Our travels with Brent and Cindy

Faced with both the file of thousands of pictures from our time with Chris' parents and the rapidly approaching date of departure for our Scandinavia trip, I am abandoning, for the time being, my habit of long-winded posts and settling for a more concise update. A complete picture collection will be posted soon.

Naturally, we had a wonderful, memorable time. Here is the story in a nutshell:

Mülheim an der Ruhr - we visited the outdoor markets, saw Chris' lab, and took Daisy to the park as tiny pink petals flew off the blossoms on the trees. We napped. Chris and I conceded that Mülheim isn't as glum as we'd made it out to be.

Cochem an der Mosel: This cute riverside village in the middle of steep Riesling vineyards was our home base to explore Burg Eltz, this castle pictured below. (This was the beginning of Brent and Cindy's "Scaffolding of Europe" tour.)
Köln: In 2005, Chris made his first trip to Europe to attend a chemistry conference in Köln. He came home with stories and memories that surely were springboard to our eventual move here 4 years later. How special, then, to introduce this city and great Gothic cathedral to his parents.

Paris: well, Chris, Daisy, and I went back home after Brent and Cindy boarded the train to Paris. A few days later, we met up in...

Venice! I honestly couldn't predict how I would like Venice this 2nd time around, now that we are "seasoned travelers" and all. Final verdict: I love it. It is quite possibly my favorite place in Europe.

I must share this fascinating tidbit: all the gondoliers (always men) must be Venetian-born locals. Our gondolier, Simone, learned the art from his father, who learned from his father before him.

Florence: Art and history come alive here. A list of famous Florentines: Dante (we saw his house), Botticelli (we saw his Birth of Venus), Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Brunelleschi (who made the big dome of the main church), Michelangelo (we saw his David), Leonardo da Vinci, Giotto (we saw some great early Renaissance paintings of his), Donatello (fell in love with his David), Galileo (the museum that has his finger preserved was, sadly, closed!), Leone Battista Alberti, Gucci (I know, weird addition), Machiavelli (saw his tomb), the Medici family, Florence Nightingale, Raphael, Savonarola, and Amerigo Vespucci.

Our rooms in Florence were run by a small, lovable family who made a lasting impression on us as we were paying our bill the last night. Francisco, 70 years old and newly mute due to some sort of surgery, is fluent in German, Spanish, and English, yet now, with a steady smile on his face, has only his haphazard hand gestures to help him communicate. He and his wife, Maria, who speaks minimal English, adored Daisy and we all spent quite a while in their office/living room. Francisco took Daisy out to his patio to show her Giorgio, the bunny. He enthusiastically stuck his basil plant under my nose. He ran to the back room and gave us a bottle of wine as a gift - and then returned with a stack of plastic cups. He insisted that Daisy take a little sound-effect toy that made incessant chirping sounds. As we pulled ourselves away, I had a strong impulse to mail them a thank you note, or maybe pictures from our time in Florence, or even, over the years, pictures of Daisy as she grows up and poems that I compose in Italian. Well, maybe I'll start with the thank-you card.

South of Florence lies the Chianti region, where we enlisted Mimma and Franca, sisters, to hold a private Tuscan cooking session with us in Mimma's farmhouse kitchen. We came away with a bottle of Mimma's olive oil, a disc of recipes, a trick for making awesome caramelized onions, and a glowing memory of a special cross-cultural moment, something off the beaten path.

Tuscany surprised us with its beauty. We targeted cities like Siena (saw St. Catherine's home), Montalcino (sampled their prized Brunello wine), and Montepulciano (again known for a wine, Vino Nobile), but my favorite part of the region was our peaceful overnight stay in the countryside. After checking in to the Agriturismo, we hung around outside, gushing over the landscape until the sun finally set. Cheers to Brent for bravely driving a car in Italy! (And sensitively, gently driving a car, with many rest stops, following Daisy's....episodes.)

After making it to the ancient Etruscan town called Civita and a brief overnight in the relatively unappealing hill town of Orvieto, we came to our final stop, Rome.

