Copenhagen - September 22

Copenhagen, Denmark

On our way to Yali and Suzanne's wedding in Washington DC, we had a 21 hour layover in Copenhagen. This gave us enough time to get the overall feel of the city. We've concluded it's a fantastic place and we need to return someday. 

The city is very monumental

But also colorful

This girl is a ham

A face in burlap sacks

Reflection in the Cosmic Universe

See that spiral tower? We climbed it.

Inside the Church of our Saviour (aka, the spiral tower)

The bells threatened to ring and it freaked us out a little - they can be very loud

Atop the spiral tower with Copenhagen in the background

Going down. 

No fear of heights for Kyri. She makes us all a little nervous.

Do you see the cow hanging from the ceiling? The locals were so friendly. One guy overheard me telling Kyri that we had to make the most of our time because we only had 5 hours. He stopped us and told us about this place. It's a huge food court hidden along the waterfront among industrial buildings.

Nice 2016

Barbe a Papa!

Nice at night. We love walking along the water...

Nice 2016 - Sainte Agnes

Sainte Agnes - September 17

It was a crazy fast, winding, 30 minute bus ride from Menton to the mountain town of Sainte-Agnes. Kyri's full dose of Kids Gravol did not work and even the rest of us felt a bit nauseous. The views were magnificent, but the town was sleepy and small. The girls felt it was worth the trip. I think it would be worth figuring out the trail system in order to hike in the area. 

Minutes after getting off the bus - a quick recovery

Mountain goats #1

Mountain goats #2

Mountain goats #3

There are trails all over the mountains. We wanted to walk down from Sainte-Agnes to Menton (only a 2-3 hour hike), but the segment of trail we found had a sign saying it was forbidden. 

The views really were stunning. Mountains on three sides and the sea on the fourth. 

Back in Menton. 

Kyri is pointing to Sainte-Agnes atop the mountain.

Nice 2016 - around town

 Out and about with Rivi

 

Mosaic on the walls of Parc de la Colline du Chateau

Sunset over Nice

Pink Mediterranean 

I walk by these windows about four times a day on my way to and from Rivi's school

Does having your office inside a square head make you well rounded?

or

It's hard to think outside the box.

Out and about with Kyri

We found the bird man. 

We need to contact Mary Poppins to set him up with London's bird lady. 

Italy

Ventimiglia, Italy - September 11

"What? You mean this isn't a portal? What is it then?"

Nice 2016 - Menton

As I've mentioned before, we love Menton.

I really like the signs in the old parts of French cities.

Yay! Water! We love all the water taps throughout France. 

The guardian of Menton

Nice 2016 - Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

Beaulieu-sur-Mer - September 3

The coastal town lives up to it's name. Beau = beautiful, lieu = place. We took the train from Nice to Beaulieu-sur-Mer, then walked along the water's edge, then inland and up a curvy road without sidewalks. 

At the top, we arrived at the Villa et Jardin Ephrussi de Rothschild. The girls stopped to rest before going through the gates.

The villa is enormous. 17 acres in fact and we explored almost all of it.

A detail on the wall in the foyer.

A curved wall with a tapestry worth discussing. 

What do you think is going on in this picture?

The Grand Salon

Looking for details. These girls know how to go through a museum. They have more fun that we do.

So amazing!

The garden is as impressive as the Villa. Beatrice Rothschild designed the garden over 5 years. 

Her inspiration was a cruise ship.

In the exotic garden. 

There was also a Japanese garden, a rose garden, a provencale garden, Spanish garden, and I've probably forgotten at least one. 

Admiring the view. 

From this point, you can see the Mediterranean from three directions.