Wells, England's smallest cathedral city

The moat around the Bishop's Palace, a 12th-13th century residence.

The great cathedral is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture from the 12th century. It is the oldest surviving English Gothic church.

Hanging out in market square by the Penniless porch.

The Cathedral Church of St. Andrew "derives its beauty from the perfect harmony of all its parts, [and] the glowing colors of its original stained-glass windows"(Fodor's England 2010, p.269)

Chad's photographic appreciation of the Cathedral

Somerset County, England

Admiring England's disappearing peat boggs.

Peat extraction is highly regulated here near mendip hills.

Brandon, being spiderman again.

Steve finally got his clotted cream along with the history of it from the coffee shop server in Glastonbury. Glastonbury was filled with a lot of new age, mystic shops and hippies in their mid 60's.

Chad & I laughed for a bit over this sign giving the reason for the wealth of Glastonbury Abbey, which at its hey day was the second richest abbey in England, second only to Westminster Abbey. That was until Henry VIII decided to have it destroyed during the dissolution of England's Monastaries.

Historians still can't decide if the finding of King Aurthur & Guinevere's remains here on Abbey land was fact or fiction drummed up to bring in funds for the Abbey.

Chad laying on the site said to hold the remains of King Aurthur & his queen Guinivere.

What's left of Glastonbury Abbey

Brandon & Chad were in a very silly mood that day!

The Abbey was supposedly founded by Joseph of Arimathea, a merchant, who was legened to have brought the Holy Grail (the chalice used by Jesus at the last Supper).

The Abbey also procalimed to have the remains of St. Patrick buried there also. A restored medieval chapel is at the site of the alleged remains.

Somerset is famous for its hard cider and cheese. Of course we had to try them all!

Ascent to the Glastonbury Tor where the remains of a church dedicated to St. Michael is at the top, along with great views, pot smokers, and plenty of mystics doing their chants.

Bayeux, France

"During the Second World War, Bayeux was the first city in France to be liberated during the Battle of Normandy... The buildings in Bayeux were virtually untouched during the Battle of Normandy, the German forces being fully involved in defending Caen from the Allies."-Wikipedia

Chad's Medieval Cathedral Appreciations captured in the following slideshow.

"The cathedral was consecrated on 14 July 1077 in the presence of William, Duke of Normandy and King of England. It was here that William forced Harold Godwinson to take the oath, the breaking of which lead to the Norman conquest of England."-Wikipedia

Normandy, France

When we first asked the boys "where" they wanted to go in Europe, they responded,"'Normandy"-which is not easy to get to, but was worth the trip.We visited Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, the US Cemetary and museum.

Rose had already been here with Sara a few years ago. She took lots of pictures of Jesse who was just as excited as the boys to be here.

They explored every bunker, mortar created crater and artillery piece.

Steve was most surprised by the craters at the top.  He was wondering why we didn't just bomb them before we assaulted the beaches. We bombed them.  Wow did we bomb them.

Brandon has wanted to watch "The Longest Day" or "Saving Private Ryan" everyday since our visit.

Point du Hoc

Memorial to the Marines who scaled the beach cliffs with knives at Point Du Hoc.

Jesse, Brandon and Chad were constantly filling us in on the history of that day's invasion.

Chad- "combat meditations".

B&B Near Normandy France

The boys were excitedly reliving their X box games, Brothers in Arms & Call of Duty as we traveled the narrow hedgerowed streets near Noramandy. As usual, the boys comment, "I've been here!", is usually a reference to having been there-virtually, via video games. We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast that I would go back to anyday.

Despite everyone's aversion to the French, I loved France. I loved the food, wine, fashion, and decor.

Hanging by the fireplace in the common room. Rose enjoyed the local hard cider they served here in the evenings.

Brandon & Chad loved the awesome "castle" stairs

The croissants, marmalades,and homemade rolls at breakfast were memorable!

Chad Imagining...

Chad's Farmhouse Meditations: (Chad: "Right now i am hanging by my arm strength and trying to smile while a very unstable pile of logs crumbles beneath me')

Skiing in Zakopane, Poland

On December 26th, St Stephen's Day, Steve, Yvonne, Brandon and Chad headed 90 minutes south to Zakopane to get in a day of skiing.

While driving south, Yvonne was reading about the gothic wooden churches which could be found in parts of the countryside.

After being in Krakow several days, the coutryside and mountain peaks were stunning.  The wind and 'warmth' of the past week had left only one place to ski.  Their ski season typically does not start till the following week.

Although this slope was more comparable to Liberty, you could not beat the price. All day equipment and lift tickets for about $30.00.  I'm there!

 The Zakopane area was considered a resort area.

The highlanders of the area sold their sheep cheese everyhwere.

Highlights from this restaurant: Chad - potato pancakes; Steve-warm spiced beer and honey vodka.

Smoke filled restaurants serving local fare invariably offered sheep cheese, meat, potatoes, stew, some kind of "white" salad (cabbage, carrots, etc.) and many types of vodka. I couldn't wait to get to France, so I could order some green salad!

Meeting Family in Poland

When we initially planned to go to Poland, I (Steve) had a vague hope that he might be able to meet his relations who lived outside Krakow.  Since my dad (Gabe) had stayed in contact through yearly Christmas cards, we were able to write.  Just days before leaving for Europe, we received an e-mail from Michal Wyzga, the grandson of Gabe's cousin Stanislaw, and learned that the family would love to meet us.

Thankfully, the -17 degree Celsius temperature and heavy snow of a week previous had given way to a heat wave of +4 degrees, making the 2 hour trip by car to their small village possible.

Czelaw Wyzga (a retired Russian literature teacher) and his wife Christina graciously hosted us at their home with their sons Voigstic (far left) and Michal.  Michal fortunately had gone to college to study foreign relations and proved to be an excellent translator between us and his parents.  In our initial conversation, I tried to share how much this meeting meant to my father and siblings, and how all were eager to know as much as possible about them.

Christina had spent two days cooking an elaborate feast including home-made breads, bean soup, three separate courses of pierogies, and several different types of cookies and cakes.

Everyone was full when Christina came out with the final main course of meat pierogies in beat soup. I took some to be polite.  It was delicious!  The best tasting food so far on the trip.

Stanislaw is Gabe's cousin, and he was (as Diane would say) a stitch!  He recounted to us how Gabe and Hedy (my parents) had sent them clothes and blankets many years ago when they faced very difficult times.  I called dad. We all listened as Stan spoke to Gabe in Polish and insisted that he come and visit in the spring - no excuses.  Then he eagerly brought us to the farm and kitchen where my great grandfather was born.  Though Stan obviously owned little, he brought out an open bottle of Vodka, shared a toast with us, and insisted we take the rest of the open bottle back to Gabe as a gift.

The man on the far right is Czelaw's brother, who was also very friendly and engaging. His 25 year old daughter next to him reminded us very much of my mother, Hedy.  It is hard to succinctly articulate the effect on all of us of this brief visit with family we have never met, but it will be a day we will treasure.