The 2 days that I did manage to do some sightseeing brought me to the beautiful city of Heidelberg, which was about 10 minutes from our motel by car. On Friday I was able to stroll down the main shopping street along with Orlando and Leticia (the boys coach and his wife). We also walked along the river and saw the beautiful Heidelberg castle, which is situated on the hillside along the town's edge. Just before we left, there was a gorgeous sunset, which I tried to capture on film, but it just didn't turn out as vibrantly as it looked in person.
On Saturday I went back to Heidelberg by myself to see if I could go inside the castle and catch some more pictures before we left on Sunday morning. It was a beautiful sunny day, but a bit chilly with at least a few inches of snow on the ground. I took an English guided tour of the castle and learned a lot about the history of the place. Of course, having the bad memory that I do, I cannot remember enough to tell you about it here, but I will include a few links so you can learn some accurate facts about the castle.
http://www.visit-heidelberg.com/tours/castle.htm for history
http://www.mediaspec.com/castles/hberg/heidcast.html for room by room tour and old pics of castle
http://www.heidelberg.de/Altstadt-Information/english/Sektor16/Sektor16_schloss.htm more history
Monday, February 28, 2005
Welcome to Deutschland!
We welcomed last Wednesday before sunrise in order to get to the airport on time with the boys/girls basketball teams as well as the cheerleaders for the European Tournament of Champions in Germany. It was a long day of traveling, as we sat in the Rome airport waiting for President Bush to get out of Frankfurt's airport so we could land there. We did get to see Air Force One as we were landing in Frankfurt though!
So, we got to our motel, but soon found that we couldn't check in until 5:00 when the reception desk opened again (it was only 3:30!!), so we scoured the area on foot, in the snow and cold, for a place to eat lunch/dinner, but there was nothing since we were in an industrial area. So, the kids had delivery from some place while the coaches plus Phil and I loaded up into my rental car to drive to the coaches' meeting. Funny thing, no one really knew how to get to the base, so we got lost, as would happen quite a few times that night! We eventually found the place, but then proceeded to get lost on the way back to the hotel and have a flat tire on the Autobond (picture cars whizzing by poor Phil at 100 mph+). We hereafter referred to that day as Day -1, since we all wanted to erase it from our memories as soon as possible!
Days 1,2,3,and 4 were much more uneventful and hardly qualified to be a new title in the "Series of Unfortunate Events" books by Lemony Snicket! The boys played 2 games on Thursday, then qualified to play another game on Friday morning for the chance to play that night. They lost on Friday to the team from Rota, Spain, so they were done playing then. The girls b-ball team played 2 games on Friday (they had a bye the first round), then played for 3rd place on Saturday morning. They lost, so overall they took 4th place. The cheerleaders did not place (at least not 1,2, or 3), but I didn't watch their competition, so they may have come in 4th or 5th, I'm not sure.
Apparently, this was the first time that all the European teams have played in a championship tournament together, so it was a big undertaking, and the kids got to experience teams they had never played before, so that was good for them. They are a great group of kids, and we just had fun getting to know them a lot more!
So, we got to our motel, but soon found that we couldn't check in until 5:00 when the reception desk opened again (it was only 3:30!!), so we scoured the area on foot, in the snow and cold, for a place to eat lunch/dinner, but there was nothing since we were in an industrial area. So, the kids had delivery from some place while the coaches plus Phil and I loaded up into my rental car to drive to the coaches' meeting. Funny thing, no one really knew how to get to the base, so we got lost, as would happen quite a few times that night! We eventually found the place, but then proceeded to get lost on the way back to the hotel and have a flat tire on the Autobond (picture cars whizzing by poor Phil at 100 mph+). We hereafter referred to that day as Day -1, since we all wanted to erase it from our memories as soon as possible!
Days 1,2,3,and 4 were much more uneventful and hardly qualified to be a new title in the "Series of Unfortunate Events" books by Lemony Snicket! The boys played 2 games on Thursday, then qualified to play another game on Friday morning for the chance to play that night. They lost on Friday to the team from Rota, Spain, so they were done playing then. The girls b-ball team played 2 games on Friday (they had a bye the first round), then played for 3rd place on Saturday morning. They lost, so overall they took 4th place. The cheerleaders did not place (at least not 1,2, or 3), but I didn't watch their competition, so they may have come in 4th or 5th, I'm not sure.
