Winter in Almaty

The first major snow storm came on December 1st. We had planned to go to a special ethnic bazaar at one of the event centers...it poured snow, heavy with water, branches broke and the travel was treacherous. But never fear...we boarded the local bus with our friend Jenn and braved the elements.

 

Here is a woman demonstrating silk painting. Their work is stunning. I bought a number of presents to bring home this summer. The vendors were from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Kyrgyzstan.                

 

 Some of the power lines were loaded with snow and collapsed to the street.

 

 

Monday, December 3rd, was a holiday. The President's birthday. We spent the day with Jenn and her friend Dinara from Almaty. After a little shopping and a long time at Costa Coffee Shop we decided to walk around downtown Almaty and view the New Year's Lights. New Year's is celebrated here with lights and gifts on the first day of the new year and the week following. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on the 7th...the day the Magi visited Jesus.

 

 

We've been enjoying a few sports here in Almaty. One weekend ski jumpers from Europe convened upon Almaty for one of their circuit destinations. It was a nice day, the sun was shining, the seating was great, and the price was FREE! The facilities were built in 2011 for the Asian Winter Games. Of course, us crazy Americans have to cheer the loudest. We know how to applaud our team!

 

 

We also attend hockey games without missing hardly a one. The Browns and the Finkbeiners are regulars and we are trying to inspire others to come along. Many of our colleagues are joining us and cheering. Kim Brown has made signs, we have made friends with some local young men with a drum, and we have just plain fun. Lyzzat, is our music teacher and fantastic fun! We asked her why there isn't much cheering she said, "We haven't been free very long. We're learning!" Well, they are learning from us Americans because we cheer our hearts out! When we first attended the team played their game and left the rink. Now they stay on the ice, salute the crowd, and bang their sticks on the ice! It's been great to see them appreciate our enthusiasm. One more fun bit about hockey, at the end of every game they win (only lost 2 at home)"We Are The Champions," comes over the sound system...in English! It's hilarious. Terry received an Almaty hockey jersey for Christmas from his class...we bought one for Joey Brown and they later bought another for the kids. We're decked out at hockey each game! They are currently 3rd in their division.

 

 

 Christmas was amazing at Almaty International School. The parents were extremely generous with us and gave both of us wonderful gifts of appreciation. Terry's parents gave us tickets to the symphony and the opera. Both were wonderful. The music was superb at both venues. The symphony had a guest conductor from China. We heard, Brahms, Wagner, and Hayden. The opera had outstanding vocalists performing Traviata, sung in Italian and subtitled in Russian. No hope for us! But we were given a program in English. These pictures are poor quality...none allowed but Ididn't let that stop me! I have to take pictures of everything!

 

 

December found us taking off for Italy and Albania to meet our children for Christmas. We really needed this reunion! Kenton had never been to Rome. Jill came in 2000 with the Art Club from Connell High School. All of us had a great time. We visited all the notable sites and ventured out to several new ones.

 

 

One unique visitor attending with us was "Flat Stanley." Stanley came from a friend, Tricia Clary from Mesa Elementary. Some poor child in her class has us as Stanley's companions. The way I understand it he has to research everywhere Stanley goes. I hope he can keep up! Stanley had the unique experience of spending the night in the Capitol building. I dropped him there without knowing. The next day Jill and I went back in and there he sat on a cupboard waiting for his owner. Someone probably thought a child would be devastated if he weren't found. Nice.

 

 

One of the highlights of this trip was viewing the Caravaggio's found in Rome. We saw seven of them...many more were in one of the family museums which we didn't have time to attend.

 

 

 

There are local artists everywhere in Rome. We watched for several nights as two young men recreated a Vermeer work of art with chalk on the sidewalk. Wow!

 

Christmas Eve was spent in Vatican City. Kenton and Jill went on the Vatican Museum Tour and we all toured St. Peter's Basilica. At midnight the bells from the hundreds of Basilicas around the city rang in tandem proclaiming the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Christmas in Rome is beautiful. The lights were hanging from the sky above the streets. Each alley way had its own style. The Piazza Navona was filled with a carnival-like atmosphere. Booths were set up with games and prizes, food stations, and local artists selling paintings, jewelry, music, and amazements. On Christmas Day we went back to one of our favorite spots, Trevi Fountain. As we walked around the side of the fountain we saw that a museum was open. We went inside and discovered the exhibit highlighted the building of the Trevi Fountain and its maintenance. We watched a film on how they clean it and scoop up all the millions of coins thrown in every year. Upon turning to leave the curator motioned for us to come toward the enormous cascading  curtains along one side of the room. She took us through and opened  the windows...below us was the Trevi Fountain! It was magnificent! What a special treat. It seemed to me that this rarely happens, or so I would like to think so.  Following our time at the Fountain we went back and spent time in the Piazza and had dinner just outside of the Pantheon.  It was a wonderful day.

 

 

One of our days in Italy was spent at Pompeii. We took the bullet train down to Naples and over to Pompeii. It was a misty day so the crowd was almost nonexistent. Great for us. The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman city. Pompeii was partially destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Pompeii was lost for nearly 1700 years before its rediscovery in 1748. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of the city. Pompeii was an amazing site. The amount that has been uncovered and so well preserved by the volcano shocked us.

 

 

 

 

Next Albania.