Thanksgiving, Twilight, Christmas Markets Etc...

My parents and I were in Savona, Italy on Thanksgiving Day and so Hyrum decided to save the celebration until Sunday (November 27), when we were all together again.

The master chef, busy in the kitchen.

The feast.  The stuffing was the BEST I have ever tasted!  Thank you Hyrum for such a fabulous meal, it was really wonderful to still enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner, even if we were a few days late:)

The 4th installment of the Twilight movie came out this past November.  I am not one of the "die hard" fans but I do think it's fun to go out and see a movie every once in a while.  A group of friends decided we should all go together to the 10:30 PM showing and we should have matching t-shirts.  Most people voted for the shirts to say, "Team Bella's Dads Mustache" but my shirt says, "Team Hyrum."  It's so great to get together with a group of friends for a fun and silly time.

Chanda and Tera being very silly.  They even had mustaches drawn on their fingers:)

The whole group of us in the theater after the show.  We are doing our best "werewolf" poses...like a said, pretty silly stuff.

The month of December is pure magic here in Germany.  I love all the Christmas markets that pop up in each small town.  I love all the lights that decorate the town squares.  I love all the yummy lebkuchen and stollen that all the bakeries make at Christmas.  I don't like to talk about it but it's my last Christmas here in Germany.  I am so sad our time in Europe is winding down.  The next few shots are our last trips to Christmas markets here in Europe...very, very sad.

We took the train to Nuremberg last Saturday (December 10th) to visit the Christmas market.  Julian LOVES all things "train" right now and he especially loves riding on trains.

Julian on the little train ride at the children's Christmas market in Nuremberg

Townsend dipping a candle in hot wax to add color to it.  They now have 3 candles from this market, one from each of the last 3 years.

On Sunday (December 11) we decided to hit one last market.  It was already dark by the time we got to Wildenreuth but walking around in the dark, with all the lights sparkling, is a big part of the Christmas market experience.

Townsend petting the donkey in the stables at Wildenreuth

Emerson trying his hand at archery.  He has a pretty good eye and almost got the target right on the bullseye!

Julian spent about 30 minutes in this shed that was set up with a model train.  He could have stayed there much longer but we finally told him his time was up.  Of course he was upset with us and as soon as we turned our backs for half a second he was gone.  We looked around and finally found him in the train shed, happily standing on a stool and watching the trains go by.

Hyrum and the boys warming up by one of the many fires.

We went to the Christmas tree farm right outside our town of Pressath to cut down our Christmas tree.  I love looking around for the perfect tree.  I love that we have a real tree every year.  I love the smell and I love the natural "imperfections" that make it perfect:)

The boys at the Christmas tree farm

Hyrum with our tree after cutting it down.  The sun was shining right on our little town in the background and I just had to get a shot.

Please don't ask why Townsend is not wearing a shirt.  As soon as we walk through the door, off come the shoes, socks and (most of the time) the shirt!  Maybe we need to turn the heat down in our house:)

Our beautiful tree

Last night (December 14) was the boys school Christmas concert.  I have very fond memories of my Elementary School concerts and I'm so glad my boys get to have that same experience.  They sang three songs and I have to say, Emerson was pretty silly for most of the songs.  Townsend was at least singing a little, but mostly they were both laughing and having a great time up on stage.

Townsend and Emerson with their best friends, twin boys, Aadi and Annadi (they're from Nepal.)  You can just tell by their faces how happy and excited they were to be at the concert.

Last photo, I promise.  It is now December 15th and we have only had one snowfall that actually stuck around, and it only lasted for a few hours.  Last year at this time we were wading around, knee deep in snow!  The boys were so happy when it did snow they ran out and built a snowman as soon as they got home from school.  It was mostly melted the next day:(

Townsend and Emerson with the first snowman of the season...they hope it won't be their last:)

A Visit From Grandma and Grandpa

My parents arrived in Ramstein on October 26th.  I dropped Julian off with Becky so I could make the 8 hour round trip to pick them up without little man Jules in the car.  Other than being tired they had a good trip over from the States and they slept most of the drive home.

It was so fun to have my Mom and Dad here.  They haven't been able to spend much time with my boys in the past, only visiting for a few days once in a while, but they really got a good chance to get to know their grandkids on this trip.  They were very helpful with the boys, always helping with homework or taking care of Julian so I could volunteer at the school.  They watched the boys for us so Hyrum and I could get away together to England, something that we appreciated ALOT.  It's always nice to leave the boys with people you trust and relax for a few days with just your hunny.  

