It's Dylan, You Know the Drill

Odds and Ends

2008-08-18T01:11:00.011+02:00

We're finally starting to get settled in again after making it back to K.C. So with that in mind I thought I'd post some of the cooler things that I never got around to posting while living in Paris.

"Stop! Here is the empire of death"

This is at the entrance of the catacombs in Paris. It was pretty amazing. Kind of creapy walking through it by myself though.

A heart made out of skulls. They had people at the exit going through your pockets and bags to make sure nobody was trying to make off with a "souvenir".

More skulls and bones.

Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother by James Whistler.
This was at the Musée d'Orsay. I loved the Orsay Museum, especially the Van Gogh's and Monet's.

La Gioconda by Leonardo Da Vinci.

The main attraction at the Louvre. I was able to muscle my way to the front of the mass of humanity and get a pretty good picture.

Le Penseur (The Thinker) at the Musée Rodin. The Rodin museum was pretty cool. It is right across from Les Invalides (the Army museum). The Thinker got most of the attention, but the Gates of Hell and The Kiss were also pretty amazing.

This picture of the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower was taken at a bridge by the Javel metro stop. It's about a 5 minute walk from the apartment we were in.

Me at Versailles. I loved going to Versailles and hanging out on Saturday's to see the fountains.

Again at Versailles. Looking back at the Chateau.

This is behind Notre Dame. I promise this is not photoshopped. As part of the "Jake Tour" you would know this is where Jason Bourne wakes up in Paris after driving from the bank/American Embassy in Zurich.

Tip and I on one of my last trips to the Eiffel Tower. This is from Trocadero looking back towards the Champs des Mars.

Good Bye Paris! It's was a blast!

Rome

2008-07-30T01:48:00.006+02:00

Just flew back from Rome and boy are my arms tired. Tippetts has been in Paris visiting and made the trip with me. Rome was great, saw lots of cool stuff. I am really glad that I was able to sneak it in before returning to the states next week.

In front of the Colisseum. We did the tour (good call Tip) and were able to skip the line. Aside from the Eiffel Tower, this was probably the most amazing thing I saw while living in Europe.

Inside of the Colisseum. Our tour guide had Tip and I face off as gladiators. Unfortunately I didn't represent very well.

Tip at the entrance of the Roman Forum.

The Spanish Steps. I guess these are a lot better to visit during the Spring when the flowers are blooming. Luckily I didn't have to stop too often before reaching the top.

My graceful attempt at tossing a coin into the Trevi fountain. It just made it, so I guess I had better start preparing for the return trip once the girls are done with college.

Dinner at the Pantheon. I went with the fettucini.

St. Peters Bassilica. Didn't see the Pope, but I can cross visiting the smallest country in the world off my to do list.

Apparently the hat I bought wasn't an original as the guy up ahead in the metro had the same one. So weird.

Probably won't post again until we are all moved back to K.C. So stay cool and have a cool summer.

Nuck

Aachen, Germany

2008-07-21T04:46:00.003+02:00

So with my final remaining unplanned weekend remaining in Europe I decided to go to Aachen, Germany. It is the resting spot for Charlemagne. As Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor this city took on a more central role throughout his reign, going so far as to call it the "New Jerusalem". I learned a lot and would recommend it to those looking for a good day trip while in the area.

The is the Aachen Cathedral. It was the first site added to UNESCO's list of historical places in Germany. It is also the resting spot of Charlemagne.

The front of the Cathedral. The treasury that holds a lot of cool stuff is around the corner.

This is the Aachen Town Hall. During the holiday season they hold a world renowned Christmas Market. Today all there was in the courtyard was a group of Medivel knights and their wenches. You can see them in the bottom left corner.

Lunchtime! When in Germany got to go with the Bratwurst. This was Round 1 of 2.

The throne of the Holy Roman Emperor. It is very underwhelming. The tour guide said the throne is made of marble that Jesus had walked on and that is why they did not feel the need to "fancy it up".

