.
.
Unless otherwise noted all photos and posts are subject to copyright laws. Please do not use or reprint anything that appears here without prior permission. Thank you! © Kdottie Designs 2008
Continuing my SIMPLE theme....... Our flag looks simple enough flying there all by itself in the breeze. However, if you think about all the things our flag stands for, it's anything but simple.
I would like to know why there are so many hungry and homeless VETERANS in our country when the prisoners who murder, rape, rob, abuse, etc. are given 3 meals a day, a bed and a warm place to live.
This makes me sad. :(
HAPPY VETERANS DAY!!!!
SIMPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . not involved or complicated
That's what I have decided to blog about for the next few posts. Just simple little things - some things that make me happy and some - not so much. Some that make me laugh and some that make me cry.
I don't have very many profound thoughts, I am not a deep thinker, I am not going to solve world peace, as a matter of fact my thoughts are more like "pop-up videos", I have random thoughts. Nothing very important.
So join me, if you will for simple things..........
This makes me HAPPY!
My cappuccino in Paris. That seems simple enough. However, the design they so carefully put on each cappuccino doesn't seem simple. The barrister made it look simple - I guess it was to him. It was just SIMPLY delicious to me!
Check back soon to find out my other simple things. In the meantime....
Have a great day and a better tomorrow!
xoxoxoxox
Caren
Welcome to Pink Saturday...doesn't it seem like before you can blink, it's Saturday again! The weeks are speeding by for me. How about you?
YOU'VE GOT TO LOVE AMSTERDAM!!! What can I say, it's enchanting.
The beautiful canals:
The flower markets:
The architecture:
The fact that almost everybody either walks or rides a bicycle. They even have "buckets" or "buggies" on the front of them so they can carry their children.
The mom in the above picture is not walking, she's riding a bike!
The cute Dutch names they have for their businesses:
One of many town squares where people gather, catch the trolley or if you're lucky - you might see a performance or two:
A PINK boat floating down the canal:
Plenty of PINK bicycles:
I definitely would have a PINK bike if I lived there.
A PINK scooter:
We did notice that most (almost all) people did not wear helmets while riding bikes or scooters. For all you mothers with babies and small children - note the children are not in car seats! I guess with their laid back lifestyle and lack of a lot of cars and trucks, they don't necessarily need them.
A PINK cone sign on an ice cream shop:
A beautiful calliope that was playing in the streets:
Ashley showing off her PINK tights - LOL:
While in Amsterdam, we visited Anne Frank's Huis (house). It was a moving, heart-wrenching experience. Need I say more?
You aren't allowed to take pictures inside so we took one outside. Note the smile on Ashley's face - this was taken before we entered - the photo would have been entirely different afterwards.
This is the church that sadly could have been seen outside their "secret annex" if only they didn't have to cover the windows:
After the tour, we decided that we needed a little cheering up. So, what is better than POFFERTJES!
These are described as "little Dutch pancakes with butter and icing sugar". Icing sugar is what they call our powdered sugar. I describe them as "a little piece of heaven with really scrumptious butter and icing sugar that you will be wearing later as a few extra pounds". It was well worth it!
As I said before, I love Amsterdam. I believe that even though it seems to be a little "old country" by our American standards, they are very much a head of us. By this I mean things are just out there. Are you confused? The drinking age is, well I'm not quite sure of the exact age but I would like to say BIRTH, as it is in most European countries. Also, marijuana is legal and although they don't flaunt their sexuality it is not hidden...it's just part of life. I am not on a soap-box for changing everything but I feel as if we didn't have so many "NO'S", things might not be so abused in America. If having a drink of wine at dinner was okay here, maybe teenagers wouldn't try to sneak alcohol so they could get drunk..it wouldn't be a big deal. If marijuana was legal maybe the drug problem wouldn't be so bad. At least those who needed it for medicinal purposes would be able to get it. If we didn't make such a big deal about hiding our sexuality, the human body and talking to our children about sex maybe, just maybe children and young adults wouldn't laugh and giggle nervously when it is brought up - they would grow up with acceptance.
