Skiing in Chamonix, France

picture taken on the chair lift

 Jacob and I have been major slackers on this site. Sorry. And I've decided to just write it just like I am the one writing it, since Jacob (ahem) refuses to actually help write.

So here I am, Christina, and here's what we did two weeks ago.

Because I packed all our winter and ski wear into our already bulging bags when we came to Libya, I was determined to use them. So Jacob and I planned a ski trip. We decided on Chamonix, France because a) we had heard it's a really great ski resort, b) it's France, and c) we've never been there before.

So it was set. We booked this trip through our travel agent, which doesn't seem all that strange, except that they only take cash. So we had to pull oodles of money out of the ATM over a course of few days, and then I had to carry around over 2000 LYD in my purse for a few days. It felt very strange to hand over such a wad of cash. It also didn't help that one of the ATMs we went to only gave us tens, so we had about 1000 LYD in tens...that's thick.

Anyway, so we actually flew to Geneva, Switzerland, and then we were going to catch a bus over to Chamonix, France. I was really excited because I thought I would get more stamps in my passport. So wrong. Because Switzerland is so open, they don't even have any passport control or passport stamps. And because we drove across the border, we didn't even get French stamps. Major bummer.

But back to the point: skiing. This was my first time on actual skis (I had done snowboarding before with my best friend Anna), so it was a learning experience.

Chamonix is a ski resort town which is within public bus distance to seven different mountains. The first day, we didn't know where to go, so we just hopped on a bus and went. First mistake. Then we got on two successive gondolas without really checking the map of ski runs. Second mistake. As a result, we ended up at 2700 m (8900 ft) with nothing but reds and blacks to get back down. Let me remind you that I had never downhilled skied before. So I had to learn on a two-mile red run with some very steep parts how to ski. There were lots of falls, lots skis, and tears, but we eventually made it down. I won't even tell you how long it took. It's that embarrassing. That day wasn't the best.

But the second day was much better. We picked a mountain with some good blue runs, and I was able to actually learn how to maneuver the skis a bit, and we actually had some fun. We explored the mountain more and got to go on exponentially more runs than the previous day.

The last day was just a half day for us, we only had the morning because we had to catch a plane back to Tripoli in the afternoon. We went back to the mountain from the day before, which worked out quite nice. Now it had snowed almost all day the day before and was continuing to snow that day. As result, we had to wait around a little at the beginning because there was some risk of avalanche. We heard some big booms and later realized that they were setting off some explosives to make the risk lower. That was exciting. But not as exciting as skiing in knee deep powder. It was crazy and fun. There were plenty of times when we couldn't see our skis at all! And of course, on this day of snowing, snowing, snowing, that's the day we decided to bring the camera with us. So bear with me as I share some pictures.

from the top of our "blue" mountain

another one

another picture taken from the chair lift

us in the town center

the river that caused the valley known as Chamonix

church covered in snow in the town

us waiting in line while they blow up the mountain

a look down the mountain

We had a lot of fun, and we've decided that we would like to make skiing a semi-regular thing. But as it's so expensive, we'll just have to see.

Our Italy Trip Chronologically II: San Marco Church

Our next stop was the San Marco Church, one of many churches we would viist.

The inside was pretty ornate, just check out the altar and the ceiling.

Yes, that's the ceiling.

Lots of giant paintings adorn the walls. Too bad it's so dark in there. It's really hard to get a decent picture with little to no light.

And here's the body (or maybe a statue of a body) of a bishop we can't remember the name of.

Not too many pictures here, but just keeping you in the know.

More soon!

Our Italy Trip Chronologically: Duomo Museum

The very first thing we did after arriving the night before was go to the Duomo Museum. We were actually trying to get into the Duomo itself, but it wasn't open yet and we later found out that it wasn't open to the public that day. But in our wanderings, we found this museum which turned out to be one we had on our list.

So check out what we saw.

We saw lots of statues.

This was a giant lecturn for either a massive Bible or a massive hymnal.

Feed the baby!

This is a bronze representation of the beheading of John the Baptist. It was prtty large; probably 12 feet tall and 15 feet long (these are Jacob's estimates so  you can blame him if it's wrong.)

This is Michelangelo's Pieta, which, if you don't know the history is pretty interesting. It's an unfinished work by Michelangelo depicting the moving of Jesus's body off of the cross by Nicodemus, Mary, and Mary Magdelene. But apparently while he was making it, it wasn't turning out the way he wanted and he got angry and broke off a few pieces. But most of it was preserved and about half of it is done. It was really interesting to see an unfished statue, getting the idea of how it was formed. And apparently, Michelangelo gave his face to Nicodemus, so we got to see a glimpse of what the artist looked like, too.

This is a pretty scary representation of Mary Magdelene. We think she had to be a bit more attractive if she was a prostitute. But that's just us.

And his is amazing. This is made up of tiny tiny tiny pieces to make a mosaic. It was absolutely ridiculous!

They had a magnifying glass up to this one which showed the little pieces better. We tried to get a picture of that, but this was the best we could do. You just don't understand till you see it.

And this is a colored statue. Most of them were only one color, so this was interesting that it was painted.

And that was our visit to the Duomo Museum. We later found out that the finger of John the Baptist was at this museum, but we don't remember seeing the thing. This was a pretty good museum, lots of interesting things and not too large that it loses your interest.  So it was a good first stop.

More to come soon!

We're in Italy!

So we're in Italy, Florence to be exact. And we are loving it!

We got here on the 24th and will be here until the 31st. It has been and is going to continue to be a blast, and we'll try to put up pictures soon.

