Galpin.ca

At home I do almost all of the grocery shopping. As the person who does the vast majority of the cooking and lunch packing, I like to choose what I have at my disposal. I also have the most time to manage menu planning and cooking at home.

However, when we are in a foreign country and language is a barrier I send Morgan. I’m always a little curious at what he will come back with. Sometimes it’s something he likes that I generally don’t buy and wasn’t aware he preferred it. Other times it’s just interesting what you find in a different culture.

This is our loaf of bread. Morgan said there was even bigger but he settled for this one. The kids don’t really like it as it takes a lot of muscle power to chew but I prefer it over the typical sandwich bread.

An ambulance.

We visited Vatican City. There is a massive museum filled with statues and other art pieces along with amazing paintings, tapestries and sculpting on the walls and ceilings.

This ceiling was painting to make it look sculpted. You could have fooled me.

We were very excited to see the famous statute of Joel. It has retained its colour very well over the years.

We walked up to the cupola of the dome at St Peter’s basilica and then a few hundred more steps to the very top of the dome where there was a great view. The steps were quite narrow and the walls were slanted in some spots.

This is the square where the pope says hi to the world.

We also went through the Sistine Chapel but were not allowed to take pictures. We learned a lot about the Catholics and the popes and saw a lot of history. It was another good day in Rome.

The Colosseum is quite the sight to behold. It’s amazing how they engineered the building so it could stand so high.

I had really mixed feelings as we were walking through learning about the history of the Colosseum. It was unlikely any Christians were killed here by lions like I thought but many others met their death by animal or fellow man. Most of those killed were prisoners of war and criminals while people watched on for enjoyment. To stand in such an amazing building knowing its purpose brought about awe and deep sadness at the same time.

The original floor has been completely destroyed. It is now mostly open revealing all the passageways and about eighty elevators that were used to bring up people, animals and props to the stage.

Leah.

This was a temple in the forum. It looked amazing on its own but it would have been even more amazing when it was still fully standing. These were just the side alcoves of the building. The main ceiling would have towered over top.

Joel is standing in front of some frescoes that are over 1500 years old.

The temple on the raised ground used to stretch from one set of columns to the other. These buildings would be awe inspiring to the visitors who were living in grass thatched huts.

In front of the Colosseum is the arch of Constantine. It was illegal to be a Christian, even punishable by death and then the tides turned and it was illegal to not be a Christian. This is a little baffling just on the surface but even more so when you realize it’s forcing belief, not just behaviour, as if that is possible.

Some mosaics from back in the day.

It was a great day of seeing grand structures and learning more about Roman history. It’s been super hot in Rome while walking around from shady spot to shady spot. The kids have been champs as we have been doing tons of walking, including many stairs and have been learning about what they are seeing. This is such an amazing way to learn history.

This is the view from the staircase leading to the courtyard of our apartment.

This is the courtyard before walking out to the street.

We took the train out to the suburbs to Ostia to check out some real estate.

Ostia has is a little rundown but still has charm and has a lovely statue to greet you. What else can you expect from a town built between the 7th and 4th centuries?

There are many beautiful mosaics adorning the walkways around town.

This house looked lovely but would need a new roof.

I liked the tall walls on this one.

Leah liked this abode.

It has a great theatre that is normally bustling all day. The town still holds a lot of gender bias with the men sitting near the front and with women sitting on the higher stands.

There are some lovely townspeople.

The shops around town are great for those like me who are still trying to grasp the language. For all your shipping needs, check out the shop with a mosaic of a ship.

When I need some ivory or an elephant for a few hours to parade around for my party I can check out the shop with this entrance.

There are also plenty of slaves around to grind flour so my bread isn’t gritty.

Some slaves are happier than others.

There is also a thriving tavern Morgan really enjoyed.

The shelving was lovely.

There was also some creative storage utilized in the tavern.

This place even had a basement.

There were high rise apartments up to ten stories but now they have been reduced to two story abodes.

There is a big temple in the middle of the city for worship to the gods.

Unfortunately, none of the houses had toilets but they had these lovely public latrines available with running water.

The streets were quaint cobblestone lanes though the chariot and cart traffic at night is very loud.