This is all just a thought. I hope I have not offended anyone and you will return to my blog. I just thought it was a little something to make you go....Hmmmmmmm.
One thing I did not care for was the public urinals in the town square and the fact that I had to pay 40 cents to use a bathroom. Seems kind of sexist, don't you think?? lol
They do use them - quite often - four at a time!!!!
Another funny thing we saw was on a door of a Chinese restaurant that was closed for the day:
The next day, the sign said "WOK ON". Sadly, I didn't have my camera with me.
Please don't forget to visit the lovely Beverly to visit all the other PINK participants. One of my favorites that you might enjoy all the way around the world is Li at mythoughtsmyvoice.wordpress.com - you'll be glad you did!
Have a wonderful day and a better tomorrow!
xoxoxoxoxox
Caren
I am SO EXCITED! I received not one, not two but THREE awards from the extraordinarily talented, wonderful lady, BELLA SINCLAIR! You have to understand, I have never received an award before and to be awarded three from someone such as Bella - I'm over the moon!!!!!!
If you would like to treat yourself today, go on over to Bella's blog, bellasinclair.blogspot.com. She has created the most AMAZING drawings! Hope you have a lot of time because you will just keep scrolling and scrolling to see it all!
I plan on passing these awards on to other deserving people in the near future. Stay tuned!!
Again, Bella, my dear friend - I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!
Have a good day and a better tomorrow!
xooxoxoxox
caren
It's PINK SATURDAY again! Today I am going to show you all the PINK (and a few other colors) we saw in Venice! I must say, there was a lot of PINK to pick from!
First, WELCOME TO VENICE!
After arriving at your hotel, you must go to Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square):
Starving (as always) we decided to sit down at this outdoor restaurant and order a little afternoon dessert:
While enjoying our dessert there was live music playing - mostly American tunes, which was great.
Could life get much better, being in Venice with your family, enjoying a delicious dessert (not really to worried about the calories), listening to wonderful music.........until the bill came!!! Little did we know that each person (not table) was charged for listening to the music! Oh, well....
We went through St. Mark's church (to repent for that dessert???)....it was beautiful but you couldn't take pictures. So, instead I took a picture of one of the mosaics outside the church:
We took the elevator to the top of the tower - breathtaking! Piazza San Marco:
Views from other sides of the tower:
There is so much PINK ....take a look:
Pretty PINK flowers and PINK lanterns:
PINK marble columns (every thing is marble in ITALY....so jealous):
Venice is known for their beautiful masks. However, the extraordinary masks were in shops where there were no photos allowed. So, I took a picture of Ashley looking at "little ones" in the square:
One of our favorite things we did in Venice was to take a gondola ride. It was almost sunset and the smooth gliding of the gondola relaxes you tremendously and almost rocks you to sleep!
View from our gondola:
Yes, some gondoliers do sing and some even play an accordion and sing! Of course, that costs more. LOL
Ashley and Hubby after our ride - notice she has the PINK bag:
We found some PINK venetian glass in the windows:
Of course, there was always time for an impromptu photo shoot of Ashley twirling:
And JUMPING for JOY:
............PRICELESS!!!!Hope you enjoyed my little tour of PINK Venice. Please visit Beverly to see all the other wonderful PINK participants.
Have a good day and a better tomorrow! CIAO!
xoxoxoxoxox
Caren
Hi Everybody! I couldn't go on vacation without looking for PINK things to photograph to share for PINK SATURDAY. So this week we are looking in Paris....PINK PARIS ........I like that!
Besides seeing all the beautiful sights in Paris, we had to do some shopping. Maybe a little too much since the exchange rate is SOOOOOO BAD! First you need euros:
Oh, believe me - these wouldn't buy much. But they are pretty to look at....why does all our money have to be green? Pretty colors are much more interesting!
