Happy Halloween!

We made it home just in time from Finland to carve a pumpkin, hand out some candy and send Rachel off to a Halloween party!

Modern Dorothy and Little Red Riding Hood with a friendly Zombie

Chasing the Northern Lights!

The last part of our fall break was spent in Kakslauttanen, Finland.  Way, way, WAY north.  Even though it was still October it was cold.

Igloos

We met two sets of family friends there which made for a fun few days playing in the snow, chasing the northern lights and having fun. When we arrived the weather forecast was not great for viewing. Our plan had been to stay in an igloo the first night and then switch to a cozy cabin. Our friends convinced us to swap days which the resort kindly accommodated. This was a great choice, our last night was the best!

Our first day, it snowed as we arrived so it was truly a winter wonderland. We headed out to find the reindeer and the kids and adults had some fun in the snow. We did get a little lost in the woods but it was beautiful out and it just made for a fun afternoon. When we did find the reindeer we were amazed at how big their antlers were.

Rachel makes a friend

Rachel and Alain

Girls just wanna have fun - Missy, Alicia and Vanessa 

Steve, Missy, Vanessa & Abel

The resort is all self contained, so we had a fabulous dinner in the lodge that night. Also, we had wifi so we were watching a little of the Penn State/Ohio State game. It was way too close for my taste, but luckily the Buckeyes came through! I really think it was this hat I found in the shop!

 The next morning after a late breakfast and we took another hike through the forestto visit the reindeer again. Then we had a relaxing afternoon by the fire in our very cozy cabin. It was nice to have a relaxing part of the trip too!

After another delicious dinner we piled into taxis to chase the Northern Lights.  The drivers took us to three different spots and we were lucky at all the spots.  IT WAS COLD, but worth it.  We were all happy we had opted for cars versus horse drawn wagons. 

Steve was experimenting with catching people and the lights. He would have liked us to be clearer but the fact that you can see us and the lights is pretty amazing!

Afterwards we had drinks by the fire, enjoying our time with our friends.

 Our last day we moved to an igloo.  While they look like an igloo they are heated, with a bathroom and also very cozy.

It was another day of hiking and relaxing with our books watching the snow. That night as we were falling asleep we were disappointed that we couldn't see any Northern Lights from our igloo. But right about midnight something fell off of Rachel's bed and we all woke up and the Northern Lights were out and amazing! On and off through the night we watched them change and light up the sky in different ways. We are so grateful that we got lucky on this trip and spotted them so many times!

The next morning it was time to head back to reality. It was so cold that on the walk from the igloo to the lodge, just about 10 min, Rachel's braids froze!

Warm Rachel

Cold Rachel

See ya Finland!

Helsinski

Helsinki Cathedral

Next stop on our fall break is Finland! We've started in Helsinki before we go further north to chase the Northern Lights. We arrived late in the afternoon, so we did a short walk through Helsinki and found a great burger bar for dinner.

Church of the Rock - outside

The next day we took a bus tour through Helsinki. This was perfect. We toured around Helsinki and enjoyed the sites. We were all excited that it stopped at The Church of the Rock. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but then you go in... Beautiful and peaceful.

Church of the Rock - inside!

Afterwards we did some shopping and more exploring.  The Uspenski Cathedral is also stunning. It has 13 domes, the large one representing Jesus and then 12 smaller ones representing the 12 apostles.

Uspenski Cathedral

 Afterwards Steve unfortunately needed to spend the afternoon working. Rachel and I explored the shops and the waterfront and then stopped for hot chocolate and cake at Cafe Esplanad in the center of the city. Beautiful, elegant cafe in the center of the city.

Venice Biennale

Rachel, Mel & Missy - Lorenzo Quinn's Incredible The Hands behind us

We began Rachel's fall break with a long weekend for the Venice Biennale. Rachel is a higher IB art student and I really wanted her to experience this. My sister, the most excellent art professor, arranged her complicated schedule to spend the weekend with us. It was absolutely fabulous to have her with us as our personal guide. I am not going to share all our photos or thoughts, just the highlights.