This is one of two important caskets within the cathedral. This one is said to contain 4 important religious relics. They include John the Baptists shroud when he was beheaded and the swaddling clothes of Jesus' birth. Every seven years they taken them out and put them on display for those people making a pilgrimage to Aachen.

This is the second of the caskets within the cathedral. It contains the body of Charlemagne. All I could think of was Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Keep waiting for some crazy ghosts to come flying out and start melting people.

This is Printen. It is a shortbread type of food. Didn't quite top the brat from lunch.

Auf Wiedersehen
Nuck

Marseilles

2008-07-18T01:08:00.005+02:00

Last month I was able to spend a couple days in Marseilles in the South of France. While not as glamorous as Nice, Cannes, or St. Tropez were all the wealthy go on holiday, Marseilles is pretty cool. My favorite part was the Chateau d'Ilf. This is France's version of Alcatraz. In the book the Count of Monte Cristo it is where Edmond Dantes (the Count) was sent.

The view from the hill looking down on Vieux-Port.

This is Notre Dame de la Garde. It is said to watch over sailors as they are coming and going from Marseilles.

This is looking out towards the Chateau d'Ilf from Notre Dame de la Garde.

Vieux Port. This is one of the main areas of the city. They had a huge fish market with some pretty interesting looking creatures that I would never dare try.

The cathedral de la mayor.

On the island Chateau d'Ilf.

Looking back at the city of Marseilles from the island.

Getting back into the Port after my trip to the islands.

I'm on a roll with these posts, so hopefully I'll be able to keep them going. I'm off to Germany in a couple hours. I'll be in Aachen, the resting place of Charlemage and where the Holy Roman Emperors were crowned from his time in the 700's to the 1400's. Should be fun.

Nuck

Bastille Day

2008-07-17T23:44:00.004+02:00

Bastille Day fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. I didn't have the best spot to see everything, but it was still a blast. This video is dedicated to my lovely wife who lives and dies for firework shows.

Can anyone say Friday Night Fireworks at the K?

Nuck

Madrid

2008-06-28T01:12:00.007+02:00

Madrid rocks! The capital of Spain is quite the town. Although I missed most of the celebrations following Spains victory in the Euro Championships, I still had a great time. The following are some of the highlights from my two days spent in this beautiful city.

The Palacio Real. It is the best preserved Palace in all of Europe or so says the Spanish. I am still kind of partial to Versailles.

Another look at the Palacio. The Madrid Opera is to my back.

The courtyard to the Palacio Real. I spent a lot of time here as there was plenty to see and learn about.

El Oso. This is the emblem of Madrid. This part of town was kind of crazy. It is called Sol and it had everything. Spent a lot of time here just kind of walking around.

Parque Juan Carlos I. This one is for JC. It was near my hotel.

Monument of Alfonso XII. This is at Parque del Retiro. The missionaries from the Madrid MTC had this place on lockdown. They even put on a concert. Good times.

The Puerta de Alcala, just outside the Parque del Retiro.

Not really sure why this was going on. I learned that there are some things us fat, hairy, naked guys should just not do. It was pretty funny though.

The Diosa Cibles statue that's in front of the Palacio de Communicaciones. It is one of the more famous landmarks in Madrid.

Nucky

London

2008-06-22T22:40:00.004+02:00

I've finally gotten around to downloading pictures from some of my latest adventures to my computer, so hopefully in the coming days I will be posting more. Since neither Daisie or I have mentioned anything about London, I thought that would be as good a starting point as any. It was awesome! Some of the highlights were Daisie and I going to see The Sound of Music at a West End Theatre and also being able to see some of the preparations for the Queen's birthday. The girls as always were troopers! Here are the pics.

Daisie and I in front of Tower Bridge.

The eye of London.

Me in front of Westminster Abbey.

Buckingham Palace.

Daisie at the Tower of London. The building on the left is where the Queen's jewels are held. The building on the right is where the prisoners were kept, including Sir Thomas More.