After collecting your euros you must jump on the subway and decide where you are going - This particular subway happened to be the PINK line:
When getting off the train and walking towards the exit, you see plenty of advertisements. I particularly liked this one since it was........PINK! Notice she is wearing USA GREEN money on her head.
The subway takes you to wonderful places to shop. Actually, I prefer to shop the little boutiques. It seems like you are helping the small business owner instead of conglomerates. But to be honest we did go into a shopping center and it was beautiful:
This is the ceilings in the building.........what a place to shop!
Of course after shopping and carrying her PINK bag, Ashley (and hubby and I) had to have a crepe - Nutella crepe. This was just one of many we ate!!!!! YUM.................
When you are finished eating your crepe and shopping, stop by the Eiffel Tower and find the PINK ice cream, popcorn and cold drink stand. Notice that is all written in English.......go figure! I guess that is because there are so many english speaking tourists at the Eiffel Tower. There is A LOT of PINK in this picture:
When you are so tired from all of that......you must return to your hotel and sit on the PINK couch and admire the things you bought:
Check back this week for more photos from our trip and next Saturday for PINK things from Italy. In the meantime, visit BEVERLY and check out other PINK participants.
I took Beverly's challenge and I visited Judy at French Laundry - visit her, you'll be glad you did!
Have a great day and a better tomorrow.
xoxoxoxox
Caren
Well almost - it WAS my Birthday and I WAS in Paris and I did spend it with Claude - sort of. That's CLAUDE MONET and no he was not actually there (you know he IS dead) but I did spend it at his house! What a great way to spend your birthday, don't you agree?
The first thing you see is the lilypad pond that is in quite a few of his paintings.
The weeping willow trees were gorgeous:
You feel like you have just stepped into one of his paintings! Here are Ashley and I on the famous Japanese bridge (Hubby was across the pond so he could get the whole picture - hence the arrows):
A few photos around the house and gardens:
A couple of pictures of Ashley and Hubby:
After the gardens we went into his house - sorry, no pictures were allowed. It was so French Country - I loved it! Then we decided to explore the road behind the house..............and..........
Found the cutest little hotel and cafe:
The sign outside said they had crepes! So, of course we had to get our daily Nutella crepe. Besides it was my birthday and I deserved it - I even had ice cream on it....amazing ice cream.......homemade ice cream..........on top of that yummy crepe:
So sorry it looks a mess but I started eating it before I remembered to take a picture!
This is the view from our table:
It was just perfect!A few more photos from Monet's house - there were kindergarten children on a field trip. It was wonderful - they were all so excited and talking french all at the same time. I couldn't understand very much but it was cute. Besides...they ALL had sketch pads and crayons to draw their own "Monet's". They start them early in France - and what a place for a field trip!
As we were touring the grounds, we kept hearing a rooster "cock-a-doodle-dooing"! We were there WAY past sunrise so I guess he was a little confused! He came to the gate - so I guess he was just telling me that he wanted his picture taken:
SMILE!I hope you have enjoyed my birthday trip .......what a way to spend it - in Giverny, surrounded by beautiful flowers and countryside, eating a crepe (with ice cream), sunshine, lilypads, excited French children, my Hubby and daughter and one crazy mixed up rooster!
Keep checking back....we have a whole lot more to go!
Have a good night and a better tomorrow!
xoxoxoxox
Caren
Hi my friends - I'm back!!! It seems I have missed so many Pink Saturdays. Hubby and I have been out of the country for three weeks and Ashley has been gone for almost two months. We met up with her in Paris (she was going to school), spent a time there and then on to Italy and Amsterdam. It was FUN!
Today I am going to share a carousel that was in a Piazza in Florence. As you can see it has plenty of PINK! I took many pictures (to many to share) of this carousel since I have a fascination with carousels and am working on having enough horses to have my own - lol! We decided that not only was it a draw for children but for senior citizens too! Several times while passing by they were riding on the horses - having the time of their lives and maybe remembering times gone by.
