Month: August 2010

Anna, X and I had the pleasure of going home to the US for a couple weeks in July. We were there for two reasons. First (and most importantly), my cousin Chad and his fiancée Andrea were getting married (AKA the Chadrea wedding). Plus, we wanted to introduce Alexander James to his family and friends in the area.

While I am still working on the images from the wedding, there are a handful from two different trips to “northern” Wisconsin that are ready to be posted. The first was a trip to the Miller family cabin, and the second to Uncle David’s home with a stop to our good friend Coree’s cabin nearby. Unfortunately, since I was busy talking and catching up with everyone while we were staying in Southeastern Wisconsin, I don’t have any images from that time. Nonetheless, and without further ado, here are the images from “Up North.”

Grandma Chris and X got along famously.  Of course, she was there for his birth, so they are well acquainted.

Grandma Chris and Auntie Sarah playing with X, while Grandpa Mark watches.

Mom and X by the side of the cabin… in great afternoon light. As you can see, he loves to raise his eyebrows.  Don’t know who that looks like!

Auntie Sarah modeling the light.Her sparkling blues provide great contrast to the red paint, don’t you think?

X wasn’t quite as fond of the light.  He prefers to keep his right eye closed a little … just like Dad.

When facing away from the sun, X was happy as can be to watch Auntie Sarah.

Still not happy with that bright thing off to the left…

Here we are…

Grandma Chris and Anna hanging out on the dock of the cabin.  It’s a very cute, quiet location … great for kayaking, fishing (even if you don’t catch anything with the best night crawlers), and of course watching movies.  I’ve heard the winters can be equally nice in the snow.  We’ll see.  Although this was my first visit (finally!), I look forward to going back many times in the future.

Now, further up north … on to Uncle David’s beautiful home.

X took his first fishing trip with Mom.  Although the pair didn’t catch anything, don’t they look cute??

Even when he wasn’t fishing, he liked just chillin’ on the boat.

X and Anna hanging out on the chair at Coree’s place.

Uncle David, X, Anna and I decided to take a little hike around his place.  Turns out X loves hiking.  So much so, he falls asleep nearly every time (this one no exception).

Walking down the road.

The three of us over the pretty Teal River Flowage.

X and I by the North Home sign (in Norwegian).

Ok, the next post will have images from the Chadrea Wedding.   🙂  Stay tuned!

–Jim

I am going to begin this post with an image of Anna and the two soon-to-be Grandmothers.  The image was made on the 9th, just a few days before Alexander’s arrival.

Since you have already seen Alexander’s first few days, I’ll skip to his first trip (Arles).  If you haven’t seen his first few days, here’s that post http://jimanna.com/2010/06/announcing-alexander-james

Although tough to discern from this image, it’s the top of the Roman Amphitheater in Arles, known as Arènes d’Arles in French.  The yellow, lichen covered stone are the top of the arches of the amphitheater.

This is the commanding view looking out over the city toward the Rhône River.

Another view of the arches that is a little easier to discern.

Other side.

A second city/river view.  This is near where Van Gogh painted several of his famous works in 1888 such as, “Starry Night Over the Rhone” and “Café Terrace at Night,” but more on that café later.

You can see how withered the rock is.  Of course, that’s not surprising since it was built in the first century of the current era, just a few years after the Colosseum in Rome was built (around 80 C.E.).  It was initially used for chariot races, and gladiatorial fights.  After the fall of the empire, it was converted into a walled fortress for a couple hundred homes.  It remained that way until the early 19th century, when it was returned to it’s original state.  Then, it was (and still is) used for bull fights, concerts and other large events.

As you can tell, it’s a large forum and can hold up to 20,000 people.  A bull fight here apparently made a large impact on our painter, Van Gogh.  After presumably seeing a bull fight, he re-created the scene in his painting, Les Arènes.  This was just before he cut his ear off.  Some speculate he used the example of a matador cutting the bull’s ear off as an example.  I’m not so sure…

Pretty pink flowers with the tricoleur in the background.

Pieces of columns from the partially collapsed Roman Theater in Arles … just down the road.  Although these columns aren’t, the theater is still in use today.

Here is what it looks like today.  Talk about a historic venue!

France is known for it’s random acts of romanticism and Arles is no exception.  This couple seemed to spontaneously stop, kiss, then carry on as if nothing happened.  Delightful!

