Trier

trier is the oldest city in germany. old enough to have ancient roman ruins. the first place we went was to this amazing chapel... st. paulins.  the ceiling was absolutely stunning.

next we went to the porta nigra, which olivia sketched (i'll have to figure out how to scan that in, i think it's very good). in fact, so did some germans. they came over to her while she was sketching and saying, "dat's good! dat's good!"

(click on any picture to make it bigger). our friend hadley was fascinated by the street vendor (he was of asian persuasion) who did metal art. it was very neat.

next we walked towards the square and the shops, and stopped for lunch (pizza served in a sleeve, and pomme frites-we call them french fries)

next, we went to the roman baths (what's left of them) and the ampitheater (very cool...) where we were entertained by a french field trip of junior highers.

and there were other beautiful churches as well. the catholic church was massive and pristine, very opulent. the protestant church was very massive and,.. plain. they were trying to make a statement to their catholic brothers/sisters :)  we really enjoyed trier!

field trip: crayola

the week before christmas a friend from mops and i took some of our kids (her youngest 3 of 5 girls and 3 of my youngest 4) to the crayola factory. despite driving through squall like conditions only to have it dry at crayola and at home (strange weather....) and a few wrong turns, we had a really fun time, and had almost the whole factory to ourselves.

more boston

after the gardens, i caught the freedom walking trail around town. first stop-the state house, site of the boston massacre (and also where i got the kids mementos). then on to faneuile hall and quincy market. the market was so, SO packed with people, i couldn't get my camera out. the weather was beautiful, though, and so it was enjoyable inside and out.



next was the long walk to the north end, home of paul revere and the north church (one if by land, two if by sea)....

the original cobblestone streets outside the revere homestead:


view of the north church with paul revere statue in front:


up close of the statue:


at this point it was getting hot, so i headed for home (the hotel) and passed the garden (where the celtics play). they were in l.a. for game 6 of the finals (they lost the series in game 7 to the lakers)


that evening, we went on a river boat dinner cruise down the charles river:
from our dock looking west toward the esplanade and the shell they use for concerts

robin and 2 co-workers:

2 inside shots, one before dinner, one during (the water wheel is behind robin's head in the buffet line):


going through the locks on the charles river dam:

view of the city skyline as the sun started to set:

as it got darker....

pretty sunset looking towards the bunker hill monument:

my favorite view of the night (with the moon high in the sky):

other pictures of our hotel and the evidence that it was once, indeed, a jail: