Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you have a wonderful day filled with family and friends.



We plan to share the evening with our English neighbors Phil and Gail Thompson, their children Jasper and Mia and dog Amy. On December 27th we head off to England for nine days.

Rothenburg and Nuremburg, Germany

20 December - 23 December 2007


Wren in Rotenburg

We spent a few days in Rothenburg, Germany just before Christmas. It was beautiful. The town is just like a postcard! We also drove over to Nuremburg for the day and visited their Christmas market. It was a very nice one but soooo crowded AND COLD!!! The drive down the Romantic Road was so scenic - especially because everything was coated in frost as far as they eye could see.




City gates of Rotenburg


Lee Anne and Wren in front of fountain in Rotenburg


Sweet girl


Wren and Jason in the town square

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This picture was too weird to pass up. We were driving down the road behind this hay truck and there were all these gloves in back - like it had ground up lots of people!


A pretty scene on the Romantic Road


An old chapel on the Romantic Road


Frost on a tree


Another pretty town on the Romantic Road


A pretty view on the Romantic Road

Tuscany and Umbria

12 December - 16 December 2007


The Tuscan Countryside

Tuscany was wonderful, beautiful - I loved it!!! This was my third time to the visit the Tuscany area. The first time was back in 2002 with Jason but we didn't have a car so we only visited Florence, Siena, Pisa and Lucca as they were easy to get to by train. The second time was in early November when I went with my mom and aunt. On this visit, some of the places we went to were Assisi, Deruta, San Gimignano, Volterra, Monteriggioni, Montalcino and the Chianti area.


Another beautiful Tuscan view


Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi at night


Piazza Inferiore di San Francesco at the Basilica of St. Franics


Basiclica of St. Franics by day (this is not our photo)


Inside the Basilica (not our photo)


View of Assisi from the town


View of the Basilica from the town below


Cutie-pie


A view from one of the fourteen towers in San Gimignano


Wren and Jason at the well in Piazza Cisterna in San Gimignano (our hotel is right behind them)


Piazza Cisterna at night with Christmas decorations - San Gimignano


Jason looking up at one of the towers in San Gimignano


Medieval Fountain in San Gimignano


The family at a restaurant in San Gimignano


Volterra (not our photo)


Roman ruins in Volterra


Etruscan Gate in Volterra (it is the oldest one standing)


Monteriggioni is a perfect, tiny, walled Tuscan hill town.


Abbey ruins


Abbey ruins from afar


This is our ghost picture. It was taken inside an abbey where a medieval sword in a stone is perserved. Jason was taking a picture of the beehived ceiling.


Wren riding in style (in outfit from the Allbees)

The Matterhorn

December 1&2, 2007



We had a free weekend with nothing planned and I decided I wanted to see some snow. So, we headed off to the Swiss Alps. We stayed in the small skiing town of Saas=Fee, a town not too far from Zermatt (home of the Matterhorn). The only problem was that there was NO SNOW! Okay, there was snow on the mountains - I believe it is glacial and that it is possible to ski most of the year there - but there was no snow in the town. So my hopes of building a giant snowman and making snow angels with Jason and Wren in a beautiful snowy field were dashed. It just never turns out the way I imagine it. :-) Also, we FORGOT our camera and had to settle for a disposable one - which we haven't had developed as of yet. But despite the lack of snow and camera, the scenery was beautiful and it helped get me into the Christmas spirit. Plus, it was wonderful to see the Matterhorn. While I was aware that there were no cars allowed in the village of Saas-Fee (after parking the car in the lot outside town, one either walks or is driven in a small electric buses type vehicle similar to golf cart), I didn't know that visitors aren't allowed to drive into Zermatt. We parked our car at the train station in the town of Tasch (about 3 miles from Zermatt) and took the scenic ride up to the town with all the other visitors and their skis. The trains have special ski cars where there is seating on the ends and places for sport equipment in the middle. While waiting for our photos, I've decided to post a few stock ones found on the internet. Oh yeah, and it did snow a bit on Saturday night. It started while we were eating dinner and continued most of the evening. It was beautiful to walk home in. EXCEPT WREN HATED IT!!! She didn't like it falling on her face and she screamed the whole way back to the hotel even though she was bundled up in the muff in her stroller with the rain hood pulled over her.


Saas-Fee with lots of snow


Saas-Fee with no snow


Train to Zermatt


Zermatt


Zermatt

Granada, Cordoba, Gibraltar

21-24 November 2007



We spent 3 days in Spain seeing Granada and Cordoba and then another day exploring Gibraltar. Lee Anne's favorite thing of the whole trip was the Mezquita in Cordoba. It is the most beautiful religious building she's ever seen!

Click on the box in the left hand corner of the slideshow to read the picture captions.

Happy Birthday Wren!

24 November 2007



Wren turned two on Sunday, 24 November and we had a little party at home with just us three. Here are some pictures of her big day.


Happy Birthday to me!


a brownie cake - yummy


Can i blow it out yet?


Thanks Little Family for my travel magna doodle...


...and my new big girl night gown and robe.


Thanks for my DVD Sissy. This one is "How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?" And the Capozzi's gave me this great tea set that I just love! Oh yeah, and Mommy and Daddy gave me the table and chairs.

Elba, Italy

16-18 November 2007

Another great weekend! This time we drove down to Elba (well, we took a ferry over from the mainland after we drove down).

Paris

9-11 November 2007

We left the an hour after my mother and aunt departed and spent a weekend in Paris. It was great to see all the sights. We also had some yummy Indian food, Pizza Hut, and Subway! Sometimes we really miss the USA!

A visit from Sissy and Sheila (and Halloween)

Oct. 30 - Nov. 9

Sissy and Aunt Sheila visited for almost two weeks and we had so much fun. We went to Lago d'Orta, Milan, Bolzano, Verona, Assisi, Siena, San Gimignano, Volterra, and a few other Tuscan hill towns. I'll have some more pictures when I can get copies from my mom.