Friday, September 22, 2006
Autumn Equinox
Take the time when you get it…
I have been remiss in my blog and have done so many things in the last month I am not sure where to start so will work backwards.
I am writing this in the middle on the night in London as I have the “London crud” and my sleep/wake cycle is all messed up. I kept this cold at bay for about a week but everyone at work has it and it finally got me. UGH! Breathing was really difficult for a short time but I am on the mend now.
Let’s see, it was just about a month ago I went to Edinburgh and the Loch Ness with two Cerner friends, Annette and Sharon. We had a great time. We toured a whisky distillery and went to the Loch Ness. No sign of Nessie but that may have been only because we didn’t drink enough Scotch. We saw the statue of William Wallace, aka Braveheart and heard all the stories of Mary Queen of Scots. I saw a full end to end rainbow on the Loch Ness. You can see it in my pictures. The north of Scotland is gorgeous and I can’t wait to go back.
The week of Sept 2 was my trip to Rome. Steve, Linda, Joann, and I had a great time. I only have about 3 pictures because Linda took over 700! I can’t wait to see them and will share the location once available. We did it all! The Colesseum, Pallidium, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Navona Square, Vatican Museum, Sistene Chapel, St. Peters, Sorrento, Pompeii, Ostia Antica, and even a couple hours on the beach outside of Rome with a swim in the Mediterrean. FANTASTIC! My feet are still sore from walking about a hundred miles. The food and wine were plentiful and delicious. I do believe we had pizza at least once a day. The super thin crust and light toppings were great. I ate lots of porcini mushrooms on everything. YUM!
We had an amazing apartment in the south of Rome in a non-tourist area not too far from the Colesseum. The apartment was huge. The ceilings were about 14 feet high and the place was filled with gorgeous antiques and beautiful artwork. Thanks to Joann for finding and securing the apartment. It was a great way to spend the week in Rome. We did very good with getting around and only took a taxi a couple times. The Metro is VERY easy in Rome because it doesn’t go very many places as there are only two lines. Every time they try to expand the Metro they find more ancient stuff that they have to preserve and turn into a proper archeological dig.
The weather was quite hot and VERY sunny. I didn’t perform my fainting routine but came pretty close the day we went to Pompeii. Very hot and dry and LOTS of walking. It is amazing to think about how old everything is in ancient Rome. Pompeii actually had running water through a series of pipes which are still preserved throughout the site. I loved the picture of Venus, it is amazing how bright the colours are in the mural.
The Vatican museum and Sistene Chapel are well worth the long waits. The restoration of the Sistene Chapel is complete and the paintings are so intricate and detailed. I was grateful for my flexible upper back as I stood gazing up at the ceiling for a long time. Our guide filled us in on some of the speculation of the hidden messages in the paintings. My favourite part was the Last Judgement, there is a LOT going on in that mural.
Sorrento is spectacular with its high cliffs hanging over the Mediterrean. We didn’t make it to Capri as we just ran out of time. The shopping was awesome too. I managed to come back with three pairs of shoes. The Italian shoes are so stylish even when they are comfortable.
Finally made it to the Tate Modern in London and saw a huge exhibition on Kandinsky. The exhibition follows Wassily Kandinsky’s journey from landscape painter to modernist master. Pretty wild stuff. We also took the ferry along the Thames on a gorgeous Indian summer afternoon. Linda, Joann, and I started out the day at Harvey Nichols with brunch and a brief perusal of the handbags and jewelry. Somehow we managed to resist the £795 Chloé handbag.
Work is really busy and we are getting some much needed help in the form of new global associates and a few more Americans. Cerner Limited now has 500 associates and we are adding more all the time.
I am off to Ireland for the weekend. I am staying in a castle on Saturday night and plan to do some hiking around the Burren. I am looking forward to feeling my roots in the gorgeous Irish countryside.
Éirinn go Brách (Ireland forever)
I have been remiss in my blog and have done so many things in the last month I am not sure where to start so will work backwards.
I am writing this in the middle on the night in London as I have the “London crud” and my sleep/wake cycle is all messed up. I kept this cold at bay for about a week but everyone at work has it and it finally got me. UGH! Breathing was really difficult for a short time but I am on the mend now.
Let’s see, it was just about a month ago I went to Edinburgh and the Loch Ness with two Cerner friends, Annette and Sharon. We had a great time. We toured a whisky distillery and went to the Loch Ness. No sign of Nessie but that may have been only because we didn’t drink enough Scotch. We saw the statue of William Wallace, aka Braveheart and heard all the stories of Mary Queen of Scots. I saw a full end to end rainbow on the Loch Ness. You can see it in my pictures. The north of Scotland is gorgeous and I can’t wait to go back.
The week of Sept 2 was my trip to Rome. Steve, Linda, Joann, and I had a great time. I only have about 3 pictures because Linda took over 700! I can’t wait to see them and will share the location once available. We did it all! The Colesseum, Pallidium, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Navona Square, Vatican Museum, Sistene Chapel, St. Peters, Sorrento, Pompeii, Ostia Antica, and even a couple hours on the beach outside of Rome with a swim in the Mediterrean. FANTASTIC! My feet are still sore from walking about a hundred miles. The food and wine were plentiful and delicious. I do believe we had pizza at least once a day. The super thin crust and light toppings were great. I ate lots of porcini mushrooms on everything. YUM!
We had an amazing apartment in the south of Rome in a non-tourist area not too far from the Colesseum. The apartment was huge. The ceilings were about 14 feet high and the place was filled with gorgeous antiques and beautiful artwork. Thanks to Joann for finding and securing the apartment. It was a great way to spend the week in Rome. We did very good with getting around and only took a taxi a couple times. The Metro is VERY easy in Rome because it doesn’t go very many places as there are only two lines. Every time they try to expand the Metro they find more ancient stuff that they have to preserve and turn into a proper archeological dig.
The weather was quite hot and VERY sunny. I didn’t perform my fainting routine but came pretty close the day we went to Pompeii. Very hot and dry and LOTS of walking. It is amazing to think about how old everything is in ancient Rome. Pompeii actually had running water through a series of pipes which are still preserved throughout the site. I loved the picture of Venus, it is amazing how bright the colours are in the mural.
The Vatican museum and Sistene Chapel are well worth the long waits. The restoration of the Sistene Chapel is complete and the paintings are so intricate and detailed. I was grateful for my flexible upper back as I stood gazing up at the ceiling for a long time. Our guide filled us in on some of the speculation of the hidden messages in the paintings. My favourite part was the Last Judgement, there is a LOT going on in that mural.
Sorrento is spectacular with its high cliffs hanging over the Mediterrean. We didn’t make it to Capri as we just ran out of time. The shopping was awesome too. I managed to come back with three pairs of shoes. The Italian shoes are so stylish even when they are comfortable.
Finally made it to the Tate Modern in London and saw a huge exhibition on Kandinsky. The exhibition follows Wassily Kandinsky’s journey from landscape painter to modernist master. Pretty wild stuff. We also took the ferry along the Thames on a gorgeous Indian summer afternoon. Linda, Joann, and I started out the day at Harvey Nichols with brunch and a brief perusal of the handbags and jewelry. Somehow we managed to resist the £795 Chloé handbag.
Work is really busy and we are getting some much needed help in the form of new global associates and a few more Americans. Cerner Limited now has 500 associates and we are adding more all the time.
I am off to Ireland for the weekend. I am staying in a castle on Saturday night and plan to do some hiking around the Burren. I am looking forward to feeling my roots in the gorgeous Irish countryside.
Éirinn go Brách (Ireland forever)
