Wine Tasting!!!

We were lucky and blessed to have Dan and Lindsey come visit us for a 5 days. It was so nice to see familiar faces and fun to show them our Lille favorites. 

A highlight of our time with the Decloss' was our road trip to Eastern France to taste the wines in the Alsace region. Nestled between vineyards and mountains, we stayed in the town of Riquewihr. Dating back from the 1500's, Riquewihr was full of cobblestone streets and half timbered houses, - so quaint! Our apartment we rented was actually in the old wall of the city. Here, we were able to taste many wonderful white wines, challenging our developing wine palates with new flavors. The wildlife in the area was abundant- Lindsey and Dan had a family of wild boar cross their path while running. Needless to say, they ran right home!

After following an extremely windy road up the mountain, we reached "Le Haut Koenigsbourg" castle. It is perched on top of the mountain, with views of the Black Forest, Alps and Alsace region on a clear day. The scenery was incredible! The castle itself seemed more like a fortress and had been restored back to its 1500's glory in the early 1900's. 

Saying good bye to Dan and Turch was so sad :( They are missed already. On our way home from wine tasting, Shane and I stopped in Luxembourg for lunch. Check another tiny country off our list! White asparagus is the spring delicacy of the region, so we ordered some at a restaurant to see what all the hype was about. To me, it tasted just like the green stuff. 

We eagerly await our next set of visitors to putter around Europe with.... hint hint hint!!

Family picture from the front of the castle, Kayden is very interested ;)

Luxembourg!

Part of the castle

Mini me's???

The vineyards up the hill from where we stayed

A pit stop on our way up the mountain

Road Rage

I hate French drivers. Belgian ones too. As I drove around today, a rage for these European drivers grew with in me. It was cold, foggy, and rainy today with poor visiblity. This didnt stop them from constantly tailing me, flying by at 90 miles an hour or forgetting to put on their turn signals until halfway into my lane, if using them at all.

Apparently in town, you can make your own parking spot. Anywhere you like is suitable, on the side walk, in the middle of the road (just try to remember to put on your blinkers) or diagnolly across 3 spots. Oh, and dont forget the odd rule that people entering into traffic from the right have the right away. What? How does that make sense?

I will stick to walking as much as possible, thank you very much.

On a happy note, here are some pix from the last few sunny days and Easter weekend! Our little Peanut always makes a rainy day brighter.

Food, Glorious Food

This past weekend, we gave Kayden her first tastes of "real" food. I don't know if extremely watered down rice cereal counts as a scrumptous treat, but a kid has to start somewhere. Needless to say, it was quite the experience. Kayden had her own spoon to play with as we tried to gracefully feed our 4 1/2 month old mush. Our hopes are that some food actually made it to her tummy. Have no fear, we will perservere!

Today

Today is a good day. No, a great day. The sun is finally shining without a cloud in the sky, the thermometer reading a balmy 59 degrees. Kayden and I went for a long walk along the river, breathing in the smells of spring. Trees were blossoming with pink flowers. Daffodils covered the grass. Kayakers were conquering the calm waters, stirring a longing within me to buy a kayak and join in the fun. Do those come with baby seats? Meandering through Lille, I found myself at an outdoor cafe at the "Grand Place". While sipping my "grand cafe au lait" I was able to people watch and just truly enjoy being in France. I took Kayden out of her stroller to observe the scenary and she just could not stop smiling and talking. My little city baby is not used to the wind in her hair and the sunshine in her face! Tonight, Shane and I are off to our favorite restaurant for some home made pasta and Italian wine. A perfect way to end a beautiful day.