Cardon Chronicles

July-August re-cap

2009-08-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of July we had the opportunity to fly to the states and meet up with Craig for the fourth of July week-end. We stayed with my folks and had a wonderful time reconnecting with family. While Craig was with us we took the kids to the ocean and we also took them canoeing and rock-climbing.

This is at the DeLorme Headquarters in Freeport, Maine. It has a really cool, huge, light-up, revolving globe.

Morgan with 2 cousins. Molly (left, age 12), Megan (middle, age 15) and Morgan (right, age 11)
When we came back to Germany we went to Legoland. This is Mia taking her driver's license 'test'. She thought it was soooo cool to get her very own license.
In the center of the park is Europe made with Lego's . It was amazing. They went into soooo much detail.
The girls watching a "Mama Mia" performance.
Going on the safari ride, of course we HAD to get a photo of the lego Rhino for Granpaw!!
and since Grandpaw wasn't there, the girls decided to adopt this one.
One day in late august our neighbors had about 20 butterflies on their bush. They were really neat to watch.
just a picture of Mia that I like.

Autobahn Adventures

2009-08-18T11:31:00.000-07:00

So, on one of our many trips to and from our new residence I am driving towards home on the Autobahn. We are in a stau (traffic jam) and things get even slower. Eventually I come upon a disabled car. As I am about to try to merge into the right lane to go around I realize that it is Craig's car in front of me. His car had totally died. I stop, put on my hazards and push his car to the side of the road. Of course, we had to cross a lane first. If traffic hadn't been going really slow I would never have dared to be on foot on the autobahn! I called ADAC, the german version of AAA and they said it would be 45-60 mins until they could reach us. They had a lot of disabled cars (It was a HOT day-for here anyway). 60 mins later the ADAC guy calls and says that he is stuck in the stau behind us and it would be awhile before he could get to us. So, we wait some more. (We did have to let Mia pee off the side of the road). Finally the bright yellow car shows up. It is NOT a tow truck. The man gets out with a hammer. Craig and I just kind of look at each other. He crawls under the car and starts hitting things with his hammer and we're just thinking. 'duh, the old hit it with the hammer trick'. Well his car starts right up! We do the paperwork and Craig attempts to drive off but the car dies again. Again, the hammer trick works. Again, it dies. so, he hooks Craig up to a tow rope and tows him off the next exit. THEN, he finally calls the tow truck. Luckily, there is a McDonald's at this exit. The kids and I go there to get food while Craig waits for the tow truck. The tow truck driver though wants Craig to ride with him the rest of the way home. It turns out that the fuel pump was kaputt. (the mechanic replaced it for less than 20 euro). Not so fun adventures.

Summer Sledding

2009-08-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

Morgan and Gaby went on a trip with Youth Sports to a Sand Mountain. You can ski, sandboard, or sandsled. It looked wicked fun. I hope we can go with the whole family some time!

Hiking to Kallmunz

2009-08-07T07:52:00.000-07:00

Morgan (in brown), Gaby (in the middle), Amelia (lower left) with our good friends the Keeler's. That is Delaney (in the pink) and Teegan (in the light blue). We grabbed our dogs and went for a hike and ended up at the Kallmunz castle ruins. Check out how far the dogs tongues are hanging out!

Some random rock design in a park near the river.

It always amazes me that these German towns are built right next too and even into the side of the cliff/hill/mountain. As you can see there is plenty of land where I am standing but the town streets are so narrow we would call them alley's but they are 2 lane roads!

I think these look like giant zucchini flowers.

I think this house is pretty.
I think this house is crazy! ( and yes, there are people living there)
This is a converted bomb cellar--it's now an apartment.

May-June Re-cap

2009-06-01T01:58:00.000-07:00

Right after Craig left for the summer (4 1/2 months in Kansas) Gaby pinched a nerve in her arm and passed out, hitting her eyelid on a cabinet doorknob. I can't believe how close she came to serious damage.