Rachel and I arrived via overnight train. Another European experience we wanted to try. It was an easy way to get to Venice and it was nice to arrive ready to go at 8am! We also were most likely influenced by the movie "White Christmas", it makes overnight train travel seem so glamourous.

Our overnight compartment

 We found our apartment, explored and had a lovely lunch while we waited for Mel. Once Mel arrived we did some shopping and visited the school Mel did her artist residency at last year. We had all wanted to see The Hands pictured in photo at the top, it was a bonus that our apartment was just across the canal from it! And, it was warm enough before dinner to enjoy a spritz by the canal - an absolute must in Venice!

 We started the next day with the Giardini part of the Biennale. This is where the different countries have their exhibits. We visited as many exhibits as we could during a very full day. We all had some similar and some differing opinions but when we ranked the day Hungary came out as our number one! We all really liked it's theme of peace and Utopia. It was so uplifting.

This rainbow is made completely of lapel pins

 Our other favorites included Greece, Austria, Korea, Russia and Serbia. Rachel really liked France.It was all about musical instruments, Rachel felt like she was IN a guitar.

Austria had a random travel items all around a gallery for you to pose with.  You've got to love Mel on the portable toilet!

Rachel

Mel

These photos are from Japan. You could become part of the exhibit. Rachel was too speedy for me, but I caught Melanie and she LOVED popping up and being right in the middle of the exhibit.

Melanie in the exhibit

Rachel below the exhibit

Our next stop was the Damian Hirst Exhibit at the Palazzo Grassi. This exhibit received a fair amount of negative press.  The sheer size of the pieces is amazing but what Rachel explained to me is that it wasn't as creative or impressive because he just copied things that had been found in the ocean and made them huge.  

We had dinner at Spaghetteria, a restaurant Mel and her husband Doug had found on their last trip to Venice. I am always hesitant to recommend a restaurant, but this one I whole heartedly do, It was incredibly delicious, but you must absolutely make a reservation!

We finished our night at the oldest cafe on San Marco square, Cafe Florian. We enjoyed the band and our coffee and cake. An elegant dessert.

We spent the next day at the Arsenale. This part of the Biennale houses several artists throughout the exhibit. Melanie and Rachel both enjoyed the Huni Kuta by Erneto Neto. They both sketched and reflected while we sat inside. It was a lovely place for contemplation.

We all really enjoyed an exhibit of mirrors and metal. I will not be able to describe it well but it was a little like a funhouse as you walked around and thought you were right next to someone but instead it was a reflection. Some of the metal frames were open which created a more confusing effect.

One of the pavilions I had really been looking forward to was Argentina and The Horse Problem. It did not disappoint, the sculptures were just so moving and amazing.

Teenager on a cell phone?

After we finished with the rest of the artist pavilion we headed out to San Marco square to watch the end of the marathon. Our favorite finisher was the guy clocking in right around 6 hours chatting away on his cell phone. 

The weather then drastically changed so we found a cozy restaurant near our apartment and had another yummy meal.

Sunday morning was the prettiest day of our weekend, finally some blue skies. We had a little breakfast and then Melanie caught her bus to her airport. 

View from the Rialto Bridge

Rachel and I had a little time before our train so we fulfilled her last Venice wish. Across from the train station is a Magnum ice cream parlor, she remembered it from our first trip to Venice five years ago. She was right, it was worth it.

Stefanie & Dominic visit NYC

Stefanie & Dominic

Stefanie was lucky enough to spend a weekend in NYC with the Honors Program at BGSU. Also lucky? Dominic was able to get a pass and meet her for a day.

He took Stefanie and her friend Haily to breakfast and they spent the afternoon exploring and walking around Central Park.

Stefanie found this funny!

It's fun so awesome to see them finding ways to meet that don't involve us.