What's next?

Funny (not funny ha, ha) story in the WSJ about how Christler execs are already getting around the rules set up for their "bailout."

"The new Chrysler-Fiat partnership will get around U.S. restrictions on executive pay by having its top officers deemed Fiat employees," the Detroit Free Press reports:

The new Chrysler is among the first companies to fall under rules outlined in February by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, for companies getting "extraordinary assistance" from the Treasury that would cap pay for top executives at $500,000, excluding restricted shares of stock. The final rules for the limits have not been released. . . .

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has already indicated he will replace Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli. But under the deal, any of Chrysler's top officers can be deemed a Fiat employee who's "seconded" to Chrysler, and therefore take pay from Fiat beyond any Treasury cap.

In our view, this whole deal is an abomination. The government should not be bailing out Chrysler or its unions; if it cannot make cars profitably, it belongs in bankruptcy court.
That said, we have to admire the Chrysler execs' sense of humor in using Fiat to evade a fiat.

Prague

This is the first of 2 slide shows I plan to make from our most recent trip. We were in what I would consider the most Eastern part of Western Europe, Prague. It was a beautiful city that had a sort of eerie charm not unlike Edinburgh. We started by visiting the castle which over looks the city. It was more of a compound of buildings that contained a large cathedral that looked as if it was the oldest part of the "castle" complex. We visited the old town square which has the Astronomical Clock and the John Hus memorial. We crossed the Charles' Bridge and explored the city. We went in several of the cathedrals, one of which contained the withered arm and clenched fist of a would be thief who tried to steal the statue of Mary hanging as a reminder (or warning). See if you can pick out that picture. It was not as cheap as we had hoped it would be but we still had a great time.

United

On Wednesday night I was invited to go up to Manchester for the semi-final 1st leg of the Champion's League between Man. United and Arsenal. Of course I said I had to think about it and 1.2 seconds later I was making arrangements to get out of work and head to Manchester. I am a United supporter and would be ecstatic to go to any game and a chance to go to a Champions League game, especially against Arsenal in the knock out stage is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Both teams of course played their first 11 and watching them live was amazing. United won 1 - 0 and should of scored 2 or 3 more in a very exciting match. I know most of you could care less about soccer but if you are ever interested, the next leg is on Tuesday at 7:45pm my time (mid day in the U.S.). It is a very good representation of what soccer should look like and you will see some of the best players in the world.

Treats!

The goodies have arrived! These photos are not the best but you get the idea. Don't be jealous.

Visitation and Vacation

We are finally seeing our first visitors of the year tomorrow. Jamie and Steven (my sister-in-law and her husband) are coming to see us for the first time. We are turning around almost immediately and skipping out of Ireland for the Czech Republic and Austria for about 5 days. I'm excited because it feels like we are heading to a new part of the world and we haven't been any where in a while; well, since last month anyway. It is always nice to have travel companions and I'm sure that we'll have a really good time.

They were also nice enough to bring a little shipment of goodies along with them.

Trinidad EMS robustos x 8
Perdomo En Vidrio rothschilds x 10
Partagas Black bravos x 10
La Gloria Cubana charlemagne x 10
Gurkha Rare Breed robustos x 5

JR Cigars is having amazing sales right now so if anyone is interested in such things you should definitely take advantage now! I'll be posting pictures of these beauties tomorrow!!

Belgium

I'm trying to catch up on my blogging and I've finally made it to Belgium which was a few weeks ago. We flew into Brussels and then took the train to Bruges where we spent a day and a half and then spent the last day in Brussels before we flew back home. It really was a weekend trip and I don't think we could have found more to do there had we stayed longer. I really liked Bruges. It is a combination of quaint gothic with the Flemish architecture popping out all over the place. There are chocolate shops galore and the only other thing Belgians take as seriously as chocolate is beer. We weren't crazy about the beer but it was cheap and plentiful. There are canals criss-crossing the city and we were able to take a boat tour, which gave us a different perspective of the city. We did a tour of the only remaining brewery in Bruges. The tour guide was excellent and we really enjoyed that. We even got to go on the roof and take a couple of photos of the city scape. We saw Michelangelo's only sculpture to leave Italy in the cathedral in town and found a cigar bar where I had a nice Ramon Allones Habana.

We went to Brussels for our last day and were less impressed with it. The Grand Palace was a beautiful square surrounded by gothic buildings. We walked around the city and saw some of the other buildings but other than that there didn't seem like much to see or do. Belgium was a good trip and I'm glad we made it there but I don't think we'll be heading back any time soon.

Florence, Italy

We visited Florence during our Venice trip and were glad we did. The city doesn't hold the charm of Venice but it is strikingly Italian and it was great to see the area where so many great minds including Michelangelo and Da Vinci came from. The city is built around their large cathedral called the Duomo. From the outside it is massive and built of white and green marble. You can see from the pictures that it just towers above the rest of the city. Inside it is surprisingly small. There is a large river (where we actually saw an otter swimming) that separates the main part of town from the hills where the old city wall is still visible. The main bridge, Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), is lined with jewelry shops. We hiked up the hill overlooking the city with a copper replica of Michelangelo's David standing atop it. The views of the city were amazing.