This picture was taken for Daddy for Father's Day.
Over Memorial Day week-end the girls and I went to Switzerland with Morgan's Girl Scout troop. We stayed at 'Our Chalet' near Interlaken. This was the view from the Chalet.

The first day the girls went on a long hike to Engstligen waterfalls-the second largest waterfall in Switzerland. I stayed behind with the 3 small girls (Mia included)

The second hike, I got to go too. We hiked up to a little falls and glacier!

The girls found this in the stream bed-at first they thought it was a relic from WWII. We decided it was a charge used to jump-start an avalance.

The second day we were there We went on a ropes course. Mia of course was too small but they let her gear up and then use the teaching/practice/low course. She, of course, thought this was pretty fun!
walking on the rope bridge

going down the mini-zipline.

These 2 videos are also from the ropes course. The one on the top is Gaby rapelling off a bridge. She was the first kid down. (pretty amazing since I didn't think she would go down at all!) The video on the bottom is Morgan on the high zipline. (for some reason I only caught about a 4th of the ride!)

Feb-April 2009 re-cap

2009-05-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

Though Halloween is being celebrated more and more every year the time for dressing up is Fasching in February, which is like Carnival in Rio de Janeiro or Venice. This is at a Kinderfasching party.

This year Morgan's soccer team was disbanded due to a lack of coach so she switched last minute to softball to be on a team with her friend Delaney. She really took to the game. She played catcher for the first half of the season, and 3rd base the second half. Her team was undefeated. Go Tigerettes!

Spain in April-recap

2009-04-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

The Benedictine Monk retreat at Montserrat in Catalunya (Spain)

To get there, you ride this yellow cable car. . .
until you reach this
Then if you hike above the monastery. . . you see this.
Enjoying our favorite snack in Barcelona. Churros (long stick like donuts) and Chocolate (hot chocolate that is so thick it is like drinking warm homemade pudding).

Looking out over the Mediterranean Ocean.

It was actually pretty chilly the whole week we were there (55-65 degrees) but the kids insisted on swimming anyway. This time, fully clothed. We loved all the beaches!!!!
I love this building but I never figured out what the pink camo thing in front of it is.
The highlight of every vacation for Mia is finding playgrounds.
This one had a zipline.
Morgan's hair clip. We shopped at a flea market and found great hair accesories.

We passed this to and from Barcelona and our apartment. It is some sort of crypt. It kind of creeped out the kids.We spent quite a bit of time hunting this cathedral down--several subway changes, lots of walking and when we finally get there we decide that next time, we buy a postcard and just say we went there. It was rather hideous, closed for renovation, and it was the warmest day we had there. This is the La Sagrada Familia Cathedral.
Park Guell von Antonio Gaudi-
So, after the cathedral disaster we decided to take the kids to what the guidebook said was a nice quiet park to see the gaudi lizard statue and enjoy the park. Apparantly it's not such a quiet park anymore.
and the lizard statue was quite small and you couldn't see it well due to all the people. Oh well.
The architecture was neat though.

December 2008-Feb 2009 re-cap

2009-03-01T05:45:00.000-08:00

Gaby's 9th birthday--I don't know why she has a smiley face on her forehead.
We went to this Christmas market that had a lot of medieval artisans. This guy was using a forge to make metal garden hangers.
Morgan's favorite stall was this one with all the bows and arrows

This guy made really cool trinkets and things. We ended up buying the swirly thing in the front with the blue ball. As it twirls in the wind it looks like it is traveling up or down the spiral. It is really neat.
Riding on Daddy's shoulders makes Mia one tired girl.

For Christmas we went to Berchesgarten, Germany. We did some skiing and we went to Salzburg, Austria. We didn't get to see Hitler's Eagles Nest because the road was closed for the winter.

Fortress Hohensalzburg in Salzburg--no, we are not all talking on cell phones. They are recorded tour guides--All you have to do is pick your language.

