Scotland is my home

Cawdor Castle- home of MacBeth

A street in St. Andrews

We had a wonderful time in Scotland. We felt an affinity there with the people and the places. It is our history, albeit through the genes and DNA that have gone before us. The funny thing is, after traveling the world and going to all kinds of odd places, Scotland is where everyone looks like us. They are very friendly people also, with an innate openness and loquaciousness that draws the traveler in. Couple that with beautiful scenery, and the country really can't be beat. It is that charming.

We started in Edinburgh (pronounced 'Edinbura', otherwise they know you are a Yank), but left early the next day for St. Andrews and a college visit. It was a beautiful day, filled with a tour and an explanation of the college. it's quite different that US colleges, but you come away with a great degree. The traditions of the university run to hundreds of years old; one being the haunting by a former student that was burned at the stake. We actually saw his image on the top of the gate. It appeared there after his death. No student steps on the spot he was burned until they graduate. Otherwise, failure is a definite option.

We stayed in little country hotels most of our stay. There was no air conditioning, but we didn't need it. I wore a coat a lot of the time. The weather was comparable to Alaska in the summertime. The flowers were beautiful; everywhere the gardens were ones that we can only dream about in Texas. Cawdor Castle was an inhabited castle, and had some of the loveliest garderns we saw. It's also the home of Macbeth (just ask Shannon to quote Shakespeare for you.)

The Loire Valley

We rode bikes through the countryside one morning. This is an old Roman viaduct that runs through the town of St. Satur. The modern road runs under it. We rode our bikes around it, and also rode over it. It is an amazing piece of architecture!

Sancerre sits on top of a hill, and the view from anywhere in the town is one of great beauty. This is an area of vineyards and wine-making. They grow the pinot noir and the sauvignon blanc, so there is great red and white wine, but they also blend them for a delicious rose.

Here Shannon is riding across the Roman viaduct that runs through the town. The viaduct is a splendid example of something that is well built. I wasn't sure at first if it was modern because it is so perfect.

Behind Shannon is the hill we must ride up to get back to Sancerre. Needless to say, I won't be riding in the Tour de France anytime soon!

J'aime la France

What can I say? (A Gallic shrug of the shoulders!) This place is wonderful. We are walking around with our eyes wide and our mouths amazed. This is a beautiful place. Everywhere there are flowers; the people are friendly, and the food is simple and delicious. We went into a wine shop and tried the wine before we bought it. We bought a loaf of bread and she gave it to us wrapped in a napkin. Mass was in French, but as it is all over the world, the same liturgy and consecration. We loved it. We're off to a cheese shop now-le fromagerie-to buy the famous Loire cheese, cottin de chavignol.

Tomorrow, Monday, all shops are closed for the day, and most restaurants as well, so we are stocking up for an eat at home day. We also start class tomorrow. That will be interesting, and I'm afraid, a little frustrating.

This is where we are staying, and also the site of the school. The second floor windows are our apartment.

I hear a live concert outside. Gotta go!

St. Petersburg - A Royal City

The Church of the Spilt Blood

This is where Alexander II was murdered. His son built this church in his honor. The inside of the church is covered in pictures of Christ and his apostles all made of mosaic.

Walking across the Neva with the Hermitage in the background.

This is the final resting place of the Romanovs. Father, mother and five children., shot by the revolutionists.

Inside the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the resting place of the tsars and their families. Yes, that's all real gold.

Heading into the fortress. The double headed eagle was the Romanovs symbol. Modern Russia has adopted it also.

Anna in the kitchen making tea. We stayed with their family.

What can I say about this place on the Baltic? It was the home of the Czars. Some of the most beautiful architecture, historical places, amazing events are here or have occurred in this lovely city. We spent a three day weekend here in June, during the White Nights festival, when the sun never sets, but only takes a small nap in the early morning.

In the Soup Kitchen

Shannon, with Daniel (the boss), Kellie, and Ipianna. (Forgive me if I spelled your name wrong!)

Svieta-our super fast disher upper.

Shannon with an old man she serves and Ludmilla - a Russian lady who speaks excellent english. Shannon and Barbie have been working at a soup kitchen in Moscow for the summer. We go twice a week, and serve the elderly Russians who come for a hot lunch. They all have a little ticket they get daily, and we fill their plates with soup, kasha, salat (salad) and chai (tea). We also prepare small servings of sour cream, tvorak, sausages, or fruit, that are donated by local supermarkets, and pass these out to the people as an extra treat. It's hot when we work, and our hands are dirty by the time we are finished. The people are patient, but when they don't get their fair share, or we forget something, or even if we are too slow, they let us know.

We have enjoyed serving these people, and have got to know them as well. Some ask where we are from, and when we say "America", they always name some city that they know, like "Washington, D.C." or "New York". We work with people from several countries in Africa, and a wonderful lady from Oklahoma.

Ryan's Place

I don't quite remember, but did I happen to mention that Ryan got a job with Exxon, moved down to Houston, and had mom and I come visit for a while? Well, if I didn't shame on me because it was a lot of fun and I have some pretty good pictures of it. We were only there for a weekend, but it was a blast getting him moved in and such.

Ryan with his plate of giant fish. I'm still not quite sure what it was, but he liked it, so I'm guessing it was pretty good.

Ryan, happily skipping down the hall from his apartment. Unfortunately, I don't actually have any pictures of his apartment itself, but those should be coming.

One of the many beautiful old houses that are in Ryan's neighborhood.

This one, at the time, was his favorite.

This is the Exxon building where Ryan works.

This is either the road going by or the Rice College campus, I don't remember...

Anywho, there's a few pictures from our trip to Houston. I know Mom has more and she might be wanting to put some more on later. We'll see.

Oh, and just incase you were curious, I actually did post within the same week (amazing, I know). I would consider that much improvement on my part. I'll try to get more pics up soon.

I know...

Heyy everybody... I know it's true that I haven't posted in 6 months, 2 weeks, 5 days, 5 hours, and 30 minutes, and that it's horrible blog keeping. But, to my defense, much has happened since then, not to mention my first year back at school after two of homeschooling was tough also. Currently, Mom and I are back in Moscow for the summer, being lazy and just relaxing, but also getting ready for European vacations!

In about two weeks, Mom and I are going off to Sancerre, France to go to language school. Sancerre (in the Loire Valley) is a teeny tiny town with a Chateau where the upper rooms are for the students and the lower part is the school. Yeah. Definitely excited.

After that, we go back up to Paris and meet Kellie, spend a couple days there, then head on over to Normandy for about five days or so. Then we are renting a car and driving over to Belgium, where we'll meet Luke who's there for architecture (see here) and spend about a week or so there. Then we go back to Paris and from there go our separate ways, Kellie to the USA and Mom, Dad, and I to Moscow.

Then, we enjoy our last days in Moscow before Mom and I head back to the States and get ready for the next school year (sophomore!).

Otherwise, to catch up from the last looong time ago that I actually posted, the biggest things that have happened are that Ryan's gotten a job at Exxon, my friend Jennifer got to come visit in Russia for about 2 weeks (a LOT of fun), Luke is going to try to get into Harvard, I am working on getting in shape for Cross Country next year, and Kellie has been the maid of honor at two weddings and is keeping together our family bookclub.

Cross my heart and hope to die, I will try really hard to post pictures and such during our European excursion, but I cannot guarantee anything (proof being my previous promises to post within the month that all failed).

So, this is the end of the post. I hope it was long enough to sufficiently add up to 6 months, 2 weeks, etc. of lost posts.