tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76703160073163171292024-03-14T08:11:01.043-07:00Wellard in WonderlandI am NOT in the habit of talking to myself...even though it's the only way I can get a decent conversation around here.wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comBlogger197125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-87826218472810773612009-11-05T08:33:00.001-08:002009-11-05T08:49:05.800-08:00Italy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfWbbQDOAe23nJCJV-MTVr-4K11mj3WrU7DROgPGEKa_l1vFPQ1ocijt1FN1DFBMQKWIV7tHad7Chfx1LcFH2jf5LSpcR2WJg7yFyGg0G83OXjOD0p4ZkICa7dJg5OTc47M4c0t9k6xmI/s1600-h/DSC06813.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfWbbQDOAe23nJCJV-MTVr-4K11mj3WrU7DROgPGEKa_l1vFPQ1ocijt1FN1DFBMQKWIV7tHad7Chfx1LcFH2jf5LSpcR2WJg7yFyGg0G83OXjOD0p4ZkICa7dJg5OTc47M4c0t9k6xmI/s320/DSC06813.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400659187961270962" border="0" /></a><br />Several people involved in Bryan's art foundation had a bit of a retreat in Italy about a week and a half ago. Since I'm married to the CEO, I got to go along as well. Italy is about a 3.5 hour drive from here. We had fun!<br />I'm about to inundate you with pic<br />tures...this is a photography kind of blog<br />anyways.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fPDBLPVNfqVQbB6VDMCWFVY2jyhTeKiF5QjmVoQh1XVUKaUuFYhlLD4QiKF4yx2DhXQ_Df-QRapsDN0t-TJvsdA3w3TqZ8ptbvaZyXJATW4VebC5QeVl3JcG4JBbfxWu7lPt6lCgsAP2/s1600-h/DSC06713.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fPDBLPVNfqVQbB6VDMCWFVY2jyhTeKiF5QjmVoQh1XVUKaUuFYhlLD4QiKF4yx2DhXQ_Df-QRapsDN0t-TJvsdA3w3TqZ8ptbvaZyXJATW4VebC5QeVl3JcG4JBbfxWu7lPt6lCgsAP2/s200/DSC06713.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400660779287080578" border="0" /></a><br />Walking around the town of Connobio<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioOKdsEp3tFgkitt7B1lKjv7FNka54_3R7hbmTQiFKAkaWa7qKr2OeAqcuDUxtav1ylXGoV_IAVs8d2IGSh48H0tm2k9DSY3dyT4Lg80-HDrp0VI7t-A0rw8SUAvngyBTdIUAcsnRY3_2/s1600-h/DSC06729.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioOKdsEp3tFgkitt7B1lKjv7FNka54_3R7hbmTQiFKAkaWa7qKr2OeAqcuDUxtav1ylXGoV_IAVs8d2IGSh48H0tm2k9DSY3dyT4Lg80-HDrp0VI7t-A0rw8SUAvngyBTdIUAcsnRY3_2/s320/DSC06729.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400661198691037458" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9Ip6bb0CHK32ezl6FgCPxysWMOyux9JlGJFNRVhUNY5-ZIajfW99__9_Yqz9ukeoHWWlXl2kXk8fDHcC1TPSUolMYcgMwb53QtKHrOpkmJCOUlymJPPtW7sGhA_aSAGlOh2v246iLuJj/s1600-h/DSC06724.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9Ip6bb0CHK32ezl6FgCPxysWMOyux9JlGJFNRVhUNY5-ZIajfW99__9_Yqz9ukeoHWWlXl2kXk8fDHcC1TPSUolMYcgMwb53QtKHrOpkmJCOUlymJPPtW7sGhA_aSAGlOh2v246iLuJj/s200/DSC06724.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400661395253626194" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UoDMQYWhVC4DwQSnqS12fBwF4RrFLQXyEkTzJCRlb3qfaIdmSlEjgkOWT8pJ2AywU2AGTBtUJmvrTm8iQM0Wx3I0KR48KK21I1DWiR8rVUpJc7gm0cf1TywdHJ12DA74BiaRwT9GBdF2/s1600-h/DSC06846.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UoDMQYWhVC4DwQSnqS12fBwF4RrFLQXyEkTzJCRlb3qfaIdmSlEjgkOWT8pJ2AywU2AGTBtUJmvrTm8iQM0Wx3I0KR48KK21I1DWiR8rVUpJc7gm0cf1TywdHJ12DA74BiaRwT9GBdF2/s200/DSC06846.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400661752071723586" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A view of the Alps from the Italian side<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNu6XCoctAhXhpXtICFjLNnxMaeIblKuR8B33pMEqwSv5-Bn3CGBwhDUPPRnZqJB_UqrMWgu2fFsLRXml24y4IpLwWPruWGgv8rjC4kZ8xY8Oq00DptYll6S8GbU-pm0I7bmfguzvW3Sc3/s1600-h/DSC06731.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNu6XCoctAhXhpXtICFjLNnxMaeIblKuR8B33pMEqwSv5-Bn3CGBwhDUPPRnZqJB_UqrMWgu2fFsLRXml24y4IpLwWPruWGgv8rjC4kZ8xY8Oq00DptYll6S8GbU-pm0I7bmfguzvW3Sc3/s200/DSC06731.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400662243543741346" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />'Nuff saidwellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-44334329464762254802009-11-05T08:32:00.001-08:002009-11-05T08:32:41.924-08:00Thanks, Mom!I think you're the only who looks at this blog anymore! <br /><br />Love you!wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-85076028642061602182009-11-05T08:17:00.001-08:002009-11-05T08:31:31.191-08:00Montreux<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lMqf4e7fQssS3aE5W_vxwdgR9dg1XrckP6JdshYF9skIIteJH9nm0QRX6CAkDB3FbHZXAYsiPMXG0O4oUMC2CRxXTeP8lz87kq-lBrRTCVJc3Sa7qr_ejyge_2EnSvk-k_DmkitsnNdZ/s1600-h/DSC06601.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lMqf4e7fQssS3aE5W_vxwdgR9dg1XrckP6JdshYF9skIIteJH9nm0QRX6CAkDB3FbHZXAYsiPMXG0O4oUMC2CRxXTeP8lz87kq-lBrRTCVJc3Sa7qr_ejyge_2EnSvk-k_DmkitsnNdZ/s320/DSC06601.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400654906196299490" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Last month, we took a break from the chaos and went to Montreux, which is located in the french-speaking part of Switzerland. It's right along Lake Geneva.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrUVZbis1Yiagg1VE2qDG1pBp8MQC7am578jv2haNP4IqNvQK8MAm9cX-mbja4QfVn2wlnWxc9kCazSJADhe4P2PfJ-tgwe7br9eFeRDSH8Nq5UDFKOKMxkTp1ZnwejFqPQJfEIa0UulYX/s1600-h/DSC06577.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrUVZbis1Yiagg1VE2qDG1pBp8MQC7am578jv2haNP4IqNvQK8MAm9cX-mbja4QfVn2wlnWxc9kCazSJADhe4P2PfJ-tgwe7br9eFeRDSH8Nq5UDFKOKMxkTp1ZnwejFqPQJfEIa0UulYX/s320/DSC06577.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400655368876910690" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Montreux is a jazz city. The people here love jazz and make it known with so many little tributes all over the city. Here is a sculpture of Mr. Ray Charles. There were also other sculptures of Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and B.B. King.<br />We hung out at Sinatra's Bar and enjoyed a couple cocktails as we listened to the fantastic live jazz music.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoS98RpFs0VpDIb2EfBNBN5NsXAJc15dEwmLggvU9ZPFVVvsFUuGjZ0cCeepzUFKwwJHhqGL43FFcS6G13B9T-xq0HuDxOfqGEjMzWfzREEiQOuowKRm5zX0NxMz-O2IIAOU1ImIwe6lS/s1600-h/DSC06613.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoS98RpFs0VpDIb2EfBNBN5NsXAJc15dEwmLggvU9ZPFVVvsFUuGjZ0cCeepzUFKwwJHhqGL43FFcS6G13B9T-xq0HuDxOfqGEjMzWfzREEiQOuowKRm5zX0NxMz-O2IIAOU1ImIwe6lS/s320/DSC06613.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400656134945898626" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Chateau de Chillon<br /><br />One of the best, most interesting castle tours ever!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGu-jiy5c7KoAzAyl1Jo9EYbMw-sPDn3SnXcvqun2PY5q1i3l8bIgILr7b5VhgQPxm8kfkEYQO4iobA_mUHvoUvRy6iPKBLFH1gugKq3a7MJhCv4rcFCa0QxuPm681Rle2477V-YTZ3Iv/s1600-h/DSC06570.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGu-jiy5c7KoAzAyl1Jo9EYbMw-sPDn3SnXcvqun2PY5q1i3l8bIgILr7b5VhgQPxm8kfkEYQO4iobA_mUHvoUvRy6iPKBLFH1gugKq3a7MJhCv4rcFCa0QxuPm681Rle2477V-YTZ3Iv/s320/DSC06570.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400657105524400130" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Enjoying the waterfront<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRdsWa7g0z9ZmWNsc7PMQsyzpO_qJNrbzQJkuN6LylNDmrKHnGs8P1_4ByNhxIByDoP6Yfh57Ddqjnq0rq-v91IUtu8CkRKcsRFNfIMO9vqtVIkt4pLdQ_LvNw6cLERzVbKRwXsx-OmTOr/s1600-h/DSC06607.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRdsWa7g0z9ZmWNsc7PMQsyzpO_qJNrbzQJkuN6LylNDmrKHnGs8P1_4ByNhxIByDoP6Yfh57Ddqjnq0rq-v91IUtu8CkRKcsRFNfIMO9vqtVIkt4pLdQ_LvNw6cLERzVbKRwXsx-OmTOr/s320/DSC06607.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400657380774350466" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />I really love this picture! There's a real serene feeling to it and it feels like something out of a dream to me.wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-73416535925842665152009-10-29T00:28:00.001-07:002009-10-29T00:53:28.166-07:00Ballenberg<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3M1OjoAJoHvYd3thSDbgguy0DOIZiL8vQpXc-2zEq2zOCpdXkOBsHscNZMh6korBlZ0dvQjXi4LZhNbw1fFrmOPz0x6sndrb9pNxULQnya8tIsk2GNZ4-MaVAH-AIF6Yfh5p9sv1TUOi/s1600-h/DSC06145.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3M1OjoAJoHvYd3thSDbgguy0DOIZiL8vQpXc-2zEq2zOCpdXkOBsHscNZMh6korBlZ0dvQjXi4LZhNbw1fFrmOPz0x6sndrb9pNxULQnya8tIsk2GNZ4-MaVAH-AIF6Yfh5p9sv1TUOi/s320/DSC06145.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397920668140589090" border="0" /></a><br />Ballenberg is an open air museum in Switzerland<br />that gives you an idea of what Switzerland used to be like. It features around a hundred or so century-old buildings from all over the country. Also included are farm animals and old-time gardens and some of the old machinery and traditions that were most prevalent in the last couple hundred years.<br />We spent hours walking around. It's pretty interesting to look at and one of the hugest exhibits I've ever seen. There is so much to see!. I took a ton of pictures but thought I'd highlight some of my favorite parts.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoM229AkJRWGFHUH-7lur8kCBOxe68LX0lrcrC_SZ9boHD2g2FwjAwWUmXYuzTa0c6Eq3ygTIWTbZ2-D5fpfCfGAzIFK9-eAxfdFYvRPbNIvVPQuaq_xLEsJrbQ7zDThaoXjbUv8s2w2kw/s1600-h/DSC06154.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoM229AkJRWGFHUH-7lur8kCBOxe68LX0lrcrC_SZ9boHD2g2FwjAwWUmXYuzTa0c6Eq3ygTIWTbZ2-D5fpfCfGAzIFK9-eAxfdFYvRPbNIvVPQuaq_xLEsJrbQ7zDThaoXjbUv8s2w2kw/s320/DSC06154.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397922587338875106" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My most favorite part was going to the cheese house and seeing how they made cheese back in the day. You can see in this picture that the cheese maker is skimming the top of the surface of the water in the cauldron and taking the cheese curds. He then puts them into those buckets for cooling. We got to sample some fresh cheese and it was fantastic! One of the rooms in the house was a little cheese store and we bought several different kinds of cheese. They didn't last very long! We at them up pretty quick!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-QIFsQOiYhqKRn5KLcG_qBk0i-e5th8jweitN0Fs_TFC-_j-WEQKKjqE_N_XD9POLcSncFtiZSEAafMrYIxeeXQmVK8xfg41jPf1jAOVHc56UXu_KkNc76DVvgpS-XJJ-16Tgl5FKhlWC/s1600-h/DSC06183.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-QIFsQOiYhqKRn5KLcG_qBk0i-e5th8jweitN0Fs_TFC-_j-WEQKKjqE_N_XD9POLcSncFtiZSEAafMrYIxeeXQmVK8xfg41jPf1jAOVHc56UXu_KkNc76DVvgpS-XJJ-16Tgl5FKhlWC/s320/DSC06183.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397924151520783602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />This is an old wine press. I could not believe how large it was!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNFn5_E-DPayx33tTq9Fu16c8nZ2l_Lpv4sgr75J-NshPH0rz4DK1D-MOFc5HqJLTdzJAg6-mSgo6Jqaa8Fkc0dk4D0_YtQMmWfKEBF2r_UdRZGLhQ1UpkKVH3EiI6KRZb5Omw588wBOG/s1600-h/DSC06159.