04 October 2014 | Lake Como, Italy
25 September 2014 | Tuscany, Italy
20 September 2014 | Caen, France
17 September 2014 | Barcelona, Spain
04 September 2014 | Cork, Ireland
15 August 2014 | Scotland
24 July 2014 | Laren Netherlands
13 July 2014 | Obernai France
13 July 2014 | Obernai France
11 July 2014 | Obernai, France
07 July 2014 | Kitzbuhel Austria
05 July 2014 | Kitzbuhel Austria
08 June 2014 | Lake Anna Virginia
26 May 2014 | Charleston, South Carolina
A Final Farewell
04 October 2014 | Lake Como, Italy
Claire Nehrboss
"With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling we shall not cease from exploration and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
T. S. Eliot
How does one summarize so many months. One adventure after another. Ah! well, after all, it would take too much space and too many words. And, of course, would not be needed. A short description cannot pay it respect, but...here we are closing a long trip. And one for which we are all thankful.
As before, thank you all for following the blog to the end!
And...I have no more words to add.
"The rest is silence."
Three Days in Rome
25 September 2014 | Tuscany, Italy
Claire Nehrboss
It was three solid days of sightseeing in Rome with absolutely no internet and no way to post updates. All of us are loving Italy, and Rome was amazing. In most cities the old is seperated from the new with a modern part and an old town. In Rome, not so. Ancient ruins abide right under your feet as you walk about. There are only two underground subway paths because every time they try to build more they run into some of those annoying Roman ruins from before Christ. And, rising by itself is the Vatican. St. Peter's basilica. We were lucky enough to see Pope Francis speak in the square outside.
We also visited the Colosseum encircled by a busy modern roundabout. It is very different to be driving down the road and-oh-there's the Collosseum. The Roman Forum, in the middle of the new city, is only a part of excavated ancient Rome. Unbelievable.
We saw St. Peters chains in a church there. Mom loved that!
And the cute Italian sidestreets were very fun.
Imagine gladiators dueling behind us in the picture!
Caen
20 September 2014 | Caen, France
Claire Nehrboss
As Dad says Caen is the best place to do nothing. Which I think we were all pretty much ready for before heading on to Rome. It is wealthy tourist town by the Mediterranean-the Riviera. The water and ocean reminds us quite a bit of the boating days. Fun memories!
All the Way to Spain
17 September 2014 | Barcelona, Spain
Claire Nehrboss
Since the ferry, we have been going nonstop! Within a few days, we blew through Paris and are already in Barcelona. Tons of sightseeing with no pause.
In Paris, we saw the Louvre, to which I was particularly partial. We all found that we liked the other paintings there just as much as the Mona Lisa, and there were old Greek and Roman statues that we enjoyed. We walked from the Louvre down the two kilometer pedestrian path to the Arc de Triumph ( don't know if I am spelling that right) from which we looked down on the city. The arch is main point where all the roads spin away. The next we mounted the Eiffel tower to see the "city of lights". It was a spectacular sight with the Seine river a huge dark strip amongst the dotted, bright landscape. Like on the Hope town lighthouse, you felt removed from the bustle of the crowds as you looked over them. As though everything was small-even the massive city.
We rented a house on the outscirts of Paris. I loved it. A farm house! It had two horses a smaller brown one with a white blaze and a very large black one. Also a dog, cat, and a litter of four kittens. I was able to take care of the animals and ride the horses. Although I could only catch the brown one once. A time where I was bucked off ( they hadn't been ridden in a long time). I only wish I was able to catch them more than once. It made me miss my horse.
Next, we moved on to Barcelona in Spain where we are now. Basicly, we walked around an older part of town called the Gothic District. A pedestrian area. Honestly, I was expecting the dining to be a bit like Mexican. I could not have been more wrong. Not really any burritos-no fajitas-just, not Mexican. Topas though. These are kind of like a buffet of little appetizers with tooth picks inside each. You can have as many as you want, and, at the end, the waiter counts the tooth picks and charges for each one. It is a fun twist on the dining experience.
Tomorrow we head to Cean which Dad liked emensly last time he was there.
(I did cheat again on the picture. But it is still the Eiffel tower whether we took it or not!)
AdiĆ³s Amigos!
Down South
04 September 2014 | Cork, Ireland
Claire Nehrboss
While driving down to Cork from our apartment near Belfast, we were able to visit Dublin and Trinity college. In the campus, was the Book of Kells. The first record of the gospel John from 700 A.D. Most amazing! However, they didn't allow pictures so I can't post one (Sorry Aunt Kitster!)
School started for us, and we are taking hours in the morning to get as much done as possible!
The Giant's Causeway
27 August 2014 | Ireland
Claire Nehrboss
Long ago, along the coast of Northern Ireland, lived a giant whose name was Finn. This giant was happy with his wife and large home not to mention the beautiful scenery off of the cliffs, but another giant-a Scottish giant-repeatedly attacked him. Hurling rocks and doing other things giants do when they attack people. Eventually Finn grew weary and angry with (Honestly I can't pronounce the other giant's name let alone spell it so he will be called Giant#2 for the rest of the fable) Giant#2 and built a causeway right across the ocean to Scotland.
The fury of a giant is not to be trifled with by any measure.
Finn was ready to fight. He crossed the causeway all the way to Ireland, determined that Giant#2 endure the fury of Finn the Giant. Well, upon seeing the mighty strength and height of his opponent, Finn decided his plan was not quite thought out correctly and he fled all the way back to Ireland.
But Giant#2 had found Finn's causeway; this giant saw fit that Finn now endure his wrath; and he set out across the ocean.
Finn was terrified, and he went to his wife and explained how, after all those rocks that had crashed next to them, their attacker was now pursuing him by means of his own causeway.
But Finn's wife was a giantess-an Irish giantess, and she was rather smart for a giant. She fit a bonnet over her husband's head and wrapped him up in a blanket; then, lying him down, she waited.
When Giant#2 finally came crashing over the sea and ran up to their house, he demanded that the wife show him her husband for he was going to kill him. Finn's wife explained that her husband was out at the moment with his three brothers. But she told him, "Don't wake the baby."
Giant#2 looked upon Finn who was dressed as an infant and turned and ran back the way he had come. He was not staying in the house of his enemy who had a fifty foot baby. All the way back to Scotland he ran and tore up the causeway as he went. And, so, the Giant's Causeway is now a worldwide tourist attraction.
That is the story of the sight we saw today. It is quite amazing if you look up some pictures on the Internet. (The one I have here we didn't take ourselves. Yes, I cheated!)
And for those of you who can't believe in Finn's story, I'll tell you an even less believable one. It is a formation of stone formed by volcano abruptions.
But, come, which is more interesting!