Soooo... yah. I've managed to neglect this blog for some time now. The good news is that it isn't due to working to much, instead I've just been lazy.
We're obviously back from Europe (old news). The trip was fantastic, and having had some time to digest the experience, I can say that I can't wait to return to some of the places we saw. Barcelona is now on my List of Top 10 Cities in the World. Rome, not so much. I've actually found myself wishing that we were back there, even if just for a few days. I think we only saw the "Readers Digest" version, and I'd love to spend more time there to see more.
Things have been pretty mellow around here since then. I'm signed up to take a sailing course in February, and Holly's taking a pottery course through January to March. Oliver's doing fantastically. He's into everything now, and has become quite the chatterbox.
Christmas was pleasant, although we didn't make it back to Edmonton. Instead, we went to Vancouver Island, and spent Christmas with Holly's dad, aunt, and uncle in Victoria. That was fun; Rob and I did most of the cooking, which suits both of us just fine. Oliver finally gets the concept of "opening presents", so he was into the gifts like a dirty shirt. Pictures start here.
Oliver's insisting that I draw him a happy face, so ttfn.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
Fantastic Barcelona
We're 3/4 through our European vacation (updated pictures). We started out in Frankfurt for one night to see Holly's youngest sister, then on to Rome to meet her other sister (who's living in Barcelona). We've been their mom joined us en route in Toronto, so it's really been a family vacation.
Rome is lovely, but dirty and overrun with tourists. Still, the sights are incredible, and photos and postcards don't even begin to show the soul of the city if you haven't seen it first hand. We spent 9 days in Rome, and after a couple of days getting settled and over some minor jet lag, we hit the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Circo Massimus (where the Chariots used to run). The Colosseum and the Forum (along with Palatine Hill) were truly breathtaking. Circo Massimus is now just a flat field with litter and gravel, and was truly disappointing.
From Rome, we took a day trip to Florence. If Rome is overcrowded, Florence is bursting at the seams. Some people had told me that if we went to Florence, we would never want to leave; we couldn't get out of there fast enough, in fact. We did see Michaelangelo's David, which was awe inspiring, and made the trip somewhat worthwhile, but the rest of the city is such a dung-heap that we just wanted to leave afterwards, and were happy to do so.
Back in Rome, we spent a day at Vatican City. The sights there are, again, just incredible, and we got there early enough that the crowds weren't too bad, but they were getting unpleasant towards the end. We went to the top of St. Peter's cathedral to look out over Rome. After the elevator, we had to walk up 300+ stairs to reach the top. Oliver did around 250 by himself, and was so proud! The view from the top was awesome, but there were too many people for the tiny space so it wasn't worth staying up too long.
From Rome, we went to Barcelona, where we are now. We're staying in Holly's sister's flat, which is fantastic. We're just a short walk from the Metro, and the city is just beautiful (especially contrasted with Rome). We'd love to come back here to spend more time. We've been to the old city, to La Sangria Familia (unbelievable), and done some walking in some of the most pleasant areas. Today, the girls went shopping and Oliver and I went down to the waterfront to wander and look at the boats. That's a guaranteed good day in my books, and I wasn't disappointed. There were some tall ships in the harbor, and O just loved looking at them. We're back home now, O's having a nap, and I'm trying to come to terms with the whirlwind vacation this has been so far. We've only a couple more days before the long haul home, and I can't say I'm looking forward to leaving, flying, or returning to work next week.
Rome is lovely, but dirty and overrun with tourists. Still, the sights are incredible, and photos and postcards don't even begin to show the soul of the city if you haven't seen it first hand. We spent 9 days in Rome, and after a couple of days getting settled and over some minor jet lag, we hit the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Circo Massimus (where the Chariots used to run). The Colosseum and the Forum (along with Palatine Hill) were truly breathtaking. Circo Massimus is now just a flat field with litter and gravel, and was truly disappointing.
From Rome, we took a day trip to Florence. If Rome is overcrowded, Florence is bursting at the seams. Some people had told me that if we went to Florence, we would never want to leave; we couldn't get out of there fast enough, in fact. We did see Michaelangelo's David, which was awe inspiring, and made the trip somewhat worthwhile, but the rest of the city is such a dung-heap that we just wanted to leave afterwards, and were happy to do so.
