Strasbourg

Two weekends ago was a three day weekend with a European holiday on Monday.  We decided to drive down to Strasbourg, France for Sunday and Monday.  It was about a four hour drive, however, about 30 minutes in we realized that we didn't have our passports.  While there is no passport control in the EU, you usually need them to check into a hotel.  So we added an additional hour and a half onto our trip to Strasbourg.

Strasbourg is located on the border between France and Germany and is such a beautiful town.  We were hopeful for some warmer and sunny weather but unfortunately it rained for most of our trip, although it was in the lows 70s which felt absolutely wonderful.  Below are some of our pictures from the weekend.






There was a beautiful old carousel in the square right outside of our hotel and John David loved it so much we road it twice! Doesn't he look like such a big boy? 





The old town is situated around this big beautiful cathedral which was stunning inside and out. After looking at some of these pictures I really think I need a wide angled lens.



On Sunday morning we got up and walked around in the rain just so we could see a little bit more of the city.  We are coming from Brussels so rain is really not a big deterrent for us.  As you can see from the pictures we pretty much at the place to ourselves. 



This was a good trip, however, we were once again reminded of the difficulty of traveling with a toddler in Europe. John David did the best he could considering the circumstances and despite the challenges, we are so grateful that we can share these experiences with him.

The Adventures of Gigi and Dandy

Sorry this has taken so long to get up....

Gigi and Dandy finally made it to Brussels and we were so excited to show them as much as possible.  It was a bit of an adventure, but we had a great time.  They started their trip with a bang, actually a banged up Dandy, who tripped on the ancient cobblestone sidewalk lining our street on his way to the market with David.  He was a trooper though and fine for the most part expect for scrapped up knees and one injured hand.   

It took John David a little time to warm up to Gigi and Dandy.  He hadn't seen them since he was 5 and 1/2 months old but soon enough he was sitting in their laps and dancing with them to The Wiggles and Yo Gabba Gabba on Gigi's computer.  



We took them to Gent first.  Gent is usually a beautiful little town with stunning European architecture.  However, the entire town was taken over by a spring break style party and the quaint architecture was covered by banners for bars, concerts and dance clubs.  We had a miserable time trying to find somewhere to eat since the town was way more crowded than usual.  However, we finally found a place where the food was delicious and John David even amused himself long enough for us to enjoy our meal. 

David took Monday off so we could drive down to Luxembourg (Check out Luxembourg in this post).

The weather was very Belgium like while they were here so we didn't get out as much as we wanted on account of all the rain.  However, Gigi, John David and I made it to one of the zoos in the area.  The place was much larger than we expected and a little too spread out but John David seemed to enjoy the animals and the people watching.  



We also took a trip to Brugge and the Belgian Coast later in the week.  Brugge is so beautiful and we couldn't miss an opportunity for John David to play on the beach!   









David took Gigi and Dandy to the airport on Saturday morning for their long flight back to Austin, however, their flight was so delayed they would miss their connection in New York. With a reservation on the flight departing on Sunday morning they arrived back to our place in time for Lunch. Sunday morning David drove them back to the airport where the flight was on time and everything looked good to go. However, somewhere between New York and Brussels the plane lost a part that was necessary for the return trip. Unable to find this part in Brussels or even Paris their flight was cancelled and they were back to our house for another night. Luckily, I hadn't made it downstairs to strip the sheets yet!  By Monday morning they didn't even need David to come in with them; they had spent some much time in the Brussels airport they were total pros.  While I am sure they enjoyed the extra time as much as we did I am guessing they were happy to finally board their flight home for some warmer weather and sunshine.