Traveling and visiting Europe

Every year in Europe you will find the “European Heritage days”. Those days are different in each country but the benefits are normally the same. MOST National Museum is open to the public for FREE!! Yeap you read it right FREE!! Now be careful I didn’t say EVERY museum is FREE. I said MOST NATIONAL museums. So do your homework before you end up going to place that you’ll have to pay. You can Google information of the European Heritage days and you’ll find tone of goodies. I will list below the one that I thought could be of interest. Also based of the fact that we live in Germany and that I tend to only do day trip I kept that in mind. However if you are more adventurous and your purse coin is heavier than mine you can go to this website and click on the country that you are interested to visit:

Council of Europe - Directorate of Culture, Cultural and Natural Heritage-European Heritage Days

Those are some of the official one for different country around Germany: (since I live there) ;-)

Austria: BDA - Bundesdenkmalamt Österreich 26 of September 2010

Belgium: Wallonia: Accueil Les journées du patrimoine 11-12 September 2010

Flanders: Heritage Day Flandres Open Monumentendag Vlaanderen 12 September 2010

Brussels Capital: Monument 18-19 September 2010

Czech Republic: European Heritage Days 11-19 September 2010

France: - Frédéric Mitterrand's Editorial Journées européennes du Patrimoine 2010 18-19 September 2010

Germany: Tag des offenen Denkmals - Programm zum Tag des offenen Denkmals 12 September 2010

Hungary: Kulturális Örökség Napjai A Felemelő Század: A "Nemzeti Styl" - 2010. szeptember 18-19. 18-19 September 2010

Italy: Home-Page Sito web del Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali 25-26 September 2010
Luxembourg : Service des Sites et Monuments Nationaux 18-19 September 2010

Netherlands: Summary - Open Monumentendag 11-12 September 2010

Poland: Europejskie dni dziedzictwa 11-12 and 18-19 September 2010

Switzerland: Nationale Informationsstelle für Kulturgüter Erhaltung NIKE : Journée du patrimoine
11-12 September 2010

Hope it can make your visiting a little easier, and hopefully you’ll be able to visit some area or some museum that you might not have enjoyed cause the price was too much! Enjoy!!!

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Say WHAT???

I was at a friend house earlier and learn that "The LOUVRE" museum is going to have a McDonald in it!? WTH??? Are you INSANE??

I am so shocked!! I am sorry, but to mix The Louvre and all it's history and treasure with McDonald food?? To me it is just the stupidest move EVER. So since I can't do anything but talk about it. I did play a little with some pictures!! couldn't resit!!
I should send it to the Ministere de la Culture (the office in charge of the Louvre)
this is outrageous!!

Enjoy!! I am sure I will not next time I will go there!

Are we ready for this picture to become reality? This is what I ask!

Heidelberg Castle First Visit

Today, after a lot of work unpacking in the kitchen. Matt and I decided to go on a Bike Ride in Heidelberg. He was only wanted to go near the river, and come back. Our little tour ended up taking us to the Heidelberg Castle ground. And what a beautiful ground it is!
The colors and the textures of the Stones are amazing. I found it a paradise for me. I don’t know if Matt enjoyed staying behind watching me taking so many pictures.
But… you know me, I couldn’t help myself. So here they are… most of them at least. (Yes, there is more!) ;-) And by the by… If you don’t care about pictures, just skip this entry! Hehe!!
Hope you enjoy them. I sure enjoy taking them!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We got home and finished the kitchen (one and only one box left in it!! For tomorrow) so… Maybe more pictures of what we did this weekend, between the living/computer area and the Kitchen we rock!! Well mostly Matt does!! ;-)

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Trip to France/Versailles & Paris

