Update #36 - CERN & Croatian Spots

July 9th, 2011 - 

hi there folks.....HAPPY SUMMER!!!! i hope everyone is enjoying their summer, if in the northern hemisphere.....i am actually in the states for the next month before heading off to my new teaching position in shanghai, china (woot!!!) i just got back from the jersey shore with my folks & we had a blast and i got to hit the beach and have my favorite pizza in the world.....it was terrific.....

for those of you in the philly area, i am setting a night up at a place for dinner and drinks...please get in touch with me if you are interested....and if you are not in the philly area, and just want to catch up, here is my cell phone 484-288-9457....feel free to call before july 28th....would love to talk and catch up with folks :)

before i can start sending updates from china though, there are some ones i need to get out about Switzerland, Croatia and Montenegro...which were the last three places i visited in europe.....this first round is from places in croatia and the trip i took with my middle school students to switzerland, with the highlight of the trip (at least for me) being a tour of CERN.....no - we did not get to go underground to see the large hadron collider (LHC)....but we did get a tour from a researcher at the facility and they explained just what they are looking for at CERN....

more on that later....but let's start off with some shots from dr. judy's retirement party down on the croatian coast....we stayed in a beautifully restored , old stone house, with a pool, bbq area and room for a lot of folks, just above crikvenica.....below are some shots from the amazing weekend....

this is a shot of the retiring woman herself....yay judy!!!!!  as you can see we planned for a fun few nights of partying to celebrate judy's 42 years of teaching.....amazing!!!  some of the folks on hand included ozren and chris....what a time we had....

bob and amy were also there for the big celebration here at the coast....molly and jake too, but they are not in the picture :) 

here's a shot by the pool....more partiers.....jason, suncica, julie and gill....or should i just say jason and the harem.....

this was what we saw from one of the decks of the house....okay, not that close up....but how can you beat a castle-view.....only in croatia...er....europe.....as you can see, we had a perfect day on saturday, day of the festivities.....
 

in  honor of judy, chris and jason made up some shirts for folks to wear....judy's was the only one that just said "retired".....it was one of the many surprises judy had that evening.....
 

more of the party people in the bbq area...it was a night of fun, friends and food.....a perfect way to say goodbye to croatia.....

the shot above is actually from the UN, in geneva switzerland....where i went with majority of the middle schoolers at the end of may....we took a very long bus ride and stopped at a cave in slovenia, had dinner in italy and then hit a chocolate factory, the UN, and CERN in geneva....this shot is from the room in the UN where the Human Rights Council meets....obviously they were not in session....but the ceiling of this room is incredible and 3D.....looked very similar to the cave we had been to in slovenia the day before....although it was much more colorful.....
 

and here i am at CERN.....for those of you who have no idea what happens here, it is one of the most important science laboratories in the world....they smash particles together in the biggest accelerator on the planet (27 km in diameter) and try to figure out how the universe started....using the very, very, very small to figure out the very, very, very big.....they do lots of other things of course, but this is what is one of the most amazing things they do.....talk about cutting-edge science....perfect for a science geek like me :)  by the way....i am leaning against one of the accelerator tubes they have on display...
 

this picture i have included because it is mind blowing....above i stated the accelerator is 27 km in diameter.....in the red container above, the small fire extinguisher thing....is liquid hydrogen....about one-fourth of this bottle will supply enough protons for that HUGE accelerator for the next TEN YEARS!!!!! this is just incredible to me....that small amount of gas supplies enough for the next ten years....whoa!!!!!

my last trip picture is of the kids....i loved that they could pretend that they had received radiation while on this trip....i thought it would be the perfect shot for PR of the school.....and no, they were not radiated....but in this particular facility we got to see where they created anti-matter....incredible....the kids and sites were amazing on this trip and i am so glad i got to visit this once in a lifetime place.....such a science nerd i am....

this last set of pictures is from vina soskic (missing all of the accents in croatian)....amy & bob won a day at this winery, which was a fellow teacher's, wife's, family's winery (did you follow all of that)....it was a gorgeous day and we got to taste some great white wine (the reds were not my favorite)...this is a view from the building overlooking some of their vines....

and here we are - the tastin' crew....it was a lovely day and the scenery was spectacular, as were the hosts....tasty wine and cheese and bread and cherries....yummy!!!!!
 

this was their tasting room....love the brick and barrels.....just made for a pleasant, and not too warm experience.....

i got to ride back with stephen in his triumph convertible.....loved it....it was his wife's family we were visiting and had a wonderful day!!!! not sure you can tell....but the car, as well as stephen, is british....steering wheel on the wrong side for us from the states....so although it looks to many that i should be driving....i just got to sit back and enjoy!
 

last shot from the tasting....me and one of the barrels....i realize it is not a shot with me and a glass, but it will have to do....this winery was started in 1997....so they are just getting their feet off the ground....but they have a great start in my opinion and i wish them all the luck on their new adventure....

next update should be out soon....last shots from montenegro and croatia.....where i got to go to the coast in both countries....simply stunning.....a lot of people have asked if i am sad to be moving from croatia....and of course i am sad to leave some great people i have met there....but i someday i hope to get back, especially to the coast....it is an amazing place and like no other on the planet i have found....so i know i will be back there at some point in my life.....

that's all the news at the moment....remember if you would like to get in touch, either call my cell, send an email or find me on facebook before july 28th....would love to catch up with folks while i am in the states....and for those of you in pa....i will send out an email with a date and time for food and drinks....hopefully you will be able to make it.....if not, let me know and we'll try and get together at a different time....

hope everyone is well and again, happy summer to those in the northern hemisphere.....