Monday, July 13, 2009

About Our Trip...

I am taking a break from folding clothes and cleaning house to go through some of the 1,200+ photos that we took during our trip.

There are so many thoughts swirling through my head, as I was without a computer most of the time, and haven't had the opportunity to process what I saw/learned/thought/did, in writing. Patience will have to be my guide, until our house is in some kind of order.
David and Gregg are at their respective jobs. It's drizzling (for those of you who don't live in the Pacific NW, that means a light rain, LOW clouds & dampness). The plants are loving it; the weeds have had free reign for 3 weeks - I will be getting my hands on them soon! This weather is a bit of a shock, after the 80 - 100+ degree temperatures we experienced on our vacation, but it's conducive to a quiet day of catching up on chores. Before I go back to work, I want to reflect a bit upon what we've been up to...
We started our trip in Alsace-Lorraine, the part of France from which my great-grandmother came, and stayed in the city of Strasbourg.

From there, we went to Switzerland, to the Berner Oberland, where we stayed in Grindelwald, looking up at the legendary & beautiful Eiger each day, & hiking.
Next, we drove through the mountains and into Italy, to stay at Lake Como, in the tiny town of Loveno, near Menaggio.
From there, we drove to the Ligurian coast (Italy), and the town of Levanto, so that we could hike through the breathtaking Cinque Terre.
After Levanto, we drove to Monaco & the French Riviera, where we stayed in Antibes/Juan les Pins.


From Antibes, we drove to Provence, to stay in St. Remy. We enjoyed a visit with the family who had hosted David during his school trip this spring. After staying in St. Remy, we dropped the car off in Avignon, and boarded the TGV for Paris.

This trip was conceived a year ago, when Gregg decided that he had better use his accumulated "airline miles" sooner, rather than later. We booked the flights using those miles last summer, and then spent the ensuing months doing research on lodging, routes and things to do. Some of the places were familiar to us, and some were new. We enjoyed sharing our love of travel and European culture with our son. It was a privilege and an adventure for which we are all thankful.

12 comments:

Busy Bee Suz said...

Your pictures are just breathtaking..I am so happy that the three of you made this journey. I am sure it was good for the soul to get 'out there'!!
How fun was it to travel with such good looking men???? And of course, you are ever shining my friend!!
Take your time getting caught up at home...you'll get there eventually.

ps I would love some drizzly rain and clouds today. It is HOT HOT HOT!

Laurie Brandriet Keller said...

i can't wait to hear about your cinque terre hiking. the greatest vacation i have ever taken ... so far!
xoxo.

Anonymous said...

Look how beautiful and happy you look in front of all that lavender!!

I love that you are nurturing a love of travel in David at a young age... my parents did the same with my sister and I. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I cannot wait to hear more about your trip- especially Italy- I lived in Florence for a semester in college, and am itching to get back!!


I'm very happy that you made it over and back safely :)

Elizabeth said...

My gosh, that looks like a wonderful trip. The scenery looks so beautiful, and so does your family! Karen, you look fit as a fiddle, as they say -- I'm wondering whether you brought along "the coat" or was it too warm for that?

And I can smell that lavender!

Karen said...

You look lovely in a lavender field. Wonderful trip for you all. Thanks for giving us a peek.

Anonymous said...

Really hope you share the Cinque Terre photos - I've heard it's beautiful! And your Strasbourg ones - I actually studied there for a year and returned there briefly for a holiday in January - very very cold! But I remember that the summer was beautiful. Didn't realise that your family was French in origin.

God bless,

Irene

Jennifer said...

Gorgeous pictures ... the people AND the scenery! It's so fun to hear a brief snippet and see how beautiful it was. So cool you guys took the bull by the horns and did it!

Enjoy getting your house and garden back up to snuff over the next days ...

Bless you lots and lots!

Jennifer

Renee said...

Woot woot, you're back.

I cannot believe how outstandindly gorgeous you are.

Holy crow. You are stunning.

The pictures are amazing.

What a wonderful trip for a wonderful family.

Love Renee xoxo

Holly said...

Hi Kareny-dear! I'm so glad you're back safe! The pictures are amazing. I think you need to put together a slideshow of the whole trip. I love the photo of you in the Lavender field! Let's chat sooooooooon.
A la prochain fois!

Cassandra said...

Damn! You look great. I can't wait to turn 50 :)

So glad you are back.

Cassandra

Anonymous said...

Your pictures are beautiful and remind me of my honeymoon. We went to Lake Como and the Cinque Terra. You all look so relaxed and happy. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing all your pictures - they are great! I'm glad you had a good time!