tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-347075242024-03-13T12:19:35.304-07:00The McKenneysThe McKenney family enjoying life in EuropeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comBlogger224125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-53828660836055339372012-08-01T09:01:00.000-07:002014-01-04T18:12:24.345-08:00New blog spotOur adventure in Europe has come to an end and we have now started a new adventure in New York City. Please visit our new blog at <a href="mailto:TheMcKenneys2@blogspot.com">TheMcKenneys2.blogspot.com</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-44642925652798769152012-07-31T08:02:00.000-07:002014-01-03T17:37:52.884-08:00Summer 2012 - The last vacation before repatriation to the US<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">US June/July 2012: Kandersteg, New Rochelle,
Syracuse, Mexico<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The month
of June was stressful as we tried to sell what we could and pack what was left
for our repatriation back to the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once
the kids finished school at the end of June, we officially vacated our
apartment and traveled to Kandersteg for our last vacation in Switzerland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kandersteg is one of the most beautiful
places in Switzerland and is also where the boy scouts have their international
scout center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sandy’s grade goes on a
field trip every year to Kandersteg, so Sandy new the area fairly well. Upon
arriving in Kandersteg, we went for a swim in the local community pool to cool
off from the train ride from Zurich without AC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I had an unfortunate diving accident and tore my right calf muscle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We thought about going to see the doctor, but
I knew what it was as I had done the same thing on left calf the year
before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We decided to go back to the
Scout Center – one of the scouts pick us up in a van so that we did not have to
walk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got ourselves unpacked and then
had dinner at the Scouts Center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
were different scout troupes from around the world and some of these kids were
really impressive to watch at the dinner table – quiet, good manners,
courteous, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next
day, we took a hike to the Oeschinen See.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The hike involved a gondola ride from Kandersteg and then about a 20
minute walk to the lake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The walk was
more like 45 min with my leg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a
nice picnic lunch and enjoyed the views as the kids played by the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We started hiking back when we came across a
little shuttle transporting people back to the gondola.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given my leg, we decided to take advantage of
the shuttle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is also a Rodobahn at
the same location as the gondola, so we let the kids take a few rides before
heading back down to the Scout Center<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Day three
was the highlight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to the rope park,
which involves obstacles and zip lines connected to trees at high elevations
(30 feet overhead).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sandy went with the
kids the first time around, which started with a “training” course at a lower
elevation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After they passed their
training, they proceed onto the real thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After making a pass altogether, Sandy let the kids go on their own a
couple of times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They kids loved
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On Monday,
we got ourselves to Zurich and got on a plane for the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted the trip back to be memorable, so I
got business class tickets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kids
were so thankful for the “big seats”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When the stewardess came to take our order, the kids acted like they fly
business class all the time - real pros.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We rented a car and got ourselves to New
Rochelle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stayed overnight at the
Marriot at New Roc City, had a meeting with our builder in the morning, and
then proceeded to Syracuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent a
couple days in Syracuse and then jumped back on a plane to Mexico.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stayed in Mexico for about 10 days (split
between Mexico City and Acapulco), before heading back to Zurich to help out
with the second quarter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sandy and the
kids stayed behind and visited family in Puebla and Querétaro.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zYqBx0tGxCM/Usbe3X-axhI/AAAAAAAADU0/tu4JAOEkHXA/s1600/DSC07401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zYqBx0tGxCM/Usbe3X-axhI/AAAAAAAADU0/tu4JAOEkHXA/s320/DSC07401.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-48224221954827284662012-05-25T15:22:00.000-07:002014-01-03T17:27:21.985-08:00Cologne and Frankfurt, Germany May 25, 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Germany May 25 2012: Frankfurt<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We planned out
a couple of long weekends prior to our move back to the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the first long weekend, we went back to
Germany.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had visited much of Germany
already, but could not completely say goodbye without visiting Frankfurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Frankfurt is
the business and financial center of Germany.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It has a very futuristic skyline, dominated by the twin towers of the
Deutche Bank headquarters known as “debit and credit”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Frankfurt is
the most diverse city in Germany and has the highest percentage of foreigners
in the country: about 25% (660,000) of Frankfurt's residents have no German
passport and another 20% are naturalized German citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We decided that
we would also visit nearby Koln on this trip, so while in Frankfurt, we used a
hop on hop off bus to get around and kept our sightseeing to the highlights:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Römerberg</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> - is the old centre of
Frankfurt, with a number of historic buildings dating to the 14th and 15th
century (many of which, unfortunately, were destroyed during World War II
and rebuilt afterwards). The Römer itself is the town hall of Frankfurt.
Next to the cathedral, at the Archäologische Garten, you can see the
remains of the Roman settlements that gave this place its name. At the
Römer, you can also visit the Alte Nikolaikirche (a 12th century church,
taking its current form in the 15th century). Several restaurants, cafés
and smaller shops can be found at the square itself and in the vicinity.
Walking towards the Main river, you approach the Eiserne Steg, a 19th
century bridge leading to Sachsenhausen, as well as the Rententurm
(Wharfinger's Tower), a 15th century fortified tower in late Gothic style,
connected to the Saalhof, an old 12th century castle building that was
later modernized but never completely destroyed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dom</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (<i>Saint Bartholomeus' Cathedral</i>)
- The main cathedral, built in Gothic style in the 14th century on the
foundation of an earlier church. From 1562 to 1792, emperors of the Holy
Roman Empire were crowned in the cathedral. It is possible to ascend the
spiral stairs of the 95 metre church tower. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Eiserner Steg</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (<i>Iron bridge</i>) -
Frankfurt's most well-known pedestrian bridge, built in 1869. It is just a
minute away from the Römer, and provides great views of the skyline and
the Main river. On the other side, you will reach Sachsenhausen, a
district known for its museums and historic pubs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hauptwache</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> - A public area that is often
considered the central hub of Frankfurt's modern city centre area due to
its importance as a public transportation station as well as its central
location, right between the main shopping street (Zeil), the Rossmarkt
(another public square), and the Eschenheimer Tor. The place is named
after a Baroque building ("Hauptwache") located more or less in
its centre. The building was constructed in 1730 to house the local city
militia, as Frankfurt was an independent city at the time. When Frankfurt
became part of Prussia, the building gradually lost its original function.
Since 1905, it has instead been serving as a café ("Café
Hauptwache"). Other attractions include the Katharinenkirche (an old
church), and the Palais Thurn-und-Taxis (an 18th century palace partially
rebuilt 2004-2009). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alte Oper</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (<i>Old Opera</i>) -
Renaissance Opera Building in the center of the city, on a busy square
with fountains and cafés. Originally opened in 1880, it is not used for
operas any more since the rebuilding after the war, but for concerts,
congresses, and similar "fancy" events. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Börse</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (<i>Frankfurt Stock Exchange</i>).
The Frankfurt stock exchange building, which is still in use. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">See the bull and bear statues just outside. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Paulskirche</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (<i>St. Paul's Church</i>) -
This was the seat of the first democratically elected parliament in
Germany in 1848. Like most historic buildings in the city centre, it was
destroyed during World War II, but was also among the first buildings to
be rebuilt after 1945 (with different interior). Today the building is
used as a memorial site and an event centre, hosting e.g. the awarding of
the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sachsenhausen</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> - By crossing one of the
bridges from the city centre you reach the Sachsenhausen part of the city
south of the Main river. The old town part, Alt-Sachsenhausen, at
Affentorplatz is famous for its old cider bars. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We also went up
the Main Tower, which is the only Frankfurt high-rise that is open to the
public. For 5.00 Euro, you take the elevator to the viewing platform at a
height of 200 meters. From here, you have a good view of Frankfurt and the
surrounding area. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We traveled by
train to Koln (Cologne), Germany’s 4th largest city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The inner city of Cologne was completely
destroyed during World War II, along with 95% of the population.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We visited </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_Cathedral" title="Cologne Cathedral"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cologne Cathedral</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (German: Kölner Dom), the city's most famous monument
and the Cologne residents' most respected landmark. It is a </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_architecture" title="Gothic architecture"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gothic</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_(building)" title="Church (building)"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">church</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, started in 1248, and completed in 1880. In 1996, it was designated a </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_site" title="World Heritage site"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">World
Heritage site</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">; it houses the
</span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrine_of_the_Three_Kings" title="Shrine of the Three Kings"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Shrine of the
Three Kings</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, which
supposedly contains the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relic" title="Relic"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">relics</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> of the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Magi" title="Biblical Magi"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Three Magi</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. Residents of Cologne sometimes refer to the
cathedral as "the eternal construction site" (die ewige Baustelle).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We also visited
the Cologne City Hall (Kölner Rathaus), founded in the 12th century, is the
oldest </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_hall" title="City hall"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">city hall</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> in Germany still in use.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cologne is well known for its beer, called </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6lsch_(beer)" title="Kölsch (beer)"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Kölsch</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6lsch_dialect" title="Kölsch dialect"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Kölsch</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> is also the name of the local dialect. This has led to the common joke
of Kölsch being the only language one can drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had some Kölsch at lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It comes in a small glass of maybe 8
ounces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I asked the waiter for a
large one, he just laughed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To my
surprise, when I was close to finishing the first, the waiter brought me a
second one without asking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The waiters
walk around with a unique beer serving tray (a circular tray with a handle and
holes around the edge to carry beer glasses) and replace the empties with full
ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is actually a nice system that
ensures that your beer stays cold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cologne is also famous for </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: ES-MX; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eau_de_Cologne" title="Eau de Cologne"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Eau de Cologne</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (German: Kölnisch Wasser; lit: "Water of
Cologne"), a perfume created by Italian expatriate </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: ES-MX; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Maria_Farina" title="Johann Maria Farina"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Johann Maria
Farina</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> at
the beginning of the 18th century. During the 18th century this perfume became
increasingly popular, was exported all over Europe by the Farina family and
Farina became a household name for Eau de Cologne. In 1803 Wilhelm Mülhens
entered into a contract with an unrelated person from Italy named Carlo
Francesco Farina who granted him the right to use his family name and Mühlens
opened a small factory at Cologne's Glockengasse. In later years and after
various court battles his grandson </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: ES-MX; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_M%C3%BClhens" title="Ferdinand Mülhens"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Ferdinand Mülhens</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> had to abandon the name Farina for the company
and their product. He decided to use the house number given to the factory at
Glockengasse during French occupation in the early 19th century, </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: ES-MX; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4711_(brand)" title="4711 (brand)"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">4711</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. Today, original Eau de Cologne is still
produced in Cologne by both the </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: ES-MX; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Maria_Farina_gegen%C3%BCber_dem_J%C3%BClichs-Platz" title="Johann Maria Farina gegenüber dem Jülichs-Platz"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Farina family</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, currently in the eighth generation, and by </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: ES-MX; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A4urer_%26_Wirtz" title="Mäurer & Wirtz"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Mäurer & Wirtz</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> who bought the 4711 brand in 2006.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We paid a visit to the </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: ES-MX; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragrance_Museum" title="Fragrance Museum"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Farina Fragrance Museum</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> – birthplace of </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: ES-MX; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eau_de_Cologne" title="Eau de Cologne"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Eau de Cologne</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
were not offering tours in English that day, so we just looked around the
museum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-10039418315215593242012-05-18T15:18:00.000-07:002014-01-03T17:24:44.946-08:00Florence, Sienna, Pisa and Luca Italy May 18, 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our second long weekend was to
Florence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had been to Florence
before, but always regretted not going to the Uffizi gallery, one of the most
famous museums in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also
regretted not seeing the David statue, which is housed at the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleria_dell%27Accademia" title="Galleria dell'Accademia"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Galleria dell'Accademia</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, but this would have to wait for
another trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A visit to the Uffizi
would only take a day, so we used the other day to take a Tuscany tour of the
historic towns of Siena and Luca, visit the leaning tower of Pisa, and try out
some Chiantti at Machiavelli’s estate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We took the train down to Florence on Friday, a full day train ride, to
start our tour on Saturday morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
stayed just outside of Florence, so it was easy to get back to the Florence
train station on Saturday morning for the start of our tour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We left by bus for Siena.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
In Siena, we had a fully guided tour of the city for an hour and a half,
visiting its medieval center, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We saw the winding
streets and sprawling piazzas of the city, including one of Italy's most
impressive central squares, the Piazza del Campo. We also visited Duomo, one of
Italy's most impressive Gothic cathedrals. Our guide walked us through the
incredible marble floor, which holds about 56 panels telling historical and
biblical tales, and the frescoes and artworks that span seven centuries of
dedication. <br />
<br />
We next got back on the bus and drove through the famous Chianti Classico area,
perhaps Italy's foremost wine-producing region. We visited the Machiavelli
estate which dates all the way back to 1512 and was once home to the famous
Renaissance writer, philosopher, humanist and historian Niccolò Machiavelli
(writer of “The Prince”). We explored the house museum and had an apero in the
wine cellar, where we tasted a red Chianti and a white Vernaccio, and also had
some very tasty apps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As part of the
tour, we saw the secret basement passageway where Machiavelli would escape to
the outdoors as a child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We then had
lunch consisting of a variety of typical Tuscan delicacies, all prepared
onsite, washed down with a selection of locally produced Chianti Classico
wines. We started our meal with a wine tasting of three wines - one white (a
Trebbiano), one red Chianti Classico from the region, and one distinguished red
Chianti Classico Reserva. Lunch started with an assortment of mixed Tuscan
crostini, bread with mixed toppings. The main course was penne with wild boar
sauce; Dessert consisted of Italian gelato (ice cream) with berry sauce. <br />
<br />
We then visited another medieval town called Luca - a vastly different city to
any other in the region. Lucca managed to survive WWII without any bombing, and
as such, its streets trace a journey through history, from Etruscan ruins to a
Roman-designed street pattern, an old Roman Forum, a medieval tower and
Renaissance churches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had 1 hour to
visit these sites and the Holy Face of Lucca in the Duomo, a crucifix said to
date back almost to the time of Christ. <br />
<br />
Our last stop of the day was Pisa. We took the mini train to Piazza dei
Miracoli, where sits the city's main cathedral and the world-famous Leaning
Tower of Pisa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We climbed the stairs to
the top, feeling the strange pull of gravity each time we completed a level on
our way to the top.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our next day started with a visit to the
Uffizi museum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ordered “skip the
line” passes ahead of time, so we needed to arrive at a designated time and
then had two hours to tour the museum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There were a couple of wings that were closed, but all in all it holds
an impressive collection and was worth the visit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We then spent the rest of the day wandering
around Florence and visiting some of the main sites.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Florence is known as the "cradle of the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance" title="Renaissance"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Renaissance</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">" for its monuments, churches and buildings. The best-known site of
Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral" title="Florence Cathedral"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Santa
Maria del Fiore</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, known as The </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral" title="Florence Cathedral"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Duomo</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, whose dome was built by </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filippo_Brunelleschi" title="Filippo Brunelleschi"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Filippo
Brunelleschi</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. The nearby </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campanile" title="Campanile"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Campanile</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (partly
designed by </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giotto_di_Bondone" title="Giotto di Bondone"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Giotto</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">) and the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Baptistery" title="Florence Baptistery"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Baptistery</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> buildings are also highlights. The dome, 600 years after its
completion, is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1982, the historic centre of
Florence was declared a </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site" title="World Heritage Site"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">World
Heritage Site</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> by the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO" title="UNESCO"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">UNESCO</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. The
centre of the city is contained in medieval walls that were built in the 14th
century to defend the city. At the heart of the city, in </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_della_Signoria" title="Piazza della Signoria"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Piazza della Signoria</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, is </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomeo_Ammanati" title="Bartolomeo Ammanati"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bartolomeo
Ammanati</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">'s </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_of_Neptune,_Florence" title="Fountain of Neptune, Florence"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fountain of Neptune</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (1563–1565), which is a masterpiece
of </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_sculpture" title="Marble sculpture"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">marble
sculpture</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> at the terminus of a still-functioning
Roman </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqueduct_(watercourse)" title="Aqueduct (watercourse)"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">aqueduct</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The layout and structure of Florence in many ways harkens back to the
Roman era, where it was designed as a </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrison" title="Garrison"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">garrison</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
settlement. Nevertheless, the majority of the city was built during the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance" title="Renaissance"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Renaissance</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. Despite the strong presence of Renaissance architecture within the
city, traces of </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_architecture" title="Medieval architecture"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">medieval</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_architecture" title="Baroque architecture"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Baroque</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoclassical_architecture" title="Neoclassical architecture"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Neoclassical</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_architecture" title="Modern architecture"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">modern
architecture</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> can be found. The </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Vecchio" title="Palazzo Vecchio"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Palazzo Vecchio</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> as well as the Duomo, or the city's Cathedral, are the two buildings
which dominate Florence's skyline. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arno" title="Arno"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">River Arno</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, which cuts through the old part of the city, is as much a character in
Florentine history as many of the people who lived there. Historically, the
locals have had a love-hate relationship with the Arno – which alternated
between nourishing the city with commerce, and destroying it by flood.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the bridges in particular stands out – the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponte_Vecchio" title="Ponte Vecchio"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ponte Vecchio</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (Old Bridge), whose most striking feature is the multitude of shops
built upon its edges, held up by stilts. The bridge also carries </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasari_Corridor" title="Vasari Corridor"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Vasari's elevated corridor</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> linking the Uffizi to the Medici residence (</span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Pitti" title="Palazzo Pitti"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Palazzo Pitti</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">). Although the original bridge was constructed by the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etruscan_civilization" title="Etruscan civilization"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Etruscans</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, the current bridge was rebuilt in the
14th century. It is the only bridge in the city to have survived World War II
intact. It is the first example in the western world of a bridge built using segmental
</span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch" title="Arch"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">arches</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, that
is, arches less than a semicircle, to reduce both span-to-rise ratio and the
numbers of pillars to allow lesser encumbrance in the riverbed (being in this
much more successful than the Roman </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcon%C3%A9tar_Bridge" title="Alconétar Bridge"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Alconétar
Bridge</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The church of </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_San_Lorenzo,_Florence" title="Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">San Lorenzo</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> contains the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_San_Lorenzo,_Florence" title="Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Medici Chapel</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum" title="Mausoleum"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">mausoleum</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> of the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Medici" title="House of Medici"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Medici family</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">—the most powerful family in Florence from the 15th to the 18th century.