The Fortress Hohensalzburg is the biggest still maintaining fortress in Central Europe. This is the view from the top.
This is inside the fortress
This cow represents a story that I thought was really neat. Once time during an attempted seige, all the residents had holed up in the fortress. Things were getting pretty desperate and they didn't have any more food. The enemy was trying to starve them out. Down to the last cow the residents thought up a far-fetched plan. They paraded their cow around the walls, took it inside and painted it. Then paraded the painted cow. They did this over and over until the enemy left. The enemy believed that a huge herd of cows was still inside the fortress walls--desperate for food themselves they left and never conquered Salzburg.

Getting ready to go on a Salt Mine Tour. They give you these really cool (note the sarcasm) outfits to wear. We really felt like Oompa Lumpas.
Sliding down the rails- a highlight of every salt mine tour.

At the Celtic museum-A lover of all things celtic, Morgan was not impressed.At Konigsee (King's Lake) in Berchesgarten
We took a boat ride to this island. This is us in the FREEZING cold at St. Bartholomew.
Skiing at Jenner Ski Resort

German's take skiing quite seriously-at least in Bavaria. They run these ski schools at every ski resort. Full of kids in the 3-5 range. We have seen some very talented 3 year olds doing the intermediate slopes and more.Craig took this picture WHILE skiing. I can barely stay upright on skies but my husband takes photos while he skies. Amazing. We love how dotted the landscape is with little villages.
This is hoarfrost--it was so gorgeous. It looked like snowy forest shots taken from an airplane.

Skiing at Arber

When Mia was tired of skiing we built an igloo--O.k. and igloo wall.

This is what happens when you ski in the fog

My friend Mary thinks that Mia is hilarious. The colder it gets the less she wears. She thinks a spring dress is perfect for a snowy day. Then on a really warm day she'll decide to wear fleece pants and a jacket. This day she finally agreed to boots hat and gloves but no jacket and no tights.

This is a video clip of Mia skiing

Vienna for Thanksgiving

2009-01-18T04:56:00.000-08:00

At the Schoenbrunn Palace (summer residence) of the Hapsburgs. They had 16 children including Marie Antoinette.

They have a kids museum with hand-on exibits--dress-up, setting the royal table, learning the language of fan-holding, leech medicine, etc.

royal kids chamber with toys

Outside of the palace with a Christmas market in front of it

Another Chrismas Market
Mia loved riding on the subway-here she is waving to all the people still on the platform.

Grave marker for Franz Schubert
Grave marker for Brahams
Grave marker for Johann Strauss
Grave marker for Beethoven
Vienna by night.

On the carraige ride--could there be anything more fun than horses?

The Musical Instrument museum. These were some of our favorites. It is hard to take pictures in the museums because they don't let you use flash.

How do you make a guitar? Why, you grow one of course!
The Arms and Armour museum--KIDS (and Craig and I) loved this one!!

for children. . .

love the hat. . .

every shape and size. . . .

Schatskammer- home of the royal jewels from the holy roman empire.

This is part of the Hofburg palace. The empirial residence of the Hapburg family. Also home of the Lippinzanner stallians. Unfortunately you couldn't take pictures at the stallians performance. The man in gold in front is a street performer dressed as a mozart statue. He was rather amusing.
The Beethoven museum had this wax statue that at first freaked out the kids, until they decided to ham it up for the camera.
shaking Beethoven's hand
Original work by Beethoven
Piano he played on. This museum was at a house he lived in while in Baden trying to find a solution for his deafness.
The line of horse carraiges. Tourists!!
Another view of the Hofburg Palace and Mozartplatz.
Town Hall.
Some weird statue--I can't remember but this one might be the ode to plague victims.
This is the dragon boat in the SEEGROTTE. An underground lake. Actually it was a mine shaft that flooded but it is cool nonetheless. This boat was left here by the movie makers from The 3 Musketeers who used it in the film and then couldn't be bothered to take it out. We took a boat tour but ours was a flatbottomed boat with an electric motor. Part of this mine system was used to build the first Jet airplanes for WWII. They would build the fuselage and then take it to the surface. Though bombed it was never damaged. There is also a place they used for prison scenes in The Scarlet Pimpernel, a movie about the french revolution.