Decisions, Decisions

There are some definite plusses for taking this assignment in Libya.

1. We get more paid time off.

2. We are closer than ever to some amazing destinations.

Now we just have to decide where to go.

Our first trip is going to be for our birthdays and we are going to Italy. That's already been decided, but we have to choose where to go in Italy and what to do. We definitely want to see Florence for a few days, but what do you think? Where else should we go. We're thinking of taking a week for this first trip.

We also have to plan where we should go for Christmas time. It's basically the same price to go to Paris, Vienna, Frankfurt, Dublin, Athens, Madrid, and Brussels. So where to go, where to go? Any advice?

We're Ruined!

Not really. We just went to see the Roman ruins in Sabratha, Libya.

It was really neat to see those things that are so old but in still great condition.

We went with two other people, both named Ted and had the same last name, too! (They were grandfather and grandson.) And we had a great time.

This is the amphitheater at Sabratha. It's from the 2nd century AD.

 

Here is the partial remains of a mosaic found on a wall at the theater.

 

Here's Jacob with the steps of the theater behind them. They were in surprisingly good shape.

These figures ran along the edge of the stage. There were some other figures with less clothing on, but we figured clothing is probably good for a public site. :)

 

This is a view of the stage and the column work behind it. We wanted to go up into that area, but the stairs were blocked.

Here are some, as far as we can figure, reflection pools down by the sea. Yes, the Mediterranean Sea.

Christina even touched it!

This is a well preserved hallway with an arch just behind the theater.

And the only Roman writing we found in the whole place. It's just a fragment, but it's clearly Roman.

Jacob really loved this shot. We figure the columns are the remains of a temple, but this particular part was not labeled.

Here's Samson, er, Jacob.

Jacob asked for a "cute" pose. Christina tried...

This is the largest mosaic we found. It was actually on the ground by the baths.

And yep, you guessed it, there were toilets there, too. Here's one of them. They had about 20 of these in a semicircle, so we guess they weren't bashful. You can kind of see the trench below that would normally have water in it that would wash the waste away.

Jacob's giving the toilet a try. He's pretty pensive when he's on the throne...apparently.

This was the best preserved statue we came across that day. A lot of the statues were missing heads, arms, and family jewels. Even though she is, too, there is some exquisite detail that she had but others did not, due to wind, water, and sand.

This was an obelisk at the site. It was actually part of a mausoleum that dated back to the 2nd centry BC! That's old!

And here's a closer look at that obelisk.

It was really a great experience for both of us. We got to see things we have never seen before, but there is another site in Libya that is apparently three times the size of this one. Hopefully, we'll get to see that one, too!

We Made It!

We finally got to Libya, a little worse for wear, but we made it here.

Tuesday did not really go as planned for us; things took longer than expected, things went missing, problems arose, but we somehow managed to get to Libya with almost all of our things. But I'll tell that story once it's resolved.

So we are just trying to get over our jet lag and get ready for work tomorrow. Thank you so much for prayers. We will update soon, and with pictures!

It's almost time, and we need prayers!

Well, it is just 5 more days until we move to Libya for a year. It seems really really crazy. And we have so much to do. Why is it that we waited until the last minute to get everything together. I don't know; we must love killing ourselves. My one consolation is that I'll be able to sleep on the plane. So I can go full out from now until then, and I think I'll be able to recover.

Having said that, we could use some help, specifically in your prayers. We need prayers for the following things:

- that we will get everything packed up in time for the move
- that there will be no troubles with the flight or going through customs
- that we are able to recover from jetlag quickly
- that both of us find favor at work
- that we will be able to be comfortable in a new environment
- that we will be able to find a place to worship with other believers
- that we will be a witness to our fellow workers with our work and attitude
- that we will be safe throughout our stay
- that we will have fun!

Thank you so much for your support in all this. We love you!

Tidbits from our Travels

We've hit the major stops along the way of our trip to California, but we didn't really talk about the trip there. And here's the remedy.

We actually started our three day journey one day late due to the movers. They arrived very late, midnight in fact, and weren't done loading the truck until 5:45 am, much to the chagrin of our neighbors. But what could we do? We needed to be out of there the afternoon before. So after staying up all night, although Christina did take a 2 hour nap in the car while they were loading, we set off.

Jacob started driving, but it came very clear very fast (40 minutes or so) that he was not going to make it. So Christina took over, and basically drove the rest of the way to our first destination, Carlsbad Caverns.

Jacob did take over for a little bit. Much to our surprise, the speed limit was like none we had ever seen.


We were crossing the Texas/New Mexico border, and Christina tried (and failed) to take a picture of the welcome sign. Mind you, this was in a speeding car and using our camera of total greatness.

After our tour, we needed a place to stay, so we decided to stay in Roswell. It was really a neat little town, and it was a shame that we were so tired we couldn't enjoy it. But here are some pictures of the quirkiness that makes Roswell fun. (Now just a disclaimer, it was night time, and my camera does not do well at night.)



And then we were off again. We didn't stay in any other real neat places like Roswell, but we did manage to get some nice pictures of nowhere in particular. Take a look.


Here's an attempt at the New Mexico/Arizona border.


Here's an attempt at the Arizona/California border.


It's sad to say that in all of the states we passed through, we weren't able to get one decent picture of the road signs. It became a joke whenever one came up. "Whup...missed that one...oh...car's in the way...whoa...sun's too bright..." Oh well, it was entertaining trying.

The road was long, tiring, but ultimately, a lot of fun. We had many new experiences with each other that we wouldn't trade for anything. You can't say that about a plane ride.