So stay tuned as I hope to begin posting more frequently. I'm sure Daisie will also start up again now that things are slowing down for her (she does have lots of cool pictures from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.)

Nuck

The End Of An Era

2008-06-01T21:01:00.005+02:00

So today has been the day I've been dreading for some time now... Daisie and the chicks are on their way back to Utah. Being in London over the weekend distracted me enough to make it a somewhat bearable goodbye scene at the airport. Nevertheless these next couple months can't go by fast enough!

Anyways, I thought I'd put something together with a few of the highlights that the past three months have provided us. Video disclaimer... I hope you enjoy seeing this, but by no means do I claim to the second coming of Steven Speilberg. Roger Ebert maybe... I'm more into judging than creating.

p.s. Love you tons Daisie, Samantha, and Sadie!!! Thanks for making this whole experience worthwhile for me! I miss you tons!!!

p.s.s. If anyone is in need of a pink or green stroller that have absolutely zero tread remaining give Daisie a shout out.

Nuck (aka Daddy)

Jardin d'Acclimatation

2008-05-25T15:47:00.004+02:00

A couple Saturday's ago Daisie, the chicks, and I were able to go to the Jardin d'Acclimatation. The Jardin d'Acclimatation is a children's park inside the Bois de Boulogne. It has a zoo (which the girls weren't big fans of), rides, playgrounds, and puppet shows. It was a good time that was topped off with some wonderful Lebanese food later that evening. Here are some of the pics from our time there.

p.s. it's mother's day in France today, so Happy Mothers Day to Daisie, Mom, and Cas! Love ya tons!

Me and the chicks taking it easy.

Sadie was a bigger fan of the slide than she was of this horse.

Daisie and the girls at the entrance.

Sadie and Samantha trying to get in on the fun with the big kids.

Black swans?

Daisie thought the train was going to leave me while I was taking the picture. Silly girl.

The Latest Adventures

2008-05-20T02:08:00.004+02:00

Daisie and the chicks took off this morning to Germany, so with my new found free time and being extremely bored I thought I would post some pictures from our latest sightseeing adventures.

The chicks hanging out waiting for the lights to come on at the Eiffel Tower.

Moulin Rouge. Not quite as exciting as the movie makes it out to be.

Sam really enjoys throwing the ball around with her old man.

This picture pretty much sums up our time in Paris. Mmmm gelato.

Taking a break on the grass in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Sadie and Sam love to run after the pigeons.

Daisie and I at the Arc de Triomphe.

The fountains at Versailles.

The Chateau of Versailles.

Belated Normandy Pics

2008-05-12T00:18:00.003+02:00

So since I skipped from Mont Saint Michel to Barcelona, I figure now is as good a time as any to go back and post some pictures of our road trip to Normandy. I've become somewhat of a World War II junkie since watching Saving Private Ryan. Living in France and being able to go to the War Museum at Les Invalides and also the D-Day Beaches in Normandy has been a wonderful experience. Hope you like the pics.

The view of the ocean as we got to the beach.

This is Arromanches Beach, Omaha and Utah Beaches are in the distance.
Sam stopping for a late snack.
Sadie going for a stroll on the beach.

Word

Nuck

Barcelona

2008-05-01T22:36:00.003+02:00

So since Daisie has already beat me to the punch with the Normandy pictures, I thought I'd post a couple from our trip to Barcelona.
The flight even though it was only an hour and a half, it pretty much sucked. Samantha was not on her best behavior and if the flight had been a WWF cage match, I think I would've tapped out. Nevertheless we made it there and everything from that point forward was awesome. If you ever get the chance to go to Barcelona I highly recommend it.

Montjuic. Luckily they've got escalators, my back still hurts from the week before.

Sagrada Familia. It is crazy big and quite possibly the most ornate church of all time. Instead of gargoyles on the sides it has snakes, lizards, and aligators. Sweet!

My lovely ladies sunbathing on the beach. Don't look too hard past Daisie or you might catch a glimpse of some hairy european dude in a speedo.

