Odds 'N Ends Part One. . . Getting ROCK BAND 2!

Yes! I have some MAJOR catching up to do. . . (as my faithful dozen or so blog fans keep telling me)

So I am putting some little snippets of mirth and mayhem which occurred when I got back from my 'European Vacation' this past September.

One of the first things on my 'MUST DO AT ANY COST' list was was get that much anticipated game of all time:

ROCK BAND 2!

I knew my boys could NOT wait until Christmas (and truth be told, neither could I)

My middle son was prepping his hairstyle for his new rocker image:



I informed him rockers don't smile and he must cop an attitude if he was to really pull off the rocker style--(which as you can see from the next photo was really hard for him to do--as he has to keep some sort of smirk on his face):




Meanwhile, youngest son was wondering if the guitar, drums, or microphone would be bigger than a shoe:



(Well. . . maybe not THAT shoe!)

On the day I brought the game bundle home--I was able to hide it fairly well--so that I could get some much needed work projects done around the house by my boys before I would rescue it from it's hiding place and let them open it. . .

But the moment finally came:



And everything was tested out and deemed: 'pretty sick' (which I think means 'OK')

Confession time here--I really like this game myself and have become the Queen of 'Medium Mode' which I can play now without getting too winded or needing a nap or hospital visit after an extremely killer session.

Meanwhile--my boys have gone on to master the 'Harder Than the Guys Who Actually Play The Song Mode' which requires extreme training and the ability to remove clothing while playing when they get a bit overheated during a mega-marathon session.

So yeah, that age-old adage now applies to our home. . . When our house is a rockin'--don't come a knockin'!

Maybe it's not just the postal workers. . . how about those patrons?

Oh my gosh! Where do these people come from?

Seriously, here is my little RANT for the day:

It's easy in this day and age to give the postal workers (and the entire Post Office, for that matter) a hard time--you know, calling them slow, inept, out-dated, abysmally dysfunctional, poorly managed, and just plain FRUSTRATING AS ALL GET-OUT--well. . . because in fact they are!

But I had an experience a couple of days ago that gave me pause to reflect, that in fact, it might not be just THEM! It could be (gasp!) the people that use the service as well!

What a revolutionary thought! But here's what happened. (and no, I am not making this up--truth is stranger than fiction any ole' day--which is why my blog is so delightfully WEIRD with strangeness)

So I am waiting in that abominably long line that forms around the Holiday Season at the Post Office to dutifully mail out my Christmas packages. . .You know, the line that takes FOREVER and never seems to move?
The one where you end up counting all those folks in front of you again and again--just to make sure the one LONE postal worker is actually taking care of folks and will eventually get to you before the end of the day. . .



I spot this middle-aged gentleman about 3 spaces ahead of me. He is in his mid to late 60's, nicely dressed, looks fairly intelligent--no missing teeth or strange hair or weird body marks or anything--just your nice and normal guy--and he's got about 6 or 7 VERY large packages in front of him that he is shoving ahead with his feet as the line progresses.



Finally it's his turn to be served from one of TWO postal workers on a busy Holiday Season weekday.

Since everyone waiting is eying this guy with pure hatred (because he will take up quite some time with so many large packages to ship) I perk right up and pay attention, so as not to miss anything and watch with amusement (as well as consternation) while this little drama unfolds:

Gentleman Customer: (hefting first large package on to the counter and stacking as many boxes as he can on top of each other)) How much is this gonna cost me?

Postal Worker: Sir, I can only weigh and price one at a time. How about if we start with just one of them?

Gentleman Customer: (trying to take some of the packages off the counter) OK--just do that one nearest you first. How much will that one cost?

Postal Worker: (maneuvering around the boxes and putting the package on the scale--and carefully looking over the package) Where is the address?

Gentleman Customer: (still shuffling all the boxes around) What?

Postal Worker: Where do you want to send this? I don't see a name or address on the package.

Gentleman Customer: Oh--that one is going to my sister.

Postal Worker: OK--where does she live?

Gentleman Customer: In Michigan.

Postal Worker: Do you have an address?

Gentleman Customer: Of course I have an address--I live about two blocks west of here on Main and--

Postal Worker: (cutting him off mid-sentence) I didn't mean YOU, sir. I mean, an address for where this is package is going.

Gentleman Customer: It's going to Michigan to my sister.

Postal Worker: But I need her name and address on the package to be able to send it to her.

