2 KHams

Did you know Kyle is a twin?  I may have mentioned it before, but Kyle was a surprise baby.  His parents were expecting a baby girl back in January 1984.  After healthy baby girl Kelly was delivered, the doctors were shocked to discover that the "afterbirth was kicking" (as Kyle's father tells it).  Around 20 minutes later Kyle made his appearance in the world much to everyone's surprise.  During the whole pregnancy, no one suspected there were two babes on board.  Kyle always jokes that he wore girl's clothes for the first 3 to 5 years of his life because they weren't expecting him.

On Monday this week, we got a visit from Miss Kelly.  She was in town from Raleigh, and it was a real treat to get to see her.  We ate dinner at our apartment and then went for some frozen yogurt before taking her back to her hotel.  It was definitely great to see her; she'll be embarking on a huge trip in the end of June.  Kelly will move to Heidelberg, Germany for the next 2 years with work, and we couldn't be more excited for her.  Can you tell these Hamiltwins have a thing for travel and living abroad?  Once our little fella comes into the world, we are pumped about having an excuse to travel with him to Europe to meet his aunt Kelly.  If any more of our siblings want to move abroad, we totally support you!

4 Hams!

We are in week 26, and according to the books, baby boy weighs in around 2 pounds now!  Please enjoy another installment of my goofy mirror pictures to capture the magic of my expanding waist...

Bigger and bigger we grow.

There you have it...  Now to find something to do to beat the heat.  It is hot!

Lyon Part II: Our weekend with friends

Alas, we've arrived at the weekend summary.  We departed Friday afternoon and returned to Metz Monday evening with our friends and downstairs neighbors, the Reindls.  Thus there was plenty of time to get a little fun in each day.  Friday night Jonathan led us on a small tour through Place Bellecour, Vieux Lyon and some super secret traboules (or passageways), and a park by the basilica and monastery.  Every now and then, Jonathan would say, "Give me your camera," as to helpfully contribute to our collection of photos.  After a little exploration, we all returned to his apartment for a tasty dinner of salad, baby salmon quiches, something else I can't recall at the moment (not to say it wasn't tasty~Jonathan is a good cook!).  Michael and Lauren went to their hotel late in the night while Kyle and I crashed chez Jonathan (but not before washing dishes and playing some fun games).

One of the more famous traboules; it has a cute spiral staircase/spire.

We are taking some serious sun to the face in this nuns' garden.

The host (Jonathan) and Hamiltons capitalizing on the opportunity to have a stellar backdrop in a group photo.

The whole group enjoying a meal tous ensembles.

Saturday morning Jonathan, Kyle and I scurried up the hill to Croix Rousse to partake in a tour centered on this neighborhood and the silk weaving industry for which Lyon is so well known.  We made it in the nick of time to enjoy the tour, but we were unaware that we ought to have made reservations beforehand.  The tour guide was kind enough to let us give her money for the tickets and join along (I got the student deal~praise the Lord for these youthful looks!)  Along the way we saw the who, what, where, when, and whys of silk manufacturing.  Highly informative & beautiful neighborhoods....

At the top of the hill and the beginning of the tour~winded but ready to walk around Croix Rousse for 2 hours!

A beautiful view down towards the Rhone river.  Also pictured, the funny Japanese woman's hat, her friend, and our tour guide's hand.

Silk worker housing and workshops~once upon a time it was a noisy place with all that weaving.

Behold fancy silk screen printing in progress~soon these will be overpriced scarves for sale at the Office de Tourisme.

We met up with Lauren and Michael around lunchtime in Place Terreaux (where once can find a lovely fountain, Musee des Beaux Arts, and Hotel de Ville).  We wandered over to what appeared to be an abandoned market sauf qu'un homme (except for one man).  He had a lovely snacky restaurant going where we enjoyed toast, pesto, chevre, and saucisse as well as ICED beverages.  I didn't capture these magic frozen treasures in digital photography (or any of this meal really), but Lauren did.  You can find those gems in her facebook album here.

 Kyle and I are just chilling by the fountain in Place Terreaux before lunchtime.

At Musee des Beaux Arts, there is a lovely little garden tucked in the center of the grounds.

 This garden is where we found the Rodin sculpture called L'ombre ou Adam, but to me it was obvious he was doing that sweet Beyonce move from the Single Ladies music video.  Naturally, I had to join in the fun...

