Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Hello to everyone! We decided to cram one more trip into 2010 by spending Christmas in Vienna and Prague. On Dec 24 we headed to Vienna and thankfully arrived on time after a week of Heathrow being shut down due to snow (it snows here every year but they are consistently shocked by it!) In Vienna we attended Christmas mass at St Stephens Church. It is a beautiful, Gothic cathedral and the service was interspersed with classical music from a full symphony as well as amazing opera singers. It was quite impressive! After the service we did a walking tour of Vienna where we saw Stephansplatz (plaza in front of St Stephens); St Peter's church and the Holy Trinity Plague column, both erected by Leopold I for saving his city from the plague; Kaisergruft, the imperial crypt of 150 of the Hapsburg family; the Spanish riding school; the Monument against War and Fascism; and the Sacher hotel, home of the sacher torte which we stopped and tried - delicious! That evening Theo had a sitter so he could peacefully sleep in our hotel room while Shane and I went to a fancy dinner at Le Ciel :o)
The following day we visited the Hofburg palace which leads you through the silver collection of the Hapsburg dynasty, then through an exhibit on Empress Elizabeth aka 'Sisi' and through the imperial apartments. The Hapsburgs were smart and seriously decreased their spending and extravagance in the 18th and 19th centuries so there was no revolution like the one in France (although Marie Antoinette was from the Hapsburg family!) That afternoon Shane and I took shifts at the Opera seeing Der Rosencavelier, "The Knight of the Rose," by Richard Strauss. It was very good despite our terrible seats and only seeing half of the opera each! Afterwards we went to dinner which Theo slept through beautifully.
The following day we were picked up in our snazzy Mercedes minivan and driven to Prague. We drove through southern Czech Republic (Moravia) and saw the Czech wine country and some of the country side. Prague is a beautiful city, very colorful and lively. We headed to the Christmas market, which is rated one of the best in the world, and wandered through the stalls sipping our hot, mulled wine that is sold every 10 feet. We ended up that evening in the new section of town near Wenceslao square and had a delicious dinner of sausage and Prague ham at the market. The following day we had a guide who gave us a walking tour of Prague. We visited the old part of town and she pointed out the Astronomical clock (15th century clock that still works and has a small show every hour with moving pieces and the 12 apostles making an appearance), Tyn church, the museum of Czech cubism (Prague is the only city in the world where cubism is incorporated into the architecture), Bethlehem chapel (where Jan Hus, a protestant martyr 100 years before Martin Luther used to preach. His death sparked a bloody civil war ending in 300 years of Hapsburg/Catholic rule), Charles University (the first University north of the Alps, established in the 14th century), Charles bridge (named after Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor of the 14th century who is credited for making Prague an international, Renaissance city) and the Jewish ghetto (Prague lost 80,000 of it's 120,000 Jews during the holocaust. The old Jewish ghetto is now a classy shopping district but still has the oldest synagogue in Eastern Europe (1270) which continues to function for orthodox Jews, a Jewish cemetery and a memorial in one of the synagogues for all of the Jews who lost their lives in WWII). We then crossed the Charles bridge to the little quarter with it's water wheel, Lennon wall (someone placed a bouquet of flowers there after Lennon's death and it ballooned into a graffiti/paraphernalia wall of anti-communism thought) and the church of St Nicolas. It was a very informative tour and she took us through many of the side roads and narrow alleys that we would never otherwise have seen. It was also interesting to hear her view on communism in Prague. She told us that the buildings were falling apart during the communist years and many of the side roads and alleys were blocked off. She pointed out the Intercontinetal hotel that is in one of the buildings where communist officials used to stay. Apparently it is one of the nicest hotels in Prague but she refuses to set foot inside. She also told us that restoration commensed basically the day after the Velvet revolution with lots of public funds given by the Czech people. However the communist party still receives votes during the elections and up until the most recent election has been the 2nd party of the opposition.
Our last day in Prague we headed to the Castle quarter. The Prague castle is one of the largest in Europe thanks to no popular revolution and being spared the bombs of WWI and WWII. It contains St Vitus cathedral which holds the tomb of St Wenceslas, Prague's patron saint, the basilica and convent of St George and several other buildings that have served various purposes over the years. It is a massive complex that you could spend all day walking through!
That evening we headed to the airport and home to London. It was a wonderful vacation and we definitely recommend both of the cities if you are visiting Europe!
Love, Shane, Sarah and Theo

St Stephens Cathedral


Shane and Theo enjoying their weiner in Vienna!