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 241px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNFn5_E-DPayx33tTq9Fu16c8nZ2l_Lpv4sgr75J-NshPH0rz4DK1D-MOFc5HqJLTdzJAg6-mSgo6Jqaa8Fkc0dk4D0_YtQMmWfKEBF2r_UdRZGLhQ1UpkKVH3EiI6KRZb5Omw588wBOG/s320/DSC06159.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397924549893770642" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Here are several cow bells. I couldn't imagine being a cow and having to wear one of these. They are really big and heavy!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AeRyNAyTtuXtCLArRu0_mkKd7SpgbyhBMHOMS0paCUzXRpdCZMS-AqyJw37ysURlX53xXHAOwlZHbXN2i89Te4lhV1jQ7nnwzrrL0eD1AuHRQ6LDWiLQi2WhJQNm0cwsgAzlX1hrzSsf/s1600-h/DSC06172.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_AeRyNAyTtuXtCLArRu0_mkKd7SpgbyhBMHOMS0paCUzXRpdCZMS-AqyJw37ysURlX53xXHAOwlZHbXN2i89Te4lhV1jQ7nnwzrrL0eD1AuHRQ6LDWiLQi2WhJQNm0cwsgAzlX1hrzSsf/s320/DSC06172.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397925289344155938" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />An old office/reading room.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />If you have any extra time, I'd encourage you to check out the website:<br /><a href="http://www.ballenberg.ch/en/Welcome"><br />http://www.ballenberg.ch/en/Welcome</a><br /><br />Like I said, there's so much to see and the pictures I've shown, along with my description, really don't do it any kind of justice at all.wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-60346086975485577612009-10-28T07:26:00.000-07:002009-10-28T08:50:15.168-07:00Summertime<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBaX3nZKclY8Gy3ZLzmqP4gS29_WLtfKZd8NO0z0eQc3Dc3ll7AwElSgpt26KaebKhDx-Wc7JVQ3xu86pr8f69Jv5bjxaq4V9AWFjl58PtcGzmbjKhIj82ZJS9V2ldEu4AWptGRRVlmgW/s1600-h/DSC06438.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBaX3nZKclY8Gy3ZLzmqP4gS29_WLtfKZd8NO0z0eQc3Dc3ll7AwElSgpt26KaebKhDx-Wc7JVQ3xu86pr8f69Jv5bjxaq4V9AWFjl58PtcGzmbjKhIj82ZJS9V2ldEu4AWptGRRVlmgW/s200/DSC06438.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397660750763200578" border="0" /></a>One of my favorite concerts I played/sang this summer was in August. I had the pleasure to play and sing with a jazz saxophonist from Germany named Uwe Steinmetz. We met in Austria back in May during the arts conference I was at. Since we knew we'd be playing at the same place in Basel in August, we decided to do couple songs together. It was one of those moments where the excitement gets to you and you can't stop smiling like you got the biggest piece of chocolate cake out of everyone else.<br />I've only written one jazz song in my life and couldn't wait to hear how it would sound with a saxophone. Does it sound stupid that I got goosebumps from my own song? One thing that's so great about collaborating with other musicians is that you get to see them take a song and go some place with it that you could never go. He hit it out of the ballpark. It was a grand slam...a homerun...a plethora of goosebumps...whatever you want to call it. I REALLY wish I had a recording of it, but I don't. My camera ran out of battery power right around that time.<br />Uwe's choice of song that we collaborated on was "Summertime" by Sam Cooke. Up until that point, I had never heard of it and I really don't know why I hadn't heard it before. What a great song! I downloaded a couple different versions from iTunes. It's more in the vein of a jazz lullaby. My favorite line from it is:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">One of these mornings, you're gonna rise up singing</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">You're gonna spread your wings and take the sky</span><br /><br />Just before my camera shut down, Bryan was able to capture a bit of it on video. The sound quality is horrible, but you get the idea and you can hear how obviously talented Uwe is.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxZEq1PX8IbQ2rYw8m295Nn0xMIWMDP8C_JE7zy9ImGAWu6_Nh-rv6iFJmpwxpcTM1_7olr-6Ils7naCpt9Dg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-32525665613042346132009-10-28T02:28:00.000-07:002009-10-28T02:41:08.011-07:00Woodstock<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3pQo-1pg84E2hxR1UFvAw2lGdfFN-3ZoZ8uO8VkdF0NnkgIAOhtbNtCspHCYEsUiysbQwf0FK6DRCYTM17i9z_4mFnipYLmr8g0HA2peC2e8EAmKDiJ2JDG2VxKjB5MmhkrQqPrtD1BQ/s1600-h/DSC06280.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3pQo-1pg84E2hxR1UFvAw2lGdfFN-3ZoZ8uO8VkdF0NnkgIAOhtbNtCspHCYEsUiysbQwf0FK6DRCYTM17i9z_4mFnipYLmr8g0HA2peC2e8EAmKDiJ2JDG2VxKjB5MmhkrQqPrtD1BQ/s320/DSC06280.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397580962678403714" border="0" /></a><br />It's been a long time, I know since this blog has seen any action, but I'm about to update you on some of the things I've been up to the last couple of months...<br />As I'm sure you know, this year was the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock festival.<br />On the same anniversary weekend in August, there was a celebration of it here. I got to be apart of the festivities.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHpn1D2jqRyAY1ZJiXQzoa_tv6rWUzB_pF-mpSltr5kMoQCTW0cZ72DXH_iQ6Ms8L3ik1Ckf4obH0g3CAqy1ckNSOQZ0DIAvoAFyHHUMPlsaxzf4QUH77QCWzcKlWDnDz6OJKsuYgvZV5/s1600-h/DSC06237.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHpn1D2jqRyAY1ZJiXQzoa_tv6rWUzB_pF-mpSltr5kMoQCTW0cZ72DXH_iQ6Ms8L3ik1Ckf4obH0g3CAqy1ckNSOQZ0DIAvoAFyHHUMPlsaxzf4QUH77QCWzcKlWDnDz6OJKsuYgvZV5/s320/DSC06237.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397581667775674514" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />My friend, Luzian, accompanied me on the drums and we had a grand time playing. I ended up doing a cover of Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart"...not nearly as good as the original, of course, but A LOT of fun to play and have the crowd singing along.<br />There were a lot of other great bands and musicians that played and what made it even more enjoyable was how much variety and diversity there was!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNsGn-_8pPNu-0TzIwF7FTMDO_zUtfFVir11gtJ7dkGmWR64ZyyP-l2f6iF0hRD7fIO_vRM-GWU0L0WCVzQ8fwPGZU0iqR8_To5Y3Kp477yAfIhx2rWxbSid9gUzdyabM8Ly0X-N7RQaw/s1600-h/DSC06366.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNsGn-_8pPNu-0TzIwF7FTMDO_zUtfFVir11gtJ7dkGmWR64ZyyP-l2f6iF0hRD7fIO_vRM-GWU0L0WCVzQ8fwPGZU0iqR8_To5Y3Kp477yAfIhx2rWxbSid9gUzdyabM8Ly0X-N7RQaw/s320/DSC06366.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397582279266642578" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And, of course, there was some dancing...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0teB7d-rcgPfzq0Y0ZaRInudiQgeYl79_mgdyW9RvVm6QyUNSqn4Fr15e3221aXVZ3OYOlcLgdX_LVefZYtsuWQ8sR6InYomFICit_cFwhAkXlacRUBKWtLL3tI_vcBsnRg6O4xN9QX0C/s1600-h/DSC06390.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0teB7d-rcgPfzq0Y0ZaRInudiQgeYl79_mgdyW9RvVm6QyUNSqn4Fr15e3221aXVZ3OYOlcLgdX_LVefZYtsuWQ8sR6InYomFICit_cFwhAkXlacRUBKWtLL3tI_vcBsnRg6O4xN9QX0C/s320/DSC06390.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397582553657309490" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />....and great food!wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-14362825064739173412009-08-20T08:47:00.000-07:002009-08-20T09:17:13.904-07:00Luzern and David Gray (a lovely combination)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofRoDXKSBUBZ5w5WsA3cgYSBYZCcbfHq6StA1gbN1P9DbPxj6IF93x200k4NPhvSgitRRtLeSlPCE-dufK16LHPrbpS4vpHY9TZ7FcYkeP7aibi2khSiVk6UpvaasXyMyxt_ansO-CzAe/s1600-h/DSC06035.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofRoDXKSBUBZ5w5WsA3cgYSBYZCcbfHq6StA1gbN1P9DbPxj6IF93x200k4NPhvSgitRRtLeSlPCE-dufK16LHPrbpS4vpHY9TZ7FcYkeP7aibi2khSiVk6UpvaasXyMyxt_ansO-CzAe/s200/DSC06035.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372075309442489410" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />A couple weeks ago, I went to Luzern to go see David Gray at the Blue Balls Music Festival. (yes, that's really the name of the festival...no, I don't know why it's called that) Actually, I should specify that I went to Luzern twice in one week because I somehow had mixed up the dates wrong and didn't even bother to check the tickets when we left the first time around. (sigh) I'm hoping that that was my major blonde moment for the year. But Luzern is absolutely lovely and we made the most of both trips. :) Here are some pics:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA6rZt_bemGG5SopMO_zpRJCfeFLj-hC7b7gY8s5C1eSlPvy8h8P6PgwHA_m852qWU67am791qcr8tMSUbROJUDHKWWXelECwmTXEK8ptNFZAQyfozQWpQpE_Yl8E0H-BnQHfPw5gdC7gf/s1600-h/DSC06064.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA6rZt_bemGG5SopMO_zpRJCfeFLj-hC7b7gY8s5C1eSlPvy8h8P6PgwHA_m852qWU67am791qcr8tMSUbROJUDHKWWXelECwmTXEK8ptNFZAQyfozQWpQpE_Yl8E0H-BnQHfPw5gdC7gf/s320/DSC06064.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372074658747288130" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLzzMR-GTefTw3i0thyphenhyphenQkUxFkS8TPCYEJx0l9hGGiLi6iTcWP770kQWTYTLJ6imMKRBReiSKej8axlt1n3mir2mpSfWb64gp7Sad_WXKSp2-td2C8KUYN2wGrmilNAtLNc_4T1I_gBhE1/s1600-h/DSC06063.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLzzMR-GTefTw3i0thyphenhyphenQkUxFkS8TPCYEJx0l9hGGiLi6iTcWP770kQWTYTLJ6imMKRBReiSKej8axlt1n3mir2mpSfWb64gp7Sad_WXKSp2-td2C8KUYN2wGrmilNAtLNc_4T1I_gBhE1/s320/DSC06063.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372074821349031058" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />You can always count on seeing a plethora of swans there.<br />It actually made me think of the "Ugly Duckling" story and I had the sudden urge to go and re-read the story.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkJRm_PV2CmuZ8UjYyTjAcOWRdW5iWj9rQVfV9ecpcmW49TPCYB5fTDLH2i71_bGkaE44AXdZ1e33KbJyvGd_9Q0ANb1ucTV5Kz0JLaLgXjRplDVcFbNnWwAitJePQXZaPSol-65jBULU/s1600-h/DSC06070.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkJRm_PV2CmuZ8UjYyTjAcOWRdW5iWj9rQVfV9ecpcmW49TPCYB5fTDLH2i71_bGkaE44AXdZ1e33KbJyvGd_9Q0ANb1ucTV5Kz0JLaLgXjRplDVcFbNnWwAitJePQXZaPSol-65jBULU/s320/DSC06070.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372075795384677842" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We saw a very interesting photography exhibit by Olaf Heinie. He's a really great photographer and I found myself taking a lot of time looking at each picture. He's that kind of photographer that captures your interest.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3eeWO54SCBIqGhJc86uUwSz3df14V5BPRToupaHyL66JU2Q3Jx6kQfVMrmTDH6JQE-ZB6AARVJUo2m0HdcVH69juS58K_2dc_qf6tf9KpyXe8pUzArI9yJNR_w0ZZjTy-P7Fwjq2u-rP/s1600-h/DSC06077.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3eeWO54SCBIqGhJc86uUwSz3df14V5BPRToupaHyL66JU2Q3Jx6kQfVMrmTDH6JQE-ZB6AARVJUo2m0HdcVH69juS58K_2dc_qf6tf9KpyXe8pUzArI9yJNR_w0ZZjTy-P7Fwjq2u-rP/s320/DSC06077.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372076203732124466" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This was one of my favorite ones. I love the feeling of it and also the depth of field.