The men folk patiently waited in the sun while I tried to do the human zoom out (i.e. walk backwards into strangers, lampposts, and oncoming traffic).  Opera House picture fail...

After lunch, Jonathan split ways with us; Lauren, Michael, Kyle and I  took off towards parc  Tete d'Or.  Tete d'Or is the most wonderful park in the entire world~ there is a large lake where one can take out small boats, trails galore, tons of open space for picnics or soccer games, an area to see puppet shows daily, botanical gardens, a free zoo, a tiny choo choo for little ones to tour the park, a rose garden, plenty of stands to buy ice cream and cotton candy, and lots of carousels.  I'm not even exaggerating; it is simply the best park I've ever been to.  You'll have to see it for yourself someday. 

 Terribly picture, I know, but if you've ever been to Nancy, you should recognize those fancy gates.  They are supposedly created by the very same Jean Lamour who made Nancy's Place Stanislas so lovely.

 Kyle, Lauren, and Michael in the roseraies (rose garden)

 Every time I go to a zoo, I always take pictures of the animals.  Each time I do, I never ever ever go back to look at the photos... why I keep snapping shots of flamingos is beyond me.

 Same goes for the giraffes...

Flowers and ponds galore

 Our little group next headed to the shopping district by Place Bellecour to pass the time a bit before dinner.  I was on the hunt for some new, inexpensive sunglasses (my excellent pair from home broke irreparably in London and were thus trashed).  No luck there, but Kyle and I did manage to visit Starbucks for the second time of the trip at this point.  For the evening, we walked over to Vieux Lyon to enjoy some serious lyonnaise cuisine at an authentic bouchon.  This is not what one would consider haute cuisine, but they rose in popularity during the 1600s & 1700s.  The silk workers dined in the bouchon where they enjoyed meals centered around fatty meats.  Again, no pictures of the food we ate here, but you can find Lauren's pictures on facebook.  Perhaps it's better this way since what we ate was considerably quite gross (but delicious).  We all tried each others' plates~let me see if I can get this straight...

That's right, folks, I made a table... super dorky. ***Let it be noted here that Lauren did not have Tripe dumplings, but rather PIKE dumplings~big difference!  Too much trouble to redo the table...

That was about it for Saturday night.  We were all super tired after such a huge meal.  I'm going to save our Sunday activities for a whole different entry, so let's move on the Monday morning.  We started the day early to thank Jonathan for a lovely weekend before he was off to work.  We set out first to Starbucks to get a big cup of coffee, and then sight see before getting back on the road.  We had a few destinations on our list~Place des Jacobins, Celestins (Theatre de Lyon), the Rhone river banks where the city has put in recreational areas, the Theatres Romains, and one last visit to the basilica.  It was action packed and very delightful.

Farewell Louis XIV~it's been fun.

The fountain in Place des Jacobins was on a break~this is my favorite fountain in all of France.

Lovely theatre~wish I had the opportunity to see something here.

The Rhone river has a beautiful color.

One Roman theatre...

...two Roman theatres....

...and two Hamiltons!

Let me drop a little history on you~this impressive basilica was only built at the end of the 1800s.  It contains two sanctuaries; the upper one is very ornate, while the lower one is more modest.  It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary who is credited for having saved the city of Lyon two time~once from the plague in the 1600s and again from Prussia during the Franco-Prussian war.  Supposedly, it also represents the triumph of Christian values over those of socialism which were popular in the commune of Lyon in 1870.

Guess which sanctuary this one is!

It's a bit dimmer downstairs~fewer windows...

There you have it.  I have been writing this entry for hours and am relieved to finally have recorded all the details that Kyle and I'll probably want to look back on down the road.  You're a champ if you made it through this post.... promise the next one will be shorter!

Audrey takes on Metz

Well well well~another entry about the sites, sounds, and smells of Metz-ville.  You may have had your fair share, and may even believe that I have shown you all that is to be seen in our small eastern French town.  (Here's a sampling of entries that feature some of our touristy days~ holidays visitors and peanut-butter, weekend de bonheur, england hath long been mad, gonna take some time to do things we never have, my husband turns 26, divers divertissements, and super mega awesome date day)  Anywho, we ventured out and enjoyed places completely new to Kyle and me.  We kicked Saturday off with a trip down town to play in the new park area at Esplinade then made our way to an amazing creperie which had a crazy nautical theme going on.

This thing is like the fry guys at McDonald's playgrounds back home.  You just kind of stand there and shake a little.  Not optimum excitement....

