Italian Insects in our backyard

Ciao tutti!  We had a request for photos of bugs in our backyard.  Because the Net is an entomologist in training, we are constantly seeing bugs of one sort or another.  In addition to insects, we see toads, snakes, field mice, Osprey, moles, woodpeckers, bluejays, ravens, great herons and most recently crawdads.  That's right, Louisiana exported the little buggers to Italy a number of years ago and we have living proof (see below).  We hope you enjoy the photos.  I'm pretty sure he took all these pictures.  He spent one day on his belly for two hours waiting to get a good shot of a lizard looking at a butterfly (see below).  That's dedication for your.  A presto!

Paris day 5 - Au Revoir

All good things must come to an end.  And so it was for our last days in France.  Having visited all the major sites, we were missing Versailles.  I was not prepared for anything but I was blown away by the size, luxury, and expanse housed at this former Palace of King Louis the XIV.  I don't know that I can put into words the impressive nature of the things we visited.  For me the hall of mirrors was the neatest room to visit because of its historical significance.  Many major historical events took place here to include the signing of the peace treaty of world war I.  We hoped for nice weather but as you'll see, it was cold.  Between the cold and trying to find a bathroom for Rosa to use on the extreme opposite side of the grounds almost a mile from the main palace, it was an interesting visit.  I searched high and low and finally found someone to tell me where a bathroom was and thanks to a worker's kindness he allowed Rosa in to use the bathroom (I chaperoned of course).  Thankfully she made it...barely.  Enjoy the happy snaps.

Here's the Net and his best friend J with the Palace of
Versailles in the background.  

Here's how we felt after running our legs off in Paris! 

This lovely area is part of Marie Antoinette's small-ish
mansion far from the main palace.  This is a connecting hallway.

This is by far one of the most fancy clocks I've seen in Europe.
Note the gold trim on the building.  They were applying this
to the entire facade the day we were there.  It gave it
a very regal look.    

This is one view of the Hall of Mirrors...as I mentioned above, it was quite impressive to me.   

Some of our group was impressed with this
hall...and at least one was not...Rosa!  Bless
her soul she really was a super trooper given
how much we dragged her all over Paris.
Well done Rosa!   

Paris Days 3 & 4

Hello all,
I apologize for being dreadfully behind on the blog...8 months!!  We've been pretty busy buzzing around Europe trying to soak it all in.  It's not easy to plan a major vacation almost monthly.  It takes time and energy.  I hope our photos will speak to the grand time we had in Paris on days 3 & 4.  One note, on day 3 Songbird got sick so a small contingent had to go back to the apartment.  This meant it gave me a chance to do a quick trial run to see L'arc de triomphe, Champs Elysees, the Luxor Obelisk and the Orangerie after the Rodin Museum because the Journalist wanted to see all the same stuff. Sometimes it's really nice to go to an art museum to only see one or two major works instead of trying to read everything. On day 4 we were blessed to connect with our old friends in Paris...we had seen them at Disney on day 2.  We visited Notre Dame, climbed all the crazy stairs to the top with 12 children in tow, went to see Sant Chappelle which was closed and finished at The Orsay where we saw some beautiful Renoir works.  Unfortunately, taking photos was not allowed.  

The front of Notre Dame in Paris.

Notre Dame from inside.

Songbird and E were happy to get to hang out together.

Notre Dame has tons and tons of lovely stained glass.  

I really liked the silhouette framed against the window.
Do you know who it is? 

The net enjoyed the church although I think
he was more impressed with the Rodin and
even more impressed with the chocolate-filled
crepes of Paris.

Here's a lovely shot from atop Notre Dame overlooking
some of Paris.

Believe it or not we took all these little people up the stairs.
There were 387 steps to the top of the south tower.
This was a great way to warm up since it was
quite cold that day.

This little sweetheart was a trooper!  

Being in Paris, the Journalist thought it was a good idea to
try real French bread from a local bakery.  We also tried
some other treats that were quite tasty. 