There are no shortage of museums to visit there either. The first we went to was the History of Science museum. Unfortunately much of is was under construction so we could wander around one floor. There they had several of the first models of the solar system and the telescopes used through history. It even had Galileo's Finger! We visited the famous Uffizi Gallery which contains the largest collection of the Renaissance art. The highlight of Florence was without question going to the Accademia gallery and seeing Michelangelo's David. The gallery contains a few other works including some unfinished statues by Michelangelo where were neat to see how they came to be from a block of marble. The David was breathtaking. His sheer size is impressive enough but the detail in the facial expression and even the veins in his arm are amazing. I haven't seen anything else like it and of course we couldn't take any photos. As Dana says, it shows what a mockery the "modern art" movement really is when compared with true artistic genius.

Florence is a must visit simply for its historical significance. I think Venice will beckon us back some day just because the city is such a wonder in and of itself. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the land of the man himself. Although the celebration is not nearly the scale of NY or Boston it is still a fun event. We probably saw more Americans here today than we have since we moved. We went out for an early lunch then found the Early Show from NBC doing a live broadcast from Dublin Castle. We stayed for that and then found a spot near Christ Church to watch the parade. There are participants from all over the world and I even saw the Arizona flag flying...REPRESENT! Here's a few pictures from our day.

The Soiree

We went to a cigar soiree Monday night at a wine bar here in Dublin. The evening included tapas, wine, single malt Irish whiskey and of course cigars. It was really a great atmosphere as about 50 guys showed up to take part leaving Dana as the only girl in the bunch (which made me very proud!). We met several interesting people including 2 ex-marines and a few Dubliners. We were given a Diplimaticos Habanas and a Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve. I must say that they were both excellent and I feel like we really got value for our money, which is quite odd for Dublin. I can't wait until the next one. We'll see if any of the guys went home and told their wives that there are women who attend so Dana won't be so out numbered next time.

Venezia

Bonjourno! I know we've been back from Italy for a while now but it is always on the mind. Venice was especially beautiful. I had heard that countless times but you really can't appreciate the spectacle that the city is until you've seen it for yourself. It was once one of the richest cities in Europe and the Grand Canal ("main street") is lined with palaces. The architecture is somewhat unique in that not only is it built on water but most of it is from the Byzantine period and looks like a combination of European and Middle Eastern styles. As far as giving a true feel of what the city looked like, our pictures fail miserably. It doesn't help that in a lot of the places you go into in both Venice and Florence you are not allowed to take photographs. We think they're afraid we'll steal their essence!

We spent our time wandering semi-lost through the narrow streets finding on more than one occasion that the street we were on dead ended into a canal. We took a gondola ride and had to help our gondolier tilt the boat to make it under the low, slowly sinking bridges on the side streets. It was nearly Carnival so the stores were packed with masks and outfits for the 10 day long celebration. We found Venice to be a city that isn't visited for its sights and attractions but just for the city itself. I hope we get to go back! Ciao!

Back to reality

We have returned home and we're still trying to settle back into life after our surprise visit to the old AZ. It was such a good trip getting to see everyone and enjoy a few days of sunshine and warm weather. It is even more missed as I am writing during the first snow Dublin city has seen in the last 7 years (lucky us!). We are leaving for Italy in 2 days which means good food and good wine and hopefully better weather.
Thanks to everyone for making time to hang with us on absolutely no notice. Surprise visits probably aren't the best idea for the future but this one sure was fun. Happy birthday Yunuen! We hope to see all of you real soon!

Prego!

I think we've pretty much shouted this one from the roof tops so it probably isn't news to anyone but we got really great tickets to Venice/Florence in a couple of weeks. AerLingus was having a mad sale. Not only that but we found great places to stay for 1/2 to 1/3 the price of their normal room rates. We're pretty used to staying in budget places and blowing our money on the sites and food so I totally feel like we're splurging. We're staying 2 nights in Venice then taking a train over and spending 2 nights in Florence. We'll report back after we've got lots of photos to make you jealous with! In the meantime, check out our hotels (Venice/Florence).

Dude!

This might be the craziest thing I've ever seen. Click the link to watch these guys gliding in wingsuits. My favorite part is when the guy is talking about what they were doing and says they got "bored." Awesome!

The Old Year

As this was our first full year in Europe it was fun to look back on all the places we went and things we did. We were away from our friends and family which made all our traveling bittersweet but thanks to everyone that made the long haul over here to stay for free and see bits of Europe...uh, I mean visit us. In all seriousness, we are very thankful to everyone who visited and you are all welcome back in 2009. We started 2008 in Rome, saw the West coast of Ireland, London, Cambridge, Manchester, Edinburgh, Loch Ness, Paris, Bordeaux, Barcelona, Bacharach, Kusadasi and Athens. We've decided we better get started this year if it is going to live up to last year so hopefully at the end of the month we'll be visiting Salzburg. Egypt and Maldives are also on the agenda before June.

