There's No Place Like Home

If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look further than my own backyard, because if it isn't there, then I haven't really lost it.  

If all the days that come to pass

 Are behind these walls

 I’ll be left at the end of things

 In a world kept small

 Travel far from what I know

 I’ll be swept away 

I need to know

I can be lost and not afraid

We’re gonna trip the light

We’re gonna break the night

And we’ll see with new eyes

When we trip the light

Remember we’re lost together

Remember we’re the same

We hold the burning rhytm in our hearts

We hold the flame

We’re gonna trip the light

We’re gonna break the night

And we’ll see with new eyes

When we trip the light

I’ll find my way home

On the Western wind

To a place that was once my world

Back from where I’ve been

And in the morning light I’ll remember

As the sun will rise

We are all the glowing embers

Of a distant fire

Music: Garry Schyman ©

Lyrics: Alicia Lemke and Matt Harding ©
http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/

We'll miss all our friends here in Europe so much!  It's been such a great tour.

Normandy Trail

Normandy is famous for it's apple cider and other apple products.  We truly enjoyed sampling the different ciders (which are alcoholic) and the different apple butters and spreads.  We stopped at a little cider house after visiting Monet's Garden. 

Here we are enjoying a typical Norman cuisine in Honfleur.  This yummy aperitif is called a Kir Normandy. 

Where we stayed:

http://giverny.org/hotels/forest/forest.htm

Where we dined:

http://www.restaurant-cote-marine-vernon.com/mentions.php

Places to Explore:

 

Books to Enjoy: 

 

Pizza Party in Naples

So Naples, Italy claims to have the BEST pizza in the world -- that's a taste challenge we HAD to accept (quite happily)!  The crust is what makes it, in my opinion.  It is thin, yet doughy and soft.  We each gobbled down an entire platter ourselves and decided we could easily have eaten another one (we didn't!)
 It was also Ryan's 13th birthday -- Happy Birthday Ryan!

Art for Travellers

Discovering great art in Europe is the easy part; carefully planning a trip to see it can prove challenging.  Our family uses Rick Steve's travel guides for travel arrangements.  Rick Steve provides excellent, concise narrations on most the historic and important travel sites for hundreds of European cities.   A new find of mine is the Art for Travelers by Ann Morrow and John Power series.  The book provides specific art "trails" both in the major city museums and also in between "trails" to hit art tucked away in smaller venues.  Clear, concise profiles of the artist are coupled with prints and drawings helping to further explain paintings meanings and subject matter.  The book is 5x7 inches making it easy to tuck into a handbag for take-along.  Another resource I use in our classroom is How to Read a Painting by Patrik de Rynck.  Each painting is shown in a large 5x7 print with many details enlarged.  The book gives a small summary and discussion highlighting meanings within the painting itself.  My children ages 13, 10 and 9 enjoy using this for their picture study pre and post travels.
All of these titles are current and available at your library :) 

Turkish Delight

Amazing and hypnotic colors inspire new designs for me.  I am in love with the rich hues and intricate patterns.  They truly are fabulous expressions of Divine adoration.  Amazing to witness an entire mosque covered floor to ceiling with all this vibrancy.  The overall pattern may feel busy and disorientating here in these little snapshots, but I can assure you it is a much more meditative experience in person. 

The boys devoured their lunch of lamb and pita bread.  Joe and I really enjoyed the eggplant and zucchini dishes.  And of course, the baklava for desert is delicious.

And the crowning jewel; the real Turkish delight!

Thorvaldsen Museum - Denmark, Copenhagen

Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) is one of Denmark’s best known artists. For more than 40 years he lived in Rome where he became one of the most important European representatives of Neo-Classicist sculptural art.

Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen on November 19th, 1770, to poor parents. His father was a carver and immigrant from Iceland. His mother was the daughter of a parish clerk at the village of Lemvig. The young Bertel entered the Art Academy in Copenhagen at the young age of 11 with an unusually bright talent and was educated here as a sculptor until 1793. In 1796 he got the opportunity of travelling to Rome as the Academy’s scholar for three years to be further educated. But he stayed in Rome, received numerous orders and became one of Europe’s best known artists.

He welcomes worshippers into a world of neoclassical serenity. Statues of the 12 apostles line the nave — carved by the great Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. Inspired by the famous Italian sculptor Canova, his art complements the relative austerity and comforting simplicity of Lutheran worship.

 The apostles lead to Thorvaldsen's masterpiece: a statue of the risen Christ. Thorvaldsen was a master at showing both heavenly and human characteristics. Wearing his burial shroud Jesus opens his arms and says, "Come to me."

Copenhagen Lego Style

The boys were thrilled to find a Lego store on our walking tour.  Here is Nyhavn Lego style.  A five minute walk brought us to the real thing!

Nyhavn, a recently gentrified sailors' quarter, lounges comfortably around a canal. A few lonely tattoo parlors and smoky taverns stubbornly defend their salty turf against a rising tide of trendy, expensive cafés.

 

The Little Mermaid and some "laughs" by the fountain

Copenhagen, Denmark 2012

 "Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as a cornflower, as clear as crystal, and very, very deep..." there lived a young mermaid. So begins one of Hans Christian Andersen's — and Denmark's — best-known stories.

One day, a young mermaid spies a passing ship and falls in love with a handsome human prince. The ship is wrecked in a storm, and she saves the prince's life. To be with the prince, the mermaid asks a sea witch to give her human legs. In exchange, she agrees to give up her voice and the chance of ever returning to the sea. And, the witch tells her, if the prince doesn't marry her, she will immediately die heartbroken and without an immortal soul. The mermaid agrees, and her fish tail becomes a pair of beautiful but painful legs. She woos the prince — who loves her in return — but he eventually marries another. Heartbroken, the mermaid prepares to die. She's given one last chance to save herself: She must kill the prince on his wedding night. She sneaks into the bedchamber with a knife...but can't bear to kill the man she loves. The mermaid throws herself into the sea to die. Suddenly, she's miraculously carried up by the mermaids of the air, who give her an immortal soul as a reward for her long-suffering love.

credit to http://www.ricksteves.com/news/travelnews/0807/little_mermaid.htm

Amalienborg Palace Changing of the Guard

I adore a marching band.   Just as we finished our polse sandwich, we turned around on Stoget (pedestrian walking street) to see the Amalienborg Guards parading to the palace for the ceremonial "changing of the guard".