Nearby is the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uffizi" title="Uffizi"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Uffizi</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Gallery, one of the finest art museums in the world – founded on a
large bequest from the last member of the Medici family.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Uffizi is located at the corner of </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_della_Signoria" title="Piazza della Signoria"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Piazza della Signoria</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, a site important for being the
centre of Florence's civil life and government for centuries. The </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_della_Signoria" title="Palazzo della Signoria"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Palazzo della Signoria</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> facing it is still home of the
municipal government. The </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loggia_dei_Lanzi" title="Loggia dei Lanzi"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Loggia dei Lanzi</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> provided the setting for all the public ceremonies of the republican
government. Many significant episodes in the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_art" title="History of art"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">history of art</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and political changes were staged here, such as:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In 1301, Dante
was sent into exile from here (commemorated by a plaque on one of the
walls of the Uffizi).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">On 26 April
1478, Jacopo de' Pazzi and his retainers tried to raise the city against
the Medici after the plot known as The congiura dei Pazzi (The Pazzi
conspiracy), murdering </span><span style="color: windowtext;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuliano_de%27_Medici_(1453%E2%80%931478)" title="Giuliano de' Medici (1453–1478)"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Giuliano di Piero de' Medici</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> and wounding
his brother </span><span style="color: windowtext;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_de%27_Medici" title="Lorenzo de' Medici"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Lorenzo</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">. All the members of the plot who could be
apprehended were seized by the Florentines and hanged from the windows of
the palace.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In 1497, it was
the location of the </span><span style="color: windowtext;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_of_the_Vanities" title="Bonfire of the Vanities"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Bonfire of the Vanities</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> instigated by
the Dominican friar and preacher </span><span style="color: windowtext;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girolamo_Savonarola" title="Girolamo Savonarola"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Girolamo Savonarola</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On 23 May 1498,
the same Savonarola and two followers were hanged and burnt at the stake.
(A round plate in the ground marks the spot where he was hanged)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In 1504, </span><span style="color: windowtext;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_(Michelangelo)" title="David (Michelangelo)"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Michelangelo's David</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> (now replaced
by a replica, since the original was moved in 1873 to the </span><span style="color: windowtext;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleria_dell%27Accademia" title="Galleria dell'Accademia"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Galleria dell'Accademia</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">) was installed
in front of the </span><span style="color: windowtext;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Vecchio" title="Palazzo Vecchio"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Palazzo della Signoria</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">
(also known as Palazzo Vecchio).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Piazza della Signoria is the location
of a number of statues by other sculptors such as </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donatello" title="Donatello"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Donatello</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giambologna" title="Giambologna"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Giambologna</span></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, Ammannati and </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benvenuto_Cellini" title="Benvenuto Cellini"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cellini</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">, although some have been replaced with copies to preserve the
originals.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-81418317912430332692012-04-27T14:40:00.000-07:002014-01-03T17:24:19.248-08:00Paris, France and Disney April 27 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Paris<br />
In trying to hit all the must visit places before leaving Europe, we decided to
surprise the kids with a trip to EuroDisney in Paris. We spent the first day
and a half re-visiting the city. I say re-visit because this was one of the
first cities we visited upon coming to Europe, however the kids were too young
to remember, so we saw the highlights again including the Eiffel Tower and
cathedral of Notre Dame. Instead of hitting the Luvre again, we decided to
visit the city's other famous Museum D'Orsey. We did the audio guides, which
the kids now expect when going to any place of interest. Also new this year was
a boat ride along the Seine river.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next two days were spent at Eurodisney. I asked the kids which attractions they liked the best and they provided the following list:<br /> - Crush coaster<br /> - Train coaster<br /> - Animagique<br /> - Stitch live<br /> - Mickey mouse clubhouse live<br /> - Car stuntshow featuring Lightning McQueen<br /><br /> My favorite was "its a small world" and Sandy's was "Space Mountain". I am not one for roller coasters, but I manned up and went on with Sandy, which allowed me to reconfirm that I do not like roller coasters.<br /><br /> Sandy's cousin Ale lives in Paris, so we were able to meet up with her for dinner one night. Its been almost two years, so it was great to catch up with her.</span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-66287402637148274812012-04-06T14:26:00.000-07:002014-01-03T17:22:47.948-08:00Spain April 6, 2012: Palma and Seville... and bought a house<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mallorca<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We left on Friday evening. It was a holiday, but
I chose to work most of the day - it was worth the peace of mind to get
everything in order before I left. We arrived into Mallorca at about 8pm and
then it was a 2hr bus ride to the hotel. We stayed at a family resort in the
Northeast part of the island in a town called Capdepera, as all the resorts in
Palma were booked up.<br />
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I was very tired the next day and just felt like sleeping. We explored the
resort in the morning. The weather was beautiful, but the pools were not heated
and too cold for swimming, so we used the indoor pool instead. After lunch,
Sandy let me rest in a lounge chair while she and the kids played mini golf. We
spent some more time in the indoor pool in the afternoon, played table tennis,
spent some time playing soccer at the kids club across the street, then just
relaxed in the room the rest of the day.<br />
<br />
The next day I woke up very tired still. We went to breakfast and about midway
through, I started feeling normal again. It was Easter so we went back to the
room for a small Easter egg hunt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Easter bunny left some chocolate eggs for the kids. Afterwards, the kids went
on another Easter egg hunt organized by the resort. We then played mini golf.
The last hole was particularly challenging, and Sandy and JP were stuck on it
for the longest time until finally JP sunk his put. After lunch the kids
attended a cocktail seminar (they learned how to make a drink that combined
lime, milk, and chocolate syrup) and then we did some more swimming. We had
dinner at the Italian restaurant at the resort. It was a beautiful evening and
the food was great.<br />
<br />
On Monday, we went on a hike. The terrain is a bit mountainous in the northeast
part of the island which makes for some good hiking trails. In the afternoon,
the kids helped me with a workout (served as human bar bells). It was a lot fun
and I was actually sore for three days afterwards. We spent some time at the
pool followed by the "Sauna games", a game of elimination based on
who can stay in the sauna the longest. Sydney actually won!<br />
<br />
Tuesday was our last day at the resort. Checkout was at 11, so we only had time
to eat breakfast and pack up before catching out taxi to the airport. We had a
relaxing lunch at Micky D's before we jumped on the plane to Seville. While
having lunch, we found out that the building permit was finally approved for
the house we have been waiting for in New Rochelle, NY. This is the only new
construction in the area and we had our heart set on it. The challenge now
would be making sure we got it before anyone else put a bid on it. In our favor
is the fact that we have been in close contact with the listing agent and using
him as our realtor for the past several months and also the fact that we are
not moving out of one place and moving into another, which makes the timing
fairly flexible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was about a 1.5hr
plane ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon arrival at the hotel,
the first thing we did was call the realtor. It sounded like the odds were in
our favor, but we needed to move quickly to lock in the deal. We had to
scramble to find an attorney in the Westchester area. We called around for some
recommendations, did some on-line research, and sent out some email inquiries.
That was all we could do and it was now kind of late, so we unpacked and had dinner
at the hotel.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Seville<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On
Wednesday, we had breakfast at the hotel and finalized our decision regarding
the attorney that would represent us in our real estate transaction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After sending off emails to communicate the
selection to out real estate agent, we took the bus downtown. It was late in
the morning and we did not expect much except to get our barring. The main
attractions in the city are the Cathedral, the royal palace (Real Alcazar) and
the Plaza Espana. There were lines a mile long to get into the Cathedral and
Palace, so we walked around for a bit followed by a lunch of tapas at a local
restaurant. We walked around some more and came across Mr. Moynihan, the
principal at Sandy’s school. After talking for a while, we returned back to the
cathedral and to our surprise, it was empty. So we bought tickets and audio
guides and made a tour the rest of the afternoon. The cathedral is a very
impressive structure and is the largest in the world by area, even bigger than
St Peters in Rome! (They proudly display their Guinness Book of Records
certificate as evidence.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The central
nave rises to an awesome 37 meters over a total area of 11,520 square
meters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably the most impressive
feature is the architecture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like most
of Spain, there is a Muslim influence having been conquered by Arabs in the
12th century. At one time, a great mosque stood in this location, and when
Seville was taken back from the Arabs by Spain, the church was built on top of
the mosque. The minaret of the mosque (La Giralda) was kept and Christianized
by adding balconies on the outside and church bells at the top of the
tower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of stairs, the tower has
a series of 34 ramps leading to the top, so that people back in the day could
be carried on horseback to the top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unfortunately, the horses are no longer in operation, so we had to walk
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>34 ramps does not sound like much,
but it was pretty exhausting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am glad
that we are doing our traveling now while we are still relatively young and
fit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After
the tour, we decided to look for a dinner option so that we could have an early
night. The restaurant at the hotel did not open for dinner until 8pm, but there
were plenty of places in the city center that seemed to be serving all the
time. We had discovered a restaurant chain called 100 Montaditos on out last
trip to Spain. They serve 100 different kinds of tapas, all for 1 Euro.
Although this time around, we found that while most of the selections were
still 1 Euro, they increased the price of some selections to 1.50 and 2.00
Euros. It is still a great deal. We packed up a bunch and went back to hotel.
After a little swimming, we ate dinner and went to bed.<br />
<br />
On Thursday, our emotions were getting the best of us as we had not yet heard
back from the realtor. We had made an offer on the property to be built,
communicated our selection of attorney to the realtor and had not heard
anything back. We knew we were taking a risk by using the same real estate
agent as the listing agent, but we felt this gave us a better chance of getting
the property as the listing agent would not need to split the commission with
anyone. However, there was still the possibility that someone could come along
and outbid us. To keep our mind off the house, we decided to do a tour of the
Real Alcázar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Real Alcázar is a
beautiful palace in Mudéjar (Moorish) style, built in the XIV Century by Pedro
I the Cruel. With its myriad rooms, extravagant architecture, lavish gardens
with many courtyards, ponds and secrets to be explored, it is a fascinating place
to visit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was just opening, so we had
only a small wait. We once again got the audio guides. The kids enjoyed using
the map to lead our tour of the different points of interest and really seemed
to be paying attention to the commentary coming from the audio guides. Of
particular interest is the room where Christopher Columbus's journey to the
Americas was planned. Afterwards, we walked over to the Plaza España.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plaza de España is the site of the Spanish
pavilion from the 1929 exhibition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(We
learned on our hop on hop off bus tour that the 1929 exhibition was organized
by a select few rich industrialists to increase trade with the Americas.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In more recent years it was used in the
filming of the new Star Wars episodes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After
our morning tours, we had lunch again at 100 Montaditos. The only reason being
that we wanted something quick, we were close by, and we did not have the full
effect the night before. We had waited too long to eat them the night before
and they were therefore not as fresh. We wanted to try them again, but this
time eating as soon as they were prepared. This turned out to be the right
choice - they are much better fresh. Plus, we ordered all 2Euro ones instead of
the 1Euro ones, which made a difference as well. After lunch, we visited the
Torre de Oro, a thirteenth century tower, the top of which is rumored to have
once been covered in gold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It now houses
the local maritime museum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took a
tour of the inside and the kids were yelled at twice – once for running and the
other for using the flash on the camera.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The museum itself is probably not worth the visit, but the tower is open
at the top and has a great view of the city. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Afterwards, we did the hop on hop off bus. It
was a one hour tour. JP fell asleep almost immediately (just like old times),
so we ended up doing a part of the tour twice to let him sleep longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the tour, Sydney told me that now that she
is older, she really enjoys listening to the information coming through the headphones
on the hop on hop off bus (that’s my girl!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On
the tour, we picked up a couple of points of interest:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The city is situated on the
banks of the smooth, slow Guadalquivir River, which divides the city into two
halves: Seville and Triana.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Seville has acted as a
sea-port for commerce of agricultural goods.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Seville monopolized the new
trade with the Americas. As the monopoly was broken and </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/C%C3%A1diz" title="Cádiz"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">Cádiz</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> largely took Seville's
place, the city entered a period of relative decline.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In the 19th century Seville
gained a reputation for its architecture and culture and was a stop along the
Romantic "Grand Tour" of Europe. Seville has built on its tourism
industry since, playing host to the International Exposition in 1992.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Flamenco is a combination
of Jewish, Arabic, and Gypsy influences into a form of song and dance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Seville is thought to be
the birthplace of Flamenco <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Afterwards,
we got off and were contemplating our next move. We had made reservations for a
Flamenco demonstration, but just could not get our minds off the house. What
was preventing the realtor from getting back to us? Was he entertaining other
offers? We finally decided to call him. We learned that he had just gotten off
the phone with the builders attorney, and our offer was accepted!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We couldn’t believe it – our strategy and
patience had paid off!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We immediately
found a restaurant and started celebrating our good fortune.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On
Friday, having done most of our sight seeing, we spent a good portion of time
at the park. There were a couple of different playgrounds, so the kids got
their fill of exercise for the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was a cool sunny day, so Sandy and I just enjoyed sitting in the sun,
talking, and watching the kids play. <br />
<br />
Saturday was movie day. A few bus stops away from the hotel was a mall with a
movie theater. It was a bad weather day and we had gotten our sightseeing out
of the way, so we decided to catch up on a couple of movies. We saw Mirror
Mirror with Julia Roberts, took a lunch break, and then saw The Lorax. It was
good family fun. After doing a little shopping, we returned to the hotel. It
was already getting late, so we relaxed in the room, had dinner in the hotel,
and then went to sleep. There were a number of school kids staying at the hotel
due to a school sporting event happening the next day. The school kids were
making all sorts of noise in the hotel; so unfortunately, it was not a good
sleep night. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sunday
was a travel day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our flight was not
until later in the afternoon, so we ventured back down into the city. We spent
some more time at the playground, ate lunch at an outdoor café, did some
shopping, and then got ourselves to the airport for our flight back to
Mallorca.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got in late, so we just had
dinner at the hotel, which consisted of a very impressive buffet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the morning, we went back to the airport for our flight to Zurich.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a half day holiday in Zurich.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People work in the morning and then take off the in the afternoon to celebrate the end of Winter by burning a giant “snowman”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is an event we attended when we first came to Zurich 5 years ago, so we thought it was fitting that we attend again as we prepare ourselves to leave Zurich in a few months time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After getting ourselves settled back in our apartment, we showered up and decided to view the celebration from one of the boats that travels up and down Lake Zurich.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The celebration includes a parade where all the townspeople dress in outfits representing the medieval guilds their families worked in years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Candy is thrown out to the kids along the parade route.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The parade ends in an empty lot where the snowman waits to be burned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The snowman generally burns for 10-20 minutes while men on horseback ride around it in a circle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is said that the faster the snowman burns, the better the summer will be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The time is recorded from when the snowman is set a blaze until the flames reach the head, which is packed with explosives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year, the burn time is 12 minutes, which we are told is about average.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This of course means that we can expect an average summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-3135255642798038412012-01-01T15:06:00.000-08:002014-01-03T17:21:26.274-08:00Cruise to the Bahamas-January 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We spent
our third week on a 7 day cruise aboard the Norwegian Epic departing and
returning to Miami:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Day 1 - We
boarded the ship on New Year’s Eve, had lunch, and then got right down to
business: we immediately went to the pool and tried out the water slides
(three different ones). We then went rock climbing and repelling.