Mia the Ballerina

2009-01-18T04:20:00.000-08:00

This is Mia with her teacher Ms. Jodi (from Australia) sadly she moved back to the states 2 days after the recital. We sure do miss Ballet!

Mia's antics

2009-01-18T03:45:00.000-08:00

One day Mia drew this map on our wall. She was so proud of it. The week before she had made a very long path throughout the house with a roll of paper towels. I wonder where it is she is trying to get to?

Halloween

2009-01-14T03:39:00.000-08:00

Gaby had such a hard time this year coming up with a costume. She didn't like anything we had or any suggestion I made. She finally came up with this--I don't know exactly what it is but she felt pretty and that's all that is important!

Morgan was a go-go dancer. Scary how well she would have fit in this era!!

Can you believe she is only 11?
Mia of course is a princess--One of her favorite people is Miss VI from the library. This is them after Miss Vi painted her face.

Fun at playgrounds

2009-01-14T01:37:00.000-08:00

Believe it not this is not the largest slug we have seen here--they are pretty sick!

At Playmobile

This is called a spider. They are awesome! If this was in the States it would be a law suit waiting to happen!
Inside playground at Playmobile

Mia can swing for HOURS.
The German playgrounds have some of the coolest things ever!

Morgan is still my baby.

Fall hiking

2008-10-20T04:10:00.000-07:00

Castle ruins in Kallmunz- Great architecture. Gaby is part mountain goat I think. She is actually quite high and had to climb over quite a bit to get to this point.
Trying to look royal.

Looking over the castle wall.The town of Kallmunz.
Overlooking the town of Hohenfels.

Flowers and Trees

2008-10-20T02:36:00.001-07:00

I just thought I would include some beautiful nature shots.
These trees look like they are on fire. They get various shades of red, orange, and yellow on the same tree at the same time. It is really lovely.

Whatever kind of ivy they use turn brilliant red in the fall.

Rock 'climbing'

2008-10-02T03:44:00.000-07:00

We found this huge cave that is used for the town's volksfest (town fair-ish thing). There was a stage. The girls had run ahead and when we rounded the corner they started doing a dance for us.

My 3 girls!

Hiking in Velburg

2008-10-02T01:59:00.000-07:00

This is just a town near us that has a castle ruin and a really neat cave. Unfortunately you cannot take pictures in the cave.

From the top of the castle ruins

Gaby
Two little hikers in the lower left corner
The ruins (must have been a very small castle)

Amelia's Birthday

2008-09-25T04:28:00.000-07:00

Mia wanted a princess birthday this year. Pop the balloons on the trampoline
Mia had a case of bug bites that had gotten to a scabby stage so she thought she needed band-aids on all of them.
2 of her german/american friends Sarah (in the middle) and her sister Angelina.

Morgan's Birthday

2008-09-23T04:17:00.000-07:00

Morgan has a very strange sense of humor. She loves cats so this year we made her a Kitty Litter Cake for her birthday. It is crumbled up cake and vanilla oreos mixed with a little pudding, sprinkled with more oreos (some with green food coloring) and the piece de resistance ?-- tootsie rolls! We actually made 2--one for her to take to school to share with all her classmates. Only one kid wouldn't eat it.

clouds and rainbows

2008-09-17T04:56:00.000-07:00

The cloud formations here are pretty fabulous (except on the all gray sky days!). We do a lot of cloud watching. We find a lot of shapes. This particular day had been one of the blue sky days with lots of fluffy white clouds. A storm system moved in bringing rainbows too. I had been out walking the dog and had to hurry home to get the camera.

Swimming

2008-09-01T01:40:00.000-07:00

Mia loves to swim--she has no fear of the water. She is jumping into a 12 foot deep pool. She also learned how to dive this summer. She does need a flotation device still. This is a neat one. It has foam pads front and back and as she gets stronger you take pads out (there are ten). She currently has half of them out. For some reason i can't load the video clips of her diving so these 2 pictures will have to do.