Gentleman Customer: (bending around through the stack of packages left on the counter and pointing to each one) And THIS one is going to my nephew Jeffery in Idaho. . . this one to my daughter Claire in Texas, and this one to. . .

Postal Worker: (cutting him off again) Sir, do you have any names or addresses on any of these packages so we know where they are going?

Gentleman Customer: I know where each and everyone of them is going! I'm trying to tell you--THAT one (pointing to the one on the floor by his feet) is for my old boss and his wife, and. . .

Postal Worker: Sir--I need the names and addresses of each of these people--

Gentleman Customer: (becoming NOT so gentlemanly) I'm telling you the names of each of these people--

Postal worker: I need you to write them on the package. Then I can help you ship them. If I give you a pen can you write down the name and address on each of these packages?

Gentleman Customer: Does it have to be exact? How about if I just put directions?

Postal Worker: I need an exact address. And I need YOUR address in the top left corner as well.

Gentleman Customer: What for?

Postal Worker: We need a return address--in case the package is refused, the recipient has moved or the package gets lost in transit--so that we can send it back to you if necessary.

Gentleman Customer: Well, if you just send it to the person I'm telling you to send it to it won't get lost in transit, now will it?

Postal Worker: We STILL need a return address for each package.

Gentleman Customer: Well, I don't want them returned--that's why I'm mailing them out in the first place.

(I was about to offer up my address as a return address--but the guy just in front of me beat me to it!)

Guy in front of me: SHEESH! Haven't you ever been to a post office before?

He starts to go over to help the guy mark his packages, when the postal worker puts up a warning hand.

Postal Worker: That won't be necessary. You can get back in line. (turning to customer) Sir, you need to step out of line and put the name and address of where you want these sent right on the package and then you can come back to the front of the line and we'll take care of you. OK?

Gentleman Customer: What kind of rig-a-ma-role outfit is this? I'm trying to TELL YA where these packages are supposed to go--what's the matter with you? (turning to the rest of us in line) Can you believe these folks? They want us to do all the work for them! Label packages, adding return labels, filling out addresses, I've never heard of such nonsense--I'm telling ya this country is going to hell in a hand basket!

He grudgingly steps out of line and the people next to him help him stack his packages in an open window. . .

And I just smiled because I learned something new that day---it's not necessarily the postal workers who are insane. . . it's the folks who go there too!

Final Day. . . Pisa & Florence Italy!

Oh my! It has taken me FOREVER to sum up this European trip of mine--but I am finally down to the very end. . . so HERE GOES!

Our first stop was Pisa with the leaning tower that you see in the above photo,


The amazing Cathedral (you can see the Baptistery and the Tower in the background) :



Here's a close up of just the Cathedral:



Here's a close up of the Baptistery:



The awesome square with it's arched entrance:





The Clock Tower inside the Square:



Here's a view of the main street inside the Square:



This next photo is one of the cool statues inside the square:



This next photo shows some of the old walls surrounding the city of Pisa:



Here I am, hanging out in front of the Baptistery:



When we went inside--they closed the doors and there were about 30 or so of us in there. Then this woman came and stood by the huge font and explained about the acoustics of the building which was AMAZING! She began to sing an arrangement of notes from the center of the room (dome) and there was about a 3 second delay where the sound was held and vibrated back down from the top of the dome. So she started singing and it sounded like 3 or 4 voices--all in harmony. (she was harmonizing with herself) It was truly beautiful and I was so impressed with the knowledge these people had to build a building with such an amazing natural sound system like that! I was really touched by her singing and just being in such a beautiful old building. It was quite an experience!

Of course, no Pisa experience is complete unless you climb the tower! So of course we did that too! (My mother-in-law was quite the good sport about it) and so we made our way to that amazing 6 degree leaning tower:



Here's a close view--looking right up at it!



Of course, I was concerned about that 6 degree lean--so I did my best to prop it up before we made our way to the top:



And made it we did! As you wend your way up the winding stairs--there are signs periodically along the way that will tell you the degree of lean you are at (as if you can't tell already by the way you are feeling!)



The view from the top was INCREDIBLE! Here is looking down at the Cathedral and Baptistery:



And another view of the city from the top of the tower:



And here is a view looking down on the square:



And this is my best shot of the city from the top of the tower with the mountains in the background:



And then my dear mother-in-law and I took pictures of ourselves by the bells (it was a bell tower after all) on the top of the tower of Pisa--and just after that shot was taken of me--I nearly went over the edge--as the bells RANG OUT on the hour (it was 10:00 a.m. in the morning) and they were so LOUD and surprising--and I had the SNOT scared out of me--let me tell you! (thank goodness I look calm and collected in the picture)



I had to regain my composure before I ventured back down. . . and both my mother-in-law and I made it safe and sound with just a bit of 'ringing in our ears'


And last but not least is Florence!