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsaNE1ZKg0W-hPkbnDG-fhBB_GwS4XMkEGQEAuoZfxTP9ed5qh_Yfi5OY0BtlkMYgMWk-X-z_8Cf6vUCxf8jT_yZugJRse2gi8OVR2-0ShA9qYyhKF6bDFMmkr8D7ktIKiUlzkFfD05Sr/s1600-h/DSC06084.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsaNE1ZKg0W-hPkbnDG-fhBB_GwS4XMkEGQEAuoZfxTP9ed5qh_Yfi5OY0BtlkMYgMWk-X-z_8Cf6vUCxf8jT_yZugJRse2gi8OVR2-0ShA9qYyhKF6bDFMmkr8D7ktIKiUlzkFfD05Sr/s200/DSC06084.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372076716216035698" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />This is the MTV VIP lounge.....not so VIP...it seemed pretty pretentious. We stuck around long enough to satisfy our curiousity...(which took about 3 minutes) and then left.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivbmxFZzuor3r2UJaZYGyn_QHfFUIdBUMB943A2yBgz7a1k2Ph76jI8Mk5qHx7P4G4NRrXoN1nj3dGWvOgpdkiVC4IViLdq3h-P1i4HutU_X5hD8NNRKchGrn1OyBu6myYCyyY8eRSzei5/s1600-h/DSC06091.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivbmxFZzuor3r2UJaZYGyn_QHfFUIdBUMB943A2yBgz7a1k2Ph76jI8Mk5qHx7P4G4NRrXoN1nj3dGWvOgpdkiVC4IViLdq3h-P1i4HutU_X5hD8NNRKchGrn1OyBu6myYCyyY8eRSzei5/s200/DSC06091.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372077712499192930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />I was ecstactic to see David Gray in concert again and so was the rest of the sold out crowd. He sang some of my favorites "Flame Turns Blue" and "This Year's Love" as well as some new songs from is forthcoming album 'Draw the Line'. The new record comes out next month and I can't wait to get it!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicfJztFalBsUUzkJZm6lWSnVwasJtiT5JIN3xrDK-f4tIaKN1WF1ne325ghKMxZyS7cSl9tNAUuyqDcIS_4f0YyjaugKCY9EEfMW-rymuDGhR5Kxdbe8NnWAk1MEKSA2aPmQ04D2gSxN6i/s1600-h/DSC06094.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicfJztFalBsUUzkJZm6lWSnVwasJtiT5JIN3xrDK-f4tIaKN1WF1ne325ghKMxZyS7cSl9tNAUuyqDcIS_4f0YyjaugKCY9EEfMW-rymuDGhR5Kxdbe8NnWAk1MEKSA2aPmQ04D2gSxN6i/s200/DSC06094.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372078479934656802" border="0" /></a><br />As you can see, there were a lot of people at the festival.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRJmikQiBWRhYtpQmPtXHfBnc9a6qgjZXpQYMFKab7W8JNRBAylMwQmTqiXvI9mW4VpNYOTBF5wEqxp9luJ1fdVK5P1ARy5izn1R5cDveyLcdQEbO2YRvpfJbMjH1ntzpg7J5vmvXunq0/s1600-h/DSC06113.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRJmikQiBWRhYtpQmPtXHfBnc9a6qgjZXpQYMFKab7W8JNRBAylMwQmTqiXvI9mW4VpNYOTBF5wEqxp9luJ1fdVK5P1ARy5izn1R5cDveyLcdQEbO2YRvpfJbMjH1ntzpg7J5vmvXunq0/s320/DSC06113.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372079109776384034" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I love this night shot.wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-72353093264444811762009-07-30T02:31:00.001-07:002009-07-30T02:42:48.681-07:00Just Oustide the Window...Right now, people here are gearing up for the big August 1st celebration this Saturday. What are we celebrating? The day that Switzerland became a country...their own independence day. Almost everyday now, an Alpenhorn is brought out and played near the entrance of old town Liestal....just outside my window.<br />I took a short video of it:<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzV9kBoMBzyHk3QSLL7sjZoIPJnqrfnVWszbzqcxydUo8hBdsipHeCrkXRvTRazF0LReL-Ll5RuzWHESAdyfQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Whenever I see an alpenhorn, I always think of those old Ricola commercials. <br />Of course, the real thing is so much better!wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-11204060452543580552009-07-04T05:33:00.000-07:002009-07-04T05:42:59.628-07:00Train Travel<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXDlpqo3t8FVr4xluGHdgNNdrztXHNgzlKlhETqj3Qr4mcfvWqFD9zcD6xUULyeLrwbMR6vdDet-2wubw-5KV7DV8v5IYqFMivbY3pep542pQilCaWoHyq-rywauLildJqxMGB5hQ6Qfc/s1600-h/train.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXDlpqo3t8FVr4xluGHdgNNdrztXHNgzlKlhETqj3Qr4mcfvWqFD9zcD6xUULyeLrwbMR6vdDet-2wubw-5KV7DV8v5IYqFMivbY3pep542pQilCaWoHyq-rywauLildJqxMGB5hQ6Qfc/s320/train.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354582747162221506" border="0" /></a><br />I'm heading back to Switzerland tomorrow...just a little more than 8 hours by train. I am hoping that it will be just as enjoyable quick going back as it was coming here to Austria.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here's a little video to give you an idea of it...<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dydAG3OmizI5oXjlymIo_5ekODbmgURCurp-AfZD2sqBzWGF0UeYwc6h5m5c-4Ea2ph8gwgf0lHjKTVObi7zA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-66502195919696171182009-07-04T05:10:00.000-07:002009-07-04T05:46:39.082-07:00An Afternoon Well Spent in HinterseeThis last Wednesday afternoon, a group of us had some free time and took a short drive to a place called Hintersee. I had never been there before nor had I ever heard of it. Had I known about it the first time we were here, I would've come here most definitely! After we had parked, I came across a couple horses along the way.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05C_E-2AVrtI0NoA8UyXBm-yDJ2TLfNh9pev_K_J-jDxcstwnMOB04ji4YgcPTBQVd7p4VPfeGU3AKvLE2xhvDeZH-u9MeCfrWmwhCPWp1Erkr6SGXIHmRLLKvA7-oa3rdek8R5GLPMP4/s1600-h/austria6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05C_E-2AVrtI0NoA8UyXBm-yDJ2TLfNh9pev_K_J-jDxcstwnMOB04ji4YgcPTBQVd7p4VPfeGU3AKvLE2xhvDeZH-u9MeCfrWmwhCPWp1Erkr6SGXIHmRLLKvA7-oa3rdek8R5GLPMP4/s320/austria6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354577287136900930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />They stood very still as they stared back at me. Such perfect posers!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjibDkhpj50SEnLYEBEB1_mN_35y0kvW4q1hqs-dk1Hx2dzb6kT57zuwRWULDCZDvV3uoSF1-sjBYod_kua-_SqJsWZkKlWkN-HI14o0Qdx4fTcrLnVLt4Yv96I-_qTYbNWMTU07UkUPCVV/s1600-h/austria7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjibDkhpj50SEnLYEBEB1_mN_35y0kvW4q1hqs-dk1Hx2dzb6kT57zuwRWULDCZDvV3uoSF1-sjBYod_kua-_SqJsWZkKlWkN-HI14o0Qdx4fTcrLnVLt4Yv96I-_qTYbNWMTU07UkUPCVV/s320/austria7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354577584545847522" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmOGfjkirSQTCz2Ve9hEs0Wc7zI9SZd-9P5NTU-b-E6AyWSVmcwZX-Y6_UDIosgal5NZnPurn89C_I8Q_41JLudUok4nXxBDi9QMeQuEEGgpz6LhSYS9-EXTCZdp4e6v-psoRv4Slgcwyc/s1600-h/austria1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmOGfjkirSQTCz2Ve9hEs0Wc7zI9SZd-9P5NTU-b-E6AyWSVmcwZX-Y6_UDIosgal5NZnPurn89C_I8Q_41JLudUok4nXxBDi9QMeQuEEGgpz6LhSYS9-EXTCZdp4e6v-psoRv4Slgcwyc/s320/austria1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354579068884730130" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I think I need to browse through my thesaurus and choose a couple different descriptive words other than "amazing, beautiful, gorgeous" when I try to describe the view.<br />I don't know if I could really find the right words. Pictures rarely ever do places like these justice.<br />When you come here, you realize just how small you are.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-LzKT9jXV3T7TTOwI4eb6ksnjISiqqkz2e5NtucWVBd24FMe9NqslmSEU6ZqTHQLr7vOLSPb_XfEaGIYr3p4gTKNSqJooTo5wB96VOPlnEVBXxVU6LSYUpt-0z0IGicr3bMsyZKU3zmtk/s1600-h/austria3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-LzKT9jXV3T7TTOwI4eb6ksnjISiqqkz2e5NtucWVBd24FMe9NqslmSEU6ZqTHQLr7vOLSPb_XfEaGIYr3p4gTKNSqJooTo5wB96VOPlnEVBXxVU6LSYUpt-0z0IGicr3bMsyZKU3zmtk/s320/austria3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354579717444128242" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGBsDMpEgJUABXy56tlK8WaL9K2DAB8ZMvgGSNyjloE7sXNZYEBTuo4W5TkjAb7JZ8wsoZIbloBXkY9ITcfNs9PflDngMKLtQZAc_59hJyJpqSodq4n-ZJhA8GL_2JnV_KSp0-QQxVWLp/s1600-h/austria4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGBsDMpEgJUABXy56tlK8WaL9K2DAB8ZMvgGSNyjloE7sXNZYEBTuo4W5TkjAb7JZ8wsoZIbloBXkY9ITcfNs9PflDngMKLtQZAc_59hJyJpqSodq4n-ZJhA8GL_2JnV_KSp0-QQxVWLp/s320/austria4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354580074776838898" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijT9QNxlq8V9RicWyc0A_lt8_s2T1fgpp3HjMZUHtFR9wU3IuLLKi4z5-DzmEL6frHEx80AenTM-eG-pgLI3CZPdQSwHLgBlpHTov29Oz8BAOCOJ-HNuas_K8EeuQTGYJDi_5ktHivD_mg/s1600-h/austria2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijT9QNxlq8V9RicWyc0A_lt8_s2T1fgpp3HjMZUHtFR9wU3IuLLKi4z5-DzmEL6frHEx80AenTM-eG-pgLI3CZPdQSwHLgBlpHTov29Oz8BAOCOJ-HNuas_K8EeuQTGYJDi_5ktHivD_mg/s320/austria2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354580343803335634" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQj4eXbC3K1DGrxC3_oaNqzOaw3Jv9hFH7PipLgFHhK50UAmyTJTAxKXndoXKDMeQVXuOvLnvzObyY9f-r2lATqTPiKfYrw3B9UG8G_QYmqvERmZ7D5ALsNH8hjUbeYREusT1ZgVsmhpM/s1600-h/austria5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQj4eXbC3K1DGrxC3_oaNqzOaw3Jv9hFH7PipLgFHhK50UAmyTJTAxKXndoXKDMeQVXuOvLnvzObyY9f-r2lATqTPiKfYrw3B9UG8G_QYmqvERmZ7D5ALsNH8hjUbeYREusT1ZgVsmhpM/s320/austria5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354584888708663138" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Not only were there cows, but there were also many goats aimlessy wandering about.wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-41043301241537485192009-06-29T10:01:00.000-07:002009-06-29T10:09:54.775-07:00An Austrian ViewCheck out the view...<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwnMbS0TID8aubSA2zCaEGtK16FdfsmJpoIQccEZcWdrKKloE4KxkZ6NR81G4xZ-rD3DM6x-P15YsewIusomg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-72021143795552733802009-06-27T01:30:00.000-07:002009-06-27T02:14:31.613-07:00Welcome to Austria<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiU2Fo-g1-ZuP82eb5oWLBNVn-EmkpXFZybYpNRIHsnJRG6RMvd3SEbGQiiNL60SF-txlyRynH7F7G0jBb6OsDxwMwgzwNCtdDFdnxMMUROQZIWS2jJEk1rDa66swljwNoO6MeVEu4OPV-/s1600-h/DSC05903.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiU2Fo-g1-ZuP82eb5oWLBNVn-EmkpXFZybYpNRIHsnJRG6RMvd3SEbGQiiNL60SF-txlyRynH7F7G0jBb6OsDxwMwgzwNCtdDFdnxMMUROQZIWS2jJEk1rDa66swljwNoO6MeVEu4OPV-/s400/DSC05903.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351925137089296530" border="0" /></a><br />Mittersil, Austria....that is. It is beautiful! At the tail end of our "worldwide wedding tour", we came here to attend an Arts Summit.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0KEVHL6EFPYw_JqJfNQnEUgnJCDKOP9Hz5FxwICCd2oK_IUqEVJv0NcfUjjNb3dV-ivpoek5NoqhtNPoagvjf3FE9RJ9_bVvLYCIWDVXT9wyZaFM3w-XIYfhvw9fVKXj_ENCAnbTAQSM/s1600-h/DSC05848.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0KEVHL6EFPYw_JqJfNQnEUgnJCDKOP9Hz5FxwICCd2oK_IUqEVJv0NcfUjjNb3dV-ivpoek5NoqhtNPoagvjf3FE9RJ9_bVvLYCIWDVXT9wyZaFM3w-XIYfhvw9fVKXj_ENCAnbTAQSM/s320/DSC05848.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351925694051769426" border="0" /></a>Overlooking the valley, we stayed here at Schloss Mittersill...which is an old castle. We ended up sleeping in the room that the Queen of Netherlands stayed in 100 years ago when she came here for her honeymoon! There is another room full of memorabilia, old pictures and historical information of the castle. A random tidbit: back in the day, Clark Gable was here. I wonder which room he stayed in....