Thursday, January 19, 2012

Two Years

So today marks the second anniversary of our arrival in Luxembourg.  Two years.  Can you believe it??  Here are some highlights from our second year here:

January:

Indoor skiing in Amneville, France.  Kate's first time on skis.
February:
Our trip to London
March:
Skiing in Austria

..and some hiking too


Springtime with friends in the park

April:
Someone got roller blades for his 7th birthday!


And Kate got her first bike.


May:
Making daisy chains in Echternach

And some trampolining

June:
Amsterdam!

National Day in Lux






July: Our trip back to the U.S.

Healthy American breakfast

Foggy beaches in San Francisco

August:
Schueberfouer here in Lux (after two years here I still can't spell that word!)
September:


Apple picking in Steinsel

The amazing castle, Burg Eltz, Germany
October:
Kate turned 5!



Will's arm ended up in a sling

Trick-or-treating!  (At least the sling went well with his mummy costume.)

November:  I was once again blown away by the fall foliage

And we went on a huge road trip through Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland:
Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

A rare family photo in Venice


December:
Kate's Christmas play.  She was a doll. 
And we took another long road trip through France and Switzerland.
Somewhere in Switzerland

Snow angels in Chamonix, France
It snowed.  A LOT!!
And the kids enjoyed some excellent regional food:
Kate enjoying Tartiflette in Chamonix
Belgian waffles at the Brussels Christmas market

Whew!  What a year.  In total, we visited ten countries in our second year here, but we have so many more we want to see.  Don't worry, we have big plans for 2012...

Monday, January 16, 2012

Road Trip -- Part ?? IV I think

Even though we finished this road trip nearly two months ago (and have since undertaken another one nearly as long), I do want to post about the last leg of our journey.  It annoys me to leave things unfinished, so here it is.


View Larger Map

896 kilometers
9 hours 31 minutes

The last leg of our trip took us from Vicenza, Italy, to Lucerne, Switzerland, where we stayed one night, and finally, FINALLY, back home to Luxembourg.

It was a beautiful drive.


Though much of the mountains was hidden by fog,




we could see dozens of little waterfalls tumbling off the side of the hills.


We didn't have much time in Lucerne, but we still enjoyed walking around and looking at the sights.  Unfortunately, it was nearly dark by the time we'd checked into our hotel and set off, so we don't have too many photos. 
In front of one of Lucerne's covered bridges

The river running through the city was especially beautiful:

Silly girl.
The best part of the day for Kate, though, was her first taste of fondue.  Bread and cheese.--her ideal dinner.

This was good practice for our next road trip (Chamonix, France) in which Kate probably ate her body weight in cheese, most of it the really stinky kind much to her brother's dismay.
Will, who has decided that all cheese is disgusting, was not happy with our choice of restaurant.  Chocolate fondue for dessert cheered him right up, though...

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Poor, neglected blog

I'm sorry for the long absence.  I've been writing entries in my head but they somehow haven't made it here yet.  But they will soon, promise!