Easter in Rome

After the weekend with David and Laura, we took a tour with Interra Reisen
and went to the sites below over an extended Easter weekend. The trip
had a grueling pace, but we got to see lots in a short amount of time!

Sites visited on the tour:

6 Apr: Pisa[flickr][Wiki]

We actually got started on the trip the day before, late on the 5th of Apr. We climbed aboard the bus around 10 pm for a rough night's rest. I didn't understand why, but the driver made us get out a time or two during the night, so there we were in the middle of the night, stumbling around some deserted rest stops. When we finally arrived in Pisa we were somewhat rested, but we didn't have time to worry about that. When we arrived, it was a beautiful day, but we only had 90 minutes before we had to meet to go back to the bus... Start speed walking and take a few quick photos and get back! The next available tour up the tower was over thee hours later, so that wasn't an option. We were glad that we were able to spend more time there when we visited in 2006. Most of the photos on the flickr set are actually from that visit when we had more time to wander and explore. One of the neat things we saw (or perhaps heard!) then was in the basilica. Since it was round and solid stone interior, sounds would reverberate for seconds. Our guide sang a few notes and made a wonderful harmony with himself!

7 Apr: Rome[flickr][wiki]

Reluctantly, we boarded the bus and spent the afternoon driving down to Rome. We arrived about sunset and didn't do any sight-seeing that day, but welcomed the sheets of a real bed without road noise and plenty of legroom! It was spectacular to see Michelangelo's Moses at the top of the hill and then walked past where Nero's palace was down to the Colloseum, after which we went to the St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. That was the rally point go get into the line to go to the Vatican Museum where with the highlight being the Sistine Chapel. The museum was remarkable... Though much of the art contained within gave glory to God, I thought more of the collection was an expression of human excess and greed.

8 Apr: Pompeii[Flickr][Wiki]



8 Apr: Sorrento and Capri[Flickr][Wiki]



9 Apr: Florence[Flickr][Wiki]

In florence, we visited the Accademia Gallery where Michelangelo's David is on display. After that, we wandered around the city and ended up up at Michelangelo's Sqaure, so I guess it was quite the day for Mike!

IBC AWANA 2007 End of Year

Whew! We made it! We had a great year with AWANAs at IBC this year. Here was a video that I made for the end of year celebration.

Visiting David and Laura in France

We finally got around to visiting my cousin David and his lovely wife Laura and kids Max and Corina. They have a lovely home in Meylan, France.

While we were there, we wandered abit in Grenoble[city][Wiki]. We took the "Bubbles" up to La Bastille on the hillside overlooking the valleys and mountians. It was spectacular! And saw couple of churches and the kids got to burn out some energy on some stylish self-propelled cariages.

Above their house is Fort Du Saint Eynard, with a commanding and thrilling view of the valley and mountian ranges all around. Unfortunately, the fort itself was closed, but trails around it were worth the effort.