We went to Paris for a long weekend to visit my mom's cousin, Janie, and her family. The four of them flew from Phoenix and enjoyed a two week stay in France. Janie's son-in-law is a French enthusiast and was a great tour guide. We went wine tasting with them and had a great time. Neither Rich nor I remember all of the things we were supposed to retain for future wine conversations, but we do remember the taste of the wine getting better and better with each glass. One bit of information that we did remember the next day was that the average price for a bottle of wine (from the supermarket) in France is 3 euro! The next day, Rich and I took a trip to the supermarket to confirm this. Sure enough it was true! So we packed up the car with several bottles of wine (and Mom, Dad and Reed) and headed back to Bonn. Below is a pic of us eating at a cafe by the Eiffel Tower.
Mom and Dad offered to watch Reed for another long weekend (gotta love these German holidays) which coincided with my birthday, and we gladly accepted! We drove down to Lake Como in Italy and spent three days in Lenno lounging around the pool, exploring the lake via ferry, eating great Italian food and drinking Italian vino. It wasn't all play though, we did go on a few challenging runs through the hills. I spent most of the run trying to catch up with Rich. I like to point out to him that if I had longer legs, I would be able to run the same speed. For some reason, it makes me feel better to say that while we're running. ;-) When we left Como we agreed that we could spend the majority of our traveling time in Italy. You can't beat the scenery, food and fun people. Below is a pic of Bellagio which is one of the little villages that sit on Lake Como. For those Vegas lovers, the design of the Bellagio Hotel is based on this village.
Mom and Dad left at the end of June after a 7 week stay. We were definitely sad to see them go! The picture below was taken at a beer garden in a park near our house. Reed had a lot of fun with them and was so comfortable with them that we think he was confused as to who his real parents were by the end of their trip. :-) It'll be good to see them soon. Speaking of which, we don't have any big travel plans in July but we are going to be spending the first two weeks of August in Ohio. Rich's kids will be joining us during this time as well. We are very much looking forward to seeing family, friends, relaxing and enjoying the high humidity of the Midwest!
