Referral Day Anniversary

One year ago, on the night ofFriday, 25 August 2006, we received the call that told us all about little Chong Si Hui. Shortly after, we received an email with a picture of her. Look how she's grown!
THEN
August 2006


NOW
August 2007

Poland

10 August - 20 August 2007

August is a traditional time to take vacations in Italy (and in many other European countries) and many businesses are closed during this time. As Jason's company was closed for two weeks, we took the opportunity to spend ten days in Poland. We landed in Krakow on Friday around lunch time and we spent the afternoon and the evening exploring the city. On Saturday, we saw more of Krakow and then took a bus out to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. We went there because it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We finished up our time in Krakow with a bus trip out to Auschwitz and Berkenau Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camps. We left Krakow and took the train to Warsaw. It was our least favorite city but we are still glad we got to see it. One really only needs a full day to see everything. After Warsaw, we took another train to Gdansk which is located in the north of Poland on the coast. It was very crowded there as it is a popular tourist destination. It was a very attractive town. Our final stop in Poland was Poznan. Even though it didn't have as many historical sites, it was our favorite town. It had a nice feel with pretty architecture and it really felt like we were in authentic Poland as opposed to a tourist destination. We ended our trip by taking a final train trip to Krakow and flying back out to Italy.

Krakow, Aug. 10-12

Wren at the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill in Krakow


Wren and Mommy on a Krakow street


The interior of St. Mary's Church in Krakow


Jason outside the yummy Krakow pierogi restaurant called Vincent's Palette


The Chapel of Saint Kinga in the Wielicska Salt Mine. Everything is carved out of the salt - even the chandeliers are salt!


A salt carving of the Last Supper in the salt mine


Auschwitz Concentration Camp


Auschwitz Concentration Camp


Berkenau Concentration and Extermination Camp


Warsaw, Aug. 13-14

The Old Market Square in Warsaw


Wren & Mommy in a Warsaw pierogi restaurant


Wren really got into carrying the backpack!


Jason in front of the Warsaw Tortilla Factory.

Gdansk, Aug. 15-16

The medieval port crane in Gdansk is the symbol of the city.


The Long Embankment in Gdansk is a very popular promenade.


Wren and Daddy in Gdansk


Pozan, Aug. 17-18

The picturesque square in Poznan as seen from our hotel window


Poznan Town Hall


These goats come out every day at noon at butt heads twelve times. It's a big attraction and crowds gather each day to watch them.


One of the four fountains in the Poznan town square.


Lee Anne's Angels

Padova (with stops for The Last Supper and Sirmione)

Friday, July 27 - Sunday, July 29, 2007



On Friday we had tickets to see Leonardo da Vinci's Last Super in Milan. Since we were planning to go Padova over the weekend, we drove the car and parked it at a metro station on the outskirts of the city and rode the train in. The fresco was so much bigger than I thought it was going to be and it was quite a moving experience to see it in real life. Since no photos are allowed, I had to rely on stock photos from the internet to post here. One photo I found was of a filming crew in front of the fresco and I hope this shows the size of the painting.


(If you put your mouse on the slideshow and then click the little white box on the left, you can read the captions. Alternatively, if you click directly on the slideshow, you will be taken to our picasa webpage where you can see larger images.)

After seeing the Last Supper, we took the train back to our car and headed to Padova (in English it is Padua). We were going to Padova to see the Scrovegni Chapel, which contains a fresco cycle by the artist Giotto depicting the life of Jesus and Mary. It is one of the most important masterpieces of Western art. Again, we were not allowed to take pictures so I relied on photos from the internet. In fact, we were hardly allowed to take photos of the inside any of the sites we visited in Padova.

On Sunday on our way home, we stopped in Sirmione. Sirmione is a small town located on a small peninsula in Lago Gardo. It is known as the pearl of Lake Garda. It is a resort area and so was over run by people since we were there on a summer Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiflu place though.

We had a great weekend and we are looking foward to our next trip which is to Poland.


Map of Lake Garda


Sirmione

Stockholm, Sweden

Friday, July 20 - Monday, July 23, 2007

We had a nice summer holiday in Stockholm this past weekend. The cool weather was such a nice break from the hot weather of Italy. While we found Stockholm to be fairly expensive, the city was beautiful and there was so much to do! Plus, because it is so far north, it stayed light until about 11pm. We would love to go back and see the rest of the country one day but for now, the capital was a good start.


Family photo in front of Drottningholm Palace.
The Drottningholm Palace is on UNESCO´s World Heritage list and was built in the 1600s. The current Swedish royal family uses this palace as their main home.


view of Stockholm


The Vasa warship was complete in 1628 and sunk after sailing only a mile into her maiden voyage. She was salvaged in 1961.


Detail of the Vasa. She was 95% complete when raised.


Lunch outside the Vasamuseet (Vasa Museum)


A traditional farming house from the 19th century preserved at Skansen, an open air folk museum that preserves the heritage of Sweden.


Petting the goats at Skansen.


Wren learned that a goat says maaa and a sheep says baaa!


Folk dancers at Skansen


This wooden statue of St. George and the Dragon is the most famous treasure in Saint Nicolaus Cathedral. It supposedly contains the relics of St. George and two other saints. The cathedral is more commonly known as Storkyrkan.


Jason and Wren near Storkyrkan and the Royal Palace of Stockholm. The Royal Palace is the palace situated in the city of Stockholm though the current royal family lives mostly at Drottningholm Palace.


The royal box in Tyska Kyrkan, the German church of Stockholm.


Interesting art on an island in Stockholm.


A view of Stockholm. The brown building on the left is the Vasa Museum and the big building with the spire is the Nordiska Museet.


Jason in one of the many cool, artsy metro stations in Stockholm.


Momma getting a big hug in front of a large lion in the Historiska Museet (Museum of National Antiquities).


Wren on a rainy and chilly day.

Ravenna, Rimini, and San Marinio

July 14-15, 2007

This weekend we took a little overnight trip to Ravenna, Rimini and San Marino. Our main destination was Ravenna to see the 1,500 year old Byzantine mosaics. We LOVED Ravenna! It is a great little town. We went to Rimini and San Marino because they were close to Ravenna. Rimini is a seaside destination but we went there because Jason wanted to see the Roman arch (Arch of Augustus built in 27 B.C) and the Roman bridge (Tiberius' Bridge from the 1st century A.D.). San Marino interested us because it is the third smallest country in Europe (only Vatican City and Monaco are smaller). All three places were about an hour away from each other.


The Basilica di San Vitale is the most famous site in Ravenna. It was completed in 548 A.D.


Mosaics in the Basilica di San Vitale in Ravenna.


Inside the Basilica


Detail of the Dome


The Mausoleum of Galla Placida dates from 430 A.D.


Inside the Mausoleum of Galla Placida.


Mosaics of the Mausoleum of Galla Placida. It dates from 430 A.D.


Mosaic of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, with his flock in the Mausoleum of Galla Placida.


the Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo dates from the mid 500s A.D.


Mosaics in the Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo.


Dante's Tomb is in Ravenna


A kitty on a sarcophagus in Ravenna



The Mausoleum of Theodoric was built in 520 as the tomb for Theodoric the Great. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 because it is a rare example of an early Christian monument in the Gothic style that owes its design to neither Roman or Byzantine influences.


The Basilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe which is in Classe, a town just outside Ravenna, dates from the mid 500s A.D.


Mosaics in a the Basilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe which is just outside Ravenna. It dates from the mid 500s A.D.


detail of moaic - I really liked the sheep which represent the 12 disciples


Arch of August in Rimini


Tiberius' Bridge


San Marino


a view from San Marino