A Varied December

We went to Brussels to get my cholesterol checked after the high count I had in August.  It had been 3 months and we went back the week-end that the Christmas markets opened.  Brussels has really cranked it up and is giving Germany some stiff competition.  We took an overnight to Bonn just to be sure, and indeed it's stiff competition!  (However nothing beats that dumpfh-nudel in vanilla sauce and cherries!)

I think it's because there is no other Square quite like Brussels.  They can concentrate all their money and time on that space to make it amazing.  The sound and light show is jaw-dropping fantastic.

This was cool.  The moon just dropped down inside the center of the town hall.  You can see Dad underneath it looking up.

And to think this is where 5 out of 6 of you graduated from High School.  Unique in all the world.

There is a new monument to the victims of terrorism that has been constructed off of Schumann circle.  They put this in place after the bombings of  March 2016.

Pebble Beach, The Bench.  Great food, outside fire pit, stunning scenery.  Thanks to Dad's expertise in procurement, he was asked to come and teach in Monterey the same time that Heidi had her baby.  Free flights....hmmmm.  No way we could say 'no' so we went to CA ....Dad worked and I got to see Penny!

If I could arrange it, I would live near the beach.  Really, I would.  There is something extraordinary about the beach.  

These yahoos had a lot of fun together.  Cora thought Luke was hilarious and everybody thinks Cora is hilarious.  

What a delight to meet and hold and cuddle Penny.  And especially nice because she was still basically a newborn, and I LOVE newborns.  They are the best.  It lasts such a short time.  Congrats to the Seth Herway Family!

Colie with Cora in the backpack...we were taking a walk in Snow Canyon.  Seth took us to some caves where we cut open glo sticks (Glo in honor of Penny Glo I guess).  It was a really fun outing.

Of course me, Mom, had to get a good photo of my kids....

Civitta de Bagnoregio.  It's an hour and a half North of Rome.  Cool in and of itself, but at Christmas it is transformed into a living and breathing city of Jerusalem.  The whole city participates as volunteers.  They came up with the idea because the church in the old village was in desperate need of repairs and they needed to come up with funds for the repair work.  Thus was born the idea of a vivante presepe (live crib/creche/nativity)  With the foot bridge being the only entrance into the old town, they charge a small entrance fee and voila, they earn funds for the repairs.  It's really a clever idea and with the whole village participating it makes it work.  

complete with lepers

and candle stick makers

an open market where you can buy nuts and produce and bread, etc.

Just a cool shot of the old town as we were leaving.  It was an overcast evening.  The city is all made of stone with climbing vines and windy cobblestone streets and piazzas.  Put this one on the bucket list if you find yourself near Rome at Christmas time!