The Arles city hall, complete with fallic, I mean historic, obelisk.  It was erected by Constantine II, who was also born in Arles, in the 4th century.

This is the courtyard of the former hospital in Arles … and another site of a couple Van Gogh paintings.

A random street in Arles.

This is the Van Gogh Café … guess what happened here?  Yep, still another famous painting.

So, that concluded our time in Arles.  You may ask why we don’t have any pictures of little Alexander on his first outing.  Well, that’s because he was sleeping through almost all of it.  Not to worry, there will be plenty more for him in the future.  Perhaps even a few that he’ll remember.

So, until the next outing…

–Jim

OK, we are getting closer to caught up.  🙂  These images are from April and May.

These first images are from beautiful port town of Cassis.

This is a view from a boat of the Cap Canaille.  It’s a staggering cliff that rises nearly 400 meters above the sea and is one of the highest cliffs in Europe.

Another view of the cliff.

After seeing this amazing bluff as we exited the port, we came to the Calanques of Cassis.  These are sorta like smaller versions of fjords.  They are very impressive and are reachable by either boat or hiking.  We opted for boatng this time, but next time, we’d like to hike in.

This picture doesn’t do the sheer rise of the cliffs justice, but at least it’s a start.

Back in port with the restaurant lined harbor.

The town Cassis is not to be confused with the French word for blackcurrent berries (also Cassis), from which happens to be a popular Burgundian drink, crème de cassis (and part of a Kir Royale).  This Cassis is a small town of about 7,000 inhabitants.  There are a few who fished (witnessed by this little boat), but it’s a very touristy town and also makes very tasty wine.

Another view of the port. It’s a great place to enjoy the café scene while enjoying a drink.

This is about the only image I have from the first place we stayed.  It was on the outskirts of Aix-en-Provence and owned by a wonderful family whom we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know a little better.  Suffice it to say, it was a very comfortable spot and were tempted to stay there for 2-3 years, instead of just a month!

This is from the same place.  At the table with Anna are Keri and Leah, two of our best friends in the south of France.  They have really helped us feel comfortable here.  Keri is American and has lived in France for 20 years, so as you can imagine, she is a wealth of information and invaluable to avoid as many faux pas as possible!  Leah is a Brit who works with me and has been a good friend and working partner.  Unfortunately, her significant other is back in the UK, so she understandably spends a lot of time back with him (or, he out here).

The fountains of Nice are lovely in the summer and sublime as ice rinks in the winter.

We were visiting the city of Nice with our very good friend, Tom, who came down to visit for a weekend (he lives in Belgium for the moment so it wasn’t too long a flight!).  This is Cours Saleya in Old Nice (Vieux Nice) where we had a lovely lunch together … in spite of an interminable traffic jam on the way into the city.

Just down the street.  If you look close you’ll see interesting nomenclature on the building … Le Block.  Sometimes it’s cool to throw in English words.  Other times, not so much.

Other times, it’s not the nomenclature, but the sculptures that are interesting.  This appeared to be a normal building … until you look up.  Then, it became a fascinating one.

A Bird of Paradise flower in a garden we passed.

After a little time in Nice, we drove further west to the beautiful, hilltop village of Èze Village.  On the way, we HAD to stop by the fruit vendor to pick up some strawberries for Anna.  She didn’t have many cravings during her pregnancy, but strawberries and ice cream were definitely among the few.  But, upon reflection, she always craves those, so maybe it wasn’t pregnancy specific.  Either way, we stopped, bought some way overpriced fruit and enjoyed it at the top of the hill.  Where this image was made:

It’s even prettier on a sunny day.  You may recall from one of our posts in 2007, it’s one of our favorite places.

After Nice and Èze, we drove home and shortly thereafter, Tom had to depart and we moved into our current place.  I’ll include a few images in one of my next posts.

Until then…

–Jim

We had the honor and privilege of helping at our dear friend’s (Gabi and Philipp) wedding.  Anna was Gabi’s witness and I served as the official/unofficial photographer.   Without a good flash, it was a bit tough, but here are some of the images from that day.

Philipp about to drive to his wedding.

Gabi right there with him … no superstition here!

The officiant (mayor) reading the vows and ceremony.

As this was a civil service, it wasn’t long before the bride and groom were signing their marriage documents.