This is her straddle jump This is her Russian Dancer jump (sisterly influence)

Gaby the goggle girl

Rainy Night Camping

2008-08-01T01:18:00.000-07:00

So what do you do when it is pouring and you only have a tent? Play Nintendo of course! The computer generation.

Mia had gone puddle jumping earlier in the day. Total prune feet!

Mia likes to play Go fish.

More fun in Garmisch

2008-07-16T06:52:00.000-07:00

Garmisch-Partenkirken is such a nice place to go. It is on the northern side of the Alps near the Austrian border. There is a lot of skiing in the winter and in the summer lots of people go vacation there for rafting, kayaking, biking, camping, and lots and lots of hiking. This time we went back to the gorge, it still had raging water in it, and we went to the Eibsee (Eib Lake). It is a private lake so we had to pay to get in. We decided to rent a pedal boat, which was lots of fun. It was hilarious watching Mia trying to pedal. We did jump into the lake though it was freezing because it is glaciar run-off. As soon as I jumped in, Murry did too. I think he was really surprised how cold it was.

Garmisch

Hiking in the Partnach Gorge. A lot of the path is cave-like cut into the side of the gorge so you walk behind waterfalls.

Typical hiking-Mom carrying a pack, Mia, and holding the leash. Mia and Murry both want to be with me always. Gaby is actually right behind me too. I'm just so popular :)

At the top of the gorge it opens up and the river is not quite so fast. It's a pretty color green and COLD.

The Eibsee

Boat Ride down the Donau (Danube)

2008-07-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

One day we went "exploring' and ended up on a river cruise down the Donau to a monastary/brewery (weird!) We sat on the outside upper deck because it was a beautiful day. They served ice cream, pastries, and beer (of course) though they never seemed to get to us! When at the monastary we stayed on the river bank throwing rocks into the river and a stick for Murry when he decided to swim. We then took a motorized canoe around the cliffs to a hike/bike trail and walked back. We found a cliff cave to explore and saw some more beautiful river scenery. Herons
The cave
Our boat on it's return trip
The motorized canoe
Gaby on the boat

The Kelheim war memorial (some ancient war)
The monastary/brewery

This is on a cliff face. The Germans put saints, religious statues, and Virgin Mary's everywhere.

Morgan's Violin Recital

2008-07-06T03:44:00.000-07:00

Morgan was really nervous to perform in front of a German audience. Her timing is a little off but I thought she did great for only 1 year of lessons. Her teacher is the one playing the piano. The trio includes 2 German girls named Julia (pronounced Hulia) and Stephanie (pronounced Schtefanie). They are both 10 also. Why is Morgan the smallest? It is a Bach piece. Sorry that the sound quality is not that great. I assure you that it is my camcorder and not Morgan.

Opel Zoo in Frankfurt

2008-06-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

The Opel Zoo in Frankfurt has a wide assortment of animals that you could feed. Have you ever fed a camel before? They are surprisingly slimey! Bristly whiskers and SLIME! Right after this picture he drooled on Morgan's foot. It was hilarious.SO you can tell that Gabrielle does not want to touch the cameland is surprised by what she feels. I laughed sooooo hard!! The culprit---Mr. Camel!

Mia feeding the baby goats. They were sooooo cute! This was the nicest deer. Amelia says it's her best friend.

We only got to do about half of the zoo because we had to pick Craig up at the Frankfurt Temple where he was with our friend Hauke for his first trip. These next pictures were taken there.

Being Silly

A Few Random Pictures

2008-06-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

Gaby and her 'boyfriend' Kyle. Their teacher called them Googly Eye 1 & 2. They just light up in each other's company. Morgan getting her Highest Honor's Award. The two in green are her close friends Megan and Rachel. The man in her teacher Mr. Kern.

