Bathtime for Bonzo.

Here is a bathtime clip of Ambrose... I will add another bathtime clip to this post once it finishes uploading to Google Video. I just couldn't wait for both to be done uploading and we like both videos for different reasons. Both videos were taken earlier this evening. Grandma Belle sent us some cool dryer balls. Ambrose has found a second use for them- playing Enjoy!!

Trier entry to follow by tomorrow... Not sure if I have enough energy to finish it tonight. Trier photo album can be viewed on Ambrose's personal Shutterfly site:

http://ambrose.shutterfly.com

There is a password. Here is the password hint - It is a part of who he is...

If you don't know it or can't seem remember it, drop me an email. I must have at least a shred of security. Afterall, I am the daughter of a federal agent!! One more reminder- password is all lowercase.

Welcome to Trier, the birthplace of St. Ambrose!!

Flash back! I am so behind... I am trying to catch up on my 'blogging'.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Trier, Germany

I wish I had a beautiful church or statue to show, but sadly the St. Ambrose Church is a true abomination. The statue of St. Ambrose out front of the church was also scary! In fact, there wasn't even a sign next to the statue, so quite honestly, it could have been a statue of anyone!! Anyway, the good news is we still got a picture of this sign: Ambrosius Strasse - Ambrose Street!! :)

We began our visit by entering the Porta Nigra. It is the only Roman Gate that remains in Trier. It was once used to enter the city and it is the largest Roman City Gate north of the Alps. The wall adjoining the gate once went all the way around the city. In person, it is very large and imposing. The walls are several feet deep and it stands quite tall. You can get a little perspective from this photo of Mark in front of the gate.

Once inside the city gate, we proceeded to the market square. In German, this is called the Hauptmarkt. The square had many restaurants, stores, musicians, flower vendors, fruit vendors and a beautiful fountain. On the way home, we purchased what I call a 'bride's maid' bouquet for only 6 Euro in the Hauptmarkt!! That's about the equivalent of $7.50!! It was beautiful...

While we took a few minutes to soak in all the activity in the square, there was a musician playing the flute accompanied by a recording of Bolero- one of my favorite Classical pieces. After looking all around the square, we decided to take some more photos. This photo is of Kelly by St. Peter's Fountain. It was built to represent the virtues and ideals of the city government.

There is a story behind the manhole covers, but I don’t know the details… From what I have heard, towns have their own ‘signature’ covers which include an image. This is a photo of the manhole covers in Trier. St. Peter is depicted – you can tell because he has the key to heaven in his hand.


Ambrose and I decided to take a break in front of the cathedral to ‘tickle’ Constantine’s toe. Read the text above for more information about this crazy foot sculpture…

This is a photo of Mark in front of St. Peter's Dom (St. Peter's Cathedral). Constantine commerorated his 20th anniversary in power by initiating the construction of two important cathedrals: St. Peter's Cathedral in Trier and St. Peter's Cathedral in... Rome! Isn't that wild?? As you can see, the 'Dom' of Trier is among the most important in Roman times and is the oldest Christian church in Germany.


Flowers and trees were beginning to show signs of early spring. It was great to finally see some signs of new life! Ambrose had a chance to investigate a flower in detail. He was very enamored with this new ‘thing’.

Here is a picture of Ambrose and me in front of the Elector’s Palace. The Elector’s Palace was taken over by the bishops during the 12th century. This rococo side of the palace was the home of the archbishop ‘elector’ and was added to Constantine’s original throne room during the 18th century. Today this structure is ‘home’ to the local government of Trier.


Here are a couple pictures of the Roman Imperial Baths. In German they are called the Kaiserthermen. We decided not to go inside the baths during this visit, but will likely tour them in more detail when we return another time. You can’t quite tell from these photos, but the size of the Kaiserthermen was representative of Constantine’s ego – very large! The Imperial bath ruins also have nearly a mile of underground tunnels.




Our final stop for the day was the Roman Amphitheater. After a 10 minute walk from the Trier town center, we arrived at the ruins of the amphitheater. By the time we got there, Ambrose was asleep on my back! You can see him snoozing in the Ergo carrier in these photos. Classic! Mark got some good shots here, don’t you think? He also went up to the top of the amphitheater to get a good perspective of the size from above. You can also go underground to see where the Roman warriors awaited their fate in the ‘gladiator’ style entertainment featured in the amphitheater during Roman times…

Ambrose's Mom - *REALLY* got it going on tonight...

BAM!! How do you like them apples wicked German internet... I have mastered your evil ploys to deter my video activies! Es geht sehr gut now?? ahahahahahaha

OK. Sorry, just had to get that out of my system... I finally figured out how to get Google video to STAY in English and stop changing back to German.... bloody Americans! I had to change my country of choice from USA to UK. All of a sudden *Poof* no more problems with the language changing back to German! Go figure.

All the current videos are now posted to the blog. If you watched the ball video when it was in the right column of the blog, I recommend watching it again-- the image is more clear and the video won't get cut off. For some reason, Dropshots was not showing you the entire video. ANYWAY, didn't want anyone to miss Ambrose at his finest. :)

Stay tuned this weekend for additional photos and video... I plan to take some footage on the playground with Dad after work tomorrow and during our weekend visit to the birthplace of St. Ambrose - Trier, Germany. I was hoping to convince Mark that we need to take advantage of our long weekend by taking a 'day' trip either to Milan (also for St. Ambrose) or Tyburn- the site of St. Edmund Campion's martyrdom... He doesn't seem so spontaneously convinced-- I mean, come on Moo- we're in Europe... let's get a little *crazy* and fly to England or Italy for the day! I mean how much closer can we get, right??

Alright, Ambrose's Mom needs some sleep now. Thankfully I don't have to drive Dad to work tomorrow. Phew!

Buona notte!

Ambrose and the Bbbbbrooon.

The Upsidedown Sloth

Ambrose and the Ball Monster...

Waaaaaaaz Up??

Ambrose and Dad had a fun time playing with the new ball I got Ambrose today at Kaufland. Kaufland is a giant German supermarket. The funny thing is, the supermarkets here tend to carry clothing and other things, too. Surprisingly, we actually have one of the German supermarket chains back in the states... Ever heard of Aldi?? Anyway, here are a couple pictures of playtime with Ambrose. When Dad arrives home from work, the first thing he does (after changing of course) is play with his favorite little man. Also, be sure you check out our newest feature... AMBROSE CAM!! I figured out how to upload a video link to the blog. You will find the video in the right hand column of the blog. It may move once I figure out more about the functionality... :) Enjoy!!