Looks like I'm not the only one in the family that isn't too down with this swimming thing.

Word up!

Nuck

Mont Saint Michel

2008-04-21T23:21:00.004+02:00

So this weekend we all jumped into a rental car and took off towards the coast. We had heard a lot of cool stuff about the Normandy area and in particular Mont Saint Michel. Legend has it the Arch Angel Michael appeared to Aubert, the holy bishop of Avranches and told him he was to build this palace. For all of you Lord of the Rings dorks like myself, Mont Saint Michel was used as the inspiration for the castle in the Return of the King episode. So without further adieu...

Feeling pretty good at this point. Little did I know how many steps were waiting for me.

Getting a little closer. It was high tide so the ocean was on its way.

Here comes the ocean. Luckily Daisie had a hold of Sam and didn't let her drift away.

Leaving the island our first night in Mont Saint Michel.

My lovely ladies at the top of the Abbey.

I hope to have the pictures up from the rest of the Normandy vacation and our trip to the D-Day Museum at Arromanches.

Nuck

Just In Case Y'all Forgot

2008-04-19T03:39:00.002+02:00

What is a hoe Alex.

Word

The Nuck

Keepin' it real in the city of lights

2008-04-13T23:13:00.004+02:00

So yeah I'm a pretty lousy blogger. Time has just been flying by. I typically get home from work around 7:30 pm each night and before you know it I'm starting the whole routine over again. Oh well...
Anyways, I thought I would post a couple quick pics from some of our latest adventures. Hope you like them.
Snuck

The chicks sharing their graham crackers with the birds at Sacre Coeur.

HD and his crew with Daisie at Sacre Coeur.

A rainbow in Paris.

Daisie and the chicks on one of our walks at a nearby park.

The Louvre

2008-03-24T19:26:00.003+01:00

So with the Easter holiday arrived I was able to use my day off and finally visit the Louvre. It was overwhelming feeling like you had to see everything during one trip. I was able to see the majority of the things I had planned to seeand will undoubtedly be visiting again, next time making more of an effort to enjoy the museum. Here are some of the highlights.

A picture from the 1st floor of the Danon wing of the Louvre.

This is named Winged Victory I believe.

The Venus De Milo.

And finally Liberty Leading the People.

The Fam has arrived!!!

2008-03-15T02:17:00.005+01:00

So it's been a couple weeks since I've posted... my bad. It's great to have the girls here in Paris. Daisie has been a trooper and aside from a few bumps and bruises (Sadie took a header off a chair one of the first days here) everyone is doing great.

I don't quite have this thing down yet. Celsius has thrown my whole world off it's axis. This is suppossed to be a pizza.

Speaking of pizza, the girls are getting plenty of opportunities to eat some of it. As Daisie herself would admit, she hasn't been too willing to branch out unless you consider having Domino's Pizza 3 nights in a row branching out.

Daisie looking as fly as ever on one of Paris' many bridges.

Samantha loves her baguettes. Like mother like daughter.

What a hike!

2008-02-24T21:52:00.004+01:00

So I had some free time recently and thought I'd make my way to see one of Paris' more well known Basilica's - Sacre Coeur. It is located on a pretty step hill, one of the few in Paris. As most of you know I'm not in the best of shape so making it to the top of the hill was no small feet. (As a side note, I'd just like to thank Daisie for signing us up to run the Kansas City half marathon this October. blah!) Anyways here are some of the highlights from the top of the hill.

Sacre Coeur Basillica

From the bottom. I actually came up from the other side of Sacre Coeur.

Looking down on Paris and all the craziness below.

Another view from the top of Sacre Coeur.

P.S. I finally have moved in to my apartment and hope to have pictures up soon. It's near Roland Garros (where the French Open is played) so if anyone is dying to see some world class tennis, holler at your boy.

P.S.S. I learned first hand about another gypsy method of begging for money. A female will come up to you saying they found a ring on the ground near you and try to give it to you. After showing the lady my wedding ring she proceeded to ask for money so she could buy a sandwich. I am continually amazed at how bold these people are. I need to find a way to look less like a tourist when I go out. It's getting beyond ridiculous.