This is where Anna came in.  She was Gabi’s witness to make it official.

Gabi and Philipp’s hands on their family book.

Apparently, it’s a Bavarian tradition for newlyweds to saw a log together.  Gabi’s father, being a consummate outdoors man helped make it happen.

Much of the food was cooked by Gabi’s mother.  It was delicious!

Slicing the cake.

Interestingly, all the women in Gabi’s family (sister, sister-in-law, and adopted American sister … everyone except Gabi) were pregnant at the wedding.

The family proper.

Family and friends

Aren’t they cute?? They’re like this *almost* all the time.  🙂

It was a great ceremony, party and visit with Gabi, Philipp and their whole family.  We were so pleased to be a part of it.

After we left Bavaria, we headed down to France to begin our new life in France.  The next post will (finally) have some images from our time here.

Until then…

–Jim

The final leg of our Babymoon was back in Miami.  We met another couple on the ship who was sticking around a while longer and ended up seeing the city together.  It was a nice end to the trip.  Here are the images to go with it.

This lighthouse is a part of Bill Baggs Florida State Park.  It’s supposedly the same place that Ponce de Leon named the Cape of Florida when he explored the region in 1513.

The lighthouse was first built in 1825, but damaged in the Second Seminole War.

It was re-built in 1846 and is now the oldest freestanding structure in the area.

A manatee swimming just off shore.

Which is the stick and which is the bug?  I can’t tell!

These next images are from the Miami Zoo.  As far as zoos go, it’s a very nice one.

The always graceful flamingos.

I think this tortoise looks quite sage, don’t you?

Soaking up the sun.

Cute, but poisonous.

This little one was a bundle of energy and stopped only for a split second.

And why wouldn’t you stand like this?!

Well, that wraps up our Babymoon.  It was a great trip, but we were anxious to get to France, settle and and await Alexander’s arrival.  The next post will have a few images from our friends Gabi and Philipp’s wedding in Germany.

Until then…

–Jim

A little further north, we stopped at Costa Maya, Mexico.  A town literally made for tourists.  But, it’s also close enough to some Mayan ruins that it was a fun stop.

Although I love history, I admit I don’t know as much about the Mayan culture as I do about some others.  However, as I understand it, no one really knows that much.  Enough of that, on with the pictures!

Upon arrival, we navigated our way our of the modern, ultra-touristy mall complex, through the standard maze of aggressive taxi drivers and quasi-tour operators to find the tour we booked.  Fortunately, this was a much better company than our experience in Belize.  We hopped on a bus to Chacchoben ruins about an hour away.  Here are the images from the city that was built sometime around the 8th century in the current era.

These ruins were only excavated in the last 20 years and open to the public since 2002.  So, it’s kinda nice to be a little less well known.

Anna was a trooper to trudge around all day, again.

Ravishing, don’t you think?

An insect’s eye view.

A not-so-little friend we found walking back to the ship.  He was just hanging out.

One of the most interesting experiences that day was stopping to buy some pineapple.  It was slice of super fresh fruit in a plastic bag, AND had cayenne spice.  Absolutely delicious!  Yumm.

Anyway, that covers our brief time in Mexico.  We were supposed to stop in the Bahamas, but high winds and waves kept the tenders from safely operating and consequently, we just hung out on the boat for another day.  That was just fine with us.

After we finally disembarked, we spent another couple days checking out the sights in Miami.  Unfortunately, our good friend Tom had already moved to Europe, but he offered some good tips.

Until the next post…

–Jim

The first stop on our Caribbean adventure was in Roatan,  Honduras.  I was able to do a little SCUBA diving, while Anna snorkeled.  Then, a massage for each of us … all of this on a private resort.  Heavenly.  But, alas, no pictures sorry.  The next destination was over to the tiny country of Belize.  They are also world-renowned for SCUBA (thanks to people like M. Jacques Cousteau).   Since we had just been diving in Roatan, we decided to trust TripAdvisor on the number one activity.  Cave tubing.  It was a lot of fun, but the tour company, Explore Belize Caves, left many things to be desired (we would NOT recommend that company).