We visited Dana's family in Minnesota/Wisconsin for an early Christmas. It was nice to spend the time with family. I got some sweet cigar books for Christmas including a diary to record and rate various cigar experiences. I started last night after dinner by smoking a Rocky Patel Sun Grown which was a real treat, and to make it better I rang in the New Year by smoking a Kahlua as my first cigar of 2009. If anyone is planning to come and see us this year and has somewhere they want to go let us know! We are basically living one day at a time with no long term plans, just planning the next trip. We'll see what I have to report a year from now and from where I'll be reporting!

Αθήνα

Well, the secret is not a secret any more. We've told everyone we know that I interviewed for a position in Athens. Sadly, after all the build up and anticipation over the whole thing it looks like we won't be moving after all. Our experience there was great. The weather is amazing and reminded us a lot of Arizona (cactus and all). Athens is of course on the Mediterranean coast which I guess means it is like Arizona with a beach! The food was amazing and the ancient sites just sit in the center of the city over looking the "new" Athens. Athens is jam packed with people. The roads are insane and this is after they have cut city center traffic by half with even/odd license plate driving days. It still has it's Greek charm. We had a drink at a restaurant one evening and inside they had live music and everyone eating there was joining in with the Greek dancing. We could still end up there but if nothing else we'll be going back for holiday.

Obamania

I've spent the last 3 days of this week being congratulated by one person after another on my new president. My only response is, "he's not my president!" There aren't too many people with whom I can have an engaging conversation at work. On Monday one of the doctors was saying she loves Obama and thinks he'll be the best thing to ever happen to America. When asked why, what makes him great, I got the same answer I seem to get from everyone over here. "He's brilliant, such an eloquent speaker, gives people hope." While I don't argue with the fact that effective leadership involves intelligence, powerful oration and the ability to motivate and inspire I think the fact that to what end that leader may direct us is infinitely more important. That question never gets answered over here.

The infatuation may be short lived. The front page of Thursday's paper reported of the upwards of 100,000 jobs that could be lost in Ireland when Obama's tax plan takes effect. Currently, companies the operate over-seas receive tax breaks but Obama wants to bring jobs home and plans to make it fiscally impossible for companies to continue operating over-seas. This will not only effect American economics as companies will not be able to afford the labor force it currently employs and will consequently suffer losses in productivity but the economies of some of the poorest countries where the majority of employment is via American contracting. Think of India where AOL, DELL and other technical support is routed through. It would be a devastation from which those people could not recover. And if you think tech support is bad now then wait until you have a 2 hour que on the phone because of the cuts in personal. That is just one example and probably not even the best one.

On a side note. Dana's been talking to a lot of foreigners trying to learn English and met some Iranians. To her shock they told her that they love George W. Bush and where hoping McCain would be elected because they thought he'd be like Bush. They said all the Iranian people loved Bush. Funny, that's not what you here on BBC or CNN.

Barcelona

I've been trying to find a new site to host our slide shows so I've been delayed in posting my Barcelona pics. Barca is visually very stunning. The city is known as much for its architecture as anything else. The famous architect Gaudi designed and built a number of buildings around town and then started the Gaudi Cathedral called Sagrada Familia. He died before it was finished and the city has employed builders and artists to finish this mammoth cathedral. It is very odd because each part is different because it has been designed by different people. It is hard to get a feel for that through pictures but take my word for it...it's weird! Some pictures of his other buildings are included as well and hopefully you can get an idea of the odd shapes and designs he employed.

Barca is all about shopping. Paris is the only city that compares. The main pedestrian street La Ramblas was covered with street performers and shops. The food was quite good and we found some good tapas and paella. The best part was the weather! Shorts and T-shirts everyday. So nice!

We took a cable car ride, saw an old Catalan castle and strolled down the harbour. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Closure

As you've probably seen on Dana's blog we just got back from Manchester for a weekend in which I received my final certification to practice in the U.K. and Ireland. I've spent the last year working toward all my post grad certs and now the pressure is finally off. I have to admit that all my hard work went into my American board exams and fortunately it paid off for my GB and Ireland exams as well. Manchester was a cool city. We pretty much love everywhere we go in the UK. It is odd how it can have such a different feel than Ireland when they are so close, but hey, look at Florida and Mississippi!
What Dana said of the bittersweet feelings about Ireland is true. I feel like this is home (especially when we've been travelling so much) and now the thought of leaving brings mixed emotions. My interview is set for November 19th and Dana has managed to tell everyone except her family so for all of you who know the secret location...DON'T TELL!!

Cha..Cha...Chili's!

It is amazing what you appreciate when you are away from home for so long. We just discovered that Chili's (yes the chain) has a restaurant newly opened in Belfast. That was last weekend, and today we went. Yes we drove 110 miles to eat at Chili's. That's not all...3 other people also made the trip and 3 others living in the North met us there. They had all been to Chili's in the States during a missions trip and once we found out there was one within driving distance we organized and went! It was amazing and exactly like home...including the service (which is quite novel in Ireland). Well, that's our current excitement.

Scotland...again

We made trip number 2 to Scotland to visit Edinburgh and travel North to Loch Ness and Inverness. We got to see a lot of the Highlands which is a beautiful unique landscape. You may be shocked by what you see in some of our Loch Ness photos. I'm working on selling them on eBay as we speak!