<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluGvK__g7Mj7f2r72c1nPd9DoDg9LYO4bu80Y4jv4VNGAmBxT-xJbkCEF6OzXW_1qh7i3YnYtnIjX9_fctQ375Qa15grcNVTSgFU-_PcQtpH2Fay5cU9Q9jWuZiHRnIy1prypckKRfkIx/s1600-h/DSC05878.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluGvK__g7Mj7f2r72c1nPd9DoDg9LYO4bu80Y4jv4VNGAmBxT-xJbkCEF6OzXW_1qh7i3YnYtnIjX9_fctQ375Qa15grcNVTSgFU-_PcQtpH2Fay5cU9Q9jWuZiHRnIy1prypckKRfkIx/s320/DSC05878.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351926942339292754" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />This castle even had a couple dungeons. They were cold, damp and creepy....just like you'd imagine them to be. What made it even creepier were some of the stories we heard of prisoners that were thought to be witches and whatnot. They don't call it the Dark Ages for nothing...yeesh!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlVkZad-NmWlKmGqR5Qr8dORio5LWxpbVYs93xqIaV1df6-RZFITm0B0K90OdEvkr31qm9BJjzuC43mmGTclAc_GeVtpUnhcoTa18KOEiAS9-6Vi0qnCjFUjc2dRrTzcVzDN9fd0zW1p8/s1600-h/DSC05868.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlVkZad-NmWlKmGqR5Qr8dORio5LWxpbVYs93xqIaV1df6-RZFITm0B0K90OdEvkr31qm9BJjzuC43mmGTclAc_GeVtpUnhcoTa18KOEiAS9-6Vi0qnCjFUjc2dRrTzcVzDN9fd0zW1p8/s200/DSC05868.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351928813311754178" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is a place where you can really enjoy the quiet.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOIWah1Pfx1jeFVw2cHLe7g8LRuj_MjoUilORQSyrgXAYQ5cBD-G5yvw9qPv0_QCT4kGf9bS25IujcLw7YEBJ_bjtrJwO13OTUvyP62p3n89qUrBjuwSs2WdAVQ7OX4IbllgFCKQvuKZb/s1600-h/DSC05910.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOIWah1Pfx1jeFVw2cHLe7g8LRuj_MjoUilORQSyrgXAYQ5cBD-G5yvw9qPv0_QCT4kGf9bS25IujcLw7YEBJ_bjtrJwO13OTUvyP62p3n89qUrBjuwSs2WdAVQ7OX4IbllgFCKQvuKZb/s200/DSC05910.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351929360175325714" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The castle gardens are quite beautiful.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_obczxwMfV8Mvd1QoDSykqM_44rZOdDq8mRzg2WQ7UKT39_hHj4srrVckkLuCB6zbZPrTVy_T704rJEiAnEpOgMMU4-IbAtPDuFbdouFRfDmwCfbltiIVVZu38R_-H342tH6-DlSkov2/s1600-h/DSC05852.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_obczxwMfV8Mvd1QoDSykqM_44rZOdDq8mRzg2WQ7UKT39_hHj4srrVckkLuCB6zbZPrTVy_T704rJEiAnEpOgMMU4-IbAtPDuFbdouFRfDmwCfbltiIVVZu38R_-H342tH6-DlSkov2/s320/DSC05852.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351929776179611938" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The view from the patio of our room.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ruIWc-QLuvxy3FKMuxtjvxNs0dTXj6sj3TWN-K3bhR3gSzZyZsrFHOoLmwBJxF2UBsUI8qg-_57ENBw8TVV0xVlOGVamC5Hl8z1O__11HphgcEOM5qJBTrBnUXpHqg96NBKGsRUcb1UD/s1600-h/DSC05904.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ruIWc-QLuvxy3FKMuxtjvxNs0dTXj6sj3TWN-K3bhR3gSzZyZsrFHOoLmwBJxF2UBsUI8qg-_57ENBw8TVV0xVlOGVamC5Hl8z1O__11HphgcEOM5qJBTrBnUXpHqg96NBKGsRUcb1UD/s320/DSC05904.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351930166544866738" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />There is a glass house on one corner of the castle that you can just go into to relax and write. It's a fantastic space to soak up the quiet, gather your thoughts, reflect and enjoy the view.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We had a fantastic time at the summit and met a lot of great people and had some really intellectually stimulating conversations. I ended up doing a couple of spontaneous concerts here and they invited me back to play here for an arts conference.<br /><br />Fastforward a little over a month, and now I'm back here again. It's hard to believe! I came a couple days early and it's nice to enjoy the quiet. It was just a little over an 8 hour train ride to this place. I know that may seem like a really long journey, but the european countryside is just gorgeous and time flew by so fast!wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-8605422669208194932009-06-27T01:27:00.000-07:002009-06-27T01:30:22.335-07:00Language Flub of the Moment...I've been trying to be better at practicing my German as of late. It can prove to be quite entertaining and confusing at other times for those who can actually understand what I'm saying.<br /><br />So I was trying to say, "Bryan and I decided" but instead ended up saying "Bryan and I divorced" leaving my german teacher absolutely incredulous which then segued into a giggling fit.wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-6478854336576137202009-05-27T06:41:00.000-07:002009-05-27T06:51:37.152-07:00Wedding PicsAnd here you are finally...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7f-HvbTG8NVg8aHzqczJDKS3zY0njABMp7iGiFSJHcYP_VPzLJqu-pZyXv5bhEhGAcesuA-Z50d_6O8SlGKlChCkt6jt8-etK76-gAm-0avWDPw8K3XoYwxq20pufI89TQ9-DXqe2Wo8/s1600-h/51.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7f-HvbTG8NVg8aHzqczJDKS3zY0njABMp7iGiFSJHcYP_VPzLJqu-pZyXv5bhEhGAcesuA-Z50d_6O8SlGKlChCkt6jt8-etK76-gAm-0avWDPw8K3XoYwxq20pufI89TQ9-DXqe2Wo8/s320/51.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340498810622734914" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVgzsAVetlFMgiwYExcMtI-GSTHCE6uua-Z_nj7waJN8kWOXpCL8qS0UuTbfpzeBQme4u34ipwvytC-Y37gFL7l-2tZ2PKawlAREr9ows5_UpNYp02xtxlk24GnwWjXshKcGJpswP6i6bC/s1600-h/47.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVgzsAVetlFMgiwYExcMtI-GSTHCE6uua-Z_nj7waJN8kWOXpCL8qS0UuTbfpzeBQme4u34ipwvytC-Y37gFL7l-2tZ2PKawlAREr9ows5_UpNYp02xtxlk24GnwWjXshKcGJpswP6i6bC/s320/47.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340498915765302354" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgIgWP3wYlYL9B-Sr5Fq1c8QP_tEjz9I2x_wu7zs-ozxr9GtcLq_0o6MIXV01PlOumaViI2dii8p3p6AbiL-TwxPVplD1yJhXGCM2mH91OdXbmM97_Mm0NYtq62pfls0bteQcLKDKfhd2/s1600-h/95.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgIgWP3wYlYL9B-Sr5Fq1c8QP_tEjz9I2x_wu7zs-ozxr9GtcLq_0o6MIXV01PlOumaViI2dii8p3p6AbiL-TwxPVplD1yJhXGCM2mH91OdXbmM97_Mm0NYtq62pfls0bteQcLKDKfhd2/s320/95.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340499033457457954" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJc4iby5DXLk2nn0bhgPKj8grWIWR1twwaV9S6t91YwWq0XiFUwqkjHqGy9yfW9TMtXCKm75-Ly51nKwjI43RTjIKhPIlQviINKPBQi8UQKwta27nfiEqbXRlRp7oZN4ykVBVFu2BQBqp/s1600-h/79.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIJc4iby5DXLk2nn0bhgPKj8grWIWR1twwaV9S6t91YwWq0XiFUwqkjHqGy9yfW9TMtXCKm75-Ly51nKwjI43RTjIKhPIlQviINKPBQi8UQKwta27nfiEqbXRlRp7oZN4ykVBVFu2BQBqp/s320/79.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340499211713846818" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmHoFR2F6v-409TAbuwnk_-BRi6w4HoDmvOvE9uZEtK1o30zWC6EzcL5rKs0xfd9Djnfz8ErPMMckFtTzJ-c6YCg5cvxFAVGvvJjcbLJYnqocsKhUqlYdXfUGISU499Mm5IF4uKLAAFLu/s1600-h/78.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmHoFR2F6v-409TAbuwnk_-BRi6w4HoDmvOvE9uZEtK1o30zWC6EzcL5rKs0xfd9Djnfz8ErPMMckFtTzJ-c6YCg5cvxFAVGvvJjcbLJYnqocsKhUqlYdXfUGISU499Mm5IF4uKLAAFLu/s320/78.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340499519613858514" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6DfYjibj0fuM11LDKKycv3G7WYwnRSfEuk8mm1ezEJmHe5BYLpNsy_rpkDa0XBcuNkdGFQSWBu3UWGXqcwjGJ_rxris80Zwz0yCW3438-9wLGD_lKi5okkQadIoi4Kce2068ZqfKCVnrB/s1600-h/225.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6DfYjibj0fuM11LDKKycv3G7WYwnRSfEuk8mm1ezEJmHe5BYLpNsy_rpkDa0XBcuNkdGFQSWBu3UWGXqcwjGJ_rxris80Zwz0yCW3438-9wLGD_lKi5okkQadIoi4Kce2068ZqfKCVnrB/s320/225.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340499856277176706" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-JsnirW0LOQ-9gSN0TkcxptwUX1N5DU3AZ6d0gi_tPzMnha38WD9JG8qpZHUacaDN9AFAm8pni2SQrddcuRRcCQUSnUmFS8tWS01BlG1wYVx4uXWiwx9q2VPtokDvbKZsgPB4nKh-6m7/s1600-h/247.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-JsnirW0LOQ-9gSN0TkcxptwUX1N5DU3AZ6d0gi_tPzMnha38WD9JG8qpZHUacaDN9AFAm8pni2SQrddcuRRcCQUSnUmFS8tWS01BlG1wYVx4uXWiwx9q2VPtokDvbKZsgPB4nKh-6m7/s320/247.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340500118160675650" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5qMg3_wvVGxlOLqV6ixR5jD_e7CEEDUMUs2svX6uEljQ4eo3EsbOBW2ghK48os0tXVmM5fmzHDo3KoGPMxen9rB9TvfCGl26HSwLyBlCP9z2rQeFcVNIWD8flTm8DZbE-VTdTFRfCwAsT/s1600-h/257.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5qMg3_wvVGxlOLqV6ixR5jD_e7CEEDUMUs2svX6uEljQ4eo3EsbOBW2ghK48os0tXVmM5fmzHDo3KoGPMxen9rB9TvfCGl26HSwLyBlCP9z2rQeFcVNIWD8flTm8DZbE-VTdTFRfCwAsT/s320/257.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340500527725067042" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgHOC-rk_-WqLhgo-UHG1SDzGBAK4_5qAzgR6Kn0JYOWRSjQ0oR8pcfonzWWhMXqWo-4Ozz5ULKoCci5yp0UGW-NzRzviAvR73Wy2hV_2qFe3daycxM30vVPEOCxJ-5XyNnQoIWiVUu64/s1600-h/260.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgHOC-rk_-WqLhgo-UHG1SDzGBAK4_5qAzgR6Kn0JYOWRSjQ0oR8pcfonzWWhMXqWo-4Ozz5ULKoCci5yp0UGW-NzRzviAvR73Wy2hV_2qFe3daycxM30vVPEOCxJ-5XyNnQoIWiVUu64/s320/260.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340500892467800786" border="0" /></a>wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-14682007662790402052009-05-25T02:01:00.001-07:002009-05-25T02:03:17.909-07:00World Wide Wedding Tour...WHEW!Hello Everyone!<br /><br />We are finally back!<br />I will try and update the blog soon. There are several wedding pics, pics from Austria and pics of our new place to show you!<br /><br />Love ya!wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-24970177595877233152009-04-17T20:28:00.001-07:002009-04-17T20:32:35.194-07:00And more...Here are a couple more pics:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHWIqWWOBEN3ErJD_a4wkiQRH4HQ4D4cXqOQfQqLh1_u7eXULHm9T9lsoy6fatx9tO3vTTBUmlHOYRU_Mca745SKzcaDQSRRyUdNmrkbqjl637Sy0tXXfk9AslgEwKW3jpsJbzOKvhy4i/s1600-h/DSC_0539.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHWIqWWOBEN3ErJD_a4wkiQRH4HQ4D4cXqOQfQqLh1_u7eXULHm9T9lsoy6fatx9tO3vTTBUmlHOYRU_Mca745SKzcaDQSRRyUdNmrkbqjl637Sy0tXXfk9AslgEwKW3jpsJbzOKvhy4i/s320/DSC_0539.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325868359072453618" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85NLbaalzdg8IDrkQJtZNFLu9C-G7jJDR3ehEjZeW4OY-nSUo_XlGqy71_f4Bc9diLm3lWjwjs7dmyF-8W_Jw72PJ4UE-tVJzBWy4t1MFsTQiCQe8AG9S6GA6R6_P6yLLWRK-OJ2JhyMq/s1600-h/DSC_0624.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 215px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85NLbaalzdg8IDrkQJtZNFLu9C-G7jJDR3ehEjZeW4OY-nSUo_XlGqy71_f4Bc9diLm3lWjwjs7dmyF-8W_Jw72PJ4UE-tVJzBWy4t1MFsTQiCQe8AG9S6GA6R6_P6yLLWRK-OJ2JhyMq/s320/DSC_0624.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325868467474491794" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsekuPGkBDH1UOG7e2n5apGssyr5sDrw4hKKLMsiPE89SZm5hIRC45GwVBQEt_Bk1NJBOl2ywPhHA484v6qqqjhaEPw4ktSFbTaWfY88_CCPhnMIjd9-33Wf9mP0I8PdWu-S9dc0HYUPGt/s1600-h/DSC_0390.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsekuPGkBDH1UOG7e2n5apGssyr5sDrw4hKKLMsiPE89SZm5hIRC45GwVBQEt_Bk1NJBOl2ywPhHA484v6qqqjhaEPw4ktSFbTaWfY88_CCPhnMIjd9-33Wf9mP0I8PdWu-S9dc0HYUPGt/s320/DSC_0390.