The Astronomical clock


The 3 of us at the Charles Bridge

Southern France

Hello everyone! We have just returned from a whirlwind trip around America that started off in Southern France (of course!) I managed to see a lot of you, which was great, but wanted to catch everyone else up on what we've been up to. So, Theo, although born in the UK, is a fully US citizen with no UK benefits. Therefore, he was required to get a passport and a visa before we could leave the country (other than Ireland since there is no customs between the UK and Ireland). So, after a long train ride to Sheffield that culminated in a 30 second photo after a 4 hour wait, Theo was stamped and officially able to travel the world! First stop, Southern France!

We flew into Nice, rented a car and headed to Provence. On the way we stopped by the Gorges du Verdon. It is called the Grand Canyon of France and while not as massive as the Grand Canyon, it was spectacular. The drive around it was terrifying but the views were amazing. We ended that evening in our bed and breakfast in St Saturnin de Apts (Au Point du Lumiere). We were very late getting in because our Hertz Never Lost managed to get us very lost and it took forever to find our hotel. The owners of the B&B were incredibly nice and brought us a delicious dinner to our room since everything was closed by the time we arrived!
The next day we headed to Isla sur de la sorge, a small town in Provence known for it's Sunday market. The town was very cute with several water mills and a very large market. We meandered through the town eating French figs and browsing through the pottery and linens on display. After the market we hopped in the car and headed for Avignon.
Avignon was the seat of the Catholic Church from 1309-1377 when the Pope left Rome because it had become to unsafe. The Pope's purchased Avignon and built the Palace of the Popes. It is an enormous structure mainly built for fortification but also quite extravagant. The inside is mostly bare now but the audio guide lets you know how it was in it's prime. In Avignon we also saw the Bridge of St Benezet - built in 1171-1185 it was the only bridge to cross the Rhone river, Parc des Rochers des Domes - the park built at the top of Avignon with incredible views of the surrounding area and several large and small squares full of cafes and cute churches. After Avignon we stopped in Venasque for dinner and had a delicious meal (Theo, thankfully, slept peacefully through dinner!) and then headed home for the night.
The following day we started off in Les Baux, a beautiful hill town with the remanants of the old town preserved on the top of the hill. We took an audio tour of the old town but had to cut it a little short when Theo got quite fussy. The mistral winds were strong that day and made it a bit chillier than we had anticipated. After calming Theo down we stopped in Mas de la Dame, a winery and olive oil producer just outside of Les Baux. The wine was delicious and we bought a few bottles, as well as some olive oil. Next we headed for Arles, city of Roman ruins and Van Gogh. We visited St Trophime church in Republic square, the Roman Arena (Colosseum), and foundation Van Gogh (art gallery showing modern artist's takes on Van Gogh). We had a pastis (anise flavored drink that you mix with water, very popular in Southern France) in the old forum square next to the yellow cafe that Van Gogh made famous. Arles was a very cute town and great for walking around in (especially when your 4 month old is sound asleep in his stroller!). After seeing all we could in Arles we stopped in St Remy-de-Provence for dinner and then headed home.
Our 3rd and last day in Provence we visited the towns of the Luberon area where we were staying. We began in Rousillion, a town named for the red ochre that was mined there. All of the buildings are red and the views from the top are amazing. Next we drove to Gordes and walked around the small town before visiting the nearby Abbey Notre Dame de Senanque. This abbey was built in 1148 as a reaction to the excesses of the Benedcitine Abbeys. It is a beautiful location with lavender fields (not in bloom in late Sept unfortunately!) surrounding it and a simple but beautiful chapel on the side. Next we drove by the St Julien bridge - a Roman bridge built from 27 BC- 14 AD. It is still standing and was still being used until a new bridge was built in 2005! Our next stop was Lacoste, an adorable little hill town that is a hike to the top but worth it for the view! We visited a children's store there and bought Theo an adorable bear hat. After Lacoste we headed to Bonnieux for dinner. Unfortunately Theo had his 1 major breakdown of the trip and Shane and I took turns eating dinner while the other stood outside with our screaming child. 2 hours later we put him into the car seat and he fell asleep as soon as the car started moving - so typical!
The following morning we left our B&B and headed for Aix en Provence where my cousin, Catherine, is studying for the semester. Shane and I walked around Aix (following the Rick Steves walking tour, of course)and had lunch at a cafe on the Cours Mirabeau, the main promenade of Aix. I ordered the house special, tete au veau, having no idea what it was. (The waiter told me it was very good and very French). I managed 3 bites before deciding it was not for me. That evening when we met my cousin, who speaks French, for dinner I asked her what it was. Tete a veau is head of veal! I was quite glad I didn't finish it! After seeing where Catherine lived we said goodbye and headed for St Paul, just outside of Nice. We stayed the night in Hotel le Hameau, a very cute little hotel in St Paul de Vence. The next morning we walked around the small town and had lunch at Columbre d'Or, an amazing restaurant that fulfills all of your Southern France fantasies - good wine, great food, relaxed atmosphere with fruit trees surrounding the outdoor terrace. Thankfully Theo was an angel and slept right through our 2.5 hour lunch! After lunch we headed to Nice were we quickly showed Theo the ocean for the first time (Shane waded in hold Theo) and walked along the Promenade des Anglais to see and be seen as they do in the French Riviera :o) After an hour of promenading we headed to the airport for our flight back to London. We landed at 10pm, went home to South Kensington and then left the next afternoon for the USA!

