Kartchner Korner

We’ve been blessed with wonderful families and want them to know how much we love them!  Thanks for your love and the fun we have together!

Like peas in a pod

Riding the Polar Express in Durango, Colorado

Bowling with a little help…  Who would have ever guessed Ignacio would have a bowling alley & a high rise hotel?  There’s even a stop light now!

Christmas dinner- always better when Mom makes it!

Caroline driving the tractor with Mimi, gotta love it!

Another item on the Bucket List checked off!  Thanks for the fun Uncle Chad!

Idaho Falls from the air, lots of memories from my college days…

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This is the last of our trip pictures, hope you’ve enjoyed seeing some new places.  This is Valletta, Malta a little island in the middle of the Mediterranean- one of my favorite spots.

We explored, took in all we could-enjoying ourselves, the sun, and view immensely.

This was a trip we’ll think back on for the rest of our lives when we can’t sleep, or are scrubbing the toilet etc.  We know we were very blessed to have such an extraordinary vacation and are continually grateful for such an opportunity to explore, rekindle our flame, and relax!

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6,000 miles from Rathdrum, Idaho is the pyramids of Giza!  The only remaining wonder of the ancient world was remarkable, especially inside!   The great pyramid is 4500 years old and while riding a camel, it doesn’t seem like much has changed.

The Sphinx

Can you find the gun?  Security was- let’s just say, interesting.

The 1st pyramid- the Step Pyramid built by King Djoser.  Notice the desert, not a weed or any form of life just sand.

Egypt had the craziest driving system I’ve ever seen, yet it seemed to work for them.  Sometimes it felt like we were walking through the pages of “National Geographic.”

Who knew pigeon was such a desired meal?  I became a vegetarian for the first time in my life.

Mosque of Muhammad Ali- ruler of Egypt in the 1800s.

Inside the mosque was immense and stunning.  Egypt in a few words is completely foreign, ancient, mesmerizing, dirty, unbelievable, sunny, and a tad scary but- I’d do it again!

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Next stop Izmir, Turkey!  It was an impressive place clean and friendly.  Mosques were abundant with the call to prayer being heard all over the city.

The bizarre

I love their ornate clothing.

One of my favorite things- hand painted dishes.  This set had old Ottoman Empire tulip designs.

Next we drove an hour south to the ancient city of Ephesus, the 2nd largest city in the world during the 1st century B.C.

The Library of Celsus

Notice the keystone and all the intricate work carved into stone.

The theater which held 50,000 people were Paul preached.  The book of Ephesians in the New Testament was written to the people of this area.

The book of John may have been written in Ephesus.  This is the location where John supposedly brought Mary, the mother of Jesus for her safe hiding after his death.  It was a beautiful location high on the hillside, peaceful and private with a view of the sea.

The Turkish government will pay all shipping costs if you buy one of their rugs which lasts for generations.  They only cost a few thousand dollars…

Our marvelous home away from home, the Norwegian Jade.

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On the way to Greece we sailed right between the toe of Italy and on the right side, Sicily.

Sicily- we didn’t stop here just saw it from the ship, maybe next time…

It’s all Greek to me!

The Parthenon finished in 432 B.C.!

Olives

This is Mars Hill where Paul preached as recorded in Acts chapter 17.  It’s quite a feeling to think that Paul stood there on the same slick marble hill we climbed.

The Acropolis high on the hill behind us can be seen throughout most of the city.

Yum, yum, yum!  Baklava to die for!  It came out in much bigger pieces than we thought we ordered, oops- but a great mistake.

The Platka shopping district, notice the marble street.

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Next stop- St. Peter’s Basilica, enormous!  See the little people entering the church?

St. Peter holding the keys to the priesthood.

I saw things differently this visit, such as the robe here made of marble.  How this was done without our modern tools is mind boggling.

We had a tour within the Vatican, down into the

necropolis to see St. Peter’s bones, it was fascinating, highly recommendable.  If you’ve read “Angels and Demons” it may appeal to you as does the next picture.

Do you remember this place?  (It’s where she was hid…)

Ah ha!  The amazing camera man getting a rare picture taken of himself with the Pantheon.

Kamm loved the “junk piles” aka the Roman Forum, right in the middle of the city.

See the little people- bottom left, talk about big!

Ah, and a gallon size jar of nutella!  Love anything with nutella…

more to come…

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The next leg of our adventure took us to Barcelona.  It was a sunny, beautiful city with lots of fountains.  We have so many pictures, it’s hard to narrow them down to portray the area.  Here’s just a few…

We love cathedrals, this gothic one was filled with plenty of

Spanish GOLD!

Las Ramblas- look closely and you’ll see shopping stands and seating for the cafes in the middle of the street with driving lanes on the outside, a great place to stroll.

Tiny tile mosaics, I love seeing the local crafts.

The Christmas hams were a bit different- it was the entire leg, foot and all!  Grocery stores can be very amusing…

Casa Batllo- designed by Gaudi the master of art nouveau architecture.  He has many unique buildings throughout the city as well as

the Casa Mila that looks like ocean waves with seaweed iron patios. (click on the image if you want to enlarge it)

This is Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia that was started in 1877 and still not complete.

The Mediterranean coast with Christopher Colombus pointing to the new world.

Ah, the constant hunt for a mail box.  I had to send one more postcard to the kiddies before we got on the ship!  More to come…

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We took our favorite mode of transportation, a high-speed train, to Paris.  Kamm’s GPS clocked us at 182 mph, made for a nice short ride.

Gare du Nord station

Ah, Kamm found his old favorite Turkish food- durum!

We explored a new section of Paris to us, The Opera House and Galeries Lafayette.  Why, because our luggage was lost for 4 days and we needed some clothes!  Thankfully it did come.

This tree is gigantic with huge presents suspended in the air.  We thought a certain someone would love the PINK!

And here’s our new chateau in Fontainbleau, southeast of Paris about 30 miles.  Ha ha!  It would be perfect with a beautiful forest, small town life and…

patisseries all around!

more to come…

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Here’s our old home (well, one of them) 3rd section from the left at the top of 4 flights of steep stairs.

We had so many great memories here in Brussels, Belgium.  It was nice to see it hadn’t changed.

Our dear friends, what a joy to see them after 4 years.  Sorry to post the pictures in your pjs, it was all we had- but you’re still cute!

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Kamm and I were able to go on an amazing vacation, one we’ll remember all our life.

Our first stop was a layover in NY City.  We went to Radio City Music Hall and enjoyed,

“The Christmas Spectacular” starring the Rockettes!  It was a wonderful show

that started the Christmas season perfectly.

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