Before we knew it, it was time for the safety drill. After the
drill, we showed up and got ready for dinner. We had special reservations
for Cirque Dreams and Dinner. As you can imagine, it was a cirque du sole
type of show with dinner. After dinner, we tried out the kid’s corner
for an hour while Sandy and I did a little gambling. Afterwards, we tried
to stay up to bring in the New Year, but we did not have it in us. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Day 2 - We
all had a tough night’s sleep as it was our first night on the ship. We
would have been better off staying up partying. We got ourselves out of
bed anyway as we had another special reservation for breakfast with the
Nickelodeon characters. After breakfast, we put the kids in
the kids corner for the morning, while Sandy and I hit the casino
again. We spent 60 and won a souvenir die (not worth it, but we
were committed). We picked up the kids, had lunch, and spent the
afternoon at the pool. It was very crowded, but we braved the crowd so
that the kids could cool off. We then got in line for
the bungybounce (a trampoline contraption with Bungy cords).
It was not worth the hour wait, but Sandy and I were able to take turns
getting ready for dinner, so the wait was not a complete waste. We hit an
early dinner and then hit the Blue Man Show. It was great, just like the
one we saw 10 years ago in Vegas. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hHr0yGL0FoY/UsCqyxMBwKI/AAAAAAAAC8g/Eh8KDTrt3jo/s1600/DSC06222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hHr0yGL0FoY/UsCqyxMBwKI/AAAAAAAAC8g/Eh8KDTrt3jo/s320/DSC06222.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Day 3 - I
slept much better, but Sandy did not. We had to set the clocks forward,
so we lost an hour. After breakfast, we let the kids play on the giant
spider web, then went rock climbing, repelling, and then swimming.
After lunch, we put the kids into Recess (kid’s corner) and then
Sandy and I took a nap, worked out, and just relaxed in the room. Before
dinner, we checked out the Svedka ice bar and then to the on
board Churascuria for dinner. After dinner, I finally got the
opportunity to listen to some Jazz in the onboard blues and jazz club called
Fat Cats.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Days 4 – We
arrived to St. Marteen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got off the
ship and proceeded into town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
raining, so we did some shopping until the weather cleared up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a couple of hours, the skies cleared
and we hit the beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turned out to
be a nice day at the beach.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Days 5 – We
arrived to St. Thomas and hit the beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The kids had a blast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
evening, we hit the Svedka ice bar for a couple of drinks before dinner. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Day 6 – We
had a day at sea relaxing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kids
spent most of the time at Recess preparing for the big show that
afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>JP did a routine with a
couple of buckets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sydney did a team
hula hoop demonstration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Day 7 – We
arrived to Nassau and did some snorkeling in the morning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Day 8 – We
arrived to Miami, got to the airport and then got ourselves on a plane to NY
and then back to Zurich. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-43832507768191099482011-12-04T12:21:00.000-08:002011-12-04T12:24:53.018-08:00October FestEste anio volvimos a celebrat October Fest. Este anio por fin pude usar mi vestido. La comida estuvo riquisima como siempre, unos chamorros fritos y cerveza para aventar para arriba.<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tkANKzFr2bo/TtvWqoAQdFI/AAAAAAAAC2w/-vq3Vwfk1cw/s1600/DSC05885.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tkANKzFr2bo/TtvWqoAQdFI/AAAAAAAAC2w/-vq3Vwfk1cw/s400/DSC05885.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682371382639359058" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-66359747605249928622011-12-04T12:16:00.000-08:002011-12-04T12:20:59.177-08:00Trunk and Treat<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3F1nCAAedbs/TtvV-XliEqI/AAAAAAAAC2g/XSz81m74YN0/s1600/DSC05852.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3F1nCAAedbs/TtvV-XliEqI/AAAAAAAAC2g/XSz81m74YN0/s400/DSC05852.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682370622318056098" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0eCe6YYXYMY/TtvV-PnMmYI/AAAAAAAAC2U/t9aI5zV5LjU/s1600/DSC05850.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0eCe6YYXYMY/TtvV-PnMmYI/AAAAAAAAC2U/t9aI5zV5LjU/s400/DSC05850.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682370620177553794" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3Yf8IbTHqU4/TtvV9sy23uI/AAAAAAAAC2M/V0RKHzAeafE/s1600/DSC05847.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3Yf8IbTHqU4/TtvV9sy23uI/AAAAAAAAC2M/V0RKHzAeafE/s400/DSC05847.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682370610831220450" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rGDrZ_yKOfk/TtvV9VGgWTI/AAAAAAAAC2A/TOak_4Vgwag/s1600/DSC05846.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rGDrZ_yKOfk/TtvV9VGgWTI/AAAAAAAAC2A/TOak_4Vgwag/s400/DSC05846.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682370604471179570" /></a><br />Halloween was fun. The school PA orginizes this event where parents decorate their trunks to make them look scary. They park around the playground and then kids are welcome to walk around and get candy! Syd decided to be a cat and she was featured in the school news letter. JP was a mummy, not scary at all. They had a blast and walked away with a decent amount of candy.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-33454576857417415882011-12-04T12:11:00.001-08:002011-12-04T12:15:45.588-08:00JP's birthday party<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hP3o9yKAJfE/TtvU2Bj_LNI/AAAAAAAAC1s/PXBhuJOvhqY/s1600/DSC05898.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hP3o9yKAJfE/TtvU2Bj_LNI/AAAAAAAAC1s/PXBhuJOvhqY/s400/DSC05898.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682369379455413458" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l-237c4Lsvg/TtvU0lGX_1I/AAAAAAAAC1g/MXjnc4hMXK8/s1600/DSC05888.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l-237c4Lsvg/TtvU0lGX_1I/AAAAAAAAC1g/MXjnc4hMXK8/s400/DSC05888.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682369354635149138" /></a><br />We finally celebrated JP's birthday party with a visit to a bowling alley that has a minigolf attached to it. We were lucky to have many of his friends celebrating with him. He had lots of fun.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ViJZ-IIesjY/TtvU0b-W2vI/AAAAAAAAC1U/8BA6W2UMaXA/s1600/DSC05893.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ViJZ-IIesjY/TtvU0b-W2vI/AAAAAAAAC1U/8BA6W2UMaXA/s400/DSC05893.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682369352185600754" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O-JihZcOTFo/TtvUzUGhC5I/AAAAAAAAC1I/DTC8-R8DKbc/s1600/DSC05897.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O-JihZcOTFo/TtvUzUGhC5I/AAAAAAAAC1I/DTC8-R8DKbc/s400/DSC05897.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682369332892470162" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C5GpspOmeeA/TtvUzE8ew8I/AAAAAAAAC08/V2ycDo4YppQ/s1600/DSC05894.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C5GpspOmeeA/TtvUzE8ew8I/AAAAAAAAC08/V2ycDo4YppQ/s400/DSC05894.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682369328823845826" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-42183572115374791662011-12-04T12:01:00.000-08:002011-12-04T12:10:28.301-08:00Poland, part 3<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ekpP_bhdxrk/TtvTqVypCRI/AAAAAAAAC0s/VXN2g2FmVfA/s1600/DSC05839.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ekpP_bhdxrk/TtvTqVypCRI/AAAAAAAAC0s/VXN2g2FmVfA/s400/DSC05839.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682368079215528210" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8IgqEVVXL0A/TtvTpnIYG6I/AAAAAAAAC0k/Fzt3eDD8r_Q/s1600/DSC05758.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8IgqEVVXL0A/TtvTpnIYG6I/AAAAAAAAC0k/Fzt3eDD8r_Q/s400/DSC05758.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682368066690227106" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PV2UtJag39o/TtvTpZ9nKHI/AAAAAAAAC0Y/fnzKpUWyGHw/s1600/DSC05834.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PV2UtJag39o/TtvTpZ9nKHI/AAAAAAAAC0Y/fnzKpUWyGHw/s400/DSC05834.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682368063155415154" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Eqgc5ueLiU/TtvTorztvKI/AAAAAAAAC0M/w-v61gDi_Us/s1600/DSC05842.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Eqgc5ueLiU/TtvTorztvKI/AAAAAAAAC0M/w-v61gDi_Us/s400/DSC05842.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682368050765872290" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XZzym4TvqOM/TtvToUKcK3I/AAAAAAAAC0A/sDji6LlCrJk/s1600/DSC05813.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XZzym4TvqOM/TtvToUKcK3I/AAAAAAAAC0A/sDji6LlCrJk/s400/DSC05813.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682368044418739058" /></a><br /><br />Day 4 – Krakow/Warsaw<br />The next day was our last in Krakow, so we decided to do some souvenir shopping and take a city tour. They have these covered golf carts that are used to provide the equivalent of a 3 hour walking tour in about ½ hour. We decided to do the 1.5 hour tour, which covered the Old Town and the Jewish Quarter. We learned the following on this tour:<br />Kraków is one of the oldest cities in Poland, with evidence showing settlements there since 20,000 BC. Legend has it that it was built on the cave of a dragon whom the mythical King Krak had slain. However, the first official mention of the name was in 966 by a Jewish merchant from Spain, who described it as an important centre of trade in Slavonic Europe. <br />Through trade with the various rulers of Europe, it grew from a small settlement in 1000AD to a large wealthy city, belonging to the Vistulans. However, through the 9th and 10th centuries, it fell under the influence of the Great Moravians, then the Bohemians, before being captured by the Piast Dynasty of Poland. In 1038, Kazimierz the Restorer made Krakow the capital of Poland. <br />In 1241, the city was almost entirely destroyed by Tatars. It was rebuilt to a design that remains largely unchanged to the present day. However, after more successful attacks by the Mongols in the late 13th century, Kazimierz the Great set about defending the city. Walls, fortifications, and the original Wawel Castle were added. The University was also established. King Kazimierz established the district of Kazimierz for Jews to live in free from persecution. This area remained mainly Jewish for centuries until the Nazi occupation. <br />The 16th century was Krakow's golden age. Under the influence of the joint Polish-Lithuanian Jagiellonian dynasty, Krakow became a centre of science and the arts. In 1569, Poland was officially united with Lithuania and as a result government activity started to move to Warsaw. King Zygmunt III officially moved the capital in 1609. <br />However, the 17th century was a return to troubled times for Krakow and Poland. After being invaded by Russians, Prussians, Austrians, Transylvanians, Swedes, and the French, it went through a phase of various forms of political control. These included being part of the Duchy of Warsaw, established by Napoleon, and becoming an "independent city". However, it mostly fell under the sphere of influence of the Austrian Habsburg Empire, in the province of Galicia. <br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6kPeox8hnZU/TtvTBLALz0I/AAAAAAAACz0/Zu9v7qAWgQ4/s1600/DSC05841.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6kPeox8hnZU/TtvTBLALz0I/AAAAAAAACz0/Zu9v7qAWgQ4/s400/DSC05841.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682367371944906562" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BUbLzk3YKok/TtvTA4E7lJI/AAAAAAAACzk/vzEV7zD4DrY/s1600/DSC05775.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BUbLzk3YKok/TtvTA4E7lJI/AAAAAAAACzk/vzEV7zD4DrY/s400/DSC05775.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682367366864540818" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U7fAHtRg6xc/TtvTAmybmSI/AAAAAAAACzc/Jd89mjabyvA/s1600/DSC05810.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U7fAHtRg6xc/TtvTAmybmSI/AAAAAAAACzc/Jd89mjabyvA/s400/DSC05810.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682367362223544610" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U96u7aQwLwE/TtvTADVviwI/AAAAAAAACzQ/oTl_qrAJU9w/s1600/DSC05817.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U96u7aQwLwE/TtvTADVviwI/AAAAAAAACzQ/oTl_qrAJU9w/s400/DSC05817.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682367352707975938" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j1Km8Ne6GqA/TtvS_5fDY9I/AAAAAAAACzE/H9nuDwaQ4d0/s1600/DSC05743.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j1Km8Ne6GqA/TtvS_5fDY9I/AAAAAAAACzE/H9nuDwaQ4d0/s400/DSC05743.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682367350062670802" /></a><br /><br />In the First World War, Józef Pilsudski set out to liberate Poland and the Treaty of Versailles (1919) established an independent sovereign Polish state for the first time in more than 100 years. This lasted until the Second World War, when Germany and the USSR partitioned the country, with German forces entering Krakow in September 1939. Many academics were killed and historic relics and monuments were destroyed or looted. Concentration camps were established near Krakow, including Plaszow and Auschwitz. After German withdrawal, the city escaped complete destruction and many buildings were saved. <br />In the Communist period, a large steel works was established in the suburb of Nowa Huta. This was seen as an attempt to lessen the influence of the anti-Communist intellegentsia and religious communities in Krakow. In 1978, UNESCO placed Krakow on the World Heritage Sites list. In the same year, the Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla, was made Pope John Paul II. <br />The Communist Government collapsed in 1989 and Krakow is now undergoing another period of regeneration, with historic buildings being restored. <br />Within the old town, in addition to some of the sights mentioned already, we saw:<br />• Town Hall Tower was once a part of the big 13th-Century Gothic-Renaissance Town Hall on the Main Marketplace. The town hall was destroyed by the Austrians in the 19th century after they took control of Krakow. Currently a museum is in the tower. You have a nice view of the city from upstairs. <br />• Barbakan was built in the 15th century as the biggest European defense building of its kind. The Gothic Barbakan was meant to defend the Florian Gate from attacks of the Osman, which were thought to attack Central Europe after conquering Constantinople and the Balkans in the late Middle Age.<br />• Florian Gate is the only part of the town where ancient walls have survived. It consists of four towers and the arsenal and gives you a good idea of what the five kilometers of walls around the Old City looked like in the Middle Ages. <br />Within the Jewish quarter, we saw the main marketplace with a unique circular building in the middle, the Ghetto where Jews were rounded up and forced to live, remnants of the walls around the Ghetto, a monument consisting of empty chairs, representing the empty homes of Jews who were taken to concentration camps, and Shindler’s factory. Shindler employed about 1,000 Jews and when they were captured and taken to the concentration camps, he managed to get them all back.<br />We ate lunch at another traditional polish basement restaurant. We had another great meal with a sampler platter and a pork knuckle. After lunch, we picked up our bags back at the apartment and went to the train station. We caught the 2.30 train to Warsaw. After getting in around 6PM, we took a taxi to the hotel, dropped off our things, and had dinner at the restaurant next to the hotel. This was a very popular place and we were lucky to get a table. By the time we left, people were lined up to get in. The atmosphere and hospitality were great. We ate in a covered heated patio outside. We liked the sampler platter that we had for lunch in Krakow, so we decided to get another one at this restaurant. We laughed and wished the table next to us “good luck” with the massive pork knuckle that was just delivered. They returned the gesture when our sampler platter was delivered. The menu said it was for two, but it could have easily fed 5 or 6. There was pork knuckle, liver, steak, breaded pork, beacon, and a huge wall of fried onion. It was a good effort, but we probably left a good quarter of it behind. We ate so much that we were too full to sleep. We got a complementary drink at the end and then headed back to the room.<br />Day 5 - Warsaw<br />In the morning, we had breakfast at the hotel. It was a great spread, but we were still full from the night before. We checked out of the hotel and left our bags behind. We got information on a hop on hop off tour wandered down to the pick-up point. We did the tour which covered all the high points of Warsaw and gave us also the following history: <br />The medieval capital of Poland was the southern city of Krakow, but Warsaw has been the capital of the country since 1596, and has grown to become Poland's largest city and the nation's urban and commercial center. Completely destroyed by the Nazis during World War II, the city managed to lift itself from the ashes. Today, almost every building in Warsaw dates to the postwar era - with what little remains of the old structures being confined largely to the restored districts of Stare Miasto (the 'old city') and Nowe Miasto ('new city'), as well as selected monuments and cemeteries.