HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.....

On Monday, November 16th, we head home for the Holidays. That is, Ann heads home. I have a week-long meeting in New York and will be home on the 22nd. She and I then head to San Francisco Monday to meet with the French Consolate and see if they will issue us a Long-Stay Visa, so we can legally live in France. After Thanksgiving, I head back to Frankfurt, then Berlin, Nice for a couple of days, then down to Naples and head back home for Christmas on the 12th.
We're both looking forward to seeing everyone and spending time enjoying home and the Holidays.
MOUGINS - CENTRE VILLE

Ann and Allison in England - October 2009

Ann was able to spend a wonderful week in England with her parents, Jean and Jenny. They stayed at Oast House, just south of Oxford (West of London).
OAST HOUSE


They were able to visit many beautiful and interesting places with that as their base.
Downham - The Davis Family's favorite place in England

Tintern Abby

Allison met them on Thursday and she and Ann spent the weekend in London. The weather was terrific and England, fantastic.
"Stratford-on-Avon" Shakespeares' birthplace

Brighton

Alpes-Maritime day trip- November 7, 2009

This past week I had a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. Ann took the time to catch up on things and get ready to go home for the Holidays on November 16th.
Yesterday, not to miss out on a weekend, we took a 4+ hour loop through the Alpes-Maritime area north of Nice, circling around back into Grasse and Mougin.

We love this time of year here. There is much more fall coloring than we thought there would be. We saw some very small, quaint villages and beautiful scenery.


This week, I head to Vienna, then on to Brussels, before heading back with Ann on the 16th. She, however, gets to go back to SLC, while I spend a week in NYC for a Vascular Surgery meeting. I'll be there, however, for Thanksgiving. I head back to Europe on the 3rd of December for three meetings: Frankfurt, Berlin, and Naples - then back to SLC for Christmas. I can't wait.

Colmar, FR;Basel / Lake Como, Switz; Brescia, IT

On the 25th of October Ann and Allison arrived from England (visiting with Ann's parents, Jean and Jenny). Monday we headed north in the car up to Colmar, France, which is at the top of the list of great preserved cities to visit. We weren't disappointed.

We then headed up to Strassburg, Freiburg then down to Basel, where I had a dinner meeting. Our place was right on the Rhein River - a beautiful city.

After an early-morning visit in Winterthur we headed over the San Bernardino Pass into Lugano, then over to Brescia, Italy, where we spent the night. Al had never seen this area before. October colors were all out and it was a great time to visit the Alps. Since I was driving, Allison took some great pictures of this trip...most taken at autobahn speeds!



We took a ferry across Lake Como (in the dark)- it was a spectacular, but short ride.

Brescia has a very well-maintained castle, which we visited our last night there..great lighting.
Here's Al at the drawbridge.

The last day in Italy, I attended a meeting in Milan while Ann and Al explored the downtown area - and did some shopping. Our trip home, through all 137 tunnels along the coast, was actually quite enjoyable, since there is less traffic this time of year. Saturday, Al's last day, was spent doing some shopping and dinner in Cannes, along the waterfront. We really enjoyed her visiting us and look forward to everyone else visiting us next year!
Here's a picture of Ann and Al's view from their boat trip on Lake Como.

Slovenia Slide Show

Ljubljana, Slovenia - Oct 22-24 09

On the 22nd of October, while Ann was in England, I attended a meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenian and found it extremely beautiful, with very friendly people and excellent food

Slovenia is very much like Austria and has high mountains and ski areas just outside the city, similar to Salt Lake. Worth a visit!!!

We visited Brdo Castle, had a private tour and ate in the Palace Cottage. This is where Tito spent Springs and Summers.