Prambulating along the Promenade

Shane and Theo enjoying a pastis in Arles

Shane and Theo in Rousillion

Palace of the Popes

Sarah and Theo at Gorges du Verdon

Dublin

Hey everyone! Sorry for the long delay in writing. Theo has been growing like crazy and Shane and I are quickly learning that being parents means being flexible. The perfect example was our recent trip to Dublin. Aug 29th was the last bank holiday of the summer so we decided to do a 3 day holiday in Dublin. Some family friends live over there and had offered to lend us their carseat and buggy to make traveling less difficult for us. This was great although we quickly learned that Theo does not like to sleep on us. He likes to play with us and will do anything in his power to avoid sleeping when we are carrying him. As a result we arrived in Dublin with one exhausted and unhappy child! Patrick, our family friend, picked us up at our hotel and took us on a pub crawl/driving tour of Dublin. He owns 4 pubs and took us to a few of his favorite as well as one that he owns. It was a great way to see Dublin and Shane thorougly enjoyed his pints of Guiness at each pub. Theo lent to the ambience by screaming for at least 10 minutes in each pub we visited.
The next day we visited Christ Church cathedral, went to sevice at St Patrick's cathedral, walked around Trinity college and the Temple bar area. Poor Theo was quite overstimulated and refused to sleep in his buggy. After a minor meltdown we headed back to the hotel and left him with our family friends who kindly babysat him for 4 hours while Shane and I went to the Jameson Distillary and dinner at the Winding Stair (delicious!)
Monday the 3 of us visited the Kilmainhaim jail (where many of the Irish patriots, as well as the men of the 1916 Easter Day rising were imprisoned and hung) and the Guiness factory before heading home.
Overall it was a great trip but Theo was very happy to be home :o) We are now gearing up for Southern France in 3 weeks and praying for a slighly smoother visit!

Theo and Shane drinking their Guiness!

Shane and Sarah at the Jameson distillary

Shane, Patrick and Theo at the Patriot Pub

Theo's first plane ride!

Grammy, Poppy and Aunt Stefanie meet Theo

3 days after Shane's family left, Sarah's family came to meet their first grandbaby. We mostly stayed around South Kensington, taking walks, grocery shopping and hanging out with the little man. Here are a few pictures of our time together.

Theo gets baptized!

Theo was baptized at Christ Church Mayfair on July 4, 2010. His maternal grandparents and aunt Stefanie were present. He wore a baptism gown that was made from by his great grandmother out of material from his great grandfather's WWII parachute. He was the 12th child to be baptised in the gown! He looked adorable and slept peacefully throughout the ceremony!


Theo was baptised by Matt Fuller, our pastor


Sarah's family


Looking adorable in his gown! :o)


Proud parents!

Theo meets Gammy, Gampy and Aunt Sarah T

Shane's parents and sister came to London to meet Theo. They stayed for 2 weeks and were able to see a few of the London sites as well!

Theo's first visit to Westminster - we made it through evensong!

Outside of Westminster

Shane with his dad and sister at Windsor Castle

Theo and Gampy

Theo and Gammy

Theo and Aunt Sarah

Meet Theo!

Theodore Winston Tintle was born on May 31, 2010 at 5:22am. He arrived after 44 hours of labor and a rather challenging delivery but was worth every minute of it! He weighed in at 7 pounds 2 oz. We are so grateful for all of your prayers and thoughts during our pregnancy and delivery - please keep them coming as we tackle the challenges of parenthood!