<br />Warsaw was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1939, and was the scene of two major uprisings during the war - the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, and the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The former involved the remaining Jewish inhabitants of the Warsaw Ghetto, which had already largely been emptied by the Nazi extermination policies of the Holocaust, and was ended by the annihilation of the Ghetto by Nazi forces. The latter involved the Polish resistance forces, known as the Home Army (Armia Krajowa, or AK), rising up against the Nazi occupation of the city in hopes that the city could be liberated by Polish forces instead of the facing dubious Soviet 'liberation' from the east. The Soviet Union had cooperated with Nazi Germany in the invasion and occupation of Poland in 1939. <br />After the surrender, the German army, despite its agreements under the surrender treaty, systematically destroyed over 85% of Warsaw in retaliation for the uprising, including the historic "Old Town" which was rebuilt after the war. Of 987 historically important buildings, only 64 were left untouched by the Germans. Polish soldiers were rounded up and sent to concentration camps. Warsaw's civilian population was "evacuated" with some being sent to concentration camps, or sent to Germany for forced labor. Others were sent to different Polish cities. <br />In the first days of the fighting, Nazi forces indiscriminately murdered about 60,000 civilians, including women and children, in the district of Wola. In the end, the Uprising cost 180,000 civilians their lives, the lives of an additional 18,000 insurgents, the capital its glory, and the Polish nation its long-desired independence. The only thing that persevered was the Polish spirit. <br />Most of the sites are within the district of Śródmieście, which means inner city. On the tour, we saw the following highlights: <br />• Palace of Culture and Science – this is Warsaw's most recognizable building. Built in the 1950s as a "gift" to the Polish people by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. The building elicits mixed feelings from Poles - on one hand, the building has a controversially beautiful architectural style, however, the building was built by the man who helped Hitler rape the Polish countryside, then continued a campaign of senseless murders of the Poles when the Soviet-Nazi Germany relations soured. Today, the building is home to a movie theater, museum, restaurant, and college. Visitors can take an elevator to an observation deck, which provides a great view of Warsaw. <br />• The Parliament - Sejm is the name for the lower chamber of the Polish parliament (the name has also been adopted by Lithuania and Latvia). <br />• Umschlagplatz - A contender for the most sinister place in Warsaw the Umschlagplatz was the location Nazi officials herded Jews into cattle cars to be murdered at the Treblinka extermination camp. Estimates place the total number of persons transported from the Umschlagplatz at 300,000 or more. <br />• Tomb of The Unknown Soldier - Built in 1925, the tomb holds the remains of a Polish soldier who died in battle at Lwów, now Lviv, Ukraine. It also holds soil from 38 battlegrounds fought at by Poles. During the communist period, the authorities removed references to battles Poles fought against the Soviets. After Poland regained its independence in 1990, the references to the Polish-Soviet War were again added to the memorial. The tomb is located in Victory Square, which is where Pope John Paul II addressed his countryman for the first time after election to the Papacy. <br />• The Royal Castle - is a castle residency and was the official residence of the Polish monarchs. It is located in the Castle Square, at the entrance to the Warsaw Old Town. The personal offices of the king and the administrative offices of the Royal Court of Poland were located there from the 16th century until the Partitions of Poland. In its long history the Royal Castle was repeatedly devastated and plundered by Swedish, Brandenburgian, German, and Russian armies. The Constitution of 3 May 1791 was drafted here by the Four-Year Sejm<br />• Saski Garden - a lovely park in central Warsaw. It's small in comparison to Łazienki, but nonetheless relaxing with its forested landscape. Prior to WWII, it housed the Saski Palace, which like the rest of Warsaw was destroyed in the insane Nazi vengeance for the Warsaw Uprising. Plans to rebuild the palace have failed to materialize due to funding. Nowadays, one of the draws aside from the escape of the city is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is on the park grounds. edit <br />• Lazienki Park - was built and designed for a Polish politician, but became King Stanisław Poniatowski's, the last king of Poland, residence for much of later half of the 18th century. During Poniatowski's reign, much of the buildings on the park grounds were built. The most interesting buildings are the Łazienki Palace, Roman theater, and the so called Little White House, where the King sought the worldly comfort of mistresses. The park is a wonderful escape from hustle and bustle of the city streets that surround the park and can be the setting for a picnic or a wedding. <br />• Monument to the Warsaw uprising.<br />The old town is the area around the castle. We walked around and had a nice lunch in a local restaurant. We wanted to eat in one of the communist era milk bars, but could not find one in the old town. Milk bars were originally created in the sixties to serve cheap meals based on milk products. After the fall of communism, most of them closed down but some survived and still bear the climate from the old days. Afterwards, we went to tour the castle, but found that it was closed. So we went to the Frederick Chopin Museum, who is Poland’s most famous composer/musician. The museum was highly interactive so the kids really enjoyed it.<br />We only had about an hour, so we did the express tour, and then took a taxi back to the hotel for our bags, and then to the airport. <br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2-tE3ZjDJpY/TtvSYKKEk1I/AAAAAAAACy0/BeZmF_lRD0o/s1600/DSC05768.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2-tE3ZjDJpY/TtvSYKKEk1I/AAAAAAAACy0/BeZmF_lRD0o/s400/DSC05768.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682366667343303506" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZhVh1oyGHO4/TtvSXrMjs9I/AAAAAAAACyo/f2MPtzZysL8/s1600/DSC05838.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZhVh1oyGHO4/TtvSXrMjs9I/AAAAAAAACyo/f2MPtzZysL8/s400/DSC05838.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682366659032232914" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ATRxjF-Z-p8/TtvSXSBsrrI/AAAAAAAACyc/QGkFeLR5Sbs/s1600/DSC05760.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ATRxjF-Z-p8/TtvSXSBsrrI/AAAAAAAACyc/QGkFeLR5Sbs/s400/DSC05760.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682366652275797682" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OYY1Ovw6ySM/TtvSWSX9oYI/AAAAAAAACyQ/3zDhPXQSVNc/s1600/DSC05741.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OYY1Ovw6ySM/TtvSWSX9oYI/AAAAAAAACyQ/3zDhPXQSVNc/s400/DSC05741.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682366635189313922" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SlORtGKU1e4/TtvSWOxMR7I/AAAAAAAACyE/B0sKFV0U3xg/s1600/DSC05742.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SlORtGKU1e4/TtvSWOxMR7I/AAAAAAAACyE/B0sKFV0U3xg/s400/DSC05742.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682366634221389746" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-60741072613666564252011-12-04T11:49:00.000-08:002011-12-04T12:00:11.350-08:00Poland, part 2<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4VTLOJUIIhk/TtvRPtP2i4I/AAAAAAAACx8/ACyx8PUQEhs/s1600/DSC05738.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4VTLOJUIIhk/TtvRPtP2i4I/AAAAAAAACx8/ACyx8PUQEhs/s400/DSC05738.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682365422632340354" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0egdVwbdPTM/TtvRPaf5-RI/AAAAAAAACxs/RSoZpAVq_gM/s1600/DSC05733.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0egdVwbdPTM/TtvRPaf5-RI/AAAAAAAACxs/RSoZpAVq_gM/s400/DSC05733.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682365417599400210" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AX_-6R8FwkA/TtvROMKAAJI/AAAAAAAACxk/IpjLHgsI1is/s1600/DSC05737.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AX_-6R8FwkA/TtvROMKAAJI/AAAAAAAACxk/IpjLHgsI1is/s400/DSC05737.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682365396569555090" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FYXXJCwIk2g/TtvRNy-fqlI/AAAAAAAACxQ/4eV48VfHadA/s1600/DSC05736.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FYXXJCwIk2g/TtvRNy-fqlI/AAAAAAAACxQ/4eV48VfHadA/s400/DSC05736.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682365389810412114" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a0esGJocPCo/TtvRNnhya5I/AAAAAAAACxI/TmyLkqvD454/s1600/DSC05734.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a0esGJocPCo/TtvRNnhya5I/AAAAAAAACxI/TmyLkqvD454/s400/DSC05734.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682365386737216402" /></a><br />Day 3 - Krakow<br />On our third day, we went to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Auschwitz had for a long time been a German name for Oświęcim, the town by and around which the camps were located; the name "Auschwitz" was made the official name again by the Germans after they invaded Poland in September 1939. Birkenau, the German translation of Brzezinka (birch tree), refers to a small Polish village nearby that was mostly destroyed by the Germans to make way for the camp.<br />From early 1942 until late 1944, transport trains delivered Jews to the camp's gas chambers from all over Nazi-occupied Europe. Others deported to Auschwitz included 150,000 Poles, 23,000 Roma and Sinti, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war, some 400 Jehovah's Witnesses and tens of thousands of people of diverse nationalities. Approximately, 1.5 million people died at the camps. Those not killed in the gas chambers died of starvation, forced labor, infectious disease, individual executions, and medical experiments. The victims of the medical experiments were mostly children. Of the estimated 200,000 children brought to the camp, only 600 survived. <br />On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops, a day commemorated around the world as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In 1947, Poland founded a museum on the site of Auschwitz I and II, which by 2010 had seen 29 million visitors—1,300,000 annually—pass through the iron gates crowned with the infamous motto, Arbeit macht frei ("work makes free").<br />Although the kids came with us on this tour, they did not receive headsets to listen to the tour. Therefore, while the kids saw only empty buildings and rooms, we heard about the atrocities that went on there. Upon arrival, families were split apart with men going one way, women and children going another way. Doctors made selections to identify those fit for work and those (usually the old and disabled) to be sent to the gas chambers. The gas chambers are enormous. Those going to the gas chambers were told that they were getting a bath for disinfection. They were told to undress and to remember the number on the hook where they placed their clothes. Dying in the gas chamber was horribly painful, with death caused by internal suffocation. After death, the bodies went to a crematorium next door and the ashes used for fertilizer. <br />Some people taken to the camp were told that they were being taken to a new land start a better life. Some even paid for their own trip. Once there, the Nazis took their belongings, shaved their heads (the hair was sent to factories to make clothes and blankets), and put them to work in the camps. Prisoners did not have access to water and their clothes were never cleaned. They did not get enough to eat and often died of starvation. Many prisoners worked outside the camps in coal mines, factories, etc. These people had the best opportunity to escape. However, if they did, their family and/or neighbors would be rounded up and executed on the spot. Poland is the only country during Nazi occupation in which the death penalty was in place and enforced for anyone caught helping a Jew.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mh225tXR898/TtvPs1af8KI/AAAAAAAACv4/EIKGkUlBSwY/s1600/DSC05720.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mh225tXR898/TtvPs1af8KI/AAAAAAAACv4/EIKGkUlBSwY/s320/DSC05720.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682363724017430690" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yz6QqhzVg6o/TtvPsIlHjoI/AAAAAAAACvs/oF3_LhwYw-c/s1600/DSC05684.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yz6QqhzVg6o/TtvPsIlHjoI/AAAAAAAACvs/oF3_LhwYw-c/s320/DSC05684.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682363711982374530" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHeZU3iM5Qg/TtvPrvQV8vI/AAAAAAAACvg/PD612GPxRRo/s1600/DSC05696.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHeZU3iM5Qg/TtvPrvQV8vI/AAAAAAAACvg/PD612GPxRRo/s320/DSC05696.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682363705184350962" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UFYB1XSuMrw/TtvPrGWehQI/AAAAAAAACvU/0rWSuGo1y3U/s1600/DSC05683.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UFYB1XSuMrw/TtvPrGWehQI/AAAAAAAACvU/0rWSuGo1y3U/s320/DSC05683.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682363694204224770" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GRlr0GufNQI/TtvPq40gEjI/AAAAAAAACvI/HU3TzjB1Ep4/s1600/DSC05682.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GRlr0GufNQI/TtvPq40gEjI/AAAAAAAACvI/HU3TzjB1Ep4/s320/DSC05682.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682363690572059186" /></a><br /><br />The facilities at Auschwitz were brick buildings. These were the old barracks for the Polish military. The facilities at Berkinau were essentially wooden stables. Each stable could reasonably accommodate maybe a few hundred people, but was used in actuality to house thousands of people. 15 to 18 people were crammed into three level bunk beds that looked like they were capable of accommodating only six. The beds were lined with only hay and often times no blankets were provided. Although there were furnaces in the stables, no wood was provided for heating. People often froze to death. The weaker ones were attacked by rats in the middle of the night. The toilet building was a separate stable that consisted simply of two rows of benches with holes cuts into them to make toilets. Prisoners were allowed to use the toilet only once in the morning and once in the night and they had no access to water, so disease was prevalent. <br />The visit to the camps was one of the most psychologically painful experiences I have ever gone through. The stories behind what I saw will haunt me for the rest of my life. At the end of the tour, the guide said that the camps were made by men to be hell on earth for other men. We have to be aware and take responsibility to make sure it does not happen again. <br />Many of the Poles that were brought to the camps were academics, doctors, politicians, etc. Polish military that stood up to the Nazis were also taken to the camps. Based on what I have read and seen, the Polish people are amongst the bravest that I know. The visit to the camps helped me to realize what a privilege and an honor it is to be Polish. <br />We left the camps and took a bus back to the city center. On our first day in Krakow, we noticed a traditional Polish restaurant that was packed with people lining up to get in. We decided to give it a try on this particular day and managed to get a seat. The food was great, but it was a restaurant that catered to students, so the ambience was not the best for families. We ate our meal, picked up dessert at a local bakery and retired for the night. <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wcKX8ALGqNs/TtvQhmJYORI/AAAAAAAACw4/G-GwfFkWg5Y/s1600/DSC05728.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wcKX8ALGqNs/TtvQhmJYORI/AAAAAAAACw4/G-GwfFkWg5Y/s400/DSC05728.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682364630452156690" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9k14c79Zh3g/TtvQhke6XtI/AAAAAAAACws/J0ZQB88wr9U/s1600/DSC05726.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9k14c79Zh3g/TtvQhke6XtI/AAAAAAAACws/J0ZQB88wr9U/s400/DSC05726.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682364630005604050" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IHGBPRnOCQU/TtvQgm5oTDI/AAAAAAAACwk/4kjrKIbY3ys/s1600/DSC05714.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IHGBPRnOCQU/TtvQgm5oTDI/AAAAAAAACwk/4kjrKIbY3ys/s400/DSC05714.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682364613474667570" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pq5J2wdYPt0/TtvQgDurJOI/AAAAAAAACwU/srw1215TbB0/s1600/DSC05706.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pq5J2wdYPt0/TtvQgDurJOI/AAAAAAAACwU/srw1215TbB0/s400/DSC05706.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682364604033475810" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VMtvl2qFOBI/TtvQf2B_BrI/AAAAAAAACwI/XHDxBveYRhk/s1600/DSC05702.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VMtvl2qFOBI/TtvQf2B_BrI/AAAAAAAACwI/XHDxBveYRhk/s400/DSC05702.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682364600356374194" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-57531453440319054912011-12-04T11:16:00.000-08:002011-12-04T11:26:51.630-08:00Visit to Poland- Part 1<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xvn-5XBNT_0/TtvJb12eTJI/AAAAAAAACvA/I5yIfD3sinQ/s1600/DSC05666.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xvn-5XBNT_0/TtvJb12eTJI/AAAAAAAACvA/I5yIfD3sinQ/s320/DSC05666.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682356835007220882" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XTFhedg0aGU/TtvJb44yPMI/AAAAAAAACuw/yWQcogH95Bo/s1600/DSC05669.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XTFhedg0aGU/TtvJb44yPMI/AAAAAAAACuw/yWQcogH95Bo/s320/DSC05669.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682356835822222530" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_48z5GE3iOk/TtvJalbCkmI/AAAAAAAACuo/KlHbtQmBAXk/s1600/DSC05663.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_48z5GE3iOk/TtvJalbCkmI/AAAAAAAACuo/KlHbtQmBAXk/s320/DSC05663.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682356813417321058" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_zhCGIwP-h0/TtvJaepON1I/AAAAAAAACuU/6dRX7SrIBEc/s1600/DSC05659.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_zhCGIwP-h0/TtvJaepON1I/AAAAAAAACuU/6dRX7SrIBEc/s320/DSC05659.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682356811597756242" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YyFz4LvNEVo/TtvJaJMGlAI/AAAAAAAACuM/sEAc6vP7uYE/s1600/DSC05643.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YyFz4LvNEVo/TtvJaJMGlAI/AAAAAAAACuM/sEAc6vP7uYE/s320/DSC05643.