the famous Debre Brihan: the Kiki series

The ceiling of Debre brihan.  The angels seem to be making eye contact with you no matter where you stand.

There are a gazillion famous churches in Ethiopia.  This one happens to be my favorite.  We visited again while we were in Gonder.

some of the amazing painted cloth that has been sealed to the walls.  

All originals preserved

canes that fit in one's underarm to assist in standing during the entire mass.

Addie inside the church, posing of course

no shoes allowed.  Men and women enter the church through separate doors

Italian men tourists waiting to enter the church.  The well preserved entrance to the church grounds in view

Justin's Virginia Tech hat at Debre Brihan, I guess not the wildest place this hat has been!

castle details

castle door on King Fasilades castle

 Having seen the grand castles and ruins before, I took time to notice the details this time.

animal horns used as coat hooks in the ancient spa locker room

graffiti

Castles of Gonder: the Kiki series

 You might recall our first spectacular visit to Gonder last rainy season.  This visit was gorgeous in an entirely new way.  The sun gave us new views and shadows of the castles.

Gonder with family: the Kiki series

Justin's mother is the very first of our parents and the only grandparent to visit us overseas.  It was her first trip out of the United States and Ethiopia isn't exactly a desired destination, so her efforts to see us meant a great deal to us.  Addis is a sprawling, filthy, hard mess of a city and it's tough to find anything redeemable on first glance; so we took  Kiki to Gonder for the weekend.  She loved it and we were thrilled to show her some of Ethiopia we have come to love.

breakfast at Loge du Chateu is a highlight

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Greenery is all around

Kiki found the coffee a bit strong for the afternoon so she indulged in spiced tea

Ash and Kiki bonding, Bella growling

Birthday celebrations

Awesome new shades for my gorgeous husband

J's Mom is in town and this is the very first time she's been outside the United States of America.  Isn't it impressive that she was willing to visit us in Ethiopia?  She's a great traveler and an amazing grandmother.  The girls are in heaven with their Kiki here and I am enjoying the extra motherly hands!

We celebrated J's birthday with cake and gifts and lots of hugs and kisses from his girls.  It was a great day.

carrot cake for all!

when it came time for Bella to kiss her Dad she gave him a big lick instead

Notes from the Field

I'm really excited to be featured in Notes from the Field over at The Diplomat's Wife.  Isn't her blog gorgeous?  I just love the way she captures notes from the field all over the world.  Such a great idea.

Check out the interview.  What do you think?  My husband says I'm the ultimate Ethiopian ambassador!  I'm telling you, this country just rubs me the right way!

thirty four

My spectacular husband turns thirty four tomorrow and we are lucky enough to have his mother in town visiting on his birthday.  She's a crafty card maker and was tickled to get the task of cutting out my triangles for Justin's birthday bunting.  I'm slightly obsessed with hanging bunting on our mantel.  Can you tell?  He celebrates the day before St. Patrick's day every year so I couldn't help but showcase some green. 

I can't wait to celebrate with our family tomorrow.  Of all the cakes I make he's requested the same thing that he does every year.  Carrot cake!  I can't complain.  It's delicious.  

Thirty four is going to be a wonderful year for my love. I can just tell!