The horses were beautiful and seemed to me to have such personality - told you I'm obsessed!
The detail was unbelievable:
Even the ticket booth was ornate and PINK. I tried to find out the age of the carousel but unfortunately I don't speak Italian to well and the ticket lady didn't speak English.
One last view of the carousel and a glimpse of the beautiful buildings surrounding the Piazza.
I hope you enjoyed a portion of my trip - I plan on posting more of Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice and Amsterdam on my blog. Not just for PINK SATURDAY (I have a lot more pink for that), but just for posting. It's just finding the time to sort through thousands of pictures!
I know we are suppose to refer a fellow PINK SATURDAY participant but I have so many favorites and since being gone I'm not sure who has participated and who has not. So, please visit BEVERLY, our wonderful hostess and see how many others you can visit.
Thanks for visiting me today - glad to be back.
Have a good day and a better tomorrow!
xoxoxoxox
Caren
Trying to catch up on our trip......today you are going to take a boat ride with us down the Seine. It was beautiful and I am showing just a few of the millions of amazing pictures I took on the ride. However, first I must tell you about the little "terror" that took the ride with us........
Oh yeah, he's cute enough and you are thinking to yourself ....what could he possibly do wrong? right?
Let me tell you! First of all shouldn't parents watch or care what their children are doing especially on a boat? We had to board the boat with lots of time to spare before it left in order to get a good seat. Finding what we thought were excellent seats...we sat down. Nice family in front of us - Dad, Mom and cute little boy.
On this boat they had great speakers at each seat that you held up to your ear...like a telephone receiver.. you could punch a number so it would translate what they were saying into your language. It had a very long metal cord on the receiver which was to fit into a holder next to your seat when not in use. The cord then went under the seat right by our feet. When lifting the receiver up it made a horrible grinding sound....which the cute little boy (aka "little terror") found quite amusing. After 45 minutes of up and down, grind, grind, grind we had pretty much had it - and we hadn't even left the dock! Ashley decided to put her foot on the cord to stop him from lifting it up. Now, just to let you know we weren't being mean - the parents were not a bit concerned that he kept doing this...it kind of became a game.
This sent him screaming since he couldn't pull the receiver up. Guess what? That got the parents attention....so when they pulled it up (Ashley took her foot off) it worked! He was happy again ...and yes, we were laughing now because as I said it became a game. Over and over again...it worked for the parents but not him. The parents never figured it out.
We finally left the dock and the receiver wasn't fun for him anymore so he then stuck his hand through the seat and started to play with Ashley's leg. I think he liked the feel of her tights (?) She would shake her head no (they didn't speak English) but that didn't stop him. He kept doing it....parents unaware. Oh, but wait she wasn't the only victim...there was another lady that was sitting right below us whom he had a fondness for her hair. He would lean over the railing and play with her hair....over and over again. Sorry I didn't catch him in action but thought you might like to see the lady:
She was just enjoying a nice boat trip with her hubby down the Seine....could life get any better and then " terror" struck..........refer to the first picture. LOL! Again, parents not giving a hoot that their precious little boy was about to fall over the railing. Oh well, enough of that for now. On to the beautiful ride:
On the next couple of photos you can see - just like in the movies, people really do sit on the banks of the Seine - just enjoying life:
Even musicians who evidently according to their t-shirts like Metallica:
Continuing down the River:
The artists are making a mural...
I had my camera all ready to take the perfect shot as they were announcing, "coming up on the left is the Eiffel Tower"! Wait for it......
Wait for it..........
Wait for it............
SNAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is what I got:
Little "TERROR"S" dad decided to finally pay attention to his son and got right in front of my camera!!!!!
What a wonderful ending to a perfect trip!!!! Only kidding....I got a lot of pictures of the Eiffel Tower and we have some funny stories to tell too!
I also got the perfect little "Terror" and father picture:
They are just enjoying a lovely calm day on a boat ride down the Seine.......isn't life perfect?