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682356805838476290" /></a><br />Day 1 – Krakow<br />Sandy and the kids had a week off from school in October for Fall break, so we used the opportunity to cross Poland off our list. We flew into Warsaw and arranged for a car to take us to the central train station so that we could buy tickets to Krakow. While the people in Poland are extremely friendly and helpful, that excludes the ladies working the counter at the train station. Despite that, we managed to get ourselves tickets on the 10.30 train. It was supposed to be a 2 hour 40 minute ride, but it ended up being a 4 hour trip. There were some unexpected delays, but when it turned out to be the same going from Krakow to Warsaw, we concluded that the public transportation does not have the same commitment to punctuality as Switzerland. We made our way to the hotel which advertised itself as a Bed & Breakfast. As it turned out, we stayed in an apartment and the “breakfast” was served in a hostel down the street. The room was OK, but the floors and beds squeaked horribly – difficult to sleep as we all toss and turn and get up in the middle of the night for the bathroom. Regardless, the price was right, especially given the location, right in the middle of the old town. While food is cheap, the cost of lodging is pricey so this place worked out great. <br />We used the rest of the day to walk around the old town called Stare Miasto. The heart of the old town is Rynek Glowny (Main Marketplace). It is the biggest medieval marketplace worldwide with more than four hectares of area and twelve streets beginning here. It is lined with shops and restaurants. In the center of the square is Sukiennice (Cloth Hall). Sukiennice was built in the early 14th century in the middle of the Main Market as a trading hall in Gothic style. Nowadays, souvenir shops are there. We scouted out the souvenirs and then walked around the old town for a place to eat. We came across a basement restaurant called Bohema. We ordered Zurek (barly based soup with sausage and onions), goulash, pork knuckle, and goose. It was heavy, but very good and incredibly cheap. Most of our dinners were well below 50, including drinks. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EODoqFN4Tjs/TtvIp4dg8cI/AAAAAAAACuA/ZXbopnnbdL4/s1600/DSC05639.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EODoqFN4Tjs/TtvIp4dg8cI/AAAAAAAACuA/ZXbopnnbdL4/s320/DSC05639.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682355976714383810" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-52qRe_0Fa0E/TtvIpUb9AlI/AAAAAAAACt0/A9tk4VSI_3c/s1600/DSC05634.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-52qRe_0Fa0E/TtvIpUb9AlI/AAAAAAAACt0/A9tk4VSI_3c/s320/DSC05634.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682355967044158034" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7nXUVKD9x40/TtvIoTaYtpI/AAAAAAAACto/K-T2SLbLdTY/s1600/DSC05633.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7nXUVKD9x40/TtvIoTaYtpI/AAAAAAAACto/K-T2SLbLdTY/s320/DSC05633.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682355949589280402" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jSO43NH3lPg/TtvInt6Ou1I/AAAAAAAACtc/yCToTv4lZy0/s1600/DSC05629.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jSO43NH3lPg/TtvInt6Ou1I/AAAAAAAACtc/yCToTv4lZy0/s320/DSC05629.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682355939522296658" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7PFaR44gfgA/TtvIncKy0RI/AAAAAAAACtQ/-uJF_rvpfhY/s1600/DSC05607.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7PFaR44gfgA/TtvIncKy0RI/AAAAAAAACtQ/-uJF_rvpfhY/s320/DSC05607.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682355934759932178" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nOEnB8dokfg/TtvIKmgRNvI/AAAAAAAACs8/JHV8i9MsscQ/s1600/DSC05599.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nOEnB8dokfg/TtvIKmgRNvI/AAAAAAAACs8/JHV8i9MsscQ/s320/DSC05599.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682355439318152946" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Va2e_nkhRoE/TtvIJ3X9L8I/AAAAAAAACsw/jL4CqvsuZ-w/s1600/DSC05597.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Va2e_nkhRoE/TtvIJ3X9L8I/AAAAAAAACsw/jL4CqvsuZ-w/s320/DSC05597.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682355426666819522" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yOh4pdBpjUg/TtvIJjHs0WI/AAAAAAAACsk/jX_yX7WIqdw/s1600/DSC05593.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yOh4pdBpjUg/TtvIJjHs0WI/AAAAAAAACsk/jX_yX7WIqdw/s320/DSC05593.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682355421229928802" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uN-FY0UfQsg/TtvIIh4UUCI/AAAAAAAACsc/So6vZNPzcQs/s1600/DSC05592.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uN-FY0UfQsg/TtvIIh4UUCI/AAAAAAAACsc/So6vZNPzcQs/s320/DSC05592.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682355403717103650" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5YB_6wtNiz4/TtvIIVR3tII/AAAAAAAACsM/nr8qvjqDQ50/s1600/DSC05590.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5YB_6wtNiz4/TtvIIVR3tII/AAAAAAAACsM/nr8qvjqDQ50/s320/DSC05590.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682355400334619778" /></a><br /><br /><br />Day 2 - Krakow<br />On the second day, we woke up early to beat the crowd of teenagers at the youth hostel to the breakfast buffet. We got there just before 8AM and were successful in our quest. It was not much of a buffet, but we were glad to get seats. <br />After breakfast, we walked down the street to the main attraction of the day - Wawel castle, which granted free access on Mondays (today). Wawel is the name of a lime hillock situated on the left bank of the Vistula at an altitude of 228 metres above sea level. This is a symbolic place of great significance for Polish people. The Royal Castle and the Cathedral are situated on the Hill. Polish Royalty and many distinguished Poles are interred in the Cathedral and royal coronations took place there. It's considered to be the most beautiful castle in Central Europe, besides the Hradcany in Prague. <br />Towards the end of the first millennium A.D Wawel began to play the role of the centre of political power. In the 9th century it became the principal fortified castrum of the Vislane tribe. The first historical ruler of Poland, Miesco I (c.965-992) of the Piast dynasty as well as his successors: Boleslas the Brave (992-1025) and Miesco II (1025-1034) chose Wawel Hill as one of their residences.<br /><br />During the reign of Casimir the Restorer (1034-1058) Wawel became a significant political and administrative centre for the Polish State. Casimir’s son, Boleslas the Bold (1058-1079) began the construction of a second Romanesque cathedral, which was finished by Boleslas the Wrymouth (1102-1138). In his last will of 1138, this prince divided Poland into districts, and provided that Cracow was to be the residence of the senior prince. In 1291 the city of Cracow along with Wawel Hill temporarily fell under the Czech rule, and Wenceslas II from the Premysl dynasty was crowned King of Poland in Wawel cathedral.<br /><br />In 1306 the Duke of Kuyavia Ladislas the Short (1306-1333) entered Wawel and was crowned King of Poland in the Cathedral in 1320. It was the first historically recorded coronation of a Polish ruler on Wawel Hill. <br /><br />The accession to the throne in 1385 of Jadwiga from the Hungarian dynasty of Andegavens, and her marriage to a Lithuanian prince Ladislas Jagiello (1386-1434) started another era of prosperity for Wawel.<br /><br /><br />The Italian Renaissance arrived at Wawel in the early 16th century. King Alexander (1501-1506) and his brother Sigismund I the Old (1506-1548) commissioned the construction of a new palace in place of the Gothic residence, with an impressive large courtyard with arcaded galleries which was completed about 1540. Close artistic and cultural relations with Italy were strengthened in 1518 by the king’s marriage to Bona Sforza. <br /> <br />The reign of Sigismund III Waza (1587-1632) also made a strong impression on the history of Wawel. After a fire in the castle in 1595 the king rebuilt the burned wing of the building in the early Baroque style.<br /> <br />After Poland had lost its independence in 1795, the troops of partitioning nations, Russia, Prussia and Austria, subsequently occupied Wawel which finally passed into the hands of the Austrians. The new owners converted the castle and some of the secular buildings into a military hospital, and demolished some others, including churches. After the period of the Free City of Cracow (1815-1846) Wawel was once more annexed by Austria and turned into a citadel dominating the city. By the resolution passed by the Seym of Galicia in 1880, the castle was presented as a residence to the Emperor of Austria Franz Josef I. The Austrian troops left the hill between 1905-1911. <br /> <br />When Poland regained its independence in 1918, the castle served as an official residence of the Head of State, and as a museum of historic interiors. During the Nazi occupation the castle was the residence of the German governor general, Hans Frank. Polish people managed to remove the most valuable objects, including the tapestries and the “Szczerbiec” coronation sword to Canada, from where they returned as late as 1959-1961. <br /><br /><br />We visited a couple of permanent exhibitions on our tour. The first one was called The Lost Wawel. This permanent exhibition, opened in 1975, presents archaeological discoveries, fragments of architecture and the history of the development of Wawel Hill from the Middle Ages to modern times. It is located in the basement of a building which encloses the arcaded courtyard from the west. The archaeological and architectural collection created here, comprises the remains of the Renaissance royal kitchens, the remnants of the Gothic castle, and above all, the four-apsed Rotunda of the Blessed Virgin Mary –later re-named the Rotunda of SS. Felix and Adauctus.<br />The second one was called Crown Treasury and Armory. The exhibition is located on the ground floor of the north-eastern corner of the castle. It is related to the historic institution of the Crown Treasury once located here, which was a visible sign of the independence of the Kingdom of Poland, and later of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations. From the 14th century the insignia of royal power were stored here (crowns, scepters, orbs, a sword, the Book of Gospels and a tray used in the ceremony of anointing a ruler), as well as a variety of valuables and curiosities which were official state property. At the same time in the castle the monarch’s private treasury consisting of the personal insignia, valuables and ornamental vessels was established. The assets of the Crown Treasury, augmented by diplomatic gifts and royal bequests, including the last will of Sigismund Augustus, were not on public display.<br />Single objects were only removed on special occasions, primarily for coronation ceremonies. Lists were made of the Crown Treasury’s content during regular audits. The first special public presentation of royal insignia took place in 1792. Three years later the Prussians broke into the Treasury and almost completely destroyed its contents. <br />Following the destruction of the royal insignia by the Prussians and the loss of almost all the treasures, the new collection, systematically augmented since 1930, only gives an inkling of the old magnificence of the place. Yet, it does include significant works of art, among them some historic artifacts, at the head of which is the Szczerbiec coronation sword - the most significant Polish historic artifact.<br /><br /><br /><br />We next explored Wawel Cathedral, which included the Royal Tombs, Sigismund Bell and Pope John Paul II Cathedral Museum.<br />Wawel Cathedral holds a very special place in the history of Poland and the Poles’ national awareness. For centuries it has been the place of worship of St Stanislaus, the saint who has been inextricably connected with the idea of a united and independent Polish State, a concept which was equally valid in the period of regional disintegration, the Partitions of Poland and communist rule. The grave of the martyr has been considered the Altar of the Homeland. The history of the Cracow Diocese and its main church reached its culmination at the election of its host, Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, to the Holy See as Pope John Paul II.<br />Cracow Cathedral was the centre of worship of St Stanislaus (Stanisław), the Cracow bishop who was murdered in 1253 on the orders of King Bolesław the Bold. The grave of the bishop became a destination for pilgrims from all over Poland and neighbouring countries. The veneration of this saint was associated with the idea of the unification of the Polish Kingdom after the period of its regional disintegration. It was for this reason that the tradition of having coronations of Polish kings at the Gniezno Archcathedral was broken on the 20th of January. 1320, when King Władysław the Short was crowned at Cracow Cathedral, close to the relics of the patron saint of the restored Polish monarchy. After that, Wawel Cathedral became the site at which the coronations of Polish rulers took place.<br />For as long as a thousand years, the Cracow Metropolitan Basilica of SS Stanislaus and Wenceslaus has been the “mother of churches” in one of the most important Polish dioceses which in 1925 was raised to the rank of an archdiocese. The Lord’s service has been always conducted here with great splendour and was considered a model for other churches. In its glorious days, more then a hundred priests were involved in the cathedral services, and prayers continued day and night without interruption.<br />We finished our tour of the castle complex with a stop the Dragon’s Den. This is a large cave underneath the castle. Early medieval legends tell stories about a dreadful dragon that lived in a cave on Wawel Hill, about his slayer Krakus, and about the latter’s daughter Wanda, who drowned herself in the Vistula rather than marry a German knight.<br />After the tour, we grabbed a quick lunch, and also had our first serving of golumpki and pierogi. The golumpki was huge, filled mostly with rice and a little bit of minced meat, and covered in a gravy like sauce, only creamier. The pierogis were pretty similar to what we have back home, only a lot greasier and served with caramelized onions. One of favorites was the pierogis filled with spinach. <br />After lunch, we decided to find our way to the town of Wieliczka to visit the famous Wieliczka Salt Mine. The mine continuously produced table salt from the 13th century until 2007 as one of the world's oldest operating salt mines, for most of this time span being a part of the undertaking żupy krakowskie. It is believed to be the world's 14th-oldest company. The mine's attractions include dozens of statues and an entire chapel that has been carved out of the rock salt by the miners. They said on the tour that the price of our ticket includes all the salt we could lick, so the kids made use of the opportunity to lick everything in sight – they were constantly asked if it tastes like salt and apparently it did. <br />We took the bus back, walked around the old town for a bit and then went back to our apartment to freshen up. We noticed a Swiss restaurant (the 27th Canton) next to the apartment, so we decided to give it a try. It actually did not have much in the way of Swiss cuisine. But I had trout in this creamy walnut sauce that was fantastic.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-49874307289171730992011-11-13T05:13:00.000-08:002011-12-04T11:16:16.736-08:00Fall 2011Fall of 2011 has proven to be a very busy season. After comming back from America, JP started 2nd grade and Syd 1st. JP joined the cross country team. He had a total of 3 races. He came second to last in the first race, last in the second race, and managed to get 2nd place and a medal on his last race. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vx0zOii5kLA/TtvG6QLKftI/AAAAAAAACsA/XW30QsIrhu8/s1600/DSC05575.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vx0zOii5kLA/TtvG6QLKftI/AAAAAAAACsA/XW30QsIrhu8/s400/DSC05575.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682354058934517458" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wJKwq3yYiRc/TtvG6IQTkCI/AAAAAAAACr0/ccFPhsGjLV4/s1600/DSC05573.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wJKwq3yYiRc/TtvG6IQTkCI/AAAAAAAACr0/ccFPhsGjLV4/s400/DSC05573.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682354056808599586" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-8256346409522212912011-08-08T08:39:00.000-07:002011-08-08T08:58:07.867-07:00One more week at the 'cuse<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Zk9k2GY5NU/TkAGXpuKN1I/AAAAAAAACqs/lBsemyd1pSE/s1600/DSC04383.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Zk9k2GY5NU/TkAGXpuKN1I/AAAAAAAACqs/lBsemyd1pSE/s400/DSC04383.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638513736874080082" /></a>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-49383365704338575262011-08-08T04:01:00.001-07:002011-08-08T04:08:42.891-07:00Acapulco, Mexico<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KGqAxq7lf8g/Tj_DjaXPuXI/AAAAAAAACpU/-StMXMurtts/s1600/DSC05267.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KGqAxq7lf8g/Tj_DjaXPuXI/AAAAAAAACpU/-StMXMurtts/s400/DSC05267.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638440271630809458" /></a>
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<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FO5XEHhJbB8/Tj_DirNynmI/AAAAAAAACo8/RPtxxNB67eo/s1600/DSC05280.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FO5XEHhJbB8/Tj_DirNynmI/AAAAAAAACo8/RPtxxNB67eo/s400/DSC05280.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638440258974686818" /></a>
<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RZmpVpnHSP0/Tj_Dibc7exI/AAAAAAAACo0/e2xuhmenUh4/s1600/DSC05273.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RZmpVpnHSP0/Tj_Dibc7exI/AAAAAAAACo0/e2xuhmenUh4/s400/DSC05273.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638440254743214866" /></a>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-78312082354627829132011-08-08T03:37:00.000-07:002011-08-08T03:58:05.601-07:00Queretaro, MexicoNo podia faltar una visita a Queretaro; a visitar a Wendy, Minnie, Fabi y Andy. Tamien nos reunimos con los primos queretanos, hasta Jenny y Gabo fueron con sus respectivas familias. Christi, que vive en Vancuver tambien fue. En dias soleados vamos a nadar, Esta vez fuimos a patinar sobre hielo. Fabi y su cuate ayudaron a JP y Syd a ajustarse a la pista. Tambien pudimos reunirnos con Vero (amiga de la secu)y su familia. Fuimos al parque Bicentenario.