- Nuck

What to do when lost in Paris

2008-02-17T21:45:00.004+01:00

So yesterday I got it in me that I would go see Les Invalides (where Napoleon I is buried and a bunch of other cool military artifacts.) Being here almost two weeks I thought I had a pretty good grasp on the city and its Metro so getting to there wouldn't be a problem. Boy was I wrong! First I got off on the wrong Metro stop after taking the wrong train. Ugh! After walking around aimlessly for a while I ended up at the Eiffel Tower. Les Invalides was right next to the Eiffel Tower (go figure), but it closes pretty early so I decided to kick it and take in Gustave Eiffel's work of art. Cool bit of Eiffel trivia - he also designed the internal architecture of the Stature of Liberty. I'm sure most of you American history buffs already knew this, but I found this out yesterday as well. Thought that was kind of cool.

Me looking all sexy showing off the new beard.

For being kind of cold out, there still was a lot of people.

The mass of humanity. I must've been hit up by 6 or 7 gypsies asking for money. Here's what they do... They ask if you speak English and if you'll read this piece of paper saying they're from Bosnia and they need money to care for their children. If you say no, then they try Spanish or French. I watched some guy give one of them fries and once he did a couple of French army dudes were all over the gypsy. Moral of the story when approached by a gypsy in France - no speak-a English.

The picture from the other side on the steps of the ballet. There was a big rally for Darfur going on with break dancers. I'll try and get those pictures up soon.

- Nuck

The Latest and Greatest

2008-02-15T02:04:00.002+01:00

I haven't had much time to go out and see the sights much during the day, so lately I've been going for walks (yeah I know... go figure) during the evening. Here are some of the high points.

Notre Dame - beware of the gypsies!

Notre Dame at night. I found a Subway right across the street from Notre Dame. Had to get my Cold Cut Trio fix.

The view from one of Paris' many bridges. Think this is Pont Neuf, but don't hold me to that.

The Louvre at night. It's really a cool part of town where you can come and listen to street performers and just kind of take in the city.

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day wishes to my three lovely ladies! Love ya tons!!!

Happy Birthday Samantha & Sadie!!!

2008-02-10T19:43:00.000+01:00

Joyeux anniversaire
Joyeux anniversaire
Joyeux anniversaire Samantha and Sadie
Joyeux anniversaire

Happy Birthday Samantha and Sadie! 1 year old - yeah!!! I hope you both have a great day, and I can't wait to see you! Love you tons and tons!!!

- Dad

Disneyland - Paris Edition

2008-02-10T01:33:00.000+01:00

So I have been in Paris almost a week and have already made it to Euro Disney!!! My team from work had a group bonding trip, guess I kind of lucked into this one. A good time was had by all, well maybe except for that 1 1/2 hour wait to ride Thunder Mountain Railroad. Space Mountain totally rocked and even had a little extra something that is not on the ride in the States.
- Nuck

The Happiest Place on Earth - Europe edition.

Abe, David, Joy, and Missy getting ready for blast off.

Abe, David, and Joy doing some more waiting in line. This time at Pirates of the Caribbean.

The CareNet team trying to decide which ride is next.

Group picture time - say cheese.

And So It Begins...

2008-02-10T00:57:00.000+01:00

I'm sure you've all been on pins and needles waiting for me to join the blogosphere. Well wait no more! While I don't promise to be the most insightful blogger, I am a pretty big deal so I hope you enjoy what is posted. So without further adieu... here are some pics from my first day here in Paris.
- Nuck

Me at the Grand Arch looking back toward the Arc d'Triomphe.

The Champs Elysse. We walked this entire street from the Louvre to the Arc d'Triomphe. Ugh!

Me kicking it old school in front of the Arc d'Triomphe.

Just outside Tuilleries looking at the Eiffel Tower.

The Grand Arch. It's in La Defense, and about 500 yards from my office.