Monaco and Amaco

View of Monte Carlo from Prince's Palace

Palace guards on the job

Princess Grace's grave in the national Cathedral

Nice day trip number two: Monaco.
First of all, people who live in Monaco aren't called Monacans. They're Monegasques. So much for me being Monica, Queen of the Monacans. Must be some kind of cosmic safegaurd to keep me free from the grips of megalomania.

Anyway, some interesting facts about Monaco:
There's no income tax
It's 0.75 square miles total in size
30,000 residents
There are more people in the orchestra than in the army
Highest per capita income in the world
Monaco's royal family is Europe's longest-lasting dynasty.

Of course, most people come to Monaco to go to the Monte Carlo casino, but the old town area around the Prince's Palace is neat, too. It's tiny, but it's also really clean and bright and...orderly I guess is the best way to describe it. We were especially impressed with the Cousteau Aquarium.

Amy and the fishes

We had a brief, dignified encounter with the Monte Carlo slot machines. Amy won back 800% of her money! (Thanks to my expert coaching, of course)

Evening in front of Monte Carlo

St. Honorat: Monks live there. They make violet candy and wine.

Back from Corsica, we took a couple of day trips from Nice. The first was a little jaunt to Cannes, where we saw the convention center where (presumably) the Cannes film festival takes place. We also saw a load of celebrity hand prints in the Cannes sidewalk of fame. Very cool.
Then we took a 20 minute boat ride from Cannes to St. Honorat. St Honorat is a little island that has been home to Cistercian monks since the 5th Century. They make wine, violet candy, and other goodies. And do the usual monk things. The French also used St. Honorat as a defense against attacks from the sea. There is still a furnace near one of the shores where they used to heat cannon balls until they were literally red-hot, and then fire them on enemy ships. Sneaky, sneaky.

It takes maybe 40 minutes to stroll around the whole island, but if you're a Morey, and interested in exploring the ruins, buying monk creations, and taking pictures of pheasants, you can spend several hours there.


Amy hearts boats. One of my favorite pictures so far.


New monastery (with gift shop!)


Old monastery.


And he walks with me: a monk and a regular Joe on the path to the monastery.


Sunset on the boat back to Cannes. Two sisters.

A-jac

We decided that we liked Ajaccio a little bit better than Bastia. There wasn't one particular reason; I think we got to know the town center a little bit better, and thought the ambiance was nice (for the most part) in Ajaccio. Plus, Ajaccio has an interesting art museum and several collectible Napoleon sites. Some of us felt it necessary to nickname him "Nappy." I think Napoleon is buried in/near Paris, so I couldn't tell if that nickname incited any grave-rolling...

One of the many Coriscan wonders that we really enjoyed was the traditional, polyphonic singing. It's kind of a cross between an African sound and a Gregorian chant sound. A lot of it is sung a capella, but sometimes they add guitar or percussion. We tried in vain to find live performances while we were in Ajaccio, so we got CDs instead :)

Napoleon Monument (Who's shorter now, fools?)

Nap's family home in Ajaccio

View from the bus between Ajaccio and Bastia

Ferry to Corsica

On New Year's Day, Amy and I took an overnight ferry from France to Corsica. Fortunately, we got out on the deck and had a look before they closed it off (bad weather). Ahoy!




Amy (what Dramamine?) on the ferry; Out on the deck: sometimes it's too much hassle for me to take mortal form.









The ferry dropped us off in Bastia (large city in the NE of Corsica). We stayed there for a couple days and checked things out, and then went down to Ajaccio(the capital). Both cities have old citadels. In Bastia, the citadel houses the "old town" part of the city, Ajaccio's citadel is used as a military base (this means no admittance for Moreys).
While in Bastia, we mostly just wandered around, looked at things, and ate. In Ajaccio we did more of the museum/monument scene.





Bastia marina and St. John the Baptist church; wall of the Bastia citadel; a seaside moment-think of me the next time you order something "on the rocks"

Bonne Annee

For New Year's Eve, Amy and I went to Avignon (in Provence) for a little French fun. Avignon isn't exactly the party capitol of France, but we had a good time. The big sight to see in Avignon is the Papal Palace, left over from 1309, when the Pope left Rome and set up shop in Avignon for about 100 years. It's a really interesting place to see.

Papal Palace; Amy over the Rhone River; ; Champagne in the square at midnight; 2007 comes to the square in front of the Papal Palace.

Corsica

Hi folks, Amy and I are in Corsica. We took an overnight ferry here on New Year's day, and have been enjoying first the Northern capital (Bastia), and now the Southern captial (Ajaccio). In between, we took a really nice train/bus ride down through the countryside and mountains in the middle of the island. Last night we went into a music store in Ajaccio and got hooked on the local style of a capella, polyphonic singing so we are hoping to see some of that live tonight. there are many pictures to accompany this adventure, but first we have to wage a war for free wireless internet for Monica's laptop. We hope to be done by dinner because, if not, we will feel very sorry for ourselves.
Oh yes, we are also on the hunt for various Napoleon sites. Because he was born here.

Marc Chagall, Old Rome, Dinner

Here is a fun day in Nice: we went to the Marc Chagall (one of my favorite artists), some Roman ruins, and dinner at a place called Pelican's. And I wore Amy's hat.


