We had to take this shot of
Deep thinker and Le Penseur.  If you've
ever hung around Deep Thinker, you'll understand.

Here the Net poses in front of L'arc de Triomphe.
It provided lovely views of the infamous Champs Elysees.
I have to admit this visit was quite anti climatic
after the Eiffel Tower.  

Pianogurl was quite interested in seeing the Luxor Obelisk.
The architecture in the surrounding area is fantastic
but the traffic super busy.
We also saw Monet's "Water Lilies"
at the Orangerie.  These are huge 8 foot tall
paintings in two different rooms.  He put them together
section by section.   They were very pretty even for a
colorblind guy (me).


Did you figure out who the silhouette was in the photo above?

St. George slaying the dragon.  If you look closely,
you'll see the hilt of his sword.
  

  

Paris Day 2 - short and sweet

We decided to celebrate Rosa's birthday in Paris.  Yes, she's so spoiled and no, it wasn't actually her exact birthday but close enough!  The photos are few but they tell a great story.  The night before day 2 started Rosa said she wanted to stay in the apartment and not go out at all!  The Journalist convinced her to listen to a plan and then decide.  The below photos detail her reaction.   You must know that we enjoy "chasers" - gifts that require you to think, go find and then understand.  Rosa's gift was a great chaser.

A simple box of candy hearts?!
Rosa was not enthused about this at all!

If you notice, Minnie Mouse was on the box.
Here we asked Rosa where Minnie Mouse lives.
She responded Disneyland and then...

Aha!! Disneyland is in Paris too!

We're planning to go to Disney Paris!!

Rosa really enjoyed the rides.  Here she enjoys "It's a Small World."

We were lucky enough to have our good friends
to guide us throughout the day.   The fireworks
ended a super fun day. 

Cake and a French Happy Birthday song at a
restaurant near Disney was great.  The cake was tasty
(ice cream insides with a cake-ish layer on the outside).

With an hour-long train ride back to the apartment,
Rosa concluded a super fun, super long birthday.  

Paris Day 1...Wow!

After some crazy traffic through the heart of Paris (thanks GPS...Italy driving is tame by comparison), we arrived to our 6th floor 300 ft squared apartment.  You read correctly...really small but it worked.  Church was great, a lot of French, a good bit of English and very kind people.  I admit my French was rusty, but it was fun trying to communicate.  We visited a lovely church on a hill Sunday afternoon with a beautiful view of Paris.  Then we started the gauntlet on Monday.  Itinerary? The Louvre, Napoleon's tomb, and the Eiffel Tower.  Why not start with a bang?

Napoleon's coronation was quite impressive and just plain huge!
This was probably 25 feet x 35 feet I'd guess.

Here the kids were fighting over...oh! Just kidding.
Note the clarity of this renaissance masterpiece.

The Net poses just as this French military officer does...well sort of.

Joan of Arc was lovely in this work.  FYI, the Louvre's signs are all in French.
So enjoy the art, learn French and enjoy some more.

We were pretty sure this marble sculpture
was trying to get better cell reception.

We saw tons of small statues of this ancient Asian figure.

The Lamasu, a protective deity, was popular in
Sargon II's time.

Pianogirl really enjoyed the Egyptian sections of the museum

Of course, Venus de Milo was a must see even if she could use a shirt.

Napoleon's tomb was really huge!  9 layers of coffin!
The boys really liked the small, historical figures seen here. 

Napoleon's tomb also housed a huge military museum.  Very cool.
I really liked the light this window cast.

Here is most of the crew waiting to get on the elevator
to go up the Eiffel Tower.

Songbird really did like the view...the heights were staggering.

Here on the highest level, Deep Thinker pauses for a picture.
The wind was incredibly cold and strong.

We were lucky to get to the top at dusk.
It was super neat to see Paris light up.

The tower lights up at night every hour on the hour...
again our timing was great and unintentional.

Just across the bridge from the Eiffel tower was a great Creperie.
These hot, tasty treats were probably the best ones we ate in Paris.