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<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uPFgH02WDh8/Tj_AfxEhDYI/AAAAAAAACos/GjtTEq1DDCg/s1600/DSC05262.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638436910471908738" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uPFgH02WDh8/Tj_AfxEhDYI/AAAAAAAACos/GjtTEq1DDCg/s400/DSC05262.JPG" /></a>
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<br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dWwRf-7EiWI/Tj_AfgsMrpI/AAAAAAAACok/m24aeGF73uE/s1600/DSC05232.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638436906074943122" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dWwRf-7EiWI/Tj_AfgsMrpI/AAAAAAAACok/m24aeGF73uE/s400/DSC05232.JPG" /></a>
<br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a9m042x0kss/Tj_AffPWHPI/AAAAAAAACoc/Ii215rjSweE/s1600/DSC05245.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638436905685490930" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a9m042x0kss/Tj_AffPWHPI/AAAAAAAACoc/Ii215rjSweE/s400/DSC05245.JPG" /></a>
<br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Bn46qF_So0/Tj_AfJfSssI/AAAAAAAACoU/q8iavC9yfy4/s1600/DSC05246.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638436899846795970" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Bn46qF_So0/Tj_AfJfSssI/AAAAAAAACoU/q8iavC9yfy4/s400/DSC05246.JPG" /></a>
<br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V7W1LnNsDY0/Tj_Ae4RFJ-I/AAAAAAAACoM/AuNtgGzUh6A/s1600/DSC05239.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638436895223785442" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V7W1LnNsDY0/Tj_Ae4RFJ-I/AAAAAAAACoM/AuNtgGzUh6A/s400/DSC05239.JPG" /></a>
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<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qa6HI4jeTZg/Tj--rkWK4kI/AAAAAAAACn8/6E6LiZk1hQY/s1600/DSC05223.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638434914191467074" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qa6HI4jeTZg/Tj--rkWK4kI/AAAAAAAACn8/6E6LiZk1hQY/s400/DSC05223.JPG" /></a>
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<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eo7Cb9ogBls/Tj--rchSp_I/AAAAAAAACns/vKDSIG9VyU4/s1600/DSC05215.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638434912090630130" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eo7Cb9ogBls/Tj--rchSp_I/AAAAAAAACns/vKDSIG9VyU4/s400/DSC05215.JPG" /></a>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-28620738913432426102011-08-08T03:25:00.000-07:002011-08-08T03:37:04.139-07:00Mexico DFJP y Sydney pasarom mas de 3 semanas en Mexico. En la ciudad de Mexico, visitaron la feria, parques, el observatorio, la peluqueria, y a la familia. Al final del viaje, no querian comer mas que quesadillas y paletas heladas de limon.
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<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bsyq0L-56rY/Tj-7NGZWagI/AAAAAAAACnc/F-ouH-eyoGQ/s1600/DSC05211.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638431092220783106" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bsyq0L-56rY/Tj-7NGZWagI/AAAAAAAACnc/F-ouH-eyoGQ/s400/DSC05211.JPG" /></a>
<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uO90R2eVPpM/Tj-7M-q2t1I/AAAAAAAACnU/QkQV_olLRO8/s1600/DSC05209.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638431090146719570" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uO90R2eVPpM/Tj-7M-q2t1I/AAAAAAAACnU/QkQV_olLRO8/s400/DSC05209.JPG" /></a>
<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S5MNK0G50kA/Tj-7Mgj14XI/AAAAAAAACnM/Lrn4xgGrkH8/s1600/DSC04280.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638431082064241010" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S5MNK0G50kA/Tj-7Mgj14XI/AAAAAAAACnM/Lrn4xgGrkH8/s400/DSC04280.JPG" /></a>
<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nerw9Md4Ri4/Tj-7Mf0vVfI/AAAAAAAACnE/aSsAqctU1s0/s1600/DSC04276.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638431081866679794" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nerw9Md4Ri4/Tj-7Mf0vVfI/AAAAAAAACnE/aSsAqctU1s0/s400/DSC04276.JPG" /></a>
<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RvFuunwkvBA/Tj-7MMxRJ5I/AAAAAAAACm8/su2y-cdEq18/s1600/DSC04274.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638431076751845266" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RvFuunwkvBA/Tj-7MMxRJ5I/AAAAAAAACm8/su2y-cdEq18/s400/DSC04274.JPG" /></a>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-604958960248655242011-08-08T03:10:00.000-07:002011-08-08T08:30:46.697-07:00First week of the summerShortly after arriving to Syracuse NY, we traveled south with the Myers to Greek Peak. It is a resort with a water park, kids programm, spa, and a lake. We spent most of the time at the water park but we had also time to go downtown, go fishing on the lake, and walk the trails.
<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-exO5S6p90Lc/Tj-32sbKNSI/AAAAAAAACm0/sKjiyQWaXWE/s1600/DSC05157.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638427408757044514" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-exO5S6p90Lc/Tj-32sbKNSI/AAAAAAAACm0/sKjiyQWaXWE/s400/DSC05157.JPG" /></a>
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<br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-llOHmRLPEAY/Tj-32csaNqI/AAAAAAAACms/KwLsr3vP8d4/s1600/DSC05151.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638427404534429346" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-llOHmRLPEAY/Tj-32csaNqI/AAAAAAAACms/KwLsr3vP8d4/s400/DSC05151.JPG" /></a>
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<br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UtanXqM_VPo/Tj-32Hx3nLI/AAAAAAAACmk/KUFdBzTt0zg/s1600/DSC05155.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638427398920182962" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UtanXqM_VPo/Tj-32Hx3nLI/AAAAAAAACmk/KUFdBzTt0zg/s400/DSC05155.JPG" /></a>
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<br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C5OWPnmiogw/Tj-31zvuF_I/AAAAAAAACmc/KBd4LytxL1o/s1600/DSC05145.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638427393542461426" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C5OWPnmiogw/Tj-31zvuF_I/AAAAAAAACmc/KBd4LytxL1o/s400/DSC05145.JPG" /></a> Bonding with cousin Chelsey
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<br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5WbFbVZpX0c/Tj-31hI4mdI/AAAAAAAACmU/wOld-SKxpUc/s1600/DSC05141.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638427388547733970" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5WbFbVZpX0c/Tj-31hI4mdI/AAAAAAAACmU/wOld-SKxpUc/s400/DSC05141.JPG" /></a> Well deserved vacation
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<br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RIf1m12DXdg/Tj-3EtMVqII/AAAAAAAACmM/EpDIJ-7ktbA/s1600/DSC05111.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638426549969856642" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RIf1m12DXdg/Tj-3EtMVqII/AAAAAAAACmM/EpDIJ-7ktbA/s400/DSC05111.JPG" /></a> row row row....
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<br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YJoAh9jfnkg/Tj-3EbL24qI/AAAAAAAACmE/1eJwubHD1W0/s1600/DSC05123.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638426545136001698" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YJoAh9jfnkg/Tj-3EbL24qI/AAAAAAAACmE/1eJwubHD1W0/s400/DSC05123.JPG" /></a> Let's discuss the strategy
<br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nF_VOzjPQnI/Tj-3DmAgAFI/AAAAAAAACl8/rf8pMWLTiYw/s1600/DSC05129.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638426530861285458" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nF_VOzjPQnI/Tj-3DmAgAFI/AAAAAAAACl8/rf8pMWLTiYw/s400/DSC05129.JPG" /></a> Father and son
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<br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SDgfE0EQCQQ/Tj-3DWkNesI/AAAAAAAACl0/UwTTaaPkBIU/s1600/DSC05133.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638426526716099266" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SDgfE0EQCQQ/Tj-3DWkNesI/AAAAAAAACl0/UwTTaaPkBIU/s400/DSC05133.JPG" /></a> Look at me! Fishing with real worms and a hook (we usually just pretend and just drop the line hookless, just with some weight)
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<br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lQNPh87-rno/Tj-3DC_kHoI/AAAAAAAACls/GgF84UpwX2U/s1600/DSC05137.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638426521462120066" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lQNPh87-rno/Tj-3DC_kHoI/AAAAAAAACls/GgF84UpwX2U/s400/DSC05137.JPG" /></a> look at those eyes!!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-33277824901857978912011-08-08T02:49:00.000-07:002011-08-08T03:10:22.694-07:00Summer 2011, take 1
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<br />Tenth year aniversary was celebrated 3 months early. We traveled to Montego Bay, Jamaica for a week, and no kids welcomed at the hotel so it was only us. It was great.<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E06wPpcqhE8/Tj-0JQEuzRI/AAAAAAAAClk/As2JUxoNtI8/s1600/DSC05178.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638423329517784338" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E06wPpcqhE8/Tj-0JQEuzRI/AAAAAAAAClk/As2JUxoNtI8/s400/DSC05178.JPG" /></a>
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<br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YOma5_o1jA4/Tj-0IzR81MI/AAAAAAAAClU/DYDa4JaXo7Y/s1600/DSC05191.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638423321788601538" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YOma5_o1jA4/Tj-0IzR81MI/AAAAAAAAClU/DYDa4JaXo7Y/s400/DSC05191.JPG" /></a>
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<br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qajxJfjaFSo/Tj-0IjXQ_KI/AAAAAAAAClM/vwIYtfuK1YY/s1600/DSC05188.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638423317515926690" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qajxJfjaFSo/Tj-0IjXQ_KI/AAAAAAAAClM/vwIYtfuK1YY/s400/DSC05188.JPG" /></a>
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<br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a1PH3cGnpcM/Tj-0IfO-93I/AAAAAAAAClE/i8e5tO4E7ZU/s1600/DSC05181.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638423316407449458" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a1PH3cGnpcM/Tj-0IfO-93I/AAAAAAAAClE/i8e5tO4E7ZU/s400/DSC05181.JPG" /></a>
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<br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YPT7OtORTuk/Tj-zQJ2D1tI/AAAAAAAACk8/mbPSzVANv7w/s1600/DSC05190.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638422348593092306" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YPT7OtORTuk/Tj-zQJ2D1tI/AAAAAAAACk8/mbPSzVANv7w/s400/DSC05190.JPG" /></a>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-16834003299476719472011-05-22T03:31:00.000-07:002011-05-22T03:52:30.712-07:00Cruise Easter-Dubai<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SdqkijNoSLE/Tdjn1OLgayI/AAAAAAAACkQ/DrMExbZFQUU/s1600/DSC03685.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SdqkijNoSLE/Tdjn1OLgayI/AAAAAAAACkQ/DrMExbZFQUU/s400/DSC03685.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609488237415394082" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uvrR4NFK2js/Tdjn02NTRFI/AAAAAAAACkI/uAuIMCvrUCo/s1600/DSC03681.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uvrR4NFK2js/Tdjn02NTRFI/AAAAAAAACkI/uAuIMCvrUCo/s400/DSC03681.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609488230980469842" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0fLOvc7DHSs/Tdjn0bKT4gI/AAAAAAAACkA/W5yTQJp6k6k/s1600/DSC04503.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0fLOvc7DHSs/Tdjn0bKT4gI/AAAAAAAACkA/W5yTQJp6k6k/s400/DSC04503.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609488223720169986" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E0I2iKKKNZ8/Tdjn0KXWyeI/AAAAAAAACj4/2Yx-t7Qfoj4/s1600/DSC03680.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E0I2iKKKNZ8/Tdjn0KXWyeI/AAAAAAAACj4/2Yx-t7Qfoj4/s400/DSC03680.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609488219211483618" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-epxbLwKUPKg/TdjnzyyNVOI/AAAAAAAACjw/0anQfhAnDAM/s1600/DSC03678.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-epxbLwKUPKg/TdjnzyyNVOI/AAAAAAAACjw/0anQfhAnDAM/s400/DSC03678.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609488212881659106" /></a><br />April 8 - 21<br /><br />Day 1 <br /><br />We flew overnight and arrived into Dubai at 5AM. We collected our bags, had breakfast, and thought about our plan for the day. We were not allowed to board the ship until noon, so we needed to figure out a way to keep ourselves occupied for the morning. We found that the Dubai Museum, which is described as a must see attraction, opened at 830, so we went for it. On the way, we were able to see a bit of the city. Dubai is a very big, clean, safe, and modern city. We were really impressed with the architecture of the buildings. The clearest landmark in the skyline is the Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world at the moment. Another building that stood out was one under construction that looked twisted. The museum was about a 10 min ride from the airport and we found that taxis are very inexpensive. The museum is a natural history museum, showing the development of Dubai over the years. Dubai is one of the 7 emirates in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is the second largest geographically, but the largest economically with about 3.5 million people. The original inhabitants were Nomads. A tribe settled in the area and supported themselves with agriculture, fishing, and pearl diving. That is until they struck oil and their life changed very rapidly - a real Beverly Hillbilly’s story. The sudden wealth brought infrastructure, jobs, and immigration. Only about 30% of the population are UAE nationals. <br /><br />The museum had a lot of interesting displays, but what fascinated me was the traditional huts (essentially sticks and leaves). The interesting part is that they were built with a “chimney” that captured wind and funneled it into the huts to create "air conditioning". <br /> <br />After a couple of hours at the museum, we took a taxi to the port and tried to check in early. It was a good gamble because they were allowing people to check in early and we got there just before a big bus tour dropped off a bunch of people. We checked in quickly, got aboard the ship, had lunch at the windjammer, and then slipped into our suits for some swimming. We were pretty beat, so instead of swimming, we all took a nap on some recliners in the Solarium. After our nap, we got settled into our room and got ready for dinner.<br /><br />We ate dinner in the main dining room. We were seated at a table for 8. We had requested to be seated at a table for 4 so that we could talk together as a family. Fortunately, no one else sat at our table so we had the whole thing to ourselves.<br /><br />After dinner, we went to the show. It was an introduction by a cruise director, Matt Sole (who’s intro music every night was Soul Man – very creative), as well as an intro performances by the RCL singers and dancers.<br /> <br /><br />Day 2<br /><br />We got up late and made a gametime decision to visit the Jumeirah Mosque before the ship departed at 1PM. The only way to visit the mosque is through the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding, which leads a guided tour called Open Doors Open Minds. We went on the tour which was very educational.<br /><br />We watched the cleansing ritual that takes place before prayer and JP and Sandy even got to take part. They think of the cleansing ritual as what you do before any big date or interview, except that the date is with God.<br /><br />We went inside the men’s portion of the mosque. The woman’s mosque is a small room off to the side. We learned that men are obligated to go to the mosque to pray while women are not. They mentioned that the women’s mosque in the shopping mall is bigger than the men’s because that is where the women spend most of their time. We learned about the 5 pillars of Islam: Prayer 5 times per day, fasting during Ramadan, charity, trip to Mecca and belief that Allah is the one and only god. A couple of other interesting points:<br /><br />• On the point of charity, a Muslim must give 2.5% of their salary to those in need.