Christmas in Italy.

Merry Christmas to you and we hope you are enjoying time with family or friends or both and eating yummy food. We wanted to let you see a really funny decoration the Italians are very fond of around this time of year. We call them Struggling Santas. We find them hanging on ropes, on ladders, clinging to the walls--you get the idea. I guess it's a way for Santa to know where to show up or maybe which window is open if they don't have a chimney. Either way, they're quite humorous. We noticed today that they have backpacks so Evan thinks they're paratrooper Santas.

This guy is just hanging on for dear life. Please someone help him.

Mini Santas tag teaming the present-giving. Strength in numbers.

This is one of the few Santas that faces the road. He is also on the second floor and his rope does not reach the ground...hmmm.

This is the best. He's already heading inside. I guess you could say he has a "leg up" on the competition.

Buone Feste and Buon Natale di Italia! Love, Evan & Courtney

A Day in the Alps.

On Sunday Evan headed out to Naasfeld, Austria with Tony and Andy--two other attorneys in the office. It's about a 2 hour drive and they left at 6:30 a.m. It's been 5 years since Evan has skied with the buddies in Breckenridge so he was excited for the challenge.

When they left Andy's house, it was a balmy 19 degrees outside. It quickly dropped to 7 degrees when they arrived at the resort. It warmed up to 12 by the time they left.

Evan had a really great time. He came home and the first thing he said was that he might not be able to walk on Monday morning. Happy to report he did walk and he's looking forward to the next time.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it SNOW!

Saturday morning we had a nice surprise waiting for us. I woke up early birdy (no snow at all) and fell back asleep on the couch only to wake up to, "Court, you gotta see this". The look on his face was just what it should be when you see what we saw--our little town with the freshest, lightest, purest snow blanket atop. We went right to the roof to get a better look and this is Evan saying, "hurry, it's COLD".
Cash's favorite bench. I think the snow makes the decoration on the back look like a wreath.

Usually around this time in the morning on a Saturday, our little town is busy, busy. It was a little slower today. But what you can't see are the few people on their bikes holding umbrellas to block the snow--much like they do when it rains. Steadfast bikers.

Our little yard, and the random palm tree with snow.

Us on the roof. It was still snowing and very cold!

After bundling up and spending a lazy Saturday morning INside, we ventured out to the Christmas markets in the afternoon.

The markets started just after Thanksgiving and include shops (clothing, jewelry, shoes, gloves, scarves, mechanical figurines), food, wine, sweets, and a skating rink. We took a closer look and it's not real ice--it's plastic. Reminded me of the stuff you would put over a basketball court when we danced--but it looks real.

The Sacile square Christmas tree. They also have a live nativity scene but there were only rabbits and roosters inside...just not worth the pic. Maybe later.

As we realized that we could no longer feel our toes in the 25 degree weather, we began our walk home. This is a nativity scene on the Livenza and baby Jesus looks cold.

Our lightly snow-covered town. I thought this happened every year in Sacile. I mean it's cold enough right? This is Hollie's third winter here and it has not snowed yet until now. So we are taking it all in as this might be the last time we see it in our little town.

The opposite view from the bridge.

Then home for some warm food and drink, blankets, and cozy sweatshirts.

JAG Christmas Dinner

Friday night we celebrated the holidays with the JAG office at Kalynne & Michael Welsh's house (AKA: The Boss). You can see the appetizer spread behind us--delicious.
Andy, Taylor, Lee, Josh (Taylor's dad), and Tony enjoying the beverages and appetizers.The ladies--me, Allison, and Taylor.

Wait, wait, wait--before you dig in, let me get a pic of the spread. Lasagna, zucchini, salad, onions, tomatoes, olives, pork with mustard sauce...we did not go hungry.

Tony, Silvia (an Italian attorney in the office), and Josh.

Kalynne, Allison, and Taylor full from dinner. But there's always room for dessert. Cannoli's and fruit tarts, apple cider, and gluhwein/gluvine--usually red wine with spices served hot.

Senior trial counsel (in town for a trial), The Boss, and the chaplain.

One word. Trouble.

Taylor was getting slightly annoyed with my "pics of the guys" so we took a girl pic. I had to explain that we've been together a long time, and between Evan's buddies and my girlfriends--separate pics have been a part of who we are for years.

Epstein pic.

5 year-old Julia gave us a repeat performance of her tap dance from the night before. She's holding her imaginary laptop that she used in her dance to "Email Santa".And the crew. Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year from the JAG office!!!

All good things, must come to an end.

November 28, 2009

After visiting the castle, we stopped for some lunch,

a little shopping, some hot chocolate, more window

shopping, and a lot of walking. The opposite end

of the Royal Mile is the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

It is the official residence in Scotland of Her

Majesty the Queen.

A cop was very kind to let Evan in the side gate just

to snap a quick photo. It was getting dark and we

still wanted to climb Calton's Hill.

On our way up the hill, we found a random gate

to enter with a few men standing around. We

just knew we were on our way to a shortcut.

Well, we were wrong but just off the course by a

minute or few. As we turned around, Evan knocked
on a window to get an older gentleman's attention.

And then came our second best compliment of the

trip. He was going to turn us around but "we didn't

look like tourists" so he let us go on our way. He

showed us we were off by a few steps and up the

hill we went. Below is a cemetery and chapel we

saw on the way up.

As you can see the fog was rolling in, but you can

still see bustling Princes Street below.

You can see the City Chambers all aglow. It

looked like a scene from Mary Poppins.

After climbing to the top of the hill, our camera

gave out, so we're waiting on the Pennington's

pictures. This is is me and Vanessa after climbing

down from the Athenian-type acropolis on top of the

hill. It's considered the best view and we agree.

Here is what it looks like during the daytime.

We climbed the columned structure on the right.

It's all about the Castle.

November 28, 2009

We woke up and got going Saturday morning. It was St. Andrew's Holiday so the castle was free and we wanted to join in with the locals. Since it was a holiday there was a parade and here is an entry in honor of the Motherland of Golf.

Down the Royal Mile.

And the fun begins. Swords, knight attire, chain head-dresses.

Scared yet?

Edinburgh Castle. This Scottish landmark has served as a royal residence and military stronghold. It is the very reason for Edinburgh's existence and is the most popular tourist attraction in Scotland.

Us in front of the castle.

Remember Braveheart? This statue

of William Wallace flanks the gateway entrance.

The castle is literally built into the craggy rock.

Looking out over Edinburgh from the castle entrance.

It was starting to get foggy but you can sort of see the city-scape.

I mentioned the North Lake gardens in a previous post.

You can see them below.

Mons Meg--a 15th century siege gun

built in (what is now) Belgium in 1449.

The main living quarters of the castle.

The soldier's dog cemetery.

Bell-tower with clock.

Can you say grand? This fireplace was massive.

Hard to see but this entire wall is filled with

rows and rows of swords.

Again, hard to see but swords and knight attire on the walls.

We were there a few hours and we had a great

view for the One O'clock Gun. Brought back good

memories of Aggieland and yes we whooped afterwards.

We don't know any other way to react when a cannon goes off.