Disneyland We LOVE IT!...MOSTLY

Disneyland a Magical Place...............That we can't get into!  That's right just a little torture ( anticipation ) !!
                                                              

Feeling a little bad about that!

Day one was cold and windy but hey who cares we got rock star parking  (2nd row)!

Having fun Blaire?

Having fun yet, Blaire?

Ken, Kari and Vern hooked up with us for a day..thanks  for the line chats!

We're painting the roses red! We're painting the roses red!

Scary..oooh la la!

What is that the real slipper from Cinderella....of course it is.

Disneyland......It was great....the first day!

Once Warren heard there was a Starbuck he just had to go!
The cost killed the buzz though!

W

Mickey Coffee would have to do!

It was one of the cutest things I have seen, Blaire's face was the exact replica of every  commercial you see of  kids when  they see the Castle...Her mouth fell open her eyes sparkled and she was stammering with the utter fantastical (fake word)
view.  The trip was going to be worth it just to get that reaction...oh to be a kid!

  The girls really were surprised to mee t Cinderella and were a little shy.

My tatoo...the statue behind me

Minny, WE LOVE YOU!

ME TOO! ME TOO!

Buzz Lightyear was great...Warren maybe took it too seriously though!

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Kali the thrill seeker!

Do you think he'll notice I'm in the sack?

I would make a great present!

The REAL REASON day one was GREAT..Look at the wait time.

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Making the most of a Rainy Day

Just a few photos of life with Chez Verkerk.......

Kali with Berlingo on a sunny day.

Carol running with her bodyguards.

Our primary heat source. Wood Guy dropped off a cord of wood for 210 euros that was 75% Oak and 25% Poplar. The Oak makes for a nice hot fire on a wet day.

The Cheese

Here is a photo of my latest love; Roquefort cheese. I discovered this culinary delight while we were visiting John-Mark, and his Mom served up three different cheeses with red wine for dessert. It is an addicting experience for the taste buds to savour the different flavours in the cheeses while sipping on a hearty red wine. Complete sensory overload.

Laced with nuggets of green mold, this mid- range Roquefort sells for about $1.10 CDN /100g.

I've decided to work my way though the 56 AOC (protected by the govenrment)http://www.inao.gouv.fr/ cheeses that France produces starting with this one. It is made from the milk of one of only three species of sheep, and is ripened in one of only seven caves on the entire planet that have this unique form of mold spore. As an AOC cheese, there are only seven licenses granted for its production and even that is strictly monitored.  The up-side to this is how cheap it is in France to enjoy this world famous cheese. The down side is that it looks angry and smells bad and Carol finds me less desirable after consuming.it.

Italie!

The Italian Expresso. 

Blaire killing time in Cannes

Where did we park the yacht?

Kali's walk of fame at the Palais de Festivals without the parazzi.

Jodie Foster

Quinten Tarantino

Roadside lunch break in the shadow of Abby Monte Cassino

Abby Monte Casino where one of the largest battles in WW 2 was fought and the iconic MacDonalds sign. Ironic.

The bell tower and the Piazza B.Longo in Pompeii and the view from the top of it.

Overlooking Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius that we will be visiting tomorrow, but first, gelato!!

Daddy makes asacraficial offering to the volcano.

 Carol looking for a Geocache at the summit of Vesuvius. Its windy and raining so the kids take shelter while they eat their snacks.

Blaire demonstrating how to safely cross a Roman street.

The Inukshuk

Another offering to appease the volcano.

I had to take the picture just for the ashtray that is on every table here.

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We visited the Pompeii excavation wich was mind-blowing. Everything was as they left it 2000 years ago and with very few other tourists around, we were often alone in the streets and homes of this Unesco World Heritage site. With the low cloud cover and drizzling rain, it was......creepy.

Can't get much more original than this. The clouds have drifted in and its getting dark on the streets of Pompeii, but the kids still know how to have a good time wherevever they are. Here they are playing on the pedestrian crosswalk. The Roman cart axels were of a standard width and the cart could fit between these stepping stones. You can see where the cart wheels have made ruts in the paving stones. The streets and buildings are in such prestine condition that its not hard to imagine what the city was like before the eruption of Vesuvius.

 The women's public bath with the super-detailed tiles floor in the waiting room and the bath itself