<br />• The Berka worn by women is at their choice, but most find that it is convenient to wear it. Underneath, they usually have jeans and t shirt. It is same with the facial covering that some women wear. It is very sunny and windy in Dubai so the facial covering is an easy way to protect the skin. <br />• Muslims believe that they have an angel standing at each shoulder. The one on the right writes down all the good deeds and the one on the left all the bad deeds.<br />• Fasting during Ramadan is a way to think about the poor who do not have enough to eat.<br />• Muslims believe Mecca to be a holy place. Adam and Eve got separated from each other for a while and this is the place where they reunited. God asked Abraham to walk around the spot 7 times to mark its location. His footsteps can still be seen. A small black mosque is built on the spot. When building the mosque, a rock was found in the perimeter that Abraham had walked around. The rock was white and was like nothing anyone had ever seen. The builders incorporated the rock into the construction – it is contained within one of the walls and can still be accessed. Over the years it has turned black. Scientists were brought in to determine why it turned black. They could not figure it out, but could only conclude that the rock is not from Earth. <br /><br />After getting back on the ship, we had lunch at the windjammer and then got reaquainted with the ship by playing mini golf and ping pong. We wanted to do rock climbing, but it was extremely windy so they closed the rock climbing wall. We ended up going swimming and spending time in the hot tub.<br /><br />We tried a different table for dinner, but the table was extremely small. It was a table for two that was set for four. We had a nice dinner but decided that the bigger table would be better. <br /><br />We went to the evening entertainment, which was a sax player/singer/comedian. He was very talented, but the act was better suited for adults, so we left early, put the kids to bed and tried our luck in the casino. We played the machine that pushes coins over the edge and managed to win 30.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-11494688373860016222011-05-22T03:11:00.000-07:002011-05-22T03:30:53.541-07:00Easter Cruise-Muscat<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xG9HbcCEf_k/TdjicrRpshI/AAAAAAAACjo/_syC7KeKD0Q/s1600/DSC03739.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xG9HbcCEf_k/TdjicrRpshI/AAAAAAAACjo/_syC7KeKD0Q/s400/DSC03739.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609482318170927634" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S2IxCA3z2Vw/TdjicMg1dCI/AAAAAAAACjg/-ABmXKbQZxk/s1600/DSC03732.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S2IxCA3z2Vw/TdjicMg1dCI/AAAAAAAACjg/-ABmXKbQZxk/s400/DSC03732.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609482309913113634" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-reihheLuTUw/TdjibmRs2LI/AAAAAAAACjY/rLmo5zGKh2s/s1600/DSC03738.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-reihheLuTUw/TdjibmRs2LI/AAAAAAAACjY/rLmo5zGKh2s/s400/DSC03738.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609482299649087666" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I3JMgRxYsyk/TdjibQL6WaI/AAAAAAAACjQ/4qiNszahqRw/s1600/DSC03701.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I3JMgRxYsyk/TdjibQL6WaI/AAAAAAAACjQ/4qiNszahqRw/s400/DSC03701.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609482293719226786" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_G3B7Inurd4/TdjibKby18I/AAAAAAAACjI/pN3LTiiVId0/s1600/DSC03718.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_G3B7Inurd4/TdjibKby18I/AAAAAAAACjI/pN3LTiiVId0/s400/DSC03718.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609482292175230914" /></a><br />Day 3<br /><br />We awoke in Muscat. It was an early morning – we had to meet our tour group at 7AM.<br /><br />Muscat is the capital of Oman. It has a population of about 800k and 50% are immigrants. They have permission to stay for two years and then must return to their home country, renew their passport and then can come back. Muscat is built in the middle of volcanic mountains. The people love the Sultan because of the development he brought after 1970. Prior to that, there were no paved roads and the donkey was the primary means of transportation. Water for bathing and cooking is brought to peoples houses. It is desalinized then delivered by truck. The dirty water is then cleaned and used again and then the third time used for grass and plants. Water is actually more expensive than gasoline: 24 cents per Litre for gas vs. 35 cents per Litre for water <br /><br />It was noted that no one rides bicycles. This is because of how people dress – basically a long white shirt. <br /><br />Everything is free for the locals - no taxes, no health care costs, free school, etc. Foreigners must pay a 50% tax per year.<br /><br />The Sultan gives a gift to the people once per year on the day of the Sultan, which is the day he took over power. Last year, everyone who took out a loan in 2009 did not have to pay it back. One year, the Sultan gave a gift of 700 per month for people who graduated from university and could not find a job.<br /><br />There are no sky scrapers. Buildings cannot be more than a certain height. The philosophy is that everyone is equal.<br /><br />We visited the Grand Mosque. It is the third largest in the world. Inside the men’s mosque is a 31 ton carpet. It is a single piece from Persia. There is also a gigantic 8 ton chandelier.<br /><br />We then had a short shopping visit at the Mutrah Souq and bought some cashmere silk scarves and frankincense (an aromatic substance that comes from tree sap). We were very embarrassed when we lost track of time and had to be rounded up by the tour guide. We were the last one’s on the bus, but at least we did not get boo’d like we did in Ireland. Although I got “the look” from one lady at the next stop.<br /><br />We then visited the Bait Al Zubair, a primate museum that houses traditional Omani heritage items. This is a private museum owned by Hi Excellency Mohammed Al Zubair – Advisor to His Majesty the Sultan for Economic Planning Affairs. The exhibits include collections of Omani weaponry, jewelry, clothing, household items, books, photographs, paintings, maps, etc. which aim to show and preserve the rich Omani heritage and culture. <br /><br />Our last stop was the Al Alam Palace, the official residence of Sultan Qaboos. The architecture is a blend of oriental and occidental styles in rich hues of gold and blue. The palace is strategically positioned between the two medieval fortresses of Jalali and Mirani, built by the Portuguese towards the end of the sixteenth century. The Sultan actually has 7 palaces around the country and no one knows where he is living from day to day. The staff at each palace cook food throughout the day and if he does not come, then they eat it themselves.<br /><br />We were back on board by lunch. We hung out pool side with the kids. The water slide opened in the afternoon but Sydney was too short to go on her own by about an inch. I told her that the next time someone measures her height to go on a ride to stand on her tippy toes. The next day, she tried my technique and was able to go on by herself - she was so happy. <br /><br />We decided to sign the kids up for dinner at the kids club so that Sandy and I could have a quiet evening.<br /><br />We saw some of the show – it was a motown group. Afterwards, we tried out the casino. We won another 30 on our favorite coin machine and then spent another 20 on the slots – it was good entertainment.<br /><br />Day 4 <br /><br />We left Muscat the night before and in the morning were continuing our journey across the Arabian Sea to India. I had a workout in the morning. I tried to keep up my workouts in a feeble attempt to stave off the extra inches settling around my waste from double portions, mostly at breakfast and dinner. After breakfast, we hit the rock climbing wall on the ship (a family first as the kids were too young in the past). JP made it to the top on the third try and the audience cheered – undoubtedly one of his favorite moments of the cruise. I attended the destination lecture on India and then we had lunch in the main dining room. The waterslide opened at 1PM so we spent the afternoon poolside. It was a formal night and a picture night so we cut the afternoon short to get ready for the evening. We started at 5.15 with pictures, then 5.45 for the captain’s reception, then dinner at 6.30. We put the kids to sleep and did some gambling in the casino. We tried to duplicate the success from the night before, but ended up losing 10. We skipped the show as we had seen it before – it was a Tango number featuring the RCL dancers.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-55669666305563842702011-05-22T02:53:00.000-07:002011-05-22T03:11:13.506-07:00Easter Cruise-Cochin<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sm3h2sMfBSA/TdjggZt6nWI/AAAAAAAACjA/Fq0M-NgS7Ks/s1600/DSC03817.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sm3h2sMfBSA/TdjggZt6nWI/AAAAAAAACjA/Fq0M-NgS7Ks/s400/DSC03817.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609480183153859938" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8rmgR91ic98/TdjgfpD8geI/AAAAAAAACi4/3ijwJMa2Chs/s1600/DSC03819.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8rmgR91ic98/TdjgfpD8geI/AAAAAAAACi4/3ijwJMa2Chs/s400/DSC03819.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609480170092921314" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8YCRXpk6gWA/TdjgfagooGI/AAAAAAAACiw/lzS2NiGZnbY/s1600/DSC03818.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8YCRXpk6gWA/TdjgfagooGI/AAAAAAAACiw/lzS2NiGZnbY/s400/DSC03818.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609480166186721378" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HgLKma6FO4k/TdjgfMwWKbI/AAAAAAAACio/6WTL-YVpf4g/s1600/DSC03820.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HgLKma6FO4k/TdjgfMwWKbI/AAAAAAAACio/6WTL-YVpf4g/s400/DSC03820.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609480162494523826" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GxgO4mFZ2cc/Tdjd15YuruI/AAAAAAAACig/nVegeUYF2p4/s1600/DSC03802.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GxgO4mFZ2cc/Tdjd15YuruI/AAAAAAAACig/nVegeUYF2p4/s400/DSC03802.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609477253897301730" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_492wAcmCD8/Tdjd1nK8ccI/AAAAAAAACiY/Bl-i_cZnfHE/s1600/DSC04555.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_492wAcmCD8/Tdjd1nK8ccI/AAAAAAAACiY/Bl-i_cZnfHE/s400/DSC04555.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609477249007645122" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-azFWb-AMj6U/Tdjd1f1EIPI/AAAAAAAACiQ/TPqczu2poOs/s1600/DSC04557.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-azFWb-AMj6U/Tdjd1f1EIPI/AAAAAAAACiQ/TPqczu2poOs/s400/DSC04557.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609477247036825842" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OPNZuspoCL4/Tdjd1J4IRFI/AAAAAAAACiI/HGyzoMiaLQg/s1600/DSC03833.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OPNZuspoCL4/Tdjd1J4IRFI/AAAAAAAACiI/HGyzoMiaLQg/s400/DSC03833.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609477241144099922" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_htcI85RB60/Tdjd06Zi76I/AAAAAAAACiA/WpCvVPx6yUc/s1600/DSC03813.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_htcI85RB60/Tdjd06Zi76I/AAAAAAAACiA/WpCvVPx6yUc/s400/DSC03813.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609477236989292450" /></a><br />Day 5<br /><br />On the way to breakfast I saw that there was a special going in the spa for a facial and a massage, so I made an appointment for Sandy. I was in the mood for a massage and never had a facial before, so I decided to try something new and made an appointment for myself as well. After that Sandy got her nails done, while I went to the destination lecture on Cochin.<br /><br />We went swimming in the afternoon. It was extremely hot - I burned the top of my head, yet again. We decided to hit the casino before dinner. Sandy and I won 40 on the slots. We got the kids and played games of ping pong and mini golf before dinner and in the meantime saw an incredible sun set. For dinner I had bulls shoulder - it was so tender! We were not that impressed with the food on this cruise, but that bulls shoulder was good. We finished dinner quickly so that we could catch the evening entertainment - an illusionist named John Taylor. He was pretty amazing. Sandy bought his CD for school.<br /><br />Day 6<br /><br />We were scheduled to arrive in Cochin at noon, so we used the morning to relax. We had a nice long breakfast while Sandy had a Spa treatment. Afterwards, we dropped the kids at Adventure Ocean so that Sandy and I could catch a movie (Salt).<br /><br />We had lunch at the Windjammer and then got ready for the tour. The tour consisted of a bus ride around Cochin. I jotted down the following info on the bus ride:<br /><br />• India is the 7th largest country in the world and is comprised of 28 states. The city of Cochin lies in the state of Kerala.<br />• There are 22 official languages in India. The national language is Hindi, but most people use English when speaking to someone from another state.<br />• There are 1.21 billion people in India and 33 million in Kerala.<br />• The main religion is Hindu. 56% of the population are Hindu (19% are Christian).<br />• Indians believe in making life colorful. You can see this in the houses, dresses, and even the trucks which are painted with intricate designs and pictures.<br />• The monsoon comes twice per year. The monsoon winds blow from west to east in the spring and from east to west in the fall. These winds were used by Vasco de Gama to establish the trade routes between Europe and Asia. <br />• The main shopping street is Mohammed Ghandi Road. <br />• As we drive, horns are honking constantly. Our driver explains this as the language between drivers. Sometimes they are saying “hello”, other times “get out of the way”.<br />• A system of inland waterways provides Cochin with cheap transportation, thus encouraging trade. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as Venice of the East.<br />• Kera means coconut. Ala means land. Therefore, Kerala means land of coconut, which is fitting as it abounds with coconut trees.<br />• Smoking is not permitted on the streets for locals. If caught, an Indian will be fined 100 rupees, or about 2.5 dollars.<br /><br />Our first stop was to the temple of Shiva, the destroyer. Shiva and Vishnu are regarded as Mahādevas ("great gods" ) due to their central positions in worship and scriptures. These two along with Brahma are considered the Trimurti—the three aspects of the universal supreme God. These three aspects symbolize the entire circle of samsara in Hinduism: Brahma as creator, Vishnu as preserver or protector, and Shiva as destroyer or judge.<br /> <br />Our next stop was to the Fort Cochin area, which is the old part of the city, and where the Portuguese established their first colony in the 1500's. The Portuguese fort was destroyed by the Dutch in the 17th century. The Dutch then built a fort that was destroyed by the English in the 18th century. As such, there is no longer a fort there, but the name has stuck over the centuries. The English gave Indians their independence in 1947. The main attraction here is the Chinese fishing nets. These are a series of 11 cantilevered nets that are lowered into the water and brought up again with weights and pulleys. They are said to have been introduced by traders from the court of Kublai Khan. <br /><br />We then visited St. Francis Church where the remains of Vasco de Gama were buried for 14 years, until his son relocated them back to Portugal. The church was originally built by the Portuguese and then renovated by the Dutch. Many people were buried in the church crypt. When they removed the remains and buried them outside, they put their tomb stones on the wall - Dutch on one side, Portuguese on the other. St. Francis is oldest European church in India, built in 1503. Cochin is the first place where Christianity was brought to India. The Apostle Thomas brought Christianity to India in 52AD. <br /><br />Our next stop was to the Mattancheri Palace, also know as the Dutch Palace also known as David Hall. This is a house built originally built by the Portuguese as a gift for the Raja of Cochin and later rebuilt by the Dutch in a traditional style and has since been converted to an art museum. We enjoyed a drink and some cookies.