Sacra di San Michele

On Saturday, we took a day trip to Sacro di San Michele. It is a Benedictine monastery that was begun in the late 900's and lasted until 1622. It was one of the most important Benedictine monasteries during medieval times.

"For those who enjoyed Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose it is the place that inspired the novel and then the film which starred Sean Connery. The Sacra di San Michele, amongst the most well-known Benedictine abbeys, is today considered one of the most important examples of Romanesque architecture in Europe. In order to reach the so-called Doorway of the Zodiac, one has to climb 243 steps, but once at the top, the view is unique as the Alps embrace the valley offering a breathtaking spectacle of natural beauty."

view of La Sacra di San Michele


standing atop La Sacra with a view of the valley below


Lee Anne and Wren on the Stairs of Death (because monks' corpses were once laid out here)


fresco inside the church


carved head - it's over 1,000 years old!


carved statue of Mary


family photo with La Sacra in background

Town of Susa

view of the town of Susa


Arch of Augustus, erected in 8 BC


part of a Roman aquaduct

Not an Italy Post

This one isn't an Italy post. Spring has sprung in Huntsville, AL and my mom sent me pictures to show me how pretty everything is at home. These are pictures of my parents' (used to be my granparents') home. Here in Varese Spring (or Primavera in Italian) is about a month behind.

Outfit from Grammy

21 March 2007

In these pictures, Wren is posing in an outfit given to her by her Grammy Bryant.


Lookin' cute





Sitting in her chair


Tired of sitting in her chair




I have no idea what she's doing!

Germany Trip

Playing in the snow in Vaduz, Lichtenstein


Checking out the bears in Vaduz


Wren and Mommy in Vaduz


Wren loves stairs


Lee Anne and Wren in Munich


Wren also likes to stick out her tongue


The gates at Dachau concentration camp.
The words translate to "Work will make you free."


At Dachau


At our hotel in Garmsich-Partenkirchen, Germany


King Ludwig II's Castle Neushcwanstein
(Cinderella's castle was modeled on this on)


Castle Hohenschwangau
(Boyhood home of Ludwig II and situated just below Neushcwanstein)


Wren's all tuckered out!


A typical painted building in Bavaria
(This one happens to be in Mittenwald)


On a statue in Oberammergau


A nice view from the road


Jason in Innsbruck, Austria

Wildlife in Italy

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Besides pigeons, crows, and a few small birds, one doesn't see a lot of wildlife in Italy. That is why we got so excited over seeing this squirrel out one of our house windows. It's the first squirrel I've seen here since we arrived! I believe it is a European Red Squirrel.

Aosta

Saturday, March 17, 2007

We stayed near Varese this weekend and just took a day trip over to Aosta. Aosta is called the 'Rome of the Alps' because of all the Roman ruins in the area.


Enjoying a fountain in Aosta.


Wren loves to play in the water.


On tiptoes.


Jason in front of the Roman Theatre


The Arco di Augusta dedicated to Caesar Augusto in about 25 BC.

Italian Riviera

Friday, 9 March - Sunday, 11 March
Santa Margherita, Portofino, Rapallo, Genova


Family photo in Portofino

Click here to see my video!

This weekend we drove to the Italian Riviera. We started out our trip by driving about 2.5 hours to Santa Margherita where we had booked our hotel. Santa Margherita is a nice little town on the sea and about 15 minutes down the coast from Portofino. It's a bigger town than Portofino, with more restaurants and hotels. We spent Friday exploring the town and had pizza for dinner in a nice little trattoria across from the harbor.

Saturday we made our way by bus (a ferry runs in the summer) to Portofino and it is just as pretty as I thought it would be. We took a little hike to the church, castle and lighthouse where we had great view of the town. We had a picnic lunch of foccacia while sitting on the ground in front of the boats in the harbor.

Saturday evening we made our way down to Rapallo. Rapallo is a town not nearly as quaint as either Santa Margherita or Portofino. BUT there was a yummy Chinese restaurant there where we had our dinner. It was my first Chinese meal in Italy.

Before heading home on Sunday, we drove to the aquarium in Genova. It is the biggest aquaurium in Europe and while it was nice (and very crowded), I didn't think it beat the Atlanta or Chattanooga aquariums. Wren enjoyed her visit though.


Santa Margherita


Boats in the harbor of Santa Margherita


Portofino is lovely


view from the castle


west side of the Portofino harbor with the Mediterranean sea behind


Gelato is yummy!

at the aquarium

Wren and Daddy


Wren loves her daddy!