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325868589750300082" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5G7OCrJXkz8PIKkl175oMc8wEY7Me13vyepVyZzx1sTMJw0yO5dWCddIoB9dFNiIV_UZsw-dTB1GuLIcWCWmZy-NYqP0gDz_UpSQqe5tZJBRbPYdLpvV8iBglINDC9HCEZoSw0Kjx3JaU/s1600-h/DSC_0420.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5G7OCrJXkz8PIKkl175oMc8wEY7Me13vyepVyZzx1sTMJw0yO5dWCddIoB9dFNiIV_UZsw-dTB1GuLIcWCWmZy-NYqP0gDz_UpSQqe5tZJBRbPYdLpvV8iBglINDC9HCEZoSw0Kjx3JaU/s320/DSC_0420.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325868742160796466" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHB9qGgt2v2jlNDxFU9aaRU1TfBB5Ng2NQWIEPpmGczYQXK35k8OsEUWGEENLBKmdcF1wPhV2x3E3wOow49T1qtPD3op1Cqw8Tm7aWWS6u9KJY2WGbZ29TbAkfJiOirRE9oVsb3NS7pa8R/s1600-h/DSC_0559.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 294px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHB9qGgt2v2jlNDxFU9aaRU1TfBB5Ng2NQWIEPpmGczYQXK35k8OsEUWGEENLBKmdcF1wPhV2x3E3wOow49T1qtPD3op1Cqw8Tm7aWWS6u9KJY2WGbZ29TbAkfJiOirRE9oVsb3NS7pa8R/s320/DSC_0559.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325868944665499394" border="0" /></a>wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-43729057456653523712009-04-04T08:38:00.000-07:002009-04-04T08:45:20.952-07:00Civil Ceremony in Switzerland<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9GXlX0KI0Cpq5_fF8DnvpNp6j-dVKq_SSoqU0LJ7-j_aUdxg1eMR_LF6pKH0KBUFcV29rn59Vj6-g0kyW4OtyoRVHVtEDbHP7LU-MrZtTbYucmzIzIeToWBuz2TtsbtbjZKOjW1xviaY/s1600-h/DSC_0560.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9GXlX0KI0Cpq5_fF8DnvpNp6j-dVKq_SSoqU0LJ7-j_aUdxg1eMR_LF6pKH0KBUFcV29rn59Vj6-g0kyW4OtyoRVHVtEDbHP7LU-MrZtTbYucmzIzIeToWBuz2TtsbtbjZKOjW1xviaY/s400/DSC_0560.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320861467128963522" border="0" /></a><br />I will post more pics a little while later, but here are a couple teasers...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakkkJr5hH_xi6MYonGV7ppGz-k4y1qcODNEvQMH-q4MI1quyeOyIyz-q-2BV5bhhaHFx6M4EHtSIMTQ9D8G0PtZXbFm8IYHxmhD7_nmMVkorJ_lpU7VZ8LRQMPi-MtWrD6aV1fkd_GKjG/s1600-h/DSC_0457.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakkkJr5hH_xi6MYonGV7ppGz-k4y1qcODNEvQMH-q4MI1quyeOyIyz-q-2BV5bhhaHFx6M4EHtSIMTQ9D8G0PtZXbFm8IYHxmhD7_nmMVkorJ_lpU7VZ8LRQMPi-MtWrD6aV1fkd_GKjG/s320/DSC_0457.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320861624034791650" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfW_J6JVCILP9ZIjc8MAislYfkvYfBbBSk2s6L9RKKoYco091V9Hkuw7dH1idTbBL7Md7OtynEl9WnEiaLBsEVikrQEjMk0Lo7MJkTkcw-n9lEYi0a3dLXC3RWjPin3OGElXG9f-F71Xr/s1600-h/DSC_0425.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfW_J6JVCILP9ZIjc8MAislYfkvYfBbBSk2s6L9RKKoYco091V9Hkuw7dH1idTbBL7Md7OtynEl9WnEiaLBsEVikrQEjMk0Lo7MJkTkcw-n9lEYi0a3dLXC3RWjPin3OGElXG9f-F71Xr/s320/DSC_0425.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320861818028773218" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhANXaF1UbeUwunYyEvEImk9EMf41zjmhzg18Nt8Bj_u0OcHGmQ8awtQuLaCP-wLmoD2RbouLdYfiaM_PiQfk3l5a1CLZU70wTpC_gzsRdTO25pjOlZLLDWt0HX7OgPgkF-yGZIW-jVEJ/s1600-h/DSC_0666.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhANXaF1UbeUwunYyEvEImk9EMf41zjmhzg18Nt8Bj_u0OcHGmQ8awtQuLaCP-wLmoD2RbouLdYfiaM_PiQfk3l5a1CLZU70wTpC_gzsRdTO25pjOlZLLDWt0HX7OgPgkF-yGZIW-jVEJ/s320/DSC_0666.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320862170341729346" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6qcBZOgZ0WZrBiTgNR-rN4nhe9yPaKC_ybE8WrApdTUAgYm2W_22qixWGi5wd4PIuzeD4xFY-z7jB8Gu_Bkxfgb7iVVYeHRbfsfGoKez87UXpDkOmtzHFKwe9DKv5CewkTlLSk5ljnVCf/s1600-h/DSC_0529.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 215px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6qcBZOgZ0WZrBiTgNR-rN4nhe9yPaKC_ybE8WrApdTUAgYm2W_22qixWGi5wd4PIuzeD4xFY-z7jB8Gu_Bkxfgb7iVVYeHRbfsfGoKez87UXpDkOmtzHFKwe9DKv5CewkTlLSk5ljnVCf/s320/DSC_0529.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320862343813192898" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjA3OmyJXan_FRtCidfCVNcnBfcMtlJMEC2_Xs5YclRJcH2Y8Xvr9jTsq-LBItFnrEKx4yVJsHCGFeqF-dQGHQ67g9GgLfd2XG5Y93esTqdjBm4_r0wA5XvDwsrXRgzpJ7yPT5JzPTfh6/s1600-h/DSC_0382.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjA3OmyJXan_FRtCidfCVNcnBfcMtlJMEC2_Xs5YclRJcH2Y8Xvr9jTsq-LBItFnrEKx4yVJsHCGFeqF-dQGHQ67g9GgLfd2XG5Y93esTqdjBm4_r0wA5XvDwsrXRgzpJ7yPT5JzPTfh6/s320/DSC_0382.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320862610554922306" border="0" /></a>wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-70434713355802497252009-03-29T13:31:00.001-07:002009-03-29T13:38:30.011-07:00Strasbourg at Night<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6UMco2VKXq3QtWTNueWYbvkpTApH3bnUEH_iSeuHLRijLYh7R6tyZ55vTVn4QtujTpT162kdP6E7D20JWwzr3uysOAgZb1-2jPLORFJ5DZpOMLykWVhvVDZVF7mYL-lL6C_eABDOZ4ka/s1600-h/DSC05561.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6UMco2VKXq3QtWTNueWYbvkpTApH3bnUEH_iSeuHLRijLYh7R6tyZ55vTVn4QtujTpT162kdP6E7D20JWwzr3uysOAgZb1-2jPLORFJ5DZpOMLykWVhvVDZVF7mYL-lL6C_eABDOZ4ka/s400/DSC05561.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318710220800709842" border="0" /></a><br />On the way back to the car, I tried to take several different night shots. Most of them actually didn't turn out very well. At least the rainfall subsided.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKy13BSwsJ1fJ3Z9k3QXbXxCXpCFPAr5np5J0Njc8iMiHz-mI-UCz6wn7GybY8bog7o6p0-Jmdfm46zyrOalu51ykSSJDiJatEn8ArtY4vKmSS53C4rdngZ-R50Ui8R5PReYbaQSq8LI9p/s1600-h/DSC05564.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKy13BSwsJ1fJ3Z9k3QXbXxCXpCFPAr5np5J0Njc8iMiHz-mI-UCz6wn7GybY8bog7o6p0-Jmdfm46zyrOalu51ykSSJDiJatEn8ArtY4vKmSS53C4rdngZ-R50Ui8R5PReYbaQSq8LI9p/s320/DSC05564.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318710668748130578" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5MDlOd2Xq8eoJrrhIusQaR_ha6MAGkqHdBoYxTCtWfGHtrkXrP1_xzXJ8_1L7p_4_gE5_znHoh1L_SikGecUb34Xcz4yctFUZ2zv1mfaOWQgkh5K7e5kO8P81LJGLbAW7Wshxiwme0L8H/s1600-h/DSC05575.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5MDlOd2Xq8eoJrrhIusQaR_ha6MAGkqHdBoYxTCtWfGHtrkXrP1_xzXJ8_1L7p_4_gE5_znHoh1L_SikGecUb34Xcz4yctFUZ2zv1mfaOWQgkh5K7e5kO8P81LJGLbAW7Wshxiwme0L8H/s320/DSC05575.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318710903635794722" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFaPRTgIAEGtOZO1FTZs0jwzIWVUU0cMrwvWMa1l269JuQE_oNZV4z4bxZXCo0IpFECJMZF6E0WmVNnjexnUhfrP_Lt2tYF69F8PMLFNMX5W4J1A27SF1h7QOrM4F4d_kJUyTEthcvPmeG/s1600-h/DSC05579.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFaPRTgIAEGtOZO1FTZs0jwzIWVUU0cMrwvWMa1l269JuQE_oNZV4z4bxZXCo0IpFECJMZF6E0WmVNnjexnUhfrP_Lt2tYF69F8PMLFNMX5W4J1A27SF1h7QOrM4F4d_kJUyTEthcvPmeG/s320/DSC05579.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318711177058848882" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR07qXpjI_FVZJ7WnW6DLMkhn5W4ynJXoRc_7w72muT6vWlzIQ5rJDLh-cldLoDGiNVIhAH6BxzQhyHGTPkXLApZQIoIQ0C4UzVnEY36_xT57S_boeQ0PmOALJN4537n-WIcNaP795Jg4a/s1600-h/DSC05583.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR07qXpjI_FVZJ7WnW6DLMkhn5W4ynJXoRc_7w72muT6vWlzIQ5rJDLh-cldLoDGiNVIhAH6BxzQhyHGTPkXLApZQIoIQ0C4UzVnEY36_xT57S_boeQ0PmOALJN4537n-WIcNaP795Jg4a/s320/DSC05583.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318711340720720578" border="0" /></a>wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-20653549977359862032009-03-29T12:37:00.001-07:002009-03-29T13:28:49.040-07:00Welcome to Strasbourg, France<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDeNa7HcDSAjfrXpILKHzBvXvLpMWBAAdGemU_tFrNsl8Afh7e5gy3cY9frKEBCX483zjLdZr0R1FumQFifThlWN-mlw-HSdW7OhwQvrOEtons7Y8wcHYMYFn0uPpVLDQM07xWVCqiU5s8/s1600-h/DSC05482.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDeNa7HcDSAjfrXpILKHzBvXvLpMWBAAdGemU_tFrNsl8Afh7e5gy3cY9frKEBCX483zjLdZr0R1FumQFifThlWN-mlw-HSdW7OhwQvrOEtons7Y8wcHYMYFn0uPpVLDQM07xWVCqiU5s8/s400/DSC05482.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318696561989706338" border="0" /></a>On Wednesday, a couple of us headed to Strasbourg, France, to see a friend perform in a play. It's about an hour and a half away. We got there a couple of hours early so we could walk around and do some exploring. It was a typical rainy day that felt very similar to Portland. Still, I couldn't for a second let the weather ruin an opportunity to explore. Since we didn't have a lot of time, I was everywhere taking pictures and soaking it all in. I'm pretty sure some of my group found it annoying at times. :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzax7cj4wFX9ivS3WZOJCLtqk8qAh0oXWK6EDiPE6aTQ6YMHGCE2JdP3omZ802mFe6tz5PsTUmv0loLaNsA8bxxtSvgA6uCuxGNZzcxqbS1_hgc3ArY2obqWuTA6_7ChSZti0dgDvkoWF/s1600-h/DSC05498.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzax7cj4wFX9ivS3WZOJCLtqk8qAh0oXWK6EDiPE6aTQ6YMHGCE2JdP3omZ802mFe6tz5PsTUmv0loLaNsA8bxxtSvgA6uCuxGNZzcxqbS1_hgc3ArY2obqWuTA6_7ChSZti0dgDvkoWF/s320/DSC05498.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318698639661052514" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Strasbourg is basically France's own little version of Venice.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJf9AU3EVxSjYkLAPheSABhZwBxNhUVIJMtjpttrIwX42eDFY5ka8ZrgI2bef-Vp4HBTY94qJo_iDhB4k5QFtgCx1z5k4FYjPKKRnSm273YHtsWPpF6fvgBIkkod-YX-CZVptB7vtZYmJ/s1600-h/DSC05477.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJf9AU3EVxSjYkLAPheSABhZwBxNhUVIJMtjpttrIwX42eDFY5ka8ZrgI2bef-Vp4HBTY94qJo_iDhB4k5QFtgCx1z5k4FYjPKKRnSm273YHtsWPpF6fvgBIkkod-YX-CZVptB7vtZYmJ/s320/DSC05477.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318700233015670306" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Even on an overcast, rainy day, I still found it to be very beautiful and serene.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kGkYZcLbhBysKKb_AfroITJlvUmD5alLC11euCY9oEKkFhUFQWrTWsePqsmuG2uYmqFPRhu8UY_SxMveQJQcm_yz7xIZt6YiVJgnqAkN09QH_ZkU_-SXBDbtNhFOZLug3i668u3z-M88/s1600-h/DSC05504.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kGkYZcLbhBysKKb_AfroITJlvUmD5alLC11euCY9oEKkFhUFQWrTWsePqsmuG2uYmqFPRhu8UY_SxMveQJQcm_yz7xIZt6YiVJgnqAkN09QH_ZkU_-SXBDbtNhFOZLug3i668u3z-M88/s320/DSC05504.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318700824364635506" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Every corner brings something picturesque that's begging to be captured.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQx2KcDW2wabc7oj3HYnCD_YbzY8rgnfmfRn-jiAOa1L9acuB3giGAJW9o0xaNubuAPLnY7IEg_MJHSC-IW6IG5xjkJTLFOwolJ-JV004_CqhvZg2Lq208b0YzI1OwrioP2bmIUkND6cj/s1600-h/DSC05514.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQx2KcDW2wabc7oj3HYnCD_YbzY8rgnfmfRn-jiAOa1L9acuB3giGAJW9o0xaNubuAPLnY7IEg_MJHSC-IW6IG5xjkJTLFOwolJ-JV004_CqhvZg2Lq208b0YzI1OwrioP2bmIUkND6cj/s320/DSC05514.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318701490027027378" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />It has a definite romantic undertone to it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtiiBPEJHhwwFBXFKGewiPOtcpKkr9dbzmTyU7z38APJqNqbQCkmu9VKkulRuIDOxby0BeTgX58C-Btkw5D2Fg7qvieFJm9x9vX7ZVuXln3DW0qbqmsosfhnGP5uf57goV4SCvWtpkJrK/s1600-h/DSC05480.