Follow me... find me... if you can keep up :)

THON 2016

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THON, short for Penn State Dance
Marathon, is the largest run student philanthropy in the world! From August
until mid-February, students at Penn State raise money for the Four Diamonds
Fund at Penn State’s Children’s Hospital in Hershey, PA. Any child in the state
of Pennsylvania that is diagnosed with cancer will not have to pay any medical
bills not covered by their families insurance due to this fund!
This years theme was
“Believe Beyond Boundaries”
Look at the Four Diamonds hanging
from the ceiling!
THON is culminated with a 46 hour no sitting, no sleeping
dancing marathon. Over 700 students stand on their feet for a weekend (6pm
Friday until 4 pm Sunday) in State College at the Bryce Jordan Center. Last
year they raised over $13.2 million dollars, and since 1977 they have raised over
$114 million dollars For The Kids.
I was lucky enough to get on an
Alumni Tour, which brought me down to the floor with all the dancers!
 It is very hard to describe the atmosphere in the BJC. It is full of energy, music and love. It is a feeling.
It is THON. It is Penn State!
After my tour on Saturday
afternoon, I went up to the stands to support the 700+ dancers. I was there
from 7 am Sunday until 4 pm Sunday! Just look at how packed the BJC gets and
all of the dancers on the floor.


The picture to the left is Football Coach James Franklin, giving the dancers some words of encouragement.

The picture on the right is the total amount raised in 2015-2016, $9,77,332.32 For The Kids!
So proud of Penn State and all 15,000+ volunteers FTK!!!

Stonehenge at Summer Solstice

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The Summer Solstice at Stonehenge is an annual tradition where over 20,000 people come to see the sunrise thru the inner circle. Although historians don’t know exactly why these stone were erected in this formation, it shows how our ancestors watched the sun. Stonehenge is aligned with both solstices, 6 months and 180 degrees apart! Every year people come to see the sun rises between the Heel Stone, which is only in perfect alignment on the summer Solstice!
Can you see me?

 

There I am!

 

Normally, if you visit Stonehenge, which is 80 miles southwest of London, you must stay behind a wire fence about 100 yards away. I did my research and applied to have a private tour at 5 am to see the sunrise one week before the Summer Solstice! It was me and one German couple (with 2 security guards of course). It was very intimate and amazing to be able to walk around these magnificent stones at sunrise in such serenity.

 

These stones were created into monuments around 3000 and 2920 BC, however, smaller stones have been found in the area as old as 8000 BC! This shows the area was used long before its main period of construction.

 

Here comes the sun!

 

There I am!

 

And there I am with the sunrise! The stone in the center of the middle window is the Heel Stone; where the sun rises adjacently with it just a week after my visit! When this happens, its first rays shine right into the heart of Stonehenge and that gives people a reason to celebrate. If only I was there with thousands of other people to experience that.. I think I would have gotten lost.

 

The engineering behind shaping and raising the stones is truly incredible. In order for these massive stones to stay in place, our ancestors had to shape lintels and then create a join locking system with mortise and tenon joints.

 

Proof I wasn’t trespassing…

 

The one guard was nice enough to hold me, since you CANNOT touch the stones!

 

🙂
Other fun facts about Stonehenge:
-It took over 200 people to move each stone, some weighing over 35 tons. Some rocks came as far as 150 miles! It could take on average 12 days to move stones that were only located 19 miles away.
-One reason for the careful placement of the rocks was to create a calendar. Our ancestors depended on successful crops, so knowing the time of year was very important to planting, harvesting and breeding livestock.
-There are circular hedges all around the surrounding area of Stonehenge, where singular people were buried. This may be because it was considered a place of healing, where people traveled and then died in the area. Or, it was a tribute to dead ancestors; a cemetery.
-The term “Stonehenge” was created around 645 AD when the Roman’s were conquering much of the United Kingdom. When the Roman’s moved from place to place, they tried to bring their own religion into already established buildings. In this case, they used this monument as a burial ground for a man who had been decapitated. The term “Stonehenge” was created from the words “stone” and “henge,” which means “hanging.”
–Druids did not build Stonehenge!! Druids were priests who flourished in the Iron Age, around the time the Roman’s began occupying Britain in 43 AD. The reason for this common myth is a writer named William Stukeley, who stated Stonehenge was not created by the Roman’s or the Danes, but by the previous inhabits living in Britain. Stukeley published his opinions in the early 18th century, and although he was correct in most of his hypotheses about Stonehenge, he was wrong when he declared Druids the builders. Since the monument was recognized as a temple, the only other ancient priests he knew, and therefore he believed created the structures, where the Druids.
Please feel free to leave any questions you may have… I have an entire book directly from this Wonder of the World and World Heritage Site. I always love to continue to share!

Bath, England

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If you are visiting London, you must take a day trip to Bath. Bath is in Somerset and is known for its Roman Baths.
The Romans were able to build a spa around 60 AD because of hot springs, which are the only ones in the United Kingdom!

 

Bath has been a World Heritage Site since 1987.

 

This is the main bath and when it first was opened it attracted people from all over Europe as it was said to help people with many ailments. The water is said to have magic healing powers, even today!

 

When it was an active and working spa the water was clear because a ceiling was covering it from the sunlight. It now has a green tint due to algae.
When the Bath’s first opened, only men were allowed. Then they had separate baths, one for men and one for women. The one in the photo above was the private spa for royalty.