Amy in the ruins. 




















Israelites crossing the Red Sea, Amy, burning bush, Moses. 

My favorite (part of a series of Song of Solomon illustrations)

Dinner.

Don't give me any of your attitude, Comrade

Hi, folks. We're still in Nice. The temperature has been 50F or warmer the past couple days! Ok, so it's not ideal weather for keeping perishable food items refrigerated on our balcony. But for everything else, it's great!

Yes, we are just oozing with charm and sophistication. Amy freestyles it with our favorite mannequin; I always like to put on my best manners when dining in public. It keeps me from looking ridiculous...

Nothing says Russia like a palm tree.
It seems that many wealthy Russian families liked to winter in Nice in the late 1800s. To provide for thier spiritual well-being, Czar Nicholas I's widow said, "Here, let me give you some land to build a church on. How about the spot where my house is sitting?" Czar Nicholas II gave the cathedral to the Nice Russians in 1912, but maybe he should have stayed a little longer?

Nice to see you

Guess who came to visit me for Christmas?! Yep, it's Amy!
Guess where we are? Nice, France!

Quick Survey (multiple choice; please select most applicable response):
Question 1
Have you secretly been fearing that the blog will hit a bland slump following the departure of Mom?
a) Yes
b) Emphatically yes
c) That was your mom? I thought it was Joan Baez! Um...yes.
d) yer mom

Question 2
Upon hearing that Amy has entered the scene, did you think that this blog will become 82% more interesting?
a) Yes
b) Emphatically yes
c) I really don't give your blog that much thought, Morey.
d) Who is Amy? Who are you? Shoot, wrong blog.

For those of you funsters who answered a) or b) for that last question, let me just say that I still have full control over the contents of this blog, as evidenced by Amy's squashed attempt to post a picture of bird poop earlier this evening. Ha. So don't get too excited.

We did, however manage to agree on a few photos for your viewing pleasure. Hope everybody had a Merry Christmas!











Christmas dinner at La Lorraine: Beef carpaccio and "French hot chocolate," there ya go.



















An evening on the Ferris wheel
















Amy, the moon...so close.


























Nice's pebbly beach: Moreys in the water


















Fisherman in the sunset, Nice beach

Christmas is for kids

Making trumpets with the Christmas lanterns, Dinklsbuhl.












 Getting ready to sing at the Christkindlesmarkt, Nurnberg.




















Department store window display, Munich.










Trio, Ludwigsburg.
























Santa with a little friend and his latern, Dinklsbuhl.

A few days in Munich

Reasons I like Munich:
1. Alte Pinakothek art museum
2. Deutsche Museum (really cool space exploration exhibit)
3. Mini doughnut stand outside of the train station

And many other reasons, not the least of which are the atmosphere in the "Old Town," and the fun beer hall restaurants.

I was in Munich a few years ago with my college orchestra and had a good time, so I decided to take a few days before leaving Southern Germany and see what the city looks like this year. Still cool.









Night tree on Neuhauser Strasse.

With a little help from our friends

My parents have friends near Stuttgart from their glory days in Germany. They have come to visit Montana a few times, and this will make our second visit to them in Stuttgart. Claudia put Mom and I up in her apartment and took us to several Christmas markets (now that's friendship). She even helped us harass the airlines when Mom's luggage got lost! Axel, ever the font of knowledge for where to eat and buy things in Germany, took us to lunch, dinner, coffee, and walked through downtown Stuttgart with us. In the rain.
To all our German Freunden: we had such a good time, Vielen Dank!

Tea and cookies with Claudia and her mom.

Mom and Claudia on a mission to Ludwigsburg

Dinner at Claudia's (Claudia, Uli, Moritz, Cora, Mom)

Coffee with Axel in downtown Stuttgart

We faced the galloping hordes.

Well folks, suffice it to say that Mom and I went to a lot of Christmas markets. I think in total we hit eight of them, nine if you count that we went to the Stuttgart market twice.
One Christmas market phenomenon that warrants a little explanation is gluhwein. Gluhwein is mulled wine, and every market has about 0.5 gluhwein stands for every shopper. When you buy gluhwein there is a "cup deposit" included in the price because it is served in a fun, decorative mug. If you return the mug after you finish your wine, you get the deposit back (usually a couple dollars). If not, well, you have yourself a mug. Interesting tidbit: each Christmas market has their own mug design, therefore the mugs are...*gulp*...collectible. Also, they are travel-friendly. Someone I know recently hauled a whole suitcase of them through customs, no questions asked.

It got a little crowded at the Bad Wimpfen market; Mom had to hold up her wurst sandwhich to preserve its integrity.

Mom and me drinking mead. Ok, it's not gluhwein but we still got the cup.

Dramatic moment leaving the Stuttgart market (the last market we went to): "Mom, it's your last chance for shopping!"

Angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold

My favorite Christmas lights so far were the ones at the Ludwigsburg market. Huge gold angels were everywhere. Not your everyday gaudy angels with glitter. These were elegant, God-y angels with glittery lights. Our friend in Stuttgart, Claudia, took Mom and me to Ludwigsburg for a little evening stroll punctuated by flamkuchen, gluhwein, and me taking pictures of the angels.
















above: angel in lights; right: Ludwigsburg-the general effect