Apparently, this was the first time that all the European teams have played in a championship tournament together, so it was a big undertaking, and the kids got to experience teams they had never played before, so that was good for them. They are a great group of kids, and we just had fun getting to know them a lot more!
Monday, February 21, 2005
Trip to Palermo
Buon giorno, tutti!
This weekend Philip was gone to Naples with the boys basketball again, so I decided to get out of the house on Saturday and take a little trip. I went with ITT, which is a company on base that offers day trips and extended trips to anyone. This was a trip to the capitol of Sicily, Palermo. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive on a tour bus. We visited the catacombes of an old church that contained bodies of all the old monks and nuns from the church, as well as people from Palermo who were able to afford such a luxury back then! It was pretty creepy, as some of the bodies had been so well preserved that they still looked alive! Two in particular were a baby girl from the early 1900s and a man who had a full beard on his face still! I took a few pictures, but felt kind of weird about doing so, so I stopped.
Next we drove to Monreale, which is a smaller town attached to Palermo, but more up on a hillside. There was a beautiful Normand Cathedral there from the late 1100s. The inside was glittering due to all the mosiacs created from shiny glass and real gold pieces. It was beautiful! The cathedral also contained the tombs of some Sicilian kings, Roger and William, I think. I guess I should have paid more attention to the guide, but I was busy taking pictures so you all could enjoy the views as well!
From there we drove back into Palermo and toured another cathedral which was also beautiful, with lots of marble carvings. I really don't know too much about that one, but the piazza outside was lovely. We also went to the Massima Opera House, which for all of you Godfather fans, was the backdrop for the scene where the granddaughter gets shot accidentally in the third movie. Very exciting, I'm sure, but as I've never seen the movies, I was just interested in the beauty of the structure. They were currently playing La Boheme.
Lastly, we ate a delicious Sicilian lunch (I had a stuffed swordfish dish--very good) and some cassata, a filled cake with an Arab background that was really sweet. Then we went home. It was a really long, but interesting day. The drive there and back consisted of Kelly green hillsides and snow covered mountains, very beautiful. We also drove under a rainbow for about 10 minutes--I think it was following us!
For basketball, the boys won 1 JV game, but lost both Varsity games:( Hopefully they will play better in Germany this week at the European Championships at Mannheim. Phil and I are both going, and I will be heading to the nearest H&M to load up on spring fashions for both of us (I'll watch a few games, too!:))
Hope you all are having a lovely week! Ciao ciao!
This weekend Philip was gone to Naples with the boys basketball again, so I decided to get out of the house on Saturday and take a little trip. I went with ITT, which is a company on base that offers day trips and extended trips to anyone. This was a trip to the capitol of Sicily, Palermo. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive on a tour bus. We visited the catacombes of an old church that contained bodies of all the old monks and nuns from the church, as well as people from Palermo who were able to afford such a luxury back then! It was pretty creepy, as some of the bodies had been so well preserved that they still looked alive! Two in particular were a baby girl from the early 1900s and a man who had a full beard on his face still! I took a few pictures, but felt kind of weird about doing so, so I stopped.
Next we drove to Monreale, which is a smaller town attached to Palermo, but more up on a hillside. There was a beautiful Normand Cathedral there from the late 1100s. The inside was glittering due to all the mosiacs created from shiny glass and real gold pieces. It was beautiful! The cathedral also contained the tombs of some Sicilian kings, Roger and William, I think. I guess I should have paid more attention to the guide, but I was busy taking pictures so you all could enjoy the views as well!
From there we drove back into Palermo and toured another cathedral which was also beautiful, with lots of marble carvings. I really don't know too much about that one, but the piazza outside was lovely. We also went to the Massima Opera House, which for all of you Godfather fans, was the backdrop for the scene where the granddaughter gets shot accidentally in the third movie. Very exciting, I'm sure, but as I've never seen the movies, I was just interested in the beauty of the structure. They were currently playing La Boheme.