Giverny, France

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This summer I was in Paris for a few days. I decided to take a short day trip to Giverny, which is only an hour or so away by train. Giverny is famous because it is where Claude Monet lived and painted many of his most known pieces.

Giverny is a small town with many B and B’s. It is also the home of the Museum of Impressionists.
The garden in front of Monet’s home is surrounded by a beautiful meadow.

 

This is the main basin with some water lilies Monet may have painted!

 

 

Next I traveled to the gardens.
The gardens were very important to Monet, who had many books on botany and hired several gardeners to help him plant precise designs and layouts. Monet waited 4 years, perfecting the landscape, before he painted his best known work of the water lilies at his new home.

 

I was beyond lucky that I got to visit on such a nice day. Walking around his garden and small town felt as though I had stepped back in time; and I can see why he was so inspired to create art around this French countryside.

A Weekend Trip to Montreal, Canada

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Montreal is a city like no other! It is the largest city in the Provence of Quebec, the second largest in Canada and the 9th largest in North America.
(Subway stop in Montreal, Canada)
The city is very unique with its language. French is the official language, but most residents are bilingual and also speak English. Because of this, many conversations switch back and forth between French and English.

 

(Metro Stop in Paris, France)
The language is not the only thing the city shares. You can also see similar architecture between Paris and Montreal. The most obvious one was the subway stops!

 

I had to stop at Notre-Dame Basilica!

 

Here I am outside the Basilica, right when it started raining.

 

As soon as you walk inside your breath is taken away by the deep blues and golden lights.

 

 

Ireland – The Road to Croke Park

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After staying in Galway for a few
nights and seeing the West Coast, it was time to travel across the country to
see my Nittany Lions play the Central Florida Knights.
Halfway through the drive we stopped at Clonmacnoise.

 

Clonmacnoise is a ruin of the first monastery in Ireland. It was
strategically build right off the Shannon River and was used as a center of
learning, trade and craftsmanship.
This is the “Whispering Arch,” which was used for confession.
A priest would stand on one side and a member of the church on the other. They
would talk into the arch, and it would travel around to the other person on the
opposite side.

 

Many of its graves have the Celtic Cross, which is a cross with a circle
around it. Legend has it that the circle was added when Christianity first came
to Ireland. St. Patrick added it because the people at the time were pagan and
worshiped the sun.

 

When Pope John Paul II came in 1979, this structure was built for him to
say mass. Look at River Shannon in the background!!

 

 Do you see me??

 

Once I got to Dublin, I went to Trinity College. This is the Long Room
which is part of the colleges library. Tourists are able to see the Book of
Kells before leaving the library as well.
This is the Molly Malone Statue.

 

To the locals, she is also known as “The Tart with the Cart.” Her
ghost is often seen at night on streets in the surrounding area.

 

The Guinness Brewery was awesome! It was only open to Penn Staters and
the beer was so, so good!
 Can you find me?

 

This is the Ha-Penny Bridge that crosses the River Liffey. It was the
first pedestrian bridge in Dublin, and for years cost “one penny” to
cross. Thats how it got its name, “ha-penny!” Other than the name, it
is also known for its cast iron design.

 

 

Here I am with Christ Church in the oldest part of the city… where the
Vikings landed and set up a village.

 

 

And lastly, here I am at the Dublin Castle.
What a great trip to Ireland!! The football team won, so I went home extra happy 🙂

 

Ireland – County Clare

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County Clare has many different landscapes. While driving to the Cliffs of Moher, we went through the Burren.

 

The Burren may have a lot of rocks, but it grows three quarters of the islands flower species!

 

The Burren National Park is one of six in Ireland even though it is the smallest in size.

 

This side faces the Atlantic Ocean!

 

The Cliffs of Moher was an unbelievable sight.

 

Can you see people walking on the other side?!

 

Here you can see a lookout castle in the background.

 

Ireland – Connemara and Kylemore Abbey

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The wonderful friends I met in Ireland were on my tour of the West Coast! The first day we went to Kylemore Abby in Connemara.

 

I was lucky enough to have front row seats for my tour of the beautiful countryside.

 

This was our first stop in Connemara.

 

The river, grass and mountains were stunning!

 

Even though Ireland is known for cloudy skies and rainy days… the sun came out for these photos!

 

Kylemore Abby is nestled on a hill right on the water.

 

When we stopped for lunch, we saw a sign promoting the Nittany Lions football game against UCF. GO STATE!!

 

This is the view looking out from the Abbey.

 

The Abbey was built in 1867 by Mitchell Henry, a wealthy doctor from Manchester, England. He and his wife, Margaret Vaughan (shown above), came here on their honeymoon and fell in love with the property.

 

Mr. Henry then built the castle for his wife and 9 children. After Margaret’s unexpected death, Mr. Henry then built this chapel for his late wife.

 

 

The Abbey is also known for its Walled Gardens.

 

The current owners, the Benedictine Nuns, are trying to restore the remaining greenhouses.

 

Mr. Henry sold his estate when he moved back to England to the Duke and Duchess of Manchester. The Duke then had to sell the property in 1920 due to gambling debts. The Benedictine Nun’s got the Abbey and started a private boarding school for girls. They purchased this estate because they were fleeing Belgium during WWI. Unfortunately, the school closed down in 2010, but people from all over the world still come to marvel at the property and its gardens.

 

They also come to play with sheep 🙂