I dropped them off at Ramstein this past Sunday, December 4th, but they didn't get a Space A flight out until today.  I guess they had fun hanging out at the hotel and reading their books.  If you're stuck on a military post, Ramstein is probably one of the better ones to be stranded at:)

We took a train ride to Bayreuth and walked around the Hof garden.  It was a beautiful day and the fall colors were very pretty.

Mom and Dad at the concentration camp in Flossenburg, Germany.

Julian helping Grandma make bread.

I took them to Nuremberg to visit the Zeppelin Field and the Toy Museum in downtown Nuremberg.

Grandma with Julian and baby Connor in Nuremberg.

Hyrum had the day off for Veterans Day so we drove out to visit some castle ruins.  Unfortunately they were closed for the season so we drove over to Weiden and enjoyed walking around there.

I took my Mom to the Christmas market in Nuremberg.  My Dad wasn't so interested in the market so we dropped him off at the Documentation Center museum and picked him up after we spent all his money:)

We went over to Prague to visit their Christmas market.  Grandma and Grandpa with Emerson in front of the Charles Bridge.

Here we are at the Prague market.  Can you tell it was crazy packed?  If you go, try not to go on a Saturday!

Julian saying goodbye to Grandpa

It's always sad when our guests leave.  I am so happy that my boys got to know their grandparents during this visit.  Family ties are so important to maintain.

This ones for you Paige!  I was in Ramstein so I just had to stop at Himalaya, even if it meant I didn't get home until 1:00 AM after dropping off Mom and Dad!

Florence

When I was about 16 years old my sister, Eryn, told me I looked like the figure of "Spring" in Botticelli's painting "Primavera."  Ever since that time I have wanted to visit Florence and see this painting for myself. I have always felt a certain connection to the painting and wrote a report on it for my Humanities class at BYU.  When I saw it in the museum I sat on a bench for about 10 minutes and thought about this painting, my sister, my time at college and how the renewal of Spring each year brings hope and happiness to the world.

The image of "Spring" from the painting

Me, around age 16

What do you think?  I think it must be all the blonde hair that made my sister think I was Botticelli's inspiration:)

My parents and I fully enjoyed our one day in Florence.  We woke up and headed over to the Accademia museum which houses Michelangelo's "David."  As you walk into the museum you turn directly to your left and then right again and find yourself staring down a long hallway with "David" at the end, towering over the crowd and standing serene and beautiful on his pedestal.  

"David" is awe inspiring.  Michelangelo was given this piece of marble to use because other sculptors had cast it off as "too big" and "too flawed."  Unlike other pieces of art I have seen here in Europe, the "David" statue is everything I imagined it would be.  The best part, there were only about 20 other people in the museum so we could appreciate the sculpture without a horde of other people around.

Also in this museum are Michelangelo's "Prisoners."  It was said that Michelangelo believed the sculptors job was to chip away at the stone until the figure inside was revealed.  He never made models of his sculptures but worked into the marble, from front to back, until the sculpture emerged.  The "Prisoners" are so cool because you can see how he worked, removing the bits of marble that didn't belong in his final piece.

After the Accademia my parents and I parted ways.  I wanted to do a walking tour and then visit the Uffizi gallery.  My parents wanted to visit the Galileo Science Museum and walk around a bit on their own.

The Duomo.  This is a very beautiful church in the center of the city.  If you ever get lost in Florence you can just look around a bit and make your way back to the Duomo.  This church was the first building, since Roman antiquity, to be capped with a dome and was seen as a real achievement for the Renaissance.

I hiked all 463 steps to the top of the dome!  It was quite the climb but completely worth it for the views of Florence.

Florence, from the top of the Duomo.

The steps were steep and narrow.  I would not recommend this climb for anyone that is claustrophobic.  

Across the square from the Duomo is the Baptistry.  This building is famous for it's bronze doors.  The original doors are housed in the Duomo museum, which I didn't get to, but the copies are pretty amazing.   According to Rick Steves: "Lorenzo Ghiberti made a breakthrough in perspective using mathematical laws to create the illusion of receding distance on a basically flat surface."

A close up of one of the panels on the bronze doors.

I was so happy to find gelato in Florence.  All the gelato stores in Germany are closed for the winter!

My walking tour took me past the Palazzo Vecchio.  This square has the fortress-like home of the famous Medici family.  Because of this wealthy family Florence was the birthplace of the Renaissance.  They commissioned great works of art by all the famous artists of the time.

