The JimAnna Chronicles

Next stop was the Finnish capital, Helsinki.   This is the Sibelius Monument, or the “Love of Music.”  It’s an abstract work of 600 pipes (like a pipe organ) to commemorate Finland’s greatest composer, Jean Sibelius.  Apparently, the artist only wanted to include the pipes as a monument to the composer, but critics forced her [...]

After Olso, we headed to the furthest Northern point we’ve ever been … inside the Arctic Circle in Norway, and it was very beautiful and well worth the trip.  Although when we first arrived, it threatened to be overcast most of the time, the sun eventually come out.     We based ourselves out of [...]

Over the summer we took a little trip to Scandinavia…  We began our voyage in Olso.  The Norweigan capital was still reeling from the tragedy of the mass murder by a domestic terrorist.     The juxtaposition and symbolism struck me…   One of our first stops was the Norwegian Folk Museum.  This is very [...]

When you think of Provence, does lavender come to mind?  It’s mythic here.  Although it was only introduced to the region in the 1920s, it’s become synonymous with Provence.  When it’s in bloom, it is an impressive site.  Although there are fields near our house, the best we’ve found are in the hill towns of [...]

Back in June (where does the time GO???), we took a short trip to another great wine region … with lots of interesting history and architecture to boot.  It was of course to the iconic Tuscan region. In fact, the trip location was somewhat inspired by a book we read:  “Too Much Tuscan Sun” by [...]

This ticket has the cadet sea of blue in the background.  You can also see the 2011 USAFA Class Crest.  Each crest is loaded with symbolism.  How many items can you pick out?  Here’s what I see:  the graduation year (2011), an eagle, the US Flag, Polaris (the North Star), a sabre (worn by Firsties [...]

After our brief time in the mountains of Colorado, we got to business (=lots of meetings).  It was fun to be back at USAFA.  Some things have really changed (a lot more security) and others are identical (most of the buildings).  What surprised me the most was the flood of emotions I felt.  I hadn’t [...]

The French Air Force decided to send a group of us to Colorado to watch the graduation ceremony.  Since there is an annual semester exchange between our schools (in addition to a number of short term visits), we also used the visit as a chance to meet counterparts, set up and maintain relationships.  Overall, it [...]

We were able to spend an amazing day in Sicily with our guide … Paolo Piana. However, before we arrived, we woke up to a beautiful view of Mt Etna.  In fact, this was the best view we had of the most active volcano in Europe.   We started out in the Catania’s UNESCO-worthy Piazza [...]

Although the weather wasn’t great, we had a nice time in Palma de Mallorca. This is the Rambla dels Ducs de Palma.  Not quite as big as Barcelona’s, but still very interesting.   We stumbled on an art show while we were there.  I liked this white marble eyeball.   This is the view of [...]