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtiiBPEJHhwwFBXFKGewiPOtcpKkr9dbzmTyU7z38APJqNqbQCkmu9VKkulRuIDOxby0BeTgX58C-Btkw5D2Fg7qvieFJm9x9vX7ZVuXln3DW0qbqmsosfhnGP5uf57goV4SCvWtpkJrK/s320/DSC05480.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318702629082624322" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />As long as I live, I don't think I'll ever tire of cobblestone streets.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />After having a quick bite to eat (i.e. some not so great vegetable soup and bread), we headed in the direction of the theater. We weren't exactly too sure where we were going. Luckily, we had some great navigators in our group...(right, Mecky? ;) )<br /><br />Not wanting to be late to the play, we were in a bit of rush. After leaving the water canals of Strasbourg, we walked further into the city. I tried to take a quick video...the thing was, I was a little too quick. Hopefully, this won't make you that dizzy:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxLNAFQwn27-qcH4mkmUYEjykW8SUgYVhCbxZ3-ZONkaRV7ft1-WZbyuj4jiq4IGq892XpyJpaSlofXnIzdQg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />One thing is for sure, you cannot spend only a couple hours in Strasbourg. It is a place that needs time to be explored. I'd like to return sometime and do more of that.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SV3SNH-kjd5jBPn1vhr6YKpM6S6uuw9BNX9O1TCK6z5iz6vcU2x99D4OhX50CuMx2sa2cuYXM-CvlT13g15V8i1hBy1AaGibtDzwTNBrnIRVxBv1Fwr9oc4Mo335fLitYiafJ_Iz8_wG/s1600-h/DSC05540.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SV3SNH-kjd5jBPn1vhr6YKpM6S6uuw9BNX9O1TCK6z5iz6vcU2x99D4OhX50CuMx2sa2cuYXM-CvlT13g15V8i1hBy1AaGibtDzwTNBrnIRVxBv1Fwr9oc4Mo335fLitYiafJ_Iz8_wG/s320/DSC05540.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318705730988951458" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />The play I saw was Alice in Wonderland, but it was more of a loose interpretation of it. The first hour was a german interpretation and the second hour was french interpretation. The thing that was very unusual about the play was the fact that the cast was made up of people from mental institutions...both staff AND patients. I really appreciated the way in which the play was done, in that none of the mentally handicapped people were put in position where their disability was highlighted or made fun of. To be honest, most of the time I couldn't really tell who was handicapped and who wasn't. They all did an incredibly great job and played their parts well. At the end when everyone was taking a bow, I almost started crying because it was such a beautiful picture of human decency, kindness and respect. One of the handicapped ladies kept hugging the director and clapping with excitement and he just kept hugging her back as the crowd was clapping for him and giving a standing ovation.<br /><br />Also accompanying the play was some live music. The musicians were fantastic!wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-3065421459652323692009-03-29T07:50:00.000-07:002009-03-29T08:21:58.250-07:00Wine Tasting Along the Rhine<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MQVOzPVvPNXh33Wsw7zaDqxVfG5a3f0vEALoFNsENvDcZEtnGhF_594ZvuvD1ULQRVEQsOP9JepFETdyNS413lOuIOEkIGCysPaoaVZdWkaKbUL9OcHYVD-PXK2oxrKWWBZvbwR8ml6c/s1600-h/wine+tasting5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MQVOzPVvPNXh33Wsw7zaDqxVfG5a3f0vEALoFNsENvDcZEtnGhF_594ZvuvD1ULQRVEQsOP9JepFETdyNS413lOuIOEkIGCysPaoaVZdWkaKbUL9OcHYVD-PXK2oxrKWWBZvbwR8ml6c/s320/wine+tasting5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318622878247658498" border="0" /></a><br />I love a great wine tasting. What's even better, is a great wine tasting in an unusual way. After the concert, we crossed a bridge over the Rhine River and noticed a boat that was docked.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1_XaUmN7nad6Za3bXv-uH42SEKpJlbGzqvp0rGaFr66Z15qTRDNmZcOIkWiWKKCJBFhHSsE7SKAq0Zw69fs6KBdDXcecrIrVl3X6DLo9now-hIQqCEUkWP0hcpv-pmwgG2YjKmDA03tp/s1600-h/wine+tasting8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1_XaUmN7nad6Za3bXv-uH42SEKpJlbGzqvp0rGaFr66Z15qTRDNmZcOIkWiWKKCJBFhHSsE7SKAq0Zw69fs6KBdDXcecrIrVl3X6DLo9now-hIQqCEUkWP0hcpv-pmwgG2YjKmDA03tp/s320/wine+tasting8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318623348716425362" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />There were signs all over the boat that said "Wyschiff"...which means wine tasting. Apparently, there were around 300 different swiss wines to be sampled. We decided to check it out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZA8VKy7xzBRGCzgr6r2iGNj0Fx2LWCN1motY6kEangaSF2KBoB3w1O5btS34zk3dl51-JHvdnHFRLYac6KoolQgQmU8REOsrqWXmj29NoRESm0bnhSDXhMVqpn-np3hJp2ks8Gt1WOyS/s1600-h/wine+tasting7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZA8VKy7xzBRGCzgr6r2iGNj0Fx2LWCN1motY6kEangaSF2KBoB3w1O5btS34zk3dl51-JHvdnHFRLYac6KoolQgQmU8REOsrqWXmj29NoRESm0bnhSDXhMVqpn-np3hJp2ks8Gt1WOyS/s320/wine+tasting7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318624331629586674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Both the upper and lower deck were full of people sampling various wines. Just as we reached the door, a lady stopped us and asked us if we'd like a free ticket. Score! As we went to pay for another ticket, the ticket guy waved us off and just told us to go on in since there was less than an hour left. Score again!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L51hO7kyihvzKqI6lXVaJqy6bKcBcNHgRl5jncsFsuSxzEgl8i8Et_kcBNvmy5pNhVsblVaU8Zs_ZAbyDqji_mtwxE870vo60mfdPDTocMPn6KWR-LSWYZeL4yUOyiwVnd51Bkiu_c_1/s1600-h/wine+tasting.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L51hO7kyihvzKqI6lXVaJqy6bKcBcNHgRl5jncsFsuSxzEgl8i8Et_kcBNvmy5pNhVsblVaU8Zs_ZAbyDqji_mtwxE870vo60mfdPDTocMPn6KWR-LSWYZeL4yUOyiwVnd51Bkiu_c_1/s200/wine+tasting.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318625222417236498" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />The atmosphere was warm and pleasant. Some wine tastings can be really snooty, but it wasn't the case here.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwCUESKbdq3XtBvIZP01YGqK7vpd3hWDG7oc57fhUuh3kPV2ervj__m5Ne99YG1XsD6sOB_Tjj9X2LLCXoqFVb29vHQiEouYf3l4me2ugjo3MFK6aPUVALSxRieXroaJzal1ZlXjel5nq/s1600-h/wine+tasting3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwCUESKbdq3XtBvIZP01YGqK7vpd3hWDG7oc57fhUuh3kPV2ervj__m5Ne99YG1XsD6sOB_Tjj9X2LLCXoqFVb29vHQiEouYf3l4me2ugjo3MFK6aPUVALSxRieXroaJzal1ZlXjel5nq/s200/wine+tasting3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318625475909437682" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysv-D9hA4fwFkEwmis0j_eLcP87Qb7tVu7Hre_IDb-SlQNtq4DIzjobvjCNO3EIdTsKBtmcSXAN6g4q5fH0bUfnfaefBB7OlxzPr7P3qxVf0fTsuGWjqkrr8TvyREZ500ewyyZ14rwYnc/s1600-h/wine+tasting6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysv-D9hA4fwFkEwmis0j_eLcP87Qb7tVu7Hre_IDb-SlQNtq4DIzjobvjCNO3EIdTsKBtmcSXAN6g4q5fH0bUfnfaefBB7OlxzPr7P3qxVf0fTsuGWjqkrr8TvyREZ500ewyyZ14rwYnc/s200/wine+tasting6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318625735558344114" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ECFhlsc7dCrMolvi-x6Bv1gQtawhTXLdGUufsmMUa3msoLo3K72m_tSQEfVoke_0G178-y1UbbRzo_ZDkpSSanbOYhM0P3iwd0WnkSI6E3yVGzFSawLPKP4sgrXUZHrL_M2vNtZPnSY3/s1600-h/wine+tasting2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ECFhlsc7dCrMolvi-x6Bv1gQtawhTXLdGUufsmMUa3msoLo3K72m_tSQEfVoke_0G178-y1UbbRzo_ZDkpSSanbOYhM0P3iwd0WnkSI6E3yVGzFSawLPKP4sgrXUZHrL_M2vNtZPnSY3/s320/wine+tasting2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318626014521377666" border="0" /></a><br />There was an assortment of cheese, deli meats and bread that were a nice compliment.<br />Soon, we were joining in the wine tasting fun.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpe4YwnEqWTnKc3SCFT9bJZodygrmTLY9ErrHpBB9RP3T1D7iSKkDB9h960pVYiGJYUUEsORupg1t4NgfnHji6UX5QGaxOVPu2rA1fRsz17g3_CiWxLX5ejiTC0kflNb3z36A50gb24OpI/s1600-h/wine+tasting4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpe4YwnEqWTnKc3SCFT9bJZodygrmTLY9ErrHpBB9RP3T1D7iSKkDB9h960pVYiGJYUUEsORupg1t4NgfnHji6UX5QGaxOVPu2rA1fRsz17g3_CiWxLX5ejiTC0kflNb3z36A50gb24OpI/s320/wine+tasting4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318626631080317842" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />You hardly knew where to start. There were so many different booths. I saw one nearly empty and we decided to start there. We ended up having a great conversation with a man who owns a couple vineyards and he shared with us his process of making wine. The first red wine I tasted there was absolutely fantastic! Everything after that didn't compare. We sampled a lot of other different wines, but ended up purchasing the very first wine we tried.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJPLW9GS7SP_ZLCG_bmOFE7ihlCw9msly6V3Kc-Rxkeo40h-D9HAyJwFMb-wLQcHnoa7dna8tjqRm-frYIJIJNiaNUSrLPo5Q7fVtrqiWE4Lo6ER4Cr5GGIBhou6hCfNqeL4RlVUs2gq6/s1600-h/wine+tasting9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJPLW9GS7SP_ZLCG_bmOFE7ihlCw9msly6V3Kc-Rxkeo40h-D9HAyJwFMb-wLQcHnoa7dna8tjqRm-frYIJIJNiaNUSrLPo5Q7fVtrqiWE4Lo6ER4Cr5GGIBhou6hCfNqeL4RlVUs2gq6/s320/wine+tasting9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318627691314595970" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The Winner:<br />2006 Grain Noir Parfum de Vigne<br /><br />It's a red wine with a mix of Cabernet, Malbec, Gamaret, Garanoir and Diolinoir.<br /><br />Fantastic!wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-87841751539618823142009-03-26T00:24:00.001-07:002009-03-26T01:28:30.860-07:00A Night in Basel<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBq71NdwhLVikS7x02Rcm3YLgG6XTJwyeaKYsRmZDaovKj56tYjGcyQkLx1dUHgr1YbGHH5oK9aa1jP5IkhbWqhcZbmH_LZ1LFBCzsMTXzZZGmMLz44BTRa5XdTLDRu8bkAQH6u-kLVF6R/s1600-h/basel1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBq71NdwhLVikS7x02Rcm3YLgG6XTJwyeaKYsRmZDaovKj56tYjGcyQkLx1dUHgr1YbGHH5oK9aa1jP5IkhbWqhcZbmH_LZ1LFBCzsMTXzZZGmMLz44BTRa5XdTLDRu8bkAQH6u-kLVF6R/s320/basel1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317394089795215410" border="0" /></a><br />Last Friday, I had a wonderful night in Basel. I went to the most unusual CD release party. My friend, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/flavianmusic">Flavian Graber,</a> had his cd release on one of the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kunin/2905348593/">little river boats</a> that crosses the Rhine River. The boat seats about 20 people at a time. He and a couple other musicians played acoustically as the boat slowly drifted across the river. With candles lit and Basel's night lights as the backdrop, it truly was a gorgeous setting and such a compliment to the music.<br />It had been a while since I had taken the time to walk around Basel at night and I forgot how beautiful it is! Beforehand, we took a stroll along the river. Of course, I took several pictures.