<br /><br />We finished the tour early and were permitted to do a little shopping before heading back to the ship. Sandy bought a pendant. We were pressured to buy more, but we held our ground.<br /><br />Once back, we had just enough time to get changed and then head to dinner. Entertainment didn't start until 9.15, so we opted to watch a movie in the room (How to Train your Dragon). I was actually so stuffed from dinner; all I could do was sit on the couch and vegitate anyway.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-61325141117918150182011-05-22T02:51:00.000-07:002011-05-22T02:53:24.953-07:00Easter Cruise-Goa, IndiaDay 7<br /><br />This was a day at sea. I finally started to adjust to the 3.5 hour time change. I worked out in the morning before breakfast. <br /><br />We attended a destination lecture covering Mumbai, where I picked up a few interesting tidbits:<br /><br />• Victoria Terminus – handles 1000 trains and 2 million passengers per day<br />• Elephanta caves - The Mahesamurti - triple headed statue of Shiva as destroyer, preserver, and creator.<br />• Most densely populated city in the world - 30k people per square kilometer.<br />• Literacy rate of 85% in Mumbai.<br />• Two seasons - dry and wet.<br /><br />We played family dodge ball in Adventure Ocean and then had lunch at the main dining room. It was another formal night with pictures, so we only had a couple of hours of free time in the afternoon. We used the time to hit the water slide at the kiddy pool. <br /><br />After a couple of hours in the hot sun, we returned to the room to get ourselves ready. In addition to the formal night with pictures, there was a reception for all return cruisers. So we hit the pictures at 5.30, reception at 5.45 and dinner at 6.30. The entertainment did not start until 9.15 so we decided to skip it in favor of getting to sleep early to be ready for our big trip to Goa the next morning. <br /><br />Day 8<br /><br />We awoke outside of Goa to find that Sydney had a fever. This was a bit of a problem since we had tickets for an excursion that was starting in an hour. After giving her some medicine and putting cold compresses on her head and stomach, we started getting ready to cancel our excursion. At that very moment, the captain announced some sort of disagreement between local fishermen and the port authority. The local fishermen had blocked the port. Negotiations had been going on for at least a day and there was no sign that an agreement would be reached today. The captain figured that even if an agreement was reached, it would not be safe for us to get off the ship, so he decided to spend the day at sea en route to Mumbai. We were disappointed not to see Goa, but at the same time relieved that we were not going to lose $200 for canceling our excursion. Everyone had their excursions refunded. We had breakfast in the main dining room, and then attended a lecture on the 7 wonders of the world. Sydney came with us as she was still not feeling well while JP went to the Adventure Ocean. The first accounts about the Wonders came from Greek writers and this influenced the places included on the list (All in the former Greek empire). The list was written in 225BC by a Greek philosopher. The list was argued about and edited for hundreds of years. Here is some info about the wonders:<br /><br />1. Statue of Zeus - constructed by Phidias - the Greek Michelangelo in honor of the Olympic Games. Construction 435 BC. Took more than 7 years to construct. Made of ivory. In 391BC, all temples were closed - that's when the Roman Empire went Christian. Statue was transported to Constantinople where it burned in a fire in a museum. <br /><br />2. Temple of Artemis - built in honor of the goddess Dianna. Largest marble temple ever built. It took over 50 years to build and was destroyed by fire by Artemis.<br /><br />3. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon - constructed between 600 and 550 BC. Ruined by an earthquake around 500BC. The only wonder we are not sure really existed.<br /><br />4. The Mausoleum - started by King Maussollos and finished by his wife Artemisia. Built in 350BC. 140 feet high, 110 feet wide. First known cranes used to build it. An earthquake in 1494 AD ruined the museum. Built in Turkey.<br /><br />5. The Colossus - built in Rhodes. Statue of sun god Helios. Built after Alexander the Great died and built as a symbol of unity. Constructed 292 to 280BC. Made of Bronze. 36 meters high. Destroyed by earthquake in 226BC.<br /><br />6. The Great Pyramids of Giza - Cheop's Pyramid is the largest and was built in 250BC over a 30 year period. Until the early 1800's, it was the tallest building in the world. 450 ft high and 756 ft wide. Only wonder to survive to this day. Average weight of each stone is 1 ton.<br /><br />7. The lighthouse of Alexandria - built on Pharos island in Alexandria. Built in 280 BC. Could be seen from 40km away. Built after Alexander's death to leave a mark, showing how rich the city was. About 400 ft high. It was a working lighthouse. Had a fire at night. Destroyed by earthquake between 1303 and 1480 AD.<br /><br />We had lunch in the main dining room and it was incredibly slow - probably because the dining room was not planned to be open with the unexpected day at sea. It was so slow that we had to complain to the headwaiter. After lunch, we went to see a sing along version of the movie Mama Mia in the main theater. No one sang along, but it was a very fun movie. The kids knew many of the songs and did a lot humming and head bobbing. After the movie we decided to look at our pictures from the last few days. I am becoming less photogenic with every day, but there were a few we liked. By this time, Sydney was feeling much better and her fever had disappeared. She got a lot of sun the day before and I think it just caught up to her. We decided to stay out of the sun today and instead started getting ready for dinner. We signed the kids up for dinner with their Adventure Ocean friends so that Sandy and I could have a quiet evening. We had a nice dinner in the main dinning room and went to the main entertainment which was a Scottish female singer. She was really fantastic and apparently won star search a few years ago. She was good, but sang a lot of older tunes, so we decided to do some gambling. I had a 10 in my pocket, which we lost within about 5 min, so I went back to the room for 20. After pumping a few quarters into a slot machine, I won a 40 jackpot. From there, we went to our favorite machine that pushes quarters over the edge. We pumped a lot quarters in, but eventually won a 10 and two 20s. We walked away with a profit of about 60 for the evening - not bad.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34707524.post-84902160483080030392011-05-22T02:22:00.000-07:002011-05-22T02:51:35.466-07:00Easter Cruise-Mumbai<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h8ZgDzcjUg8/TdjZXiCrWlI/AAAAAAAACh4/OnUZdA6SJf0/s1600/DSC04642.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h8ZgDzcjUg8/TdjZXiCrWlI/AAAAAAAACh4/OnUZdA6SJf0/s400/DSC04642.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609472334188206674" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UCjuvmPXN9I/TdjZXJ75wmI/AAAAAAAAChw/xYk2l59BETc/s1600/DSC03895.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UCjuvmPXN9I/TdjZXJ75wmI/AAAAAAAAChw/xYk2l59BETc/s400/DSC03895.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609472327717339746" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DEFzFAq15eg/TdjZWxbBSuI/AAAAAAAACho/EibWJdABQis/s1600/DSC03897.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DEFzFAq15eg/TdjZWxbBSuI/AAAAAAAACho/EibWJdABQis/s400/DSC03897.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609472321136970466" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CNZQ41SGfhs/TdjZWq7AVyI/AAAAAAAAChg/FLJn35zZkk4/s1600/DSC04702.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CNZQ41SGfhs/TdjZWq7AVyI/AAAAAAAAChg/FLJn35zZkk4/s400/DSC04702.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609472319392077602" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tWjrKUcQbpk/TdjZWUX511I/AAAAAAAAChY/pe5jRhZ-Jzc/s1600/DSC04577.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tWjrKUcQbpk/TdjZWUX511I/AAAAAAAAChY/pe5jRhZ-Jzc/s400/DSC04577.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609472313339270994" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ErppmB4KZo8/TdjYjazZQiI/AAAAAAAAChQ/rGVn7TcTgB4/s1600/DSC04696.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ErppmB4KZo8/TdjYjazZQiI/AAAAAAAAChQ/rGVn7TcTgB4/s400/DSC04696.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609471438891860514" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vm_PYi5eOkI/TdjYjdnmCjI/AAAAAAAAChI/SLqZ1dSD-0c/s1600/DSC03878.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vm_PYi5eOkI/TdjYjdnmCjI/AAAAAAAAChI/SLqZ1dSD-0c/s400/DSC03878.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609471439647672882" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HB7VRGLr_FQ/TdjYjDujikI/AAAAAAAAChA/U_jvwfGuSiA/s1600/DSC03860.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HB7VRGLr_FQ/TdjYjDujikI/AAAAAAAAChA/U_jvwfGuSiA/s400/DSC03860.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609471432697547330" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SvWZaaIhWs8/TdjYi6DKHkI/AAAAAAAACg4/mIcUCee5RS8/s1600/DSC03847.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SvWZaaIhWs8/TdjYi6DKHkI/AAAAAAAACg4/mIcUCee5RS8/s400/DSC03847.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609471430099607106" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BoH3o8PxEAA/TdjYirRWgFI/AAAAAAAACgw/MA7G34_43FA/s1600/DSC03846.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BoH3o8PxEAA/TdjYirRWgFI/AAAAAAAACgw/MA7G34_43FA/s400/DSC03846.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609471426132607058" /></a><br />Day 9<br /><br />We had a good breakfast in the main dining room, followed by rock climbing (JP rang the bell three times), followed by swimming. We went back to the room and showered up for lunch before our tour of the Caves of Elephanta starting at 12.45. After showering, Sandy and the kids got a table at the Windjammer while I double checked the time on our tour. Good thing I did, because our tour was leaving an hour early, which meant now. I ran up to the restaurant and told Sandy. We had no time to waste, so we quickly packed some sandwiches and got to the meeting point. We got there just in time. <br /><br />We took a bus from the Port to another port where we saw the Gateway to India. This is where the British entered India and finally left India after their occupation. <br /><br />On the bus tour, the guide noted that the King of Portugal wanted his daughter to marry the Prince of England. However, the Princess of Portugal was not so pretty. Therefore, the City of Mumbai was offered as a dowry to the Prince of England.<br /><br />The boat ride to Elephant Island was about an hour. The Island is named as such because when the Portuguese arrived on the island, they saw a large elephant statue on the beach. There are no elephants on the island. <br /><br />The Island is famous for the man made caves sculpted out of volcanic rock. Once we got off the ship, we walked to a little train station to transport us to the entrance to the park. The train ride is only about 5 minutes, so many people walk it as well. Once through the gates of the park, a long stairway leads up to the caves, with vendors along each side of the stair case. <br /><br />The main cave is fronted by a verandah, at each end of which is a pillar carved in one of the various manifestations of Shiva. Shiva is the god that has 8 arms. There are about 10 sculptures of Shiva in the caves and most show Shiva in this form with various other characters and in various situations. From these situations, the Hindus derive lessons about life.<br /><br />There is one depiction of Shiva as a phallic symbol (symbolizing creation), a couple of statues of Shiva with his wife, one statue of Brahma as half man half female, Shiva bringing the Ganges river down to earth, Shiva as fountain of Yoga, Shiva as fountain of dance, and the main attraction is a huge burst of the Trimurti – the Hindu trinity of creator, preserver and destroyer.<br /><br />After visiting the caves, we checked out the wares of the various vendors along stairway leading up to the caves. We ended up picking up some traditional shirts, wooden elephants, and some other trinkets. We traveled back to the ship the same way we came. We did not get back until about 7.00. We were very late for dinner, but our waiters were able to take us anyway, despite their 8.30 seating – they just got through very fast. <br /><br />Day 10<br /><br />This was our second day in Mumbai. We booked a panorama tour of Mumbai. After breakfast in the dining room, we headed to the meeting point to start our tour. It was a bus tour with a lot of tidbits of info that I wrote down faithfully on my blackberry:<br /><br />• More than 1000 movies made each year. Mumbai is known as the city of dreams.<br />• More than 80% of women are working in Mumbai unlike the rest of India. Very modern in its thinking.<br />• 20 million living in Mumbai. 200 families come to Mumbai every day. Half of the population lives in the slums.<br />• Early in its history, Mumbai consisted of 7 islands. Causeways were built and it is now one land mass. <br />• Mumbai is an old name - named after mother of fishermen. Portuguese changed name to Bombay. <br />• Most buildings constructed during British time. <br />• Country of paradoxes – great disparity between rich and poor. <br />• Around 50,000 taxis running daily.<br />• Until the 17th century, India was the wealthiest country in the world.<br />• India has never invaded another country.<br />• In the 16th century, the Portuguese brought Christianity and the spice trade to India.<br /><br />On our tour we pass by a couple of landmarks:<br /><br />• Flora Fountain – which is the main traffic hub.<br />• Gateway of India. In 1911 the British came to India for the first time and entered through this gate which was built to commemorate the visit of George the 5th. <br /><br />We made a stop at the Taj Mahal Hotel, which is one of the most famous hotels in India. It was built by Jamsetji N. Tata a famous industrialist of the 20th century. He was denied entry to what was then the best hotel in town, the “whites only” Watson’s. So he decided to build a hotel that would treat everyone equally. His revenge was sweet and long lasting – while Watsons has long since disappeared, the Taj is Mumbai’s grand hotel, her gray and white sandstone façade and red domed roof dominating the harbor from just behind the great Gateway. <br /><br />• We pass by Mumbai university and Mumbai high court. <br />• We pass by several fields and cricket is played on every one.<br />• We pass Victoria terminus station. <br /><br />• We pass by the Tower of Silence, which is an interesting story: the Parsis, who originated in Iran, arrived in India almost 900 years ago. Since then they have been an integral part of the Indian society. The Zoroastrian Tower of silence in Mumbai was built by Seth Modi Hirji in accordance with the Parsi beliefs in 1672. According to the Parsis, the dead should be exposed to the flesh easting birds within the confines of the Towers of Silence to venerate the earth, fire and water. Thus, In Mumbai, the Tower of Silence serves the purpose of offering the last rites to the dead. Despite the open exposure to dead, the place has a feeling of calm and peace, owning in part to the beautiful architecture and green surroundings. However, the actual area where the dead are exposed is strictly off limits for all. Mumbai's tower of silence have come under controversy, due to the disappearance of vultures and the consequent crisis faced by the Parsis about leaving the dead for a long time in the towers. Despite this, tourists are known to take a sneak peak at the towers during their trip in Mumbai.<br /><br /><br />After the tour, we do a little shopping in the port terminal. Everything is really expensive, so we do not bother to buy anything. JP is tired so he takes up a seat on a couch and strikes up a conversation with some locals. We get back on board and have a late lunch in the Windjammer.<br /><br />After lunch, we carry out our regular ritual of hitting the slide in the kiddie pool, followed by dinner and the evenings entertainment.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13291489694256721482noreply@blogger.com