This is me posing by the Arno river with the famous bridge, Ponte Vecchio in the background.

I had about 2 hours to kill after my walking tour before my reservation at the Uffizi Gallery.  I walked around the markets of Florence, spent way too much money on pottery and then made my way over to the church of Santa Maria Novella.  This is a 13th century church with Masaccio's famous painting "Trinity."

Masaccio is considered the first painter of the Renaissance movement.  You can see in this painting an attempt to create a 3-D space, something you didn't see during the medieval period.  Also, the Holy figures are set in a realistic space (the interior of a Cathedral), instead of a mystical, unrealistic setting.

On my way back to the Uffizi Gallery I walked along the Arno river.  The sun was just setting and the lighting was perfect.  I kept thinking how much I wished Hyrum had been there to enjoy the beauty of Florence.

Botticelli's "Primavera"in the Uffizi Gallery.  This was such a wonderful museum to walk around.  I especially loved how you could see the change from Medieval to Renaissance art as you walked through the different rooms.

For example.  This is a Medieval painting of Mary with the infant Christ child...

...and this is a Renaissance painting of the same figures.

From the top floor of the museum you could see the Duomo in the distance.  I couldn't help snapping another shot of this beautiful dome.

After my dream tour of the Uffizi Gallery I met back up with my parents and we enjoyed a lovely dinner together.

The next morning my Mom and I squeezed in one more site before our train left.  I had wanted to see the Medici Chapel but ran out of time the day before.  This is my Mom in front of the Church of San Lorenzo which has the Medici Chapel.

Michelangelo, who had lived with the Medici family as a teenager, was commissioned to create their final resting place in the crypts of the San Lorenzo church.  Michelangelo was the architect, sculptor and painter of the chapel which became the burial place for Lorenzo "The Magnificent" Medici.

Our time in Florence had come to an end and we caught our 9:30 AM train to Venice and from there drove the full 7 hours back home.  What a trip!  I'm so glad I had the chance to spend this time with my parents and to see so many amazing and wonderful things.

Mediterranean Cruise: Savona, Italy

Thursday, November 24.  Our cruise ship dropped us off in the city of Savona on the Western side of Italy.  Our car was parked in Venice which is on the Eastern side of Italy.  Since we had to make our way across Italy anyway I figured it made sense to stop over in Florence for a few days...since it was on the way.

Mom and Dad on the train ride to Florence

You can't really tell but in the background of this shot are the Carrara mountains where large blocks of marble have been cut out over the centuries to be used for beautiful sculptures (i.e.: Michelangelo's "David")

My parents room in Florence.  We had a relaxing evening after our day of travel and got ready for a fun day in Florence the next day.

Mediterranean Cruise: Naples, Italy

Wednesday, November 23.  Today the ship docked in Naples.  My parents had purchased an excursion to visit Pompeii (which I had seen last October with Hyrum and the boys) so I was on my own in Naples.  I had only 2 things on my list of things to do.  1, The National Archeological Museum and 2, pizza...yummy pizza.

This is a shot of Naples from the ship as we were docking

Out of all the cities our cruise ship docked, Naples was the only one that felt truly lived in.  The other places we stopped were purely tourist towns but Naples was alive with real people going about their daily lives.

The National Archeological Museum has all the sculptures and mosaics and pottery that were found at Pompeii and other sites that were excavated around the same time.  When we visited Pompeii last year it was an amazing site but it was just as amazing to see all the art and magnificent cultural artifacts in this museum.  You could really get a feel for how everyday life was from the displays.  My favorite displays were the mosaics, I can't help but be amazed by the skill and artistry it must take to produce one of these pieces of art.

One of my favorite sculptures from the museum.  His eyes were made out of ivory and blue stone so it really looks like he is looking out at you...creepy but cool.

There were beautiful open shopping areas called "gallerias." This is one of two that I got to see on my Rick Steve's walking tour of Naples.

An excavated piece of the original wall that surrounded Naples when it was part of the Greek Empire.  Too bad people use this as a dumping ground...only in Italy:)

The real reason I was excited about a stop in Naples.  This pizza was so delicious with fresh buffalo mozzarella and basil and the crust was absolutely perfect!

I met up with my parents just as they were heading back to the ship.  They really enjoyed the tour of Pompeii and since they didn't have a camera with them I just had to get a shot of them with Mt. Vesuvius in the background.