Anyway, since there was a little time in the afternoon, we decided to see the most talked about dive site in Belize … The Great Blue Hole.  There are two ways to see it:  dive it, or fly over it.  We opted to rent a Cessna 172 and fly over.  Unfortunately, the plane had a pilot included, but it’s always fun to be in light aircraft and even more fun when you fly over something as spectacular as the Great Blue Hole.  This is the site of M. Cousteau’s expedition.  The reef surrounding the hole is relatively shallow, but the hole itself seems to plunge to an abyss.  It wasn’t until M. Cousteau brought in the famous Calypso that the true depth was discovered (124 meters).  It is strikingly symmetric and 300 meters across.  M. Cousteau declared it was one of the 10 best dive sites in the world.  I’m not sure about that, but here are the aerial pictures.

The Great Blue Hole, Belize.

Getting ready.

Enjoying the ride!

A little perspective.  Although the hole is massive, it is dwarfed by the rest of the reef system.

We circled the Great Blue Hole a few times at various altitudes to see it from all angles.

The reef line.

Anna captured this image of a boat going up the canal.

Looks like a nice place to live, huh?

Yes, this is in fact the airport.  I’ve never landed at such an austere airfield … right next to the sea!

A view from the tender taking us back to the Norwegian Jewel.  Since this was our third cruise, we’re getting a better idea of what sort of things we like and what we don’t.  The Freestyle Cruising that Norwegian advertises is great for some people, but not us.  Why is that, you ask?  Well, it’s varies by cruise, but the biggest difference at Norwegian (that we saw) was the dining.  Normally, cruise lines seat everyone at the same time, and your tables are assigned for the duration.  That is nice because you can make friends with your table mates and the wait staff gets to know your preferences.  However, at Norwegian, they don’t have a set meal time.  You just show up at one of the main dining rooms or make a reservation at a specialty restaurant (steak, sushi, French, Italian, etc).  Seems like a great concept, right?  Well, in practice, the quality of meals is sub-par at the “regular” restaurants and there is a cover charge at the specialty spots.  Plus, on top of that, you’re always anonymous at meals.  It’s not a huge deal, but something we observed and have decided will point us toward other cruise lines when we take our next cruise.

Up next are the Mayan ruins at Costa Maya, followed by some time in Miami at the conclusion of the Baby-moon.

Until then…

–Jim

Lest I get too far behind in my posts, please allow me to post some images from our “Baby-moon” trip we took back in March.  It was our last pre-Alexander trip.  We decided to fly down to Miami, rent a car, and drive to Key West (a destination we’d heard much about, but never visited). Then, after a few days on the island, head back to Miami (via the Everglades) and hop on a cruise for a week.  Finally, after all that, back to DC, and fly on to the next chapter of our lives … parenting in France.  🙂

Ok, so these next few images are from a great sailing trip we took with Danger Cruises.  We highly recommend their Wind and Wine Sunset Sail.  It was quite simply, spectacular.

Although it looks beautiful, it was a bit chilly on the boat.

This is the view from the tower of the Key West Ship Wreck Museum.

The museum was filled with entertaining and enlightening stories of Key West’s Wrecking past.  If you’re a little confused on what that means, so was I.  Basically, it means that the people of Key West were able to capitalize on the treacherous weather and when a ship sank, they would remove the valuables from the ship and turn a handsome profit.

A feisty moray eel in the aquarium.

Yumm.

Anna looking beautifully pregnant.

These images below are from our trip into the Everglades.  At our friend Tom’s recommendation, we took the tour in Shark Valley.

The vista from the tower reminded me of an African safari… all the way up till seeing the animals.  Of course, there were some similar species.

The alligator and crocodile are fairly similar.  These however are the variety only found in America.

A great egret stalking his prey.

A Tri-colored Heron.

Just chillin’

An Anhinga.

A Great Blue Heron.

Just a little guy … so cute!

Lounging on the grass.  Although he looks docile, I took advantage of my zoom camera and kept my distance.

Another Anhinga, trying to stay cool!

The alligators were all over.

Looked like he was hunting … but after watching for what seemed like forever (5ish min), I had to move on.  🙂

A Great White Heron, wading through the lily pads.

Yet another Anhinga.  Very pretty birds.

Did I mention we saw a lot of alligators?

An immature White Ibis.

Another Great Blue Heron craning its neck to see the water.

A final Anhinga as the sun was setting and the park closing.

Our time in south Florida was a great starter for the Baby-moon.  Next, it was back to Miami, then All Aboard the Norwegian Jewel!

Until then…

–Jim