Kyle's method of left foot off and look over the right shoulder didn't seem to make it any more entertaining.

For lunch I decided to eat a light little salad... I love how the French will put an egg, ham, and fries on a bed of lettuce so one can deceive themselves into thinking salad is the best meal ever.

Audrey's galette (that's a savory style crepe) topped with rice and seafood.  I'm glad Audrey is a foodie like Kyle.

Kyle's dish was just seafood and a whole lot of cream sauce.  We're talking mussels, shrimp, and scallops~it was tasty.

After lunch we strolled by the cathedral and took in all the stained glass.  We enjoyed a nice beverage at Place St. Louis while watching tons of kids ride on the merry-go-round.  It was a very relaxing afternoon after all the traveling Audrey and I did the day before.

Audrey~are you doing the Ashley Teffeau?  I think I'm looking a little sluggish after throwing down that salad.

Sunday we played hooky from church.  For shame, I know, but Jack Mac is out of town and the other preacher is very hard to understand.  Plus Audrey speaks only un petit peu de francais.  We opted to go to the secular church of France....

The Museum~This is the brand new Centre Pompidou.  It's been called a Smurf house or a Chinese hat; no matter what, it is a funky building.  Seriously, French folks are lined up outside this museum all day long on Sundays~it practically is a place of art worship.

These are all Audrey's pictures~well done capturing the very cool wood frame in this picture.

A view of Metz from the 3rd story gallery

This large painting on the left is of a fishing excursion~I kid you not...

Now shall we SHOW & TELL?  I've missed this time since school let out, but I'd like to share with you two pictures of art which left an impression on me.

Please ignore where my head is in this picture~nice job, Audrey.  I am marveling at the detail in this number because it is no photograph.  It's all drawn with pencil!!!  Even his suit had a small tweed pattern (which is what was so engrossing to me.)

It's not the real one~painted by some Italian copy cat.

A la Brian Regan~It's a stack of books.  Just put an F on there and let me go home.  Well, it's a stack with books in it; I call it Stack of Books.  You should move on now...

Double rainbow!  What does it mean?

We just chilled out the rest of the day, and Kyle and I prepared some French foods for dinner.  It was nice having one of my best friends in town for a bit.  It's crazy that we'll likely be able to hang out whenever in just a few short months (assuming K and I are back in ATL).  Hopefully you've enjoyed this installment on what there is to do in Metz.  The next few weekends Kyle and I have some trips planned so you'll be seeing more travel-style entries for a bit.  In T-3 hours we'll be roadtripping with our friends, the Reindls, down to Lyon.  It'll be my first time back in 6 years after doing the Georgia Tech LBAT program there.  On a side note, I only lived in Lyon for 6 weeks in the summer of 2004, but when I came home everybody I knew was either wild about Napoleon Dynamite or The Notebook.  If there are some crazy fad movies with faithful adherents all over the fruited plain in the U.S., would you mind giving me a heads up before venturing home?  I'll have none of this quoting a movie at me and then make me feel like a fool for not getting the reference...

Alright~like I said, just a few hours until departure, and I'm still lounging in pjs with an empty backpack.  I'd better be off~happy weekend friends!

Foggy London Town

Boy, I thought life would slow down a bit after ending my job, but this month is flying by as quickly as the last few.  Last week I embarked on a small journey to London~I say small because I only had to leave France and go through Luxembourg and Germany before I finally arrived in England.  Four countries before lunch is no small feat.  Alas I met up with Audrey and her mom Sheri who, thankfully, had visited London the week before and had all the tourist spots fresh in her memory for us to exploit.  These few days were action packed... most of my pics are less than thrilling because it's mostly scenery, and I am far from being one of those photography chic blog girls.  I'm just pumped to share with my family where all I ventured....here we go:

Day 1~No need for a double decker tour bus when all the city buses are two story too.  We were sporting green for special evening festivities....

Day 1~After searching high and low and far and wide, we gave up finding this site.  We enjoyed some tasty pub fare (Guinness, fish, chips, and mashed peas~strange and wonderful) before we hit the streets again to finally discover a seemingly plain townhouse.

Day 1~It was none other than Benjamin Franklin's home.  Word on the street is that he used to open the windows wide and enjoy a refreshing breeze while lounging in the nude.  That's one saucy founder!

Day 1~We ended the evening at the Apollo Victoria to take in a little show about two witches in Oz.  Audrey and I sported our green in solidarity with Elphaba.  Hope this company treats their "Dorothy" better than Victor Flemming did...poor Judy.