This lovey castle was just a two minute walk from the city.

About ten minutes down the road I could still keep myself updated with the same publication I read in Vancouver, though I would have to adjust reading to the paper version.

In the end we just couldn’t choose between so many houses.

Also, Leah couldn’t wrap her mind around a culture were men were valued more than women and children with no reasonable explaination.

Every place we stay at is so interesting to me. I see it as a window into a local’s life in that city. The apartments are so varied in layout, age and surroundings.

We went out to the grocery store which is always an adventure in a new city. After breakfast we went out to check out Rome and it didn’t disappoint. While we were waiting for Morgan to buy some Metro tickets we came across some ruins that were 300 years old.

We quickly came across one of the many drinking fountains that scatter the city. They can be used for filling your water bottle or as a drinking fountain if you block the bottom pipe.

I thought this arch was in an interesting place.

After walking past several gelato shops, we decided to treat ourselves.

We saw a church that was open and decided to wander in and this is what we found inside.

A fire truck.

Police cars.

This was the back of the church.

Some pretty macaroons inside a gelato shop.

Trevi fountain is a couple kilometres from our apartment. Check out all the people. Part of the attraction of checking out the fountain was standing back and people watching.

I appreciate Morgan’s long arms and ability to take a selfie.

Exploring Trevi fountain.

Walking the streets with my boy.

The Pantheon which was built in 126 AD. It’s amazing how these buildings are still standing in al their glory.

When we are exploring in a specific place, generally Morgan and I will each take a kid and stay in the same general area as we explain more about what we are seeing. Morgan walked with Leah around the Pantheon while I hung out with Joel.

On our two kilometre walk home, these are some of the sights we just happened to walk by. The amount of history and ancient sights in such a small area is astounding with each sight being amazing all on its on.

We are looking forward to checking out some of these sites as well as many more this week.

This was our last day in Paris. Leah and Joel were very excited to see the Arc de Triomphe. I think their excitement grew over the week as we had seen it from Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower along with another arch like it at the Lourve.

Today was my birthday and since there wasn’t cake, I bought these in the little grocer along our afternoon walk.

We went to a small chocolate museum and learned about how chocolate was made, got to eat some chocolate and saw some pretty cool models made out of chocolate.

Knowing we had a late flight ahead of us we went home for a mid afternoon nap. Then we packed up our things, cleaned up a bit, ate dinner and we were on our way.

We took the train out to the Chateau de Vincennes to check out the old castle. There’s something about the circular turrets that makes a castle authentic to me. It had a drawbridge, keep and large moat which was fun to explore. It was pretty sparse inside, especially compared to what we have seen this past week, but it was great to walk through.

There is a chapel inside the walls that has amazing stained glass windows. The windows were blown out by a big wind storm in 1999 and are being replaced.

Right off the main chapel room there was this sculpted piece.

We walked through a bus station to explore the park around the castle and I came upon memories of home. (Note the lone tire locked up)

The building we are staying in has the smallest elevator I have ever seen. I’m not sure how people with small children live anywhere but the main floor. It was a good thing the kids still had energy at the end of the day to climb the stairs as they wouldn’t have fit.

There are fire places in almost every room in our apartment. It is interesting to think of how it would have be used when it was first built and how society has changed so much.

The apartments we’ve stayed at our different than at home but it’s interesting how some things are similar. I’ve used the same green, IKEA cutting board at both of those apartments which is also the same one I have at home.

Today we checked out Luxembourg gardens. It is a nice park with statues, water features, trees, grassy spots, tennis courts along with a playground. The amount of statues all over the town amazes me.

There were some little sailboats sailing the water blue this morning.

We saw a police car.

There are so many magnificent buildings here, inside and out. We walked a little ways from the gardens and saw this church.

We went to an international church this afternoon. It felt a little odd, and nice, to know most of the songs even though we are in a foreign country.

There are many stores and brands I recognize. Globalization can have so many benefits but walking around seeing a Disney advertisement for the latest kid’s movie in French makes me wonder at what price. Are we going to lose valuable parts of culture because we are all digesting the same things?