Craig at a rifle range. He went to some german american military information exchange thingie and participated in this. He got the highest marks.
and this is where he stayed. If we could all be so lucky! These are some of our favorite people. Hector Lugo was an Elder here back at Thanksgiving. His mom came to pick him up and they toured Germany (and surrounds). They were able to come to spend time with us twice. We will miss you Elder Lugo!

Camping and Castles!!

2008-06-21T14:55:00.001-07:00

Morgan is not amused to be up!
The ever-popular camping food--JELL-O!

What IS she thinking about? These were so cool--battery-operated glow sticks and night shot camera settings. COOL!

Neuschwainstein Castle

THE definitive german castle--the one Disney used to create the Disneyland castle. Sometimes known as Sleeping Beauty's castle though everyone here refers to it as Cinderella's castle. King Ludwig built it in the same town as his father's (Hohenschwangau) but much higher on the hill and definitely larger. He was a very interesting character. I suggest you wickipedia him. There is a gorge/waterfall and bridge behind it which is what we are standing on. There were 11 paraglider's coming off the mountain behind us. Major winds.

The view from town.Hohenschwangau Castle

King Ludwig II's childhood home

Morgan the pensive-studying the lion fountain. LINDERHOF PALACE

I don't know who this could be. . .
My girls in front of the weird-o water spouting horses. Must say though-we loved this statue!
Mia at the reflecting pool
Linderhof Castle--neo-French Rococco

Mountain Bike Races

2008-06-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

As most know, Craig is really into cycling. He is very happy that the girls are taking an interest into his sport. This was their first Mountain Bike race.

Gaby came in first in the 8-10 age group -modified short lap Morgan came in 2nd in the 10-12 year old category- short lap
Craig came in 4th in the over 35 category- 4 long laps
This was a killer trail and it had rained all morning. The mud was fun!

MIA

2008-06-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

When Mia is tired-Mia goes to sleep--even upside-down!

Mia's strange sleeping habits- she sneaks into bed with us and then proceeds to sleep side-ways kicking and head-butting us out of her way. That is my head she is on. Craig took this picture after he got kicked out of bed. Mia's best friend Ben. He lives next door. American/Army/Mormon/5 years old

She got these biking gloves one day and then slept in them for 3 nights. What a weirdo.
Mia takes Ballet from an Australian. She has to have the all-important tu-tu or she can't dance! Don't know where the ballet shoes are. . .

Spring Break in Italy

2008-05-21T02:17:00.000-07:00

O.K. Here it is-Our spring vacation in Italy. We had such a blast.

Sirmione/Lake Garda
The Fortress at Lake Garda--we had a lot of fun in this.

Cannon balls and lizard friend
How to get to the castle

VERONA

a tribute to Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet The "final resting place of Juliet"--as we were explaining the story of Romeo and Juliet the kids wondered how we could be going around Verona looking for the fictional character's houses and burial spots. Good question! They do have them though! Juliet's house was on a street under construction so we couldn't get pictures of the famous balcony or statue and for some reason didn't get pictures at Romeo's house. The question remains-- Who is buried here in Juliet's grave??
The 2nd largest Roman Coliseum. I love the mix of old and new architecture. How would you like to live next to that??
The acoustics are absolutely amazing in this place. The Verona Opera still regularly performs here. We saw flyers of a very Broadway-esque production they are doing this summer. Wish we could have seen it.
On the shores of Lake Garda (sorry the photo was mis-placed but I am too lazy to fix it!)

Venice

Amelia and Craig Morgan and Gabrielle
The Water Bus
a Water Ambulance
The fancy Gondola's go the length of the canal and costs about $100 an hour. . . the plain gondola goes across the canal and costs 20 cents
Morgan feeding the birds. The kids were amazed that the birds would land on you and peck the seeds right out of your hand. What a weird sensation.
Morgan in front of St. Mark's Cathedral. All of the golden areas is actual gold. Lots of gold and jewels on the inside.

a side "street"-I guess mowing is not an issue. . .

St. Mark's Cathedral and Bell Tower (Campanile) in San Marco Square in Venice.
Mia watching the birds. Her favorite part of the entire Italy trip.

