Travel: July 2005 Archives

We spent a few wonderful days in Paris. This was supposed to be our time to relax, just the two of us, before heading home and back to work, but of course, this is Paris... lots to see and lots to do! We walked everywhere, did some shopping on the Champs Elysee and the Galleries Lafayette, ate at little bistros, sat in the grass under the Eiffel tower, watched beach volleyball being played in front of the Hotel de Ville, checked out Notre Dame and even paid Mona Lisa a visit in the Louvre.

We had fun looking at the street below and taking photos with the zoom lens. A fun little photo project.

My aunt and uncle had a big celebration at their new house near the Loire River on the west coast of France. Six of my mom's eight brothers and sisters were there with a bunch of my cousins. This trip has been a great opportunity for Scott to see the European side of me... but today especially was a nice peak into what it's like to be a part of the family. Lots of food and wine; rambunctious kids running around with water guns (adults too, come to think of it); shaving cream fights; and even some song and dance. My uncle, Gilles, was thrilled to learn that Scott was a 'gourmand' like him and ended up teaching him a few things about French wine and cheese. Mmmm-mmm.

We stayed at our family's house by the beach -- where I spent my summers as a kid. Got to spend some quality time with my grandmother, Mannick, chill out on the beach, take walks around town. It meant a lot to be able to share all this with Scott.

I finally got to meet Charlotte's cousin Marieke. Again, I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to having at least met the most important people in her life. Now all we have to do is get Karen, Katie, and Alexis to visit us in Colorado!

We stayed with Marieke last night in her fourth floor walkup next to the Albert Cuypmarkt in Amsterdam. She even cooked us a gourmet dinner! We talked well into the night about how Charlotte and I had met and about our relationship. We also got to hear about Marieke's boyfriend Fabio, who we didn't get the chance to meet.

It was soooo nice to see Sally and Alexandria again. It's hard sometimes to have such wonderful friends living so far away... but the beauty about these close friendships is that you just start up where you left off. It feels like very little time has passed since you last saw each other even if it's been years.

Thanks so much to Sally and her mum for having us at their place and to Alexandria for also being such a wonderful host.

Here's an early highlight to the trip! We were making our way to Buckingham Palace to watch a flyover of old WWII bombers. The flyover was scheduled as part of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of V.E. Day. We kind of got swept along with the crowd and before we knew it, we were 20 feet from the Palace gates with an excellent view of the Royal Family.

Tonight we're leaving for London. It's the first destination on our whirlwind trip through Europe, meeting Charlotte's friends and family along the way.

We plan to meet up with her friends Sally and Alexandria in London. Then it's on to Holland where we'll visit with her cousin Marieke in Amsterdam. We'll also be meeting up with Charlotte's dad and sister who will have flown in from New England. Next, it's off to Batz Sur Mer on the coast of France to meet virtually the entire French side of her family. Last, we finish our trip with four days in Paris -- just the two of us.