Florence is an absolutely incredible city--the art is astounding--and the rich history of the city:



The 'standout feature' of those above photos is the amazing Duomo and Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral Of Florence--which took six centuries to complete and is the 3rd largest in the world:







This shows the cathedral with the beautiful carved doors:



And here is a closer view of that beautiful green door:



But of course (for me and MANY others) the piece de resistance--was the STATUE OF DAVID! I mean, that's one of the reasons to go to Florence--to actually SEE David! To me, Florence was the statue capital of the world! There were statues EVERYWHERE and I would have taken a GAZILLIONS photos of many of them--but my camera battery died! However I DID manage to get David before it went kaput--and my mother-in-law graciously lent me her camera for the rest of the trip. . . so I will have to come back and post a 'Florence Statue Slide Show' when I get them off her CD she sent me.

For now I will just end with David--as he is a beauty!



This truly was the trip of a lifetime and I was so happy my face was permanently etched in a HUGE grin (Much like the Joker's) for the entire trip!

And WHEW! I'm FINALLY done blogging about it! So a big thank you to all those who waited patiently for me to finish and didn't bug me THAT much about it!

Vive Le France! Actually, Nice, Eze & Monaco!

I know, I know, I KNOW! It's taken me longer than snot crusting over on a cold, winter day to finish up this 'Fabulous Mediterranean Cruise' of mine. . . but finish I MUST. . . and I WILL!

So saying--I'm going to post my ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE day in France and Monaco. We started in Monaco (that's where we docked) and drove around the city a bit to take in the sights:



















Now for a little bit of info about MONACO. . . Monaco is a Constitutional Monarchy and Principality with Prince Albert II as head of state.

Monaco means MONEY! (I'm sure that's how you say money in French) Seriously it is a small, sovereign city-state completely enclosed by France on the north, west and south--and to the east it is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea. Monaco is often regarded as a tax haven, and many of its inhabitants are VERY wealthy and over 80% of them come from foreign countries. There are about 33,000 residents living there today.

(And no, I cannot afford to be one of them. . . although I did give it a brief thought)

Even the Smart Cars display 'money' and are super expensive:





And, if by chance, I DID live in Monaco. . . I spotted my own car driving off into the distance. See if you can spot it in this next photo:



We'll come back to Monaco in a bit. . . next it was onward to Nice, France which was very. . . NICE (for lack of a better word)











Next are some typical street scenes in Nice:






The next photos are of some apartment buildings in Nice:





And just like in Italy and Spain, there were scooters everywhere I looked in France too:



Besides the beautiful beaches, some other fun things about Nice were the food and the shopping:











Alas. . . we must leave the nice city of Nice to make our way to the amazing city of Eze:









Eze was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! It has been described as an 'Eagle's Nest' because the small village is perched atop this superb cliff and commands a very imposing presence, as well as view of the French Mediterranean area. Here is a view looking out from Eze:



Not very many folks live within the city anymore--but it has wonderful art and a beautiful church and castle and many shops and places to eat and is a notable tourist attraction (for folks like me!)













This was a famous fountain at Eze--and at one time their only source of drinking water:







And by the end of the day--we went full circle back to Monaco to visit the most famous casino there--The Monte Carlo (which is how you cay casino in French, I imagine)











Let's get a little up close and personal, shall we? How about going inside?



Come on then! Here's the door:



Oops! Wait! No photos are allowed inside--so you just have to imagine the lavishness and the opulence and the WEALTH being created (but mostly lost) inside it!

So while you are still imagining what it could possibly look like inside, I will show you some of the really cool, expensive cars that showed up to drop off the prospective gamblers and high rollers. . . (apparently Monte Carlo also means EXTREMELY PRICEY CARS in French as well)















We also got to visit the Palace and Cathedral of Monaco--and saw the changing of the one lonely guard:









These next photos were taken inside the cathedral:





Inside the Cathedral they have all these beautiful statues standing where people are burried:



















This is also the place where Princess Grace (Grace Kelly) and Prince Ranier are interred:









And if you thought that coming into the Port of Monaco by DAY was beautiful. . . leaving by NIGHT was SPECTACULAR!