Lastly, we ate a delicious Sicilian lunch (I had a stuffed swordfish dish--very good) and some cassata, a filled cake with an Arab background that was really sweet. Then we went home. It was a really long, but interesting day. The drive there and back consisted of Kelly green hillsides and snow covered mountains, very beautiful. We also drove under a rainbow for about 10 minutes--I think it was following us!
For basketball, the boys won 1 JV game, but lost both Varsity games:( Hopefully they will play better in Germany this week at the European Championships at Mannheim. Phil and I are both going, and I will be heading to the nearest H&M to load up on spring fashions for both of us (I'll watch a few games, too!:))
Hope you all are having a lovely week! Ciao ciao!
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Picture Sharing on the Web
Hi everyone!
I am working on making this a permanent link on our site, but for now I am just going to post our site where pictures can be shared/printed. It is at http://photos.yahoo.com/ajaphilip
I am working on making this a permanent link on our site, but for now I am just going to post our site where pictures can be shared/printed. It is at http://photos.yahoo.com/ajaphilip
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Carnavale, Sicilian Style
Yes folks, sadly all of the carnavale fun and pranks have been swept away like the confetti dotting the streets in every town. There were big carnivals in Acireale, Misterbianco, Adrano, and Catania, but most towns had some little festivities going on as well. Due to rainy weather most of last week, we only made it to the celebration in Catania. Catania was actually celebrating its patron saint, Sant Agata. For 3 days there are processions around the city with the Vara, which is a 16 foot carriage laden with all kinds of treasures that have been given to Sant Agata over the years, as well as a 14th century bust of Sant Agata and her relics. Also included in the processions are the Cannalori, which are really tall wax candles surrounded by a heavy (up to 1500 lbs.) gilded candelabrum wooden structure decorated with statues depicting saints, angels, and scenes depicting the Sant Agata martyrdom. There are 11 all together, each one represented and carried by people from a different city guild, like fishmongers and butchers. We were there late Saturday night (Feb 5th--the day Sant Agata died) from about 12:30 am-4:30 am, but the city was very much alive and celebrating! We caught up to the procession and were smushed into the crowd of people walking along with Sant Agata's carriage. It is pulled by hundreds of people wearing a traditional white tunic, which represents the nightdresses that Catanians wore the night they welcomed the relics of Sant Agata back from Turkey. People come up to the carriage with burning long yellow candles and flowers to be placed onto the carriage to thank Sant Agata for granting their prayers and blessings. Many people walk along the procession carrying the burning candles representing that the saint has granted them the miracle they requested. This is a lifelong practice, and people carry different weighted candles (some up to 350 lbs, but usually about 85lbs) on their shoulders with the wax dripping all over their white or green tunics (white=men, green = women). It was a site to see, and clearly a very emotional and joyous time for Catanians. We tried to stay for the end of the procession when they have to carry Agata's carriage up a very steep street near the Piazza Duomo before putting her back into the church there, but it was getting too late and we were tired. Turns out that didn't happen until about 8:00 the next morning, so we will have to go back next year to see it.
Last night we were invited to another carnavale inspired event, a masquerade ball sponsored by the Fillipino-American group. It was at the Catania Golf Course with a DJ, and picture people--kind of like a prom for adults! It's always good to get out and meet new people all the time--that's what is so great about our life over here b/c we have that opportunity all the time!
http://www.press.sicilia.it/sant_agata_catania.cfm for pictures from the Sant Agata celebrations
http://www.cataniaperte.com/santagata/foto/foto_s_agata.htm for more pictures
http://www.sicily.navy.mil/cgi-bin/thesig_list.cgi for English story, click on Feb. 4th issue, scroll to p. 6
Last night we were invited to another carnavale inspired event, a masquerade ball sponsored by the Fillipino-American group. It was at the Catania Golf Course with a DJ, and picture people--kind of like a prom for adults! It's always good to get out and meet new people all the time--that's what is so great about our life over here b/c we have that opportunity all the time!
http://www.press.sicilia.it/sant_agata_catania.cfm for pictures from the Sant Agata celebrations
http://www.cataniaperte.com/santagata/foto/foto_s_agata.htm for more pictures
http://www.sicily.navy.mil/cgi-bin/thesig_list.cgi for English story, click on Feb. 4th issue, scroll to p. 6
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