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNVVwtJuIRDkPLFbHmp-iPEn77ZERIdkndbfvZcIwhLVNxm_y8C4dyW6XOrzKqeoU90a5dT8WCqhHspQxIVxY_TtpNpwHofw6zLzySlU0NfsWRWHRhi1TC2ufMI8uBSEbmrE4EwBDQWZM/s1600-h/basel2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNVVwtJuIRDkPLFbHmp-iPEn77ZERIdkndbfvZcIwhLVNxm_y8C4dyW6XOrzKqeoU90a5dT8WCqhHspQxIVxY_TtpNpwHofw6zLzySlU0NfsWRWHRhi1TC2ufMI8uBSEbmrE4EwBDQWZM/s320/basel2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317400737500343154" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeiiVBLaR1ItmmkJyMBxmAIX8jZf6hV1dBlh7i7p5arwkgBdqvbpS2PjGBb425p4_3XvJaK8h9vSkruLLim2FhG8nhyoA7A6wr6OqPYfdT7zFkROTsva4UZFDEI7se6J-Fk9yGeN2Ff3MV/s1600-h/basel3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeiiVBLaR1ItmmkJyMBxmAIX8jZf6hV1dBlh7i7p5arwkgBdqvbpS2PjGBb425p4_3XvJaK8h9vSkruLLim2FhG8nhyoA7A6wr6OqPYfdT7zFkROTsva4UZFDEI7se6J-Fk9yGeN2Ff3MV/s400/basel3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317401020169215554" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I love this picture! It feels like something out of painting.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZKBQxlhSeen2s4Ie5RFHx7f8BCGkKT2q7QA0SSyQjpeFoKj7cp2HigymTbxERcsKQ-XkBGjZo8P27tFlqBvNeV6CsWODGUWt-p6TCY3eDFueNeNHYD8D7FRf7ZujYr5zSnTovous5LFh/s1600-h/basel5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZKBQxlhSeen2s4Ie5RFHx7f8BCGkKT2q7QA0SSyQjpeFoKj7cp2HigymTbxERcsKQ-XkBGjZo8P27tFlqBvNeV6CsWODGUWt-p6TCY3eDFueNeNHYD8D7FRf7ZujYr5zSnTovous5LFh/s320/basel5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317402982409700514" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This was the view from the boat. You can see just how beautiful it was.<br />All the videos I tried to take didn't turn out very well and aren't worth posting. Be sure to check out the link of Flavian's music <a href="http://www.myspace.com/flavianmusic">here</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br />After riding the river boat and soaking up the music, Bryan and I continued to walk along the Rhine.<br />As we climbed the stairs to the bridge, we randomly stumble upon a protest that was just beginning!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Kt71AevOPU7zp64ADIiWr6N40DAtF1ZJGmJGpENwYGrZGZ1Scl-ovf4GtHk2DN2E3I3avz4LdF1F-f6WW_krOf-oplMlgafi95qzXP5Hba9DohkYWUFSNejR3PKGnyoiL9_Tt-MEZkaC/s1600-h/basel6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Kt71AevOPU7zp64ADIiWr6N40DAtF1ZJGmJGpENwYGrZGZ1Scl-ovf4GtHk2DN2E3I3avz4LdF1F-f6WW_krOf-oplMlgafi95qzXP5Hba9DohkYWUFSNejR3PKGnyoiL9_Tt-MEZkaC/s320/basel6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317404968985516530" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />The protest was about ending racism and prejudice agains the Turkish people.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I took a short video and this one actually turned out:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw8BKnGWE2CskK6eKufQcAcg0orNGmB5tnXASWt6gf3pXwfV2uKzUEwxv1ApJUd41FuBpAEV3To1f3Bl_m0TQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-33901905261603838422009-03-23T05:09:00.001-07:002009-03-23T06:06:11.889-07:00The Making of the Wedding Bands<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFMNcVZYk4U4slMR3hC1Ej6b9FgPxuXa10E0P1Y2nNrM9_gnHBp6GZzTlLrogTGkX7bJXbxwz69af0ZdJPUkuPj8jYf4XUN8F-LRcH1MXb96L2J1kywgZK1ZcfYKMhsv09wCyMWRROHU2R/s1600-h/rings4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFMNcVZYk4U4slMR3hC1Ej6b9FgPxuXa10E0P1Y2nNrM9_gnHBp6GZzTlLrogTGkX7bJXbxwz69af0ZdJPUkuPj8jYf4XUN8F-LRcH1MXb96L2J1kywgZK1ZcfYKMhsv09wCyMWRROHU2R/s320/rings4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316354474592006786" border="0" /></a><br />I had a great start to my New Year's when Bryan presented a ring and proposed to me. :) Since then, we've talked about what type of ring he'd like and what type of wedding band I'd like to go with my ring. One of the great things about being engaged to an artist, is how creative they can be. Bryan decided to make our wedding bands. I have to say, it's pretty darn special!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9JJib6-p0s1jci20k2NBZLnViTNZXOvJ2IbNrjA1oNZY99S5BZXwXOeG4Mo2GzWGAIIvaeVQjo8g67VlSEOQFlzPbyuwVKgmSc4ElJYoOwC7DkDFU_nRE8cmO2Cx9zOHfAeomQrFnPreX/s1600-h/rings1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9JJib6-p0s1jci20k2NBZLnViTNZXOvJ2IbNrjA1oNZY99S5BZXwXOeG4Mo2GzWGAIIvaeVQjo8g67VlSEOQFlzPbyuwVKgmSc4ElJYoOwC7DkDFU_nRE8cmO2Cx9zOHfAeomQrFnPreX/s200/rings1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316356196584653330" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Through a referral, we went to a goldsmith in Liestal. Andreas Peter is a very kind man and wonderful to work with.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVe8WQKr16Ltn13w23oBlUeQt046e0n1ZbC66GHZpr8keuLIEeppo4LtmGdvOT4rb4RTNFC8_n827m0sYTRVqRrbCGP-YjRnT0wvnu4w38VNWptMsC0rTCxx20DhPEiOF9RDew6XVZGGp/s1600-h/rings2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVe8WQKr16Ltn13w23oBlUeQt046e0n1ZbC66GHZpr8keuLIEeppo4LtmGdvOT4rb4RTNFC8_n827m0sYTRVqRrbCGP-YjRnT0wvnu4w38VNWptMsC0rTCxx20DhPEiOF9RDew6XVZGGp/s320/rings2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316356498733275762" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />I've never before seen how rings are made. It was a really interesting process to watch.<br />First, white gold is melted.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />You can see more in this video:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxhVxLJrwTjehUtQFVloPts3QrpUmYsnmsCF88NFSZdergOPDYtHBQcfOTMnUvZ95cNlUDWgOzsU4jMAXZriQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />After the gold has been melted into a small form, it is then cooled briefly in water.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy864mzgWHe4UK9jXRmHzPu6DFSw-KQNy7rpYNh6qo4bB2b-Jd-kgABl3BsiJJ6Aa--BVO7bMcw8sFQk5KXmA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSQaB8ron0elnXy_PZqgthO-VUsKJAH0UzpRBe-ep-oHO2-8WX5Y1JqBbUoRHxWk8CrMLov7x-6LnkGaSUzX09sjwBdM_1gmFHyS6lN1x4oDFsQIotsTyvxkHYVuVZ6ezZPd-C7-sfd9k/s1600-h/DSC05312.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSQaB8ron0elnXy_PZqgthO-VUsKJAH0UzpRBe-ep-oHO2-8WX5Y1JqBbUoRHxWk8CrMLov7x-6LnkGaSUzX09sjwBdM_1gmFHyS6lN1x4oDFsQIotsTyvxkHYVuVZ6ezZPd-C7-sfd9k/s200/DSC05312.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316361150736613010" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Next, the gold is put through this machine in order to give it form and press it into shape.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRd4Ov6lruzxsBafrxiODJ6JuOrtNB6H9V_TfRVZdbEs4ml1j51L_EQoCbCIpaCZ_Ha1kvwZuMHHY_1DqxBOUAmeJDhMQRkjNTbi2VuEL86mRbOTLY1XZ-wuDMzFL67qXXJjocvbLpG8m/s1600-h/DSC05443.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRd4Ov6lruzxsBafrxiODJ6JuOrtNB6H9V_TfRVZdbEs4ml1j51L_EQoCbCIpaCZ_Ha1kvwZuMHHY_1DqxBOUAmeJDhMQRkjNTbi2VuEL86mRbOTLY1XZ-wuDMzFL67qXXJjocvbLpG8m/s320/DSC05443.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316362057520132786" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The gold must be re-heated on a constant basis to ensure that it will not crack.<br /><br />Eventually, it is hammered into ring form.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jfhpSCE9hrIq68yL6titU6OJ-lbnsISEjj2-4Ge2ZGvI1ad-Di65bqDb6M6pmyZmTlqqePvnTqfBfzE77fkWejrgHWSfKeb9SwiKW0GLU3RtcSRSyUHZV6NdD-zFBV1oS6J8Fx5tqxLC/s1600-h/DSC05444.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jfhpSCE9hrIq68yL6titU6OJ-lbnsISEjj2-4Ge2ZGvI1ad-Di65bqDb6M6pmyZmTlqqePvnTqfBfzE77fkWejrgHWSfKeb9SwiKW0GLU3RtcSRSyUHZV6NdD-zFBV1oS6J8Fx5tqxLC/s320/DSC05444.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316363008352553554" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />My wedding band ended up being a little too small. Here it is about to be re-sized. It was cut in one part and then more white gold was added to enlarge it a little bit.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uxucuOh6ZNP4onCYgSgkpVFXnPgh4GEuIbouqY4-8-n1CZ0iAnvW3MbwfyxXHRBRaFoFaowBs6rB-CEfESRAjDWqYUSykhyphenhyphenla5-MzG_cOOz39P_xWpYYw24wk31LSlqamNudESbxyu-t/s1600-h/DSC05446.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uxucuOh6ZNP4onCYgSgkpVFXnPgh4GEuIbouqY4-8-n1CZ0iAnvW3MbwfyxXHRBRaFoFaowBs6rB-CEfESRAjDWqYUSykhyphenhyphenla5-MzG_cOOz39P_xWpYYw24wk31LSlqamNudESbxyu-t/s320/DSC05446.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316363583371164882" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Bryan's band was a little too big. A section of it was sawed off so it could be made smaller.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK7qmF92KY10h8tOGjaO8vIipfxDa7Pa44vQMSvmscraqFoyqtcreQRJF67ypRyjyHr0q8YzMh7HxlC7_XRRHdpaFptQqV1HzFZdwpHfmNlup5IkMLGRRc9icy0uGri3kMDqFZ6Et_treX/s1600-h/rings9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK7qmF92KY10h8tOGjaO8vIipfxDa7Pa44vQMSvmscraqFoyqtcreQRJF67ypRyjyHr0q8YzMh7HxlC7_XRRHdpaFptQqV1HzFZdwpHfmNlup5IkMLGRRc9icy0uGri3kMDqFZ6Et_treX/s320/rings9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316364766597940754" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />After the re-sizing is complete, this was the result.<br />The final step is sanding the rings so they have that great shiny finish and polish.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here's Bryan sanding his ring. You can start to see the final result:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwM2YgtzOMqjtmwEbcJ8_KXxn4OcfGAK6FYRoMZ1b8GA-iYnFBLOWMPtQrA0kNEArY6PTYhz9PaHGyVPdTdhQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />I have to say that there's something so beautiful about sharing in the ring process together....It's really profound to be apart of creating something that not only symbolizes your commitment, but also something that will last for the rest of your life with one another.wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-7527492915708218252009-03-23T04:28:00.001-07:002009-03-23T04:55:17.395-07:00Fasnacht by NightAround 7:15pm that night, the fire parade began. Here's a video to give you a taste of what it's like:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzSatbqoy8LsAFPxRWm5OV5xjOarSdFiBxllnchsZAuR4ogxGnZuMJDRIDH9zF19wu2xgrVWVmgjrcDLwMv8A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />As the first fire cart is brought in to the city center, you can hear the crowd beginning to cheer.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy6aEHVpZAAY015o7erwmd2CEvDYljKZJmmT7YDsnoGjxhTSpZrQVms8wIxXiegbIgbNtfSpyIJoJFNnqVYNw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQP17les8Iqhqn1BxuYX9KxVLXH-UJeOqRM4P4ztqMaTb-UDUrHguTMw7EEcEmVWQ8CwY6kY4UdbnezwVlZbuzWkQa1jhFuovzkqKSdPhohfGriqsZn73ssfRUOLmv9IA2Ub06zLFr7Jgs/s1600-h/fasnacht10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQP17les8Iqhqn1BxuYX9KxVLXH-UJeOqRM4P4ztqMaTb-UDUrHguTMw7EEcEmVWQ8CwY6kY4UdbnezwVlZbuzWkQa1jhFuovzkqKSdPhohfGriqsZn73ssfRUOLmv9IA2Ub06zLFr7Jgs/s320/fasnacht10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316347142143846162" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The first fires started out relatively small.