We waited in a long line to get into the Vatican Museum (Sistine Chapel!) and then saw St. Peter's Cathedral. Although we're not Catholic, this still felt like a part of our tradition and heritage.

In Rome, we dodged the rain, survived the buses, and spent time at the Colosseum, the Forum, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Bernini's amazing sculptures such as David and Apollo and Daphne, and the catacombs.

Well, this looks long! But when you consider that I covered Muelheim, Cochem, Köln, Venice, Florence, Chianti, Siena, Tuscany, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Civita, Orvieto, Vatican City, and Rome, all in a single post, you have to admit that it's pretty good!

Great Britain: Scarborough

We had talked - joked - about coming to Scarborough for a long time. We are so happy to have seen it. It's a great little city with a historic castle, a lighthouse, and 2 beautiful bays - the carnival-like South Bay and the less built-up North Bay. Here is one of our first views of the castle wall on top of the hill, as we were walking into town from the train station.
We really liked our bed and breakfast on top of the cliff, steps from the castle and with a view over the North Sea. The owners were super, bringing Daisy special kid dishes and serving us a private afternoon tea in the parlour. We all enjoyed our furnishings - I began to think that Daisy might be ready for The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe.

After our breakfast (with a cute "7 Dwarfs" toast rack for Daisy...she concluded that Snow White must be around somewhere, too, and from then on called the vaguely similar woman decorating the hearth "Snow White"), we made our pilgrimage to the castle.
It felt very huge and ancient. We learned a lot about the history of the castle, which I can try to condense here, especially for those of you with Scarborough blood! Experts have dated pottery found on the cliff to 2000 BC, and they display other artifacts that suggest two distinct periods of habitation, 800 BC and 500 BC. There are remains of a Roman signal station (380 AD), where they lit those fires that could communicate disaster up and down the coast. Vikings were here and Scarborough ("Skardi") is mentioned in several Icelandic sagas.

The castle has ties to royalty! In 1154, King Henry II decreed that all royal castles become his, and he invested huge sums to build up Scarborough's tower, the keep. In the early 1200's, King John spent more on building projects in Scarborough's castle than on any other castle in the kingdom. In that time, kings were mobile and would move their entire possessions around their lands to different cities and homes. John, Henry III, and Edward I used Scarborough Castle as royal lodgings several times. The last king to stay here was Richard III in 1484 while he was busy assembling a fleet to resist the invasion of Henry Tudor, later Henry VII.

In the Civil War (1640's), Scarborough became a Royalist stronghold against the Parliamentarians and there were terrible battles here.

Later, the castle was used as a prison, and a notable prisoner was George Fox, founder of the Quakers.

After this, Scarborough became known as a fashionable spa town and resort, and sea bathing was the new "in" thing.

Early in the First World War, Scarborough's town and castle were fired upon by German warships arriving through the thick morning fog. 17 civilians were killed. "Remember Scarborough!" became a rallying cry across the nation.



Unexpectedly, we were able to tag along with part of a Good Friday procession through the castle grounds. Our voices chimed in with the other lusty ones in an unfamiliar hymn. A good memory.


Anne Bronte is buried at a cliff-side church's cemetery near the castle. I read Agnes Grey in preparation for our trip. I really liked it, especially since I knew her sister's Jane Eyre so well, and could compare the stories of the young governesses.


The Beaches:
Here's a picture of us walking on the North Bay. All this sand was covered with water in the morning, and it would quickly go out during the day. Though we are no strangers to beaches, the army of seagulls, diving and screeching, had us in giggles the whole weekend. We saw families playing cricket, lots of dogs, and bundled up kids.

Beach-side Huts:
A landmark of the beaches were these adorable rainbow huts you can see behind us. People apparently rent these and can store stuff like grills, chairs, bikes, whatever.


And I forgot to mention: fish and chips! We had quite a lot of that, too, sometimes even with tea.

California Familying

We are so thankful to have seen all of our family in our visit to Orange County, California. During our two weeks + two days, we bounced back and forth between the two households. The weather was beautiful, we celebrated Christmas, the New Year, and our 6-year anniversary, and had a wonderful time reconnecting with our roots. Although Daisy got sick, antibiotics helped and we were all healthy by the time we needed to trans-Atlantic again.

