Cheers...

Celebrating Gill & Ben's Engagement @ the Teak House (Thai restaurent in Workingham).

Gill's engagement !

nice ring !

Gill & Ben got engaged !!!

PastaritO Restraurante

We all ate abbundently at PastaritO. It's a very nice chain of Italian restaurents where they have fresh pasta ! (http://www.pastarito.it). Highly recommended !

very nice palacios close to our hotel by Lepanto Metro station.

Rome by night

Impressive, isn't it... ?

it was close to freezing, that night... by the Colloseo

Doesn't it look nicer at night ?

the road leading to the Colloseum (by night, naturally).

some of columns still standing of the Roman Empire's Capitol

my (AWR) coleague Yves in front of one of the Arcs of the Forro Romano.

a section of the "forro Romano" by night.

We were so busy during the day (with meetings & presentations) that we could only tour Rome by night...

Excuisite Italian Food !

There were as many "soya-based" icecream as the regular kind...

and some out-of-this-world Gelatto !

Followed by a crispy pizza with anchovies !!!

Nothing like an authentic "Insalata Caprese" with "Mozarella di Bufala" to start an authentic italian meal !

Back in Rome...

Last time I was in Rome, was just before my Wedding in Spetember 2001... ah, the memories: Evening dining by the Colloseum, "how many Americans can fit in a Roman Hotel Elevator ?", Catching the EuroStar to Napoli, parking @ the Airport, etc... sigh.

Johannie on her 29th week of pregnancy...

Hiking around Cookham, on the Thames path is a great way to see and photograph fall colors...

Fraueninsel (island) on Chiemsee lake in Bavaria (Germany)

Pat & Lewis + their kids with husbands

The crown of the cake...

a few speaches before cutting the cake...

Pat, on her 60th birthday... enjoying herself.

Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava, on the world map... for more info see http://www.bratislava-city.sk/

Devin Castle near Bratislava

view of the "isolation tower" of the Devin Castle (where some nun got imprisonned for falling in love).

More info on the castle is available at: http://www.bratislava-city.sk/devin-castle-bratislava

Across from the Danube, is Austria. This strategic place is also where the Morava river joins the Danube.

Sona, my knowledable tour guide... @ Devin Castle

The village of Devin, from the top of the ruins of Devin Castle

Carpathian Wine Route

Some local production... dates from Roman times.

one of the Wine cellars of Modra. (The castle however has the largest cellars in Central Europe).

what's your shoe size ?

Famous Pottery artisan from Modra (where Majolica is produced)

one of the rooms of the castle... (often used for weddings). The floor is great for a foot massage !

Cerveny Kamen Castle (& surroundings)

Wonderful colors in the forest surrounding Modra village. Prominent location for hunting (as was done in the past by the residents of the castle). The castle is first mentioned in 1240. See more details at: http://www.castles.sk/cerveny-kamen.php

Fall colors of the forest around Creveny Kamen castle

Some flowers are still out, this late in Fall.

Side view of the Castle

Cerveny Kamen Castle (Red Rock Castle) close to the Modra village, on the small Carpathians Wine route.

View from my hotel room...

Apple, Cranberry and Liver, with corse salt (I didn't finish the liver).

Exellent food: wild bird (hopefully, ones without the flew), and potato pancakes (kind of like a french crepe or a thin naan bread).

are these rubber boots ?

traditional central European dancing

Traditional dancing, accompanied by (traditional) live music performance.

details of stringed instrument

Instrument being played