strausbourg : August 18

On Saturday, we were happy to be able to have Nathaniel travel with us! We decided to take T to one of our classic favorite cities, Strausbourg. I've lost track of how many times we've visited, but it never fails to inspire. 

EVERY Cathedral we visit, William begs to light a candle. 

Tamar, the rebellious child in the family. 

The wishing well grate? Can you see all the shiny pennies under there?

The great astrological clock-- even with all of our visits, that is all I can tell you about it. :)

Tamar of Alsace! Gigantic headpieces suit her, I think. 

W begging to ride a train... 

French eclairs. Nothing else on Earth compares to their tastiness! Mmmm.

I participate in the travels too. ;)

So- this particular day it was HOT. Seriously hot. So while we were waiting for N to get his fill at the French bookstores I decided to let the boys romp in the fountains downtown with other local kids. The boys really needed the cool off (even though the water looked pretty darn yuck!). 

Heaven for little boys! 

Favorite shot. haha!

Andrew kept jumping off the side and landing on his bum. After I took off his water-logged diaper he realized that it hurt without that extra cushion! Then he adapted and went in landing on his knees. It was so funny to watch him! 

When we travel I'm a bit hyper-aware of our surroundings, of where my children are, and of where our stuff is and who is near it. This one creeper guy walked really close to our stroller and things so I stood up and stared him right in the face so he'd know I saw him and was watching. He walked away, but then did the same thing about 5 minutes later. Creeper! I thought he was going to go away, then he turned back to the fountain and walked right up to the edge. I was horrified when he started unfastening his pants; I thought he was going to pee in the water!! But... it was worse. He stripped down to his chonies and hoped in to cool off with the kids. *shudder*. Immediately we began to round up my boys to get them out of there. 

Creeper #1 of Strausbourg. 

Tamar rescuing Andrew. haha! 

After we had the boys dressed and were waiting a ways back from the fountain in the shade for N we saw a guy enter the courtyard carrying a camera with a long lens. I have a pretty good eye for cameras/lenses, and I think this one was a 55-250 (a pretty good distance lens). We watched him walk around and then park it on a bench.... and take pictures of the little kids 70 yards away in the fountain. Ick. Ick. Ick. I was a little traumatized. I think I will forever regret not walking over to the fountain to tell the moms sitting there that a creeper was taking pictures- but I was intimidated by the language barrier, and so anxious to just LEAVE by that point. :(

Wish this guy could have come to pound those freaks to the pavement! Creepers aside, we do love this city and we all know that weirdos are a global phenomenon. Unfortunately. 

Rudesheim : august 17

One morning we headed out for a quick trip to Rudesheim. I love this little city! It is right on the Rhein, and so charming. 

I think Tamar was excited for the Ferry ride to get there. :) 

They have this little gondola ride over the vineyards up to a lookout point. Andrew LOVED it and the view was amazing. 

Ugh. Scaffolding is such a downer. Why can't they do maintenance when I'm not visiting? ;) 

Andrew was obviously very impressed with the view, etc...

I love this picture. :)

And... no trip is complete with out a stop at the Eis Cafe! :) 

Germany vs Portugal : August 15

Sleepy crowd! ;) 

Later that day...

N, Tamar and I left the kids with a friend and we headed out to take in some National soccer! Germany vs. Portugal (with the famous player Messi). 

Code for riot management police? 

The Stadium was gorgeous.

1/2 time! 

 I was fascinated at how that think was suspended there. It has to weigh a lot! 

The players... :) 

The game was fun to watch, but the dang chain-smoking Germans and/or portugal fans in front, to the side, and behind us distracted me a LOT. Yuck. It's always baffling to me.. the Germans are so hyper health conscious, but they smoke like chimneys. Eww dot com slash cancer. ;)

space bound : August 13

While Tamar was here, she entertained the boys with YouTube videos of rockets, etc. Cameron was especially taken with the concept! One day we all went shopping and happened upon this random awesome NASA set up:

Astronauts William,

Cameron,

And Andrew... pointing the way to the moon... or maybe H&M. 

:) 

Lake Constance : August 11

On our way home from Switzerland we swung by Lake Konstanz. It was really beautiful! We couldn't figure out how to get close to the lake though without getting *right* in one of the major cities -- which we were avoiding as three little monsters in the backseat had just about HAD it. 

Finally we came upon a house in progress. ;)  We pulled into the drive way and I snapped a couple pictures. 

Then, we happened upon a locals path that leads to a whopping 5 foot stretch of beach. FIVE feet-- for all those pathetic locals who aren't fortunate enough to have a house on the lake. ;) 

Fortunately-- five feet of beach is plenty for us. The boys were in heaven. Hot sun, warm water, and freedom to move around = awesome.

Somehow-- I forgot W's suit in the car. Whoops. 

Checking out the tiny fish swimming around our feet.

So, when I say "beach" and am talking about anywhere in Europe, what I really mean is Rocks. Andrew was smart enough to insist on wearing his shoes.