Good-Bye

Our last night in Frankfurt, we headed downtown to put a lock on the bridge.  The U-bahn ride and trip to Hauptwache, a place I visited multiple times a week for the last three years, felt shadowed with good byes.

We took a few last shots of downtown, then sat at Felderblicks, our local German restaurant.

We feel so fortunate we got to call Frankfurt home for three years.  We visited ten countries and dozens of cities.  We walked through thousands of tulip bulbs in the World's Largest Garden, admired the Mona Lisa, learned about authentic gelato, listened to the Call for Prayer in Istanbul,  walked over the iconic bridge at St. Andrew's Old Course, learned to ski in Garmisch, rode our bikes through cobbled streets in Brugge, swam in the Mediterranean, played on a German golf team, savoured a twelve course meal at a Michelin three-star, attended a first class international school, hiked in the Alps…

I already miss it.

Last Trip: Sardinia

At the end of June, we headed to Hahn Airport for one last time for a trip back to Sardinia, our favorite beach spot. We stayed in the same hotel, hung out at the beach, enjoyed incredible food, and mentally prepared for our big move across the ocean.

Our one excursion took us on a 45 minute boat trip to Neptune's Grotto, beautiful caves located right on the Med.  We learned never to get on a small boat again as we all gripped the side wondering when the ride itself would end.

We ate at our favorite restaurant two of the five nights.

and had gelato.

We said good bye...

and got ready to head in the next direction.

Packing Out

We went through all our stuff, gave half off it to good will and the dumpster, organized it into piles for UAB (by air) and HHE (by boat), and waited for the movers.  Four people came last Monday and packed everything and loaded it onto trucks in record time - despite torrential downpours.  Now we hope it arrives….

Champagne, France

My friend Heather flew in from Geneva to spend a weekend with us in Frankfurt.  We planned a night in Champagne, France, a four-hour drive from Frankfurt, to walk through Champagne caves and to eat at one of France's renowned three-star Michelin Restaurants.  We took a tour of Veuve Clicquot learning about the champagne making process and the woman behind modern champagne making, Madame Clicqout.  We discovered where people hid during World War II and then touched the early machines used to make the bubbly wine.  We drank the reserve, and tried a rose.  Rained poor down in the small town of Reims so we tracked down our hotel which housed the restaurant.  We savoured every fine detail the hotel provided from the mini pastries in our room to each of the six courses at the four-hour dinner.  The house-made spreads, smoked salmon, fresh breads, omelet with raw-milk cheeses, crepes at the buffet brunch the next morning created an amazing finish to my last girls' weekend in Europe - at least for a while.

Playdates

The kids organized a playdate in April.  They each invited a special friend for a soccer match ("football" as Owen has been calling it), pizza, and sundaes. We tied in a contentious girls versus boys battle.  The kids ordered our favorite pizza and each ate 6 slices.  After an hour of playing, we lined up the toppings and made heaping sundaes with our favorite brand "ja" ice cream.  We survived the night with no stomachaches.