A lonely gondola.

What happens at high tide? This building just rises out of the lagoon.

The cemetery island of Venice. One of the few parts with trees. . .
Morgan on the Water Bus. Who needs solid ground to display a statue?
Craig and the kids on the water bus
A gas station in venice (note: the prices are in euro per liter so about $7-$8 a gallon)
A water taxi stand--taxis are much more expensive than the water bus. Basically private speedboats.

One of the outlying islands of the venetian lagoon is called Murano. They are famous for glass making and blowing. Here is a display window of vases. Fire statue

a cute little lighthouse Glass statue
Grand canale di Murano

FLORENCE
In the Loggia del Signoria. A covered patio full of statues. The loggia was packed during a rain shower but here it is starting to open up again. Popular meeting point for groups and tours. We saw several drawing classes going on.
Believe it or not but cars do go down this street. It is not even the most narrow we have seen. We went down one once where we had to pull the mirrors in in order to go through. Parking?? a tiny garage door set into the side of the building--usually leads to a small inner courtyard.

Piazza della Signoria with statues

Don't know what this was all about but next time? I want to join this tour!
Walking in the drizzle of Florence. The building behind us is the Palazzo Vecchio, next to the Uffizi Museum. We did not go into the museum (close to closing time, long line, and zero interest from the kids) but enjoyed the statues displayed on the outside. The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore or the Duomo of Florence Inside the duomo

The ceiling of the dome-sorry, lighting is poor to protect the paintings . We are on a narrow, yet safe, ledge going around the dome.
The Bell Tower. We are actually taller than the top of the tower. We are standing on top of the duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) in Michaelangelo's Lantern. The duomo is also built in the pink, white, and green marble of the bell tower. When the cathedral was started (1296), the technology for building the dome hadn't been 'invented' yet. 140 years later. . . it was finished. The dome actually has in interior and exterior shell. The stairs go right up through the middle. The builders had bathrooms, restaurants and beds up there so they wouldn't waste time going up and down. We went up an amazing amount of steps. Funny thing is we thought we were just walking through the center of the church like others we had been in. We paid our money and went in a door and started going up steps and up and up and up and up and up and round and round etc and then we came out right on top!

Family shot in Firenze (Florence)
Mom and Amelia

The red roofs of Florence--amazingly enough there are very narrow streets through all of that mess.

Over on the North-West coast of Italy
a 'farm' One of the Cinque Terre-5 cities-that are built into the cliffs on the edge of the sea. Amazing! Stepped farming and one of the Cinque Terre.

I love how packed in and isolated these little towns are. This drive was gorgeous even in the rain (NW coast of Italy up to Switzerland). What we didn't get pictures of are the vast amounts of tunnels going through the mountains. We spent more time in tunnels than on the mountains! Gorgeous bridges and amazing roads built off the sides of mountains. I'm glad I wasn't driving because I couldn't keep my eyes on the road in front of me!

SWITZERLAND
Swiss Alps--we were at about 4500 feet.town in the alps The border of Switzerland and Lichtenstien
Lichtenstein--BTW gas is about $12 a gallon here

I hope you enjoyed our Italian vacation. We are definately going again. So much more to see and do! Want to come with us??

Let's try this blogging thing!!

2008-04-11T02:48:00.000-07:00

I am going to backtrack a little to the week-end in January we spent skiing. Morgan and Gaby learned how to ski with a ski-school tutor who spoke English. Thanks Toby! Mia, Mom and Dad, spent the morning watching the girls and sledding.

In February on a long week-end we went to Garmisch in southern Germany. We went for a hike up the Partnach Gorge. The trail went under frozen water-falls. The pictures don't nearly do it enough justice. It was absolutely gorgeous!! We rode a tram up the Alpspitz (next to the Zugspitz, the highest mountain in Germany). The girls were amazed at the small children (3 and 4 years old) that were skiing the medium-hard trails without poles! The views were spectacular!