Highlights with Chris' family:
4 Cousins = Heaven for Daisy. Katie, Jeremy, Bekah, Levi, Faith, and Claire made the trip down from Redding so that we could all spend Christmas together. I loved seeing Bekah teach Daisy how to ride a scooter, Claire (only 3 months age difference from D!) and Daisy playing and "communicating," and the whole gang work on some gingerbread houses. After they all went home (sniff), we spent {quieter!} time with Chris' parents reading Piglet books to Daisy and planning for our upcoming Italy vacation together. We also took a memorable trip to Balboa, complete with dinner on the pier during a blazing sunset.

Highlights with Holly's family:
Daisy kept asking for "more tea" at her first Ladies Tea, hosted by her Great-Grandmother (Gigi), and stepped into a piece of Holly's childhood when she played with Great-Granny and Grandpa in Palm Springs. She learned about basketball and guinea pigs from Opa and Uncle Joel, tea parties from Grandmommy, and Snow White from Aunt Rebecca. We all had fun at an inspirational family New Year's Eve party {salon} where our topic was Carpe Diem. The Galileo brothers (aka Joel and Chris) took a trip to LA's Griffith Observatory, talked physics, and spent cold (haha) nights outside with Joel's cool new telescope. It was hard for all of us to say goodbye!

Holly's 27th Geburtstag

Thank you, everyone, for helping me have such a warm birthday in a foreign country! Chris and Daisy were spectacular, bringing home flowers and bakery treats in the morning while I took a bath. At lunchtime, Chris surprised me with a giant cake and a gift of a new red coat. We had time in the evening for a walk in the park (saw some holly) and our new American friends, Neil and Megan, came over and joined us for tea and dessert. (Neil and Megan were also the ones who babysat for us earlier that weekend!) I think I will always remember this unique day.

Debus Family Visit

Holly's parents and siblings were able to visit for 11 days in August. Besides hanging out and playing with Daisy in Muelheim, we all took a short weekend trip to see the castles down the Rhine river, did a day trip to Koln and Bonn, and traveled by train on a 5-day trip to Paris.


This is our only "full family" shot from the whole trip! It was taken at the ruins of Rheinfels castle, which was built in 1245, withstood Louis XIV's siege in 1692, and finally fell to the French Revolutionary army in 1797. It was fun to have the freedom to run around and explore the ruins.


The highlight of the Rhine weekend was our three and half hour river cruise, studded with castles and cliff-side vineyards.


A beautifully un-ruined Marksburg Castle also had great interiors, which we saw on our tour.

PARIS

Our favorite crepe place by our hotel...yum!

I will post more pictures documenting our Paris activities: the Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, Chartres cathedral, the Louvre, Louis XIV's palace of Versailles, our Seine river cruise, Napoleon's tomb and the Army Museum, Sainte-Chapelle cathedral, the Orsay museum, and the Arc de Triomphe. On our last, leisurely morning, Chris, Joel, and Dad went to the very top of the Eiffel tower while the girls went to a cafe and played in the park.

But as a teaser, here are some of my favorite shots:

Je t'aime
Believe it or not, this is not the only Eiffel tower picture we took on our trip.
Yay for having other people to take pictures of me and Chris together! (Thanks, Joel!)


Holly, Dad, and Joel at the Mona Lisa! Dad had just finished reading a whole book on the history of the painting.


Our twilight Seine


The beautiful Rebecca. Whenever the tower started twinkling like this, Daisy would cry "Star!" and be transfixed. I am going to put a picture of Eiffel in her bedroom.

Vienna

Chris, Holly, Daisy, and Rebecca spent a weekend in Vienna! It's a six hour bus ride from Munich. Among the highlights were spending hours in the luxurious Viennese cafes, shopping, tasting the very best chocolate cake (Daisy had her first taste of cake here, at Demel), touring the Schoenbrunn Palace of the Habsburgs, and going to the Opera (thanks, Chris, for watching Daisy!!!) We loved the exquisite production of Boris Godunov. Holly owes Chris a day at a Football game.