Brendan's trip to Portugal Spring 2014

Spring Break 2014

Boston, New York, Washington DC

Boston was a lovely walkable city where Cheers was filmed, the Boston tea Party raided the British ship so very long ago and you can get a fabulous Italian meal in the North End. Other spots of interest:  Fenway Park, USS Constitution, and China town.

During the late 1960's and 70's the bullpen cart was used to drive relief pitchers from the bullpen into the game.

Next stop:  New York City!  We went to the Empire State Building, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, 911 Memorial, Book of Mormon, Macy's Department store, with a quick day trip to Gettysburg.

I love this old escalator in Macy's

My confederate and union soldiers!

Washington DC in April with the Cherry blossoms was gorgeous!

US Capitol

Best museums ever

Changing of the guard at the Unknown soldier,
Arlington National Cemetery

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

Romantic trips to Neuchatel (CH) and Lyon (FR)!

Sometimes Ira and I have a chance to get away for a night or two and with the girls gone, Brendan is hardly ever around, so this academic year, we decided to take advantage of it....

Neuchatel is where Absinthe originated so of course, we had to drink it and it was delicious!

The beautiful old streets of Neuchatel.

Only about 1hr 45min away from where we live in Leysin.

 
This is the hotel (below) we stayed at right on the lake....really beautiful.

The view from our hotel room over looking Lake Neuchatel.

Now on to Lyon...

Lyon was historically known as an important area for the production and weaving of silk and in modern times has developed a reputation as the capital of gastronomy in France.

Ira eating some french onion soup!

Roma!

This fall I took a trip to Rome and even though it wasn't my first time, I saw it through different eyes, all because of a fantastic tour guide.  Some of the sites I saw were:

• Marcus Aurelius Column
• Pantheon
• Palatine
• Roman Forum 
• Coliseum
  
  
  
  
  
• Galleria Borghese
• Several very old churchs
• Praxis & Pudentia
• Maria Maggiore
• St. Maris della Vittoria (Bernini's St Theresa in Ecstasy)-Wow
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This was written right next to it: I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the iron's point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart, and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also, and to leave me all on fire with a great love of God. The pain was so great, that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it. The soul is satisfied now with nothing less than God. The pain is not bodily, but spiritual; though the body has its share in it. It is a caressing of love so sweet which now takes place between the soul and God, that I pray God of His goodness to make him experience it who may think that I am lying.

• Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini (Bone church/Crypt)-Creepy, even for me!
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The crypt is located just under the church. Cardinal Antonio Barberini, who was a member of the Capuchin order, in 1631 ordered the remains of thousands of Capuchin friars exhumed and transferred from the friary Via dei Lucchesi to the crypt. The bones were arranged along the walls, and the friars began to bury their own dead here, as well as the bodies of poor Romans, whose tomb was under the floor of the present Mass chapel. Here the Capuchins would come to pray and reflect each evening before retiring for the night.

The crypt, or ossuary, now contains the remains of 4,000 friars buried between 1500 and 1870, during which time the Roman Catholic Church permitted burial in and under churches. The underground crypt is divided into five chapels, lit only by dim natural light seeping in through cracks, and small fluorescent lamps. The crypt walls are decorated with the remains in elaborate fashion, making this crypt a macabre work of art. Some of the skeletons are intact and draped with Franciscan habits, but for the most part, individual bones are used to create elaborate ornamental designs.

The crypt originated at a period of a rich and creative cult for their dead; great spiritual masters meditated and preached with a skull in hand.

A plaque in one of the chapels reads, in three languages, "What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be."

• St. Peter's Basilica...ABC (Another bloody church)
• The Vatican Museum-The money in the Vatican is astounding.
• Sistine Chapel-I was so moved by this!
• Trevi Fountain
  

Venice/Florence 2013

Galleria dell'Accademia - Michelangelo's David - up close and personal.  Unveiled in 1504, this marble statue symbolizes the defense of civil liberties embraced by the Florentine Republic and the powerful Medici family. 

Patti and Phoebe enjoying a moment during our Italian cooking class!

Florence's principal palace was begun in 1299 and built as the seat of the Signoria, the fathers of the city's republican government.  It's still in use today as a government facility!

Piazza dell Duomo - it's massive!

Venice

A masterpiece of Gothic architecture, St. Mark’s Square Museums grants access to the Doge’s Palace, Museo Correr, Museo Archeologico Nazionale and Monumental Rooms of Biblioteca Marciana

 Ira and me on one of the many bridges crossing the Grand Canal.

Considered the true heart of Venice, this landmark bridge, characterized by its 24-foot arch, is built on approximately 12,000 wooden pilings that still support the bridge more than 400 years after it was built.

Venice's main water thoroughfare, lined with great Renaissance palaces, is a colorful and busy spectacle of gondolas and vaporetti.

Neal and me at a cafe in St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco) - we decided not to stay given the excessive prices charged for food and beverages...

Here's our buddy and trip leader Neal drawing a picture of our gondolier as we commute through the city canals.  Gondolas have been the chief means of transportation in Venice for centuries!

Venice's magnificent basilica was consecrated in 832 AD as an ecclesiastical building to house the remains of St. Mark.

Ira enjoying a moment on a Venice bridge.

Verona

Phoebe and Karina
enjoying a beverage at a cafe in Verona.  Behind is the Roman Arena, erected in the 1st Century AD.  Even though the structure is very old and damaged by earthquakes, this amphitheatre is still used for concerts and operas.