This trip has made me think a lot about cultures, our perceptions of each other and our emotions towards foreigners. In Ireland we stayed with our friends so we could ask away about typical life there. We are partially immersed in Parisean culture as we shop and walk around town but we also spend most of our days hanging out at tourist stops with other tourists. We’ve learned a lot about their history but now I want to learn about what family life looks like here. Maybe it’s time to look up a blog or two.

Today we were off to the Lourve. The museum is full of art in a building that is art itself.

We talked about how the king used to live at the Louvre and Joel decided he would like to be king and had some thoughts on how he would run this place.

If Joel was king, he’d invite you to his birthday party room. If you were really polite you could eat smarties out of the fancy red bowl. If you were only a little bit polite, you could have smarties out of the blue bowl. He would invite Leah the queen, daddy, who would be the king’s helper and mommy, who gets to be the princess.

We had downloaded a great audio guide that pointed out works of art throughout one wing of the museum. It kept us fascinated as we journeyed through.

Some of the art work reminds me of what I remember from textbooks in elementary school.

As art speaks to the people’s values back in their day, I wonder what people will think when they look back at the art produced today. I wonder how the art produced during that day was received.

I used to have framed pictures around our house when we lived in a house but now we rent and have concrete walls and I haven’t put in the effort to hang anything up. The kids have used scotch tape to put up their artwork around the living room. I’m not overly proud of how art is and isn’t present in our house but I don’t think anything is going to change anytime soon.

Visiting the Louvre was a great experience. There was so much variety of art and the kids were engaged with everything to see. I feel a bit more cultured now.

This week has been quite the experience. We’ve picnicked at the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Louvre and Versailles. It still feels a little unreal that our family is seeing some of the big sights in Europe.

In Amsterdam we kept a good pace. We went out right after breakfast and came back during the late afternoon. Our days were full and lovely and it was a great balance of experiencing the city and having time at the apartment to cook, do laundry and relax.

In Paris we’ve been going out right after breakfast but there is more of a rush as the sights have long lines if you don’t arrive early. We’ve also been doing a lot more walking, generally just stopping for lunch and have been getting home a lot later.

It’s been fun and great but I knew a rest day would be needed. At home during the summer I usually take the kids out all day on an adventure and then the next day is spent with some quiet time at home and a visit to a playground combined with an errand or two. The kids are still full of energy and not tiring of all the walking or sightseeing but I definitely needed some time to recharge today.

This is how we spent our morning.

(Truth be told, Morgan slept in but this was him once he woke up.)

Today we left mid morning, visited a playground and went out for crepes.

There are a ton of scooters. It feels like all the bikes in Amsterdam have been replaced with motorbikes and scooters.

In keeping with trying to capture pictures of emergency vehicles throughout the countries we visit, here is an ambulance.

We walked through the city this afternoon. We stumbled across a few very cool sights. Here is a church.

We walked through a big cemetery with a variety of small and large headstones, monuments and mini-chapels. This one even has a stained glass window that you can see through the door.

I’m not sure what is up with the couple lying in bed.

Another church which was open so we took a little walk through.

Today we went to Versailles. It is an expansive property of gardens, palaces, fountains, outbuildings and even a farm.

Leah and Joel were excited to feed a donkey.

This was one of the houses for those who worked at the palace or on the grounds.

We spent quite a bit of time walking through the grounds admiring the gardens, water features and wandering down paths on the way to the Trianon, a place of retreat for the royalty.

The rooms were all very fancy with elaborate furniture, paintings and sculptures. The grounds were designed with the palace in mind. Looking out a window was just as extravagant as the room you were in. There were beautiful gardens and views of the canal.

There were many trees that they would have to shelter from the winter so they had expansive space set aside for these plants.

Joel wanted a turn at taking a picture. He directed us well. First we had to make silly faces and then we had to smile nice.

We also learned about how the US got their independence and other history from that time. We also heard a lot about the many King Louis’s of France.

Here are some pictures from inside the Palace.

Leah is hanging out between buildings at the Trianon.

We are all getting strong legs from lots of walking and stair climbing.

It’s been pretty amazing exploring all of these places with my family.