I'll be back another day for plenty of more pictures and stories from Paris, Rome and Florence. Soon we will be off to Amsterdam.
Have a great day and a better tomorrow.
xoxoxox
Caren
Hi everybody! I have missed blogging and have so many pictures to share with you. We are actually in Rome right now and I have finally been able to upload my pictures from Paris......so we are just going to pretend I am still in Paris and I will maybe catch up within the next couple of days. I already miss Paris and actually wish we were still there. I haven't been in Rome for 24 hours yet, so I am trying not to judge.
We (actually Ashley and I - Hubby didn't really express an opinion) decided that being in Paris was like being plopped down in the middle of a Playmobil dollhouse. I think these pictures will show you exactly what I mean:
We were having lunch one day at an outdoor cafe watching all the little cars and scooters go by and while being surrounded by all these beautiful buildings and houses, you just felt like a big hand was going to come down from the sky and knock a couple of things over.....you know like you were really living in the Playmobil town....lol! I know, I act like I'm six again....or maybe Ashley was six. Whatever, it was funny at the time. Maybe you had to be there.
We stayed at a very nice hotel - Hotel Westminster on the Rue du la Paix. It is in the second district. I apologize now for a lot of my photos being out of focus. My camera wasn't liking taking pictures at night...because I refuse to use the flash.
When we arrived our room wasn't ready (because it was about 8:30 a.m.) so we patiently waited (actually walked around the streets of Paris trying to stay awake after flying all night) only to arrive back and were pleasantly surprised that they had upgraded us (because we were patient and not yelling as a few others were) to a really nice suite. You have to laugh at the name on the door:
Oh yes, that is definitely us - Who's Who in France!! HA! Anyway, it was nice of them.We did a lot of sight seeing and shopping but I am not going to include all that in this one post...I must save some for later posts. However, while waiting for Ashley to get out of school we did encounter a random Brazilian parade...yes, in the heart of Paris!
It was colorful to say the least. I have one more photo that was taken at this parade but I am saving it until the end of this post....just to keep you guessing or you might want to cover your eyes.We visited a flea market one day - I was looking for vintage French lace for my sister. Found some and an old santon for myself (I forgot to take a picture, sorry). But I did take one of the flea market:
There was a flower market next to the flea market...
We visited the Louvre at night - well, we didn't go in because we had been there our last trip to Paris and Ashley had to go on a "field trip" there for school but thought it was pretty to see with the lights on a night.
Mark and Ashley in front of pyryamid
Just a few more shots I thought were interesting and creepy at night (think Da Vinci Code):
A pretty shot of the Louvre and Seine at night:
We ate our way through Paris one crepe stand at a time....I must have eaten a million Nutella crepes and gained a million pounds - fat kids camp for me!
And yes, we did some shopping. Of course, Ashley had to have her picture taken outside of Chanel - no she didn't buy anything!
She did treat herself to a little post Paris Fashion Institute present:
A Hermes scarf - and she wears it with pride!And she did a little more shopping.............as you can see by the bags she is carrying while trying to find the key to the room. Please note - I wasn't helping, I was just being crazy Paparazzi! LOL!!!! You buy - You carry!
We went to the Eiffel Tower:
Just a picture I took while walking across the Seine from the Right Bank to the Left Bank:
I have many more pictures and adventures to share in a later post - a boat trip on the Seine, Monet's house on my Birthday, and more crepes! So check back often.....and then there is Rome, Florence, Venice and Amsterdam still to come.
But as promised my other picture taken by mistake at the parade.......I title this "oh, what a relieve it is" and also please check before relieving yourself that you aren't next to a window that reflects so well! You can click to enlarge photo - or not!
>
My apologies if it offends anyone....I just thought it was funny!
Au revoir until next time.......have a good day and a better tomorrow!
xoxoxox
Caren
Blog design by Sadie Olive, some elements by Holly McCaig.
.