Back in Rome, we spent a day at Vatican City. The sights there are, again, just incredible, and we got there early enough that the crowds weren't too bad, but they were getting unpleasant towards the end. We went to the top of St. Peter's cathedral to look out over Rome. After the elevator, we had to walk up 300+ stairs to reach the top. Oliver did around 250 by himself, and was so proud! The view from the top was awesome, but there were too many people for the tiny space so it wasn't worth staying up too long.
From Rome, we went to Barcelona, where we are now. We're staying in Holly's sister's flat, which is fantastic. We're just a short walk from the Metro, and the city is just beautiful (especially contrasted with Rome). We'd love to come back here to spend more time. We've been to the old city, to La Sangria Familia (unbelievable), and done some walking in some of the most pleasant areas. Today, the girls went shopping and Oliver and I went down to the waterfront to wander and look at the boats. That's a guaranteed good day in my books, and I wasn't disappointed. There were some tall ships in the harbor, and O just loved looking at them. We're back home now, O's having a nap, and I'm trying to come to terms with the whirlwind vacation this has been so far. We've only a couple more days before the long haul home, and I can't say I'm looking forward to leaving, flying, or returning to work next week.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Hello, World
The past two months have been one of the most incredible, amazing, depressing, satisfying, upsetting, enlightening, and wild experiences of my life. Why, you ask? I can't tell you... but I will anyways, and you can fill in the blanks for yourself.
I've just spent the better portion of two months (which you can interpret to mean, nearly all my waking hours, and a many of the sleeping hours, too) working on my first video game, and it's something unlike anything I've ever been involved with. I've just recently become reacquainted with my family, have seen the sunlight from somewhere besides the office, and have actually had time to (omigod) go shopping, go to the beach, and mow the lawn. (Our landlord pointed out that I hadn't cut the grass, and it was starting to look "a little shaggy". He was politely understating the obvious.)
So. What do I think about this? In short, it sucked. But it was my first, so I had no idea what to expect. On the upside, I've done something that I've dreamed about for years, and I'm actually looking forward to doing it again. And if things improve (as they appear to be doing), then I may just keep at this for a while. I truly love what I'm doing right now, I just need to figure out how to keep reality (and my family) within reach.
I've just spent the better portion of two months (which you can interpret to mean, nearly all my waking hours, and a many of the sleeping hours, too) working on my first video game, and it's something unlike anything I've ever been involved with. I've just recently become reacquainted with my family, have seen the sunlight from somewhere besides the office, and have actually had time to (omigod) go shopping, go to the beach, and mow the lawn. (Our landlord pointed out that I hadn't cut the grass, and it was starting to look "a little shaggy". He was politely understating the obvious.)
So. What do I think about this? In short, it sucked. But it was my first, so I had no idea what to expect. On the upside, I've done something that I've dreamed about for years, and I'm actually looking forward to doing it again. And if things improve (as they appear to be doing), then I may just keep at this for a while. I truly love what I'm doing right now, I just need to figure out how to keep reality (and my family) within reach.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Pandora's Box is Closed :(
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Plugging a Friend
You probably know him, and if you don't, Holly or I have probably told you all about him. Our friend Dave has a couple of projects on the go that are worth checking out.
First, Dave's own website -- http://www.david-scott.com/ -- has his own music and writing. I'm listening to Empty Spaces as I write this. As we would expect from him, it's awesome, and deserves notice. I hope you enjoy it.
Once you finish there, take a trip and enjoy even more great music at http://www.johnnyfeelgood.net/. This is Dave's new band, and if you ever heard Resonance, well, this is slightly different. We heard Chemical Wonderland at a show in Edmonton not too long ago, and it immediately became our favorite. Unfortunately, we've had to wait until now to hear it again, but thanks to a little cloak-and-dagger, we've been able to listen to our second-favorite -- That Money -- in the meantime.
What are you still reading this for? Go, go!
First, Dave's own website -- http://www.david-scott.com/ -- has his own music and writing. I'm listening to Empty Spaces as I write this. As we would expect from him, it's awesome, and deserves notice. I hope you enjoy it.
Once you finish there, take a trip and enjoy even more great music at http://www.johnnyfeelgood.net/. This is Dave's new band, and if you ever heard Resonance, well, this is slightly different. We heard Chemical Wonderland at a show in Edmonton not too long ago, and it immediately became our favorite. Unfortunately, we've had to wait until now to hear it again, but thanks to a little cloak-and-dagger, we've been able to listen to our second-favorite -- That Money -- in the meantime.
What are you still reading this for? Go, go!
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