Christmas 2009 - Baghdad, Iraq

Today is Tuesday, 22 December. Although, I had thought it was going to be a bit hard to be not just away from family and friends but in Baghdad for Christmas, it is a bit more depressing than I had expected. This week, especially, has been pretty sad and I have not really been motivated either at work or at home to do much. Life does go on and I am trying to overcome this mood and enjoy the moment. Bob and I here together and that is definitely a plus for a place like this. This picture shows the only Christmas decoration that we have in the compound, this is the DFAC (dining facility) where we eat all of our meals and socialize with our friends and co-workers and meet new people. Oh, I almost forgot to mention... you can see my honey at the table on the left side of the picture.

In Baghdad

So. we have been in Baghdad since the end of August 2009. Life has not been bad but we have limits. It seems hard now to believe that we have already been here for 3 months and have gone on our first R&R home. When we arrived in August, it seemed impossible that it would ever get cold in Baghdad... 3 months later, I can definitely believe it! Last night, I definitely got the surprise of my life when I walked to the chow hall, it was pretty cold! I believe now what I was told, that is for sure! No pictures of our trip back this time, I was comatose most of the way so I didn't have any motivation to move around. Ok, more about life in not so sunny Baghdad later.

Ok, here we go...

A promise is a promise so here is a post with a couple of pictures and a little story. So, in May (yes, 2009), Andy and Bryan came to visit us in Brussels, Belgium... and we went to Paris, France. We had a great time visitig a lot of tourist places but of course, my highlight was that our babies were with us.

Getting ready to board the train...

We took the Tallis to Paris - this is a very comfortable train and the trip was only one hour and 20 minutes. Grandmy (that is what Bryan calls me for now) and her little boy:

Ok, more pictures and more stories tomorrow. Just one comment, Europe is mostly just warm and May is not really a hot month... usually! The first day in Paris we almost roasted!

Greetings from Baghdad

It is almost the end of 2009 and I have been pretty bad about keeping up with my blog so tonight, I promise to place at least one picture and the story behind it. We have now left Brussels, Belgium... which I miss very much and we are now in Baghdad, Iraq. Baghdad is not too bad if you don't think too much about the prison-like environment... ok, ok, it is not that bad as we don't have guards watching us and preventing us from doing things but we cannot leave the compound, that is where the feeling comes from. Till later....

Day One in Budapest-28 March 2009

I arrived to Budapest around 2 this afternoon and immediately went for a walk around the hotel area. I found a Festival not very far where Hungarian Folklor dancers were performing, unfortunately, my camera battery died after a few pictures so I couldn't record much of my adventure. Here are a couple of pictures of the dancers.

Our Counrty Getaway

Carnival - Feast before Lent...

...which begins on Ash Wednesday, this year, the 25th of February. Lent will last till the day before Easter Sunday. This is a Fasting Season which lasts 40 days, from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday (excluding all Sundays in between). Binche is a little town south of Brussels in Belgium. The town celebrates Carnival starting on Sunday before Ash Wednesday, this year, the 22nd of February. People dress up in various customs (mostly men and children) and kick the celebrations with a parade which starts at 3:30pm from the train station square. Below are several pictures taken today...

Yep, Uncle Sam was in the parade as well!

You want to know what is up with the windows protected with chicken wire? Weeeel, on Tuesday, during the Mardi Gras parade, there will be all kinds of throwing of blood oranges around so most of the parade route buildings have been protected.

The police riding horses will open the parade.

That is sure a very nice smile!

Trip to Dublin

This is the World Famous Trinity College. This is the Harvard or Oxford of Ireland.

A very beautiful setting just outside of town. Very unusual as it is right on the coast.

Just to show the typical street environment.

Charles Stewart Parnell, known as the un-crowned King of Ireland. He was one of the most important figures in 19th century Ireland and Great Britain.

This is a monument to commemorate the famine period in Ireland.

Dublin, as you can see, has no shortage of rowing teams.

Daniel O'Connell, 19th century nationalist leader, whose statue by John Henry Foley, stands on the street named after him. O'Connell Street (Irish: Sráid Uí Chonaill) is Dublin's main thoroughfare.

William Smith O'Brien (17 October 1803 – 18 June 1864) was an Irish Nationalist and Member of Parliament (MP) and leader of the Young Ireland movement.

The statue celebrating Sir John Gray (1816-75) for his efforts in bringing a water supply to Dublin in 1868.

Indicating we have to rise up and be free. The plaque on the monument says something like this, The great appear great only because we are on our knees... arise! This monument is of James (Big Jim) Larkin (Irish: Séamas Ó Lorcáin; 21 January 1875 – 30 January 1947), an Irish trade union leader and socialist activist.

This tall monument was built to commemorate the new millenium but was not finished until 2003. The official name for it is The Spire of Dublin but Irish people have several names for it but I cannot remember a single one! It sure looks pretty at night when its top is lit!

I just found the following at another web site:

Other nicknames:
The Spike
The Spire in the Mire (a reflection on O'Connell Street's unsavoury reputation)
The Binge Syringe ( a reference to contemporary public project overruns, and the use of public money to construct projects that have no direct utility to the public), (also a reference to the levels of drug abuse in contemporary Irish society, and in the local streets)
The Stiletto in the Ghetto (O'Connell St, on the predominately working class northside area of the city, is a very short distance from some of Dublin's poorest and most drug-ruined communities).
The Nail in the Pale
The Stiffy by the Liffey
The Pin in the Bin (a reference to the perceived amount of litter in O'Connell Street)
The Stick
The North Pole (It is located on Dublin's Northside)
The Poker near Croker (A reference to nearby Croke Park)
The Erection at the Intersection

Like the Flemish say: Heel interesant!!!

As you can see from these few photos, Dublin has no shortage of statues. There are hundreds, if not thousands.

AutoWorld Brussels

Just a few photos to show this impressive collection. I am particularly fond on the red 1965 corvette.

I found this very interesting. It is above a doorway into a Church, about nine or ten feet off the ground.

This is a picture on a wall. I thought it would provide a good idea of what this abbey really looks like overall.

The Abbey

With a little imagination, you can see it as it once was.

Brewery and Abbey Trip

I can account for the smiles and the unusual facial expressions, can you? There was one additional keg before we arrived.