Day 2~We had a few showers early in the day at Trafalgar Square.

Day 2~It cleared up pretty quickly.  Why do Europeans love obelisks so?

Day 2~We strolled down the Buckingham Palace in the hopes of seeing some of those silly guards and maybe some royalty...

Day 2~Instead of the queen, I caught a peak of Big Ben...

Day 2~ ...as well as the London Eye!

Day 2~Next stop: Tower of London (perhaps for a dance party with the Potter puppet pals...)

Day 2~Audrey and I waited in a rather long line to catch a glimpse of those highly coveted crown jewels.  No pictures allowed.  I did spot a little diadem I was totally smitten with.  Oh, to be a queen.

Day 2~YES!  Two different outfits~both of those chaps look quite sporty.

Day 2~Though we look happy today, this was not such a joyful place for Anne Boleyn at Tower Green.

Day 2~I may have lost my love for posing next to Leah-sized doors after this day.  I was startled half to death by a large beefeater who emerged from within moments before this photo was taken.

Day 2~After we left the Tower of London, we passed the lovely Tower Bridge.

Day 2~A fancy ship.  It seemed out of place in front of (what look like) battle ships.

Day 2~We didn't have our theatrical fill from seeing Wicked the night before.  Oh how I wish Miss Foo could have been here with me (she's quite the Shakespeare buff).

Day 2~The Globe Theatre stage was quite ornate.  No photos of the players allowed; we saw Henry VIII.  It made me think of my mom's Christmas tree of death (unfortunately the only death in the play is Catherine of Aragon biting the dust the old fashioned way~natural causes...).  Christmas tree of death (for those who don't know) is a collection of beautiful ornaments of Henry VIII and all his wives.  It makes the holidays so much more festive.

Day 2~We thought these folks were fortunate to have seats until the midday sun beat on them for the last hour of the production.

Day 2~Does this count as a famous Harry Potter landmark?  No, it doesn't appear in the books, but it stands out in one of the movies....

Day 2~Our last tourist stop for the day was St. Paul's Cathedral.  After that, Audrey and I rested our weary feet before heading out to dinner at a Thai restaurant.  It's a funny sensation to order food and drinks in English...

Day 3~We made the obligatory trip to King's Cross Station.  Looks like Audrey forgot to pack her owl.

Day 3~Sheri looks like she has the speed to get through.

Day 3~Shear force isn't enough to get to the train to Hogwarts... *sigh*

Day 3~Our last official stop before heading home was at the British Library. I'm going to make a (somewhat long) list of all the things I saw and enjoyed in the museum.  Since no photos were allowed, it's good to record what I liked: Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Jane Austen's writing desk, Jane Eyre, Oscar Wilde's writing, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's marriage contract, Beethover's Violin Sonata in G major Op 30/3, Mendelssohn's Wedding March, Henry VIII's prayer scroll, Salvador Dali illustrated Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the Codices Sinaiticus and Alexandrius, the Magna Carta, and the Gutenburg Bible.  Phew... there was even more than that, but this is just what I thought was cool.  Also noteworthy~there were writings by Darwin, Freud, and Jeremy Bentham on display.

Before departing we sampled some scones, clotted cream, and jam.  That stuff is rich.  While I'm on the subject, our hotel served a very peculiar breakfast that day.  We had toast, country ham, an egg, and BAKED BEANS on top of all of it.  Beans for breakfast before bounding back to my abode was a big blunder.  Thankfully I was put off by this queer morning meal so that none of my fellow Frankfurt bound flyers had to endure an unpleasant ride.

Let's end on a happy food subject.  The Stansted airport had a lovely Starbucks.  I say lovely because I haven't been to one since before Christmas while in Mannheim with Kyle, Audrey, and Sheri.  I went a little nuts... I bought a London tumbler, a tall caramel frappacino, and some freshly ground French roast to surprise Kyle.  Since I've gone over six months without the stuff (which most of you know is quite an accomplishment for this lady), I think the indulgence didn't do too much damage to the Hamilton bank account.  I also surprised Kyle with some English muffins (though they are just called muffins on the label) and some chocolate chip short bread cookies.  This Scottish boy has got to learn how to like shortbread even if it is doctored with dark chocolate.  Anywho, I'm starting to make myself hungry for something sweet.  We had a ball in London, but my fun with Audrey wasn't over.  She came home with me to Metz... I'll be writing about that soon!