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAiTq_IbqqzFc-Yawv_X2ts1j1Uc76h5Rek8ujZN_p9zW_q9SYQDBNdYAHnwHLZ4DJZHr1n6iprNGgfxOMabaoyJAlErChc3o0GxMVlBzpAZkvU80Stisz5PIg3Ly-7jL9whXMF__RoHug/s1600-h/fasnacht11.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAiTq_IbqqzFc-Yawv_X2ts1j1Uc76h5Rek8ujZN_p9zW_q9SYQDBNdYAHnwHLZ4DJZHr1n6iprNGgfxOMabaoyJAlErChc3o0GxMVlBzpAZkvU80Stisz5PIg3Ly-7jL9whXMF__RoHug/s320/fasnacht11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316347647702262130" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />As time went on, the fires became huge! I could not believe the height of some of these flames. It was a spectacular view to say the least! As you can see in the picture, some of the crowd is pulling back due to the immense amount of heat that's being generated.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4e0gbmH4qKvJ4qN2Jf583HQj728TuHCNEHcETDzrXSSO1Yi1DQkvFapgA9pHBbPi6G3xxs8E4gAMXA1zy4eHnQDpsvjG-bZPYcj7rDf6HHW1ibPIquaS293EaHpBzcAdehN3be5v36k7f/s1600-h/fasnacht12.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4e0gbmH4qKvJ4qN2Jf583HQj728TuHCNEHcETDzrXSSO1Yi1DQkvFapgA9pHBbPi6G3xxs8E4gAMXA1zy4eHnQDpsvjG-bZPYcj7rDf6HHW1ibPIquaS293EaHpBzcAdehN3be5v36k7f/s320/fasnacht12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316348363439763122" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />These are what some people call "Fire Brooms". You'd see these several times. I don't know how people carried them. Even with all the protective gear, it still must've been smokin' hot!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So...was winter scared away? Perhaps. It got nervous at least and has been slowly disappearing.wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-75488159764377654612009-03-23T03:45:00.001-07:002009-03-23T04:27:30.405-07:00Fasnacht by Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4Zq3pWsth3Hihiy1SYZ6OoXykiQG_muTqtbLsVBIFGLnPrXdYZV_o0aQi8-Oi_6iPH9KycvJ3ECE4gnQE22zcjFN8UuDn1ysLoZ_qCxABVghyQJBP-dfPibod1yHAniSyz1qUVH3wCTW/s1600-h/fasnacht1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4Zq3pWsth3Hihiy1SYZ6OoXykiQG_muTqtbLsVBIFGLnPrXdYZV_o0aQi8-Oi_6iPH9KycvJ3ECE4gnQE22zcjFN8UuDn1ysLoZ_qCxABVghyQJBP-dfPibod1yHAniSyz1qUVH3wCTW/s320/fasnacht1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316334278832682674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Every year in Switzerland, around the end of February and beginning of March, there is a celebration called "Fasnacht". During this time, there are parades during the day and even fire parades at night. People dress up in ornate, detailed, and in some cases, scary costumes. All of this is meant to scare the winter away. :) People from all over the world come to see this happen.<br />And me? Well, I just happen to live where the party's at. Normally, I'm not too crazy about parades and find myself getting bored pretty easily, but it wasn't the case this time around. There were so many interesting things to look at every turn you took. The swiss people were in such good spirits and it was contagious. I took a ton of pictures and videos. It was hard to narrow them down, but here are a few:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-n6-xonTAiqhtaw0j_ptgjIj_UQuEuxgM6n7MoCL4Cp1zVASN5DW3eRAwiI4FojhHMDnneJdy9peo_KwuUo_Ln_HE94pu34IeaH845s5WsTcTGNLdnCmQzMVANUidfUf9Y0mXbyxd0-k/s1600-h/fasnacht4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-n6-xonTAiqhtaw0j_ptgjIj_UQuEuxgM6n7MoCL4Cp1zVASN5DW3eRAwiI4FojhHMDnneJdy9peo_KwuUo_Ln_HE94pu34IeaH845s5WsTcTGNLdnCmQzMVANUidfUf9Y0mXbyxd0-k/s320/fasnacht4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316334687689677378" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />I can't tell you how many marching bands there were. The air was filled with music nonstop.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVQnUr1-QUdInDtzZKQX3qHCGIV03yd4EmPBK9t5l16mIWbFpadXvaCoVi5HHaCyYpKI42zyCqygtjtznk5usOZb4VlJvTOvH0uKU4Vb3vB4Vmg99lPrSth1rchjecWkG5cGotXEaWJsl/s1600-h/fasnacht3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVQnUr1-QUdInDtzZKQX3qHCGIV03yd4EmPBK9t5l16mIWbFpadXvaCoVi5HHaCyYpKI42zyCqygtjtznk5usOZb4VlJvTOvH0uKU4Vb3vB4Vmg99lPrSth1rchjecWkG5cGotXEaWJsl/s200/fasnacht3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316335194720194050" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />There was something for everyone. Both young and old participated.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjov-sl68opbN6jFOntEXJWf9ugr_UQBG_TqKNeqoUOZ79H3oK3oYxmvof89bOglAyc7k6gIFx8iwPvpF2Z-5op4SQGMRALSMNB7XSgYTQQ49_nDFlKcIYOJXAwFlFTtmmoMzo_z_oWCuhc/s1600-h/fasnacht6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjov-sl68opbN6jFOntEXJWf9ugr_UQBG_TqKNeqoUOZ79H3oK3oYxmvof89bOglAyc7k6gIFx8iwPvpF2Z-5op4SQGMRALSMNB7XSgYTQQ49_nDFlKcIYOJXAwFlFTtmmoMzo_z_oWCuhc/s200/fasnacht6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316335948082027602" border="0" /></a><br /><br />How could winter not be scared away by this sight? ;)~<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYhXkxn-pT9XtcI7h-KgO3hHtRBjIEb0mBkrXbQKMsUixCcyCCx89iS0cv7bxWVSaLIbg0qzFemCEhp4D0CsTXYtImNxteROjs48LIzkU21_EtQFQUoiYs9vUrbd6S5K4ghQTRjHfvClF/s1600-h/fasnacht7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYhXkxn-pT9XtcI7h-KgO3hHtRBjIEb0mBkrXbQKMsUixCcyCCx89iS0cv7bxWVSaLIbg0qzFemCEhp4D0CsTXYtImNxteROjs48LIzkU21_EtQFQUoiYs9vUrbd6S5K4ghQTRjHfvClF/s320/fasnacht7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316336435358820594" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />An interesting combination: Smurfs and trombones.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79JG_9ZuOxfgpblQQfIHHSx-cANs3dvjg2bywvgzSQJHpjWn-kaCcE9ealuUOUGKfERxqvfx9Qr1-xHJPnRV9uV4l2oMYh-UZTkR8XhcfYuSbXVJrcxX6nHoZtjTmmOdON5GqzOK_xt6H/s1600-h/fasnacht2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79JG_9ZuOxfgpblQQfIHHSx-cANs3dvjg2bywvgzSQJHpjWn-kaCcE9ealuUOUGKfERxqvfx9Qr1-xHJPnRV9uV4l2oMYh-UZTkR8XhcfYuSbXVJrcxX6nHoZtjTmmOdON5GqzOK_xt6H/s200/fasnacht2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316336746857988610" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Flowers, confetti, candy and oranges would be thrown from each passing float. As you can see, I was able to experience some of that. You could barely see the streets. There was so much confetti! The best part, was that you could pick up piles of it off the street and throw it at other people. Guess what I did?<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlNNI-732EG9NJpn_xbuznTXGHasOXto7gpgXBtOB1yHmL5aq9fLxQAXIhfWC2eCB2f-WOWJ9f5eqCHKYBEfABS1qY-yhCIEP3Y1rQ6KpBDGBHFeTUAl04E5AYc3wR1isBVF4T-2SZkP0/s1600-h/fasnacht5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidlNNI-732EG9NJpn_xbuznTXGHasOXto7gpgXBtOB1yHmL5aq9fLxQAXIhfWC2eCB2f-WOWJ9f5eqCHKYBEfABS1qY-yhCIEP3Y1rQ6KpBDGBHFeTUAl04E5AYc3wR1isBVF4T-2SZkP0/s320/fasnacht5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316337508826795394" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Some watched the parade from the windows of their apartments. There were so many people there!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I took a couple videos to give you an idea of the experience:<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dytePhhyo9E9DJfk-gJd84gSW1vnwpJ_Pi5eFj5cv7h5Ozr8KMzBbdNYVxyH3366XUVu5M2Jnu1kyB47V5ncg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzecx7HoJ4h8bCbrb5IUMdP7sNMT-kYDlXRKb3Mef0gWqvQdEHhBtsKeIG0uEKjVppPkbFVoF-lEqTiFWCkzQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>This video here gives you an idea of how chaotic things got after the parade had ended.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgLO7qDfUWZFw9Ll-Mzek-M0NOf1ehxnZ3eZJevD6SFAO9v5eQtdOf8r7_gLHolyjSCqr2o-F6AXEtm6AtbPftn03fR7ztNHpFDtfJ7bdlgsAZIv7b2lKC3k_fciZX-tzgNK8Ifrspnp_/s1600-h/fasnacht8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgLO7qDfUWZFw9Ll-Mzek-M0NOf1ehxnZ3eZJevD6SFAO9v5eQtdOf8r7_gLHolyjSCqr2o-F6AXEtm6AtbPftn03fR7ztNHpFDtfJ7bdlgsAZIv7b2lKC3k_fciZX-tzgNK8Ifrspnp_/s320/fasnacht8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316341383968111506" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Needless to say, Liestal was pretty trashed after that.wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670316007316317129.post-30498024476428998892009-03-08T04:17:00.000-07:002009-03-08T04:55:19.071-07:00Don't Forget The Garment Bag!I can hardly believe it's March already! Sorry for my lack of blog posts. All this international wedding planning has been crazily consuming.<br />So much so, that I've started to have dreams about it.<br />I had this one dream that I arrived to the church holding my wedding dress on a hanger. I noticed that there were many people in the sanctuary already and I was so excited because there were people there that I hadn't talked to for so long. With my dress in tow, I went inside and started chatting with everyone. As I was walking around, the bottom of my dress slowly started to unravel. Not noticing, I kept on walking around talking to people and dragging the dress along on its hanger. All of a sudden, the wedding music was cued and I noticed the bridesmaids were starting to come down the aisle. Frantically, I quickly changed and put on my wedding dress...only to realize that the entire bottom of it had unraveled and it was now a miniskirt! I was so embarrassed. When I woke up, the first thing I said to myself was "Don't forget a garment bag for your wedding dress!"<br /><br />The most recent wedding dream I had was a bit of a nightmare. I went to go pick up my wedding dress from the place I ordered it from. I picked up the box and left without checking to see if it was correct. When I got back to my place, I opened it up and realized that they had given me the wrong box and it was a flower girl dress and a bridesmaid dress. I went back to the store and they apologized profusely and then gave me the right box with my name on it. Unfortunately, when I opened the box, I realized that they had ordered the wrong dress. Instead of my beautiful wedding dress, I now had a shiny sequined bronze dress with a silk flower wrap. It was the most hideous looking thing! I collapsed in a heap and started crying because the wedding was in 3 days and I didn't know what I was going to do. I woke up from my nightmare whimpering like a puppy and feeling completely stressed out! It had all felt so real.<br /><br /><br />I think I keep dreaming about my dress because I've ordered it in Portland but won't be able to see it/try it on until I get there next month...3 weeks before the church ceremony. So sometimes if I think about it too much, I get a little worried that something will be wrong with it. Thank goodness I only have to wait a couple more weeks before I'm back in Portland!wellard~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14040213385305688541noreply@blogger.com