On Thursday the 30th or Friday the 31st (I don’t really remember) I was talking to my friend Shaunna about what she was planning for her Weekend. She mentioned that she was thinking of accompanying her neighbors Scott and Kendra to Paris.
Me: “You are so lucky; I would go in a heartbeat if I could!”
She then said: “Why don’t you come, that would be fun!”
Me: “I can’t just invite myself!”
Her: “Let me ask if you can come!”
Sure enough after talking to Scott and Kendra and it was OK we talked about getting a hotel and all... and off we were planning our little stay there!
(I do need to mention that I have the BEST husband who loves me so very much, because that little trip was on our anniversary WE and he just told me: “Go and have fun!” I love him so much!!)
So on Saturday they picked me up and off we went direction “La France!!”
We were planning to go to Paris on Saturday afternoon then drive to Versailles for our hotel and the Sunday go visit the castle. Well as we are driving on the “Périphérique” in Paris, it was starting to rain. So change of plan: We’ll do Versailles first and then Paris the next day.
Drove to Versailles, checked in and by the time we walked to the Castle it was not too sunny, but not raining. So we went to walk around the garden (the French on mind you!) ;-)

We walked the same path as the last king of France walked. Where Wars, Peace & Romance started or ended. I just love the history of some place, and Versailles Castle is so much part of the French History, it just talks to me.
Here are some pictures:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Look at those stones… Imagine the number of people that walked on those for centuries. If Stones, Walls, Building could talk, can you imagine what they will tell us? I always wonder about that... I know I am such a weirdo!

After a nice evening and a restful night at the hotel, we left for Paris.
Popped on the “Red buses” and went around the major monument in Paris.
Again here are some pictures of some of those monuments. Shaunna (being her silly self) and of our nice Chauffeurs: Kendra + BiB (Baby in Belly as my sister in law will say) and Scott.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We left at the end of the afternoon, got home almost at 11pm. A long WE full of cool stuff to enjoy and great company.

Thanks guys to let me come with you. Where is the next place we are off too? ;-)

StLouis Children Museum

Well I haven’t mention that when we were on our little road trip, we did stop at the CITY MUSEUM in St Louis, MO! If you ever go to St Louis. STOP there. Park your car (I know it is a little pricey) and get in the museum, it was AMAZING! Kids and my mother and I loved it. Not just for the fun of it. Here are a few pictures that I took all over the museum. Hope you like them!

De July 2009 Travel and Fun

De July 2009 Travel and Fun

De July 2009 Travel and Fun

De July 2009 Travel and Fun

De July 2009 Travel and Fun

De July 2009 Travel and Fun

De July 2009 Travel and Fun

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Kalona Field Trip

Today Morgane my daughter had a field trip to the village of Kalona south of Iowa City. It is an Amish/Mennonite community, with buggies and cool history.
So for the first time, I volunteer for a field trip... OH BOY!! Now my hat goes off to those teachers that endure all the noise that those lovely kids do, I would have a headache in NO time! To tell you the truth, went I got home, I slept for 2 hours I was so exhausted! Amazing!

Anyway, back to the visit.

We first visited a Cheese Factory, where we learn that cheese is actually white when it comes out of the factory; they only add the food coloring at the big company like Kraft. That made me wonder WHY on earth someone decided that cheese should be orange. In France our cheese are normally white or creamee color, the crust might have a different color, probably due to the spice or bacteria that they let them sit in! (Don’t ask me, I don’t have a clue). But why Orange?? Anyone has an idea?

After that little cheese stop,

we stopped at the local bakery. The kids were very very interested to get some donuts and other goodies. The bakery also makes fresh Pasta, so we went to see how they were making it. 2 questions from the kids, were regarding the fact if they could use the machine to make cookie pasta! Answer: I don’t think so! They can use in a week up to 500 dozen egg for Pasta making and Angel food cake in the Easter season!!

Then after a quick lunch, we went to the Historical Village Museum, very interesting. Some of the pics are from the Buggies repair house, or the “Grandpa’s house” or the little school etc.. you will see that the kids loved being able to ring the school bell. I was the only adult except for the guide, and I had to remind all those kids to keep their hand in their pocket and not to touch anything. I was amazed of how many times one can remind a 10/11 year old kid to not touch anything… Morgane probably now is considered unlucky to have a cop as a mother! ;-) Oh well, such is life!