The Old and the Restless

July 1.  Joshua loves playing with the water. Brandon and Grandma went to see the dinosaurs at the museum. Which one is this?  We walked to the museum from Megan's house. Brandon was wearing his "crocs". On the way back he insisted on walking barefoot because his shoe was rubbing. We phoned Grandpa to pick us up. Grandpa liked this picture. In my previous post I forgot the picture of Joshua with his cake! Margot made a special banana cake with no wheat and no dairy. We ate it .  Joshua didn't.

The following week Brandon's family arrived for a short visit before going to Florida. Luckily we all were able to stay at Megan and Michael's house. We went to Barrie to visit Mark, Margot, Joshua and Ella. Alicia seems to be wondering about the baby her mother is holdng. Bubbles are fun. While Brandon blows the bubbles, Joshua carefully puts the lid back on the bubble container. Joshua (almost 2) and Alicia (17 months) Margot watching while Bryn and Brandon read "Old MacDonald had a Barn"

Brandon flew all by himself from Switzerland. He arrived July 12. After phoning his mother from Megan's place, he wanted to hurry to the cottage to go fishing. No jet-lag here. Brandon and Grandpa getting ready to fish. Immediately they caught a sunfish. The day before Bryn, Herve and Alicia arrived, we were invited to an early birthday party for Joshua. While Margot gave Joshua a swing, Brandon found something else to do. Megan and Joshua Brandon likes to hold babies.

From Scotland via Texas and Guelph, Melanie, Drew and Elaine stayed overnight at Megan and Michael's. It's a good thing there are a lot of rooms in the house since we are still downstairs. Melanie, Elaine, Margot and Ella on Megan and Michael's  deck. All of us gathered for the required group photo. By this time the babies were asleep. It was nice that Rosemary, Shawn,  Daryl and Jane were able to come. The last time we saw Rosemary was at Drew and Melanie's wedding. And Shawn, we remember as a toddler who had a biting habit.

The cruise ended at Civitivechia. We stayed near the airport for three days, visited Ostia Antiqua (forgot my camera) and took the train into Rome. The forum was the political and religious centre of ancient Rome. Every time we go to Rome there are "new " ruins that have been discovered. This is a room from the house of Augustus.   Above are the "old" ruins of the forum. The Coliseum is in the background.

Our cruise ship moored just off the Amalfi coast. We climbed a lot of steps to get up to the main church. The centuries old church door at Amalfi. One of the shops in fashionable Positano on the Amalfi coast. Two views of Positano from above and below. We spent so much time walking in Sorrento, we did not have the time to visit Capri. Sorrento has interesting narrow alleyways where you can get your groceries.  Fish for dinner? If we ever go to Sorrento again, we'll stay here. I like the garden in this hotel. This roadway leads to the centre of Sorrento.  I chose to walk down it... but not up. The 1 Euro bus fare is worth the trip up. Paul took the bus both ways. Looking down into the deep cleft that divides Sorrento. I wonder if this building used to be inhabited?

Ah! The daily gelato -  which to choose? The cathedral is under repair. City Hall and the centre of Sienna. Horse races are held here twice annually as they were in the past. The Tuscan countryside. St. Giardino is like a museum. Time passed it by and everything is as it was in the past. Originally this was a city of towers. Every family tried to have the tallest tower house. An example of the tall narrow houses. Interesting paintings on the city hall wall.

Attracted by an old National Geographic that we had at the cottage, we first visited Portofino about 20 years ago with the children. Because it is an International Heritage site, it hasn't changed very much. From Portofino we took a ferry to the slepy town of Santa Margherita. Testing the gelati in santa Margherita.

A visit the famous aquarium in Monaco formerly run by Jacques Cousteau. This is a pineapple fish. We haven't seen it when diving. This is a "look down" fish. We have seen them at St. Lucia. Sailing lesson in the harbour at Monaco.