Summer Vacation - The Mountains

On the way north from Genova towards Switzerland we had our first taste of the Alps in Italy. We stayed at a small hotel in Arnad. The area behind the hotel had some trails up the side of the mountain with some really ancient looking homes and a nice view of the valley.

We also stopped in Aosta to check out yet more Roman ruins.

Roman gates in Aosta

Remains of Roman Theater in Aosta

Then we were off to Switzerland. We drove through the tunnel at Mont Blanc and stopped in Chamonix for some lunch and quick look around. We then drove some scary mountain roads to a small ski resort town called Nendaz. It had some great hikes and some fun kids activities.

Our apartment building in Nendaz

Looking back at Nendaz from one of our first hikes.

We even had a free trampoline to use next to our apartment - cool!

Near the end of a very long hike at Nendaz

Jack taking a climbing class

Jesse got tired of climbing and decided to try bouncing.

Some of the locals

They gave us a nice welcoming party including the traditional horns.

A sample of the sound of the horns with an impromtu dance routine.

Our first side trip was to Zermatt located at the base of the Materhorn.

Some old houses in Zermatt. Notice the circular stones in the foundation supports. The guide book said it was to keep mice from getting into the house.

Graveyard for climbers--a somber reminder for anyone heading up to challenge the Matterhorn

Great views and some fun stacking rocks at a peak near the Matterhorn.

Our next side trip was back to Chamonix and up to the Mer de Glace glacier.

View of the glacier from the top

Part way down to the ice tunnel. The sign above the boys shows the level of the glacier in 1990.

Jack inside the tunnel

Dozens of paragliders soared around the peaks near the glacier.

Our last excusion from Nendaz was the close city of Sion. In pouring rain we climbed up to the 16C castle at the top of a hill overlooking the city.

Jack and Jesse trying to keep dry

The next day we started home. On the way we stopped by Chillon Castle near Montreux. We've been to lots of castles and this was one of the best. They had reconstructed lots of the interior features and defensive walkways. The location on Lake Geneva also made for a great view.

Chillon Castle on the banks of Lake Geneva near Montreux Switzerland

Lord Byron wrote a famous poem about a prisoner of this dungeon in Chillon. He even carved his name during his visit.

On the way home we stopped in Strasbourg. It was a great mix of German and French. We really enjoyed our visit there.

Strasbourg

After that we stopped back in Leuven for a little R&R to prepare for our trip to the Baltic.

Summer Vacation - The Beach

As we were leaving for the summer trip Kathy was really sick - like stay-in-bed for four days sick, so she got off to a rough start. I don't think she was completely recovered till a week later.

On the way down to the south of France we stopped in Beaune for the night. The next day we stopped in Vienne for lunch and to check out the impressive remains of the Roman temple there.

Jack and Jesse at the temple in Vienne

That night we stayed in Avignon. It turned out that there was a large festival going on so we didn't have the chance to see much of the city due to the crowds and the limited parking. We did go check out a large Roman aqueduct nearby called Pont du Gard.

Taking a break from the heat with Pont du Gard in the background

After that we headed to Cannes to enjoy the beach for awhile. The weather was very hot and sunny, perfect for just hanging at the beach. The boys loved it. We also rented a small sail boat - the first day the renter said only 3 could go so I just took Jack, the next day a different place let us take all 4 so we all got to go together. It was a fun way to cruise up and down the coast and admire the clear blue water of the Med.

Kathy loved the local fashions--check out the chainmail!

Some great faces

On the way out of Cannes we tried to stop at the house of Renoir the painter. Unfortunately this site (like many places) closes for a couple hours in the middle of the day for lunch. We did get to rest a minute and enjoy the grounds before heading on to Genoa. The drive along the coast had some impressive views.

We went to Genoa to visit Gina, a family friend of Kathy's. Gina and her boyfriend treated us to drinks at a spectacular waterfront location with crashing waves and a great dinner at a small family restaurant high in the mountains above Genoa.

Kathy and Gina

We also stopped by Borlasca, the town where Kathy's grandmother's family was originally from.

Inscription on the church step showing the relatives from US that donated for the church
Our distant cousins Natalino and Luciana

Inside the church

After that we drove north towards the mountains...

Visitors

We had several visitors in July. Kathy's mom Marilyn (aka Nana) was the first. She had the chance to go bike riding with all of us. Jack had just learned to ride by himself a few weeks before that.

Jack's third bike ride.

Our ride in the countryside.

We also made a day trip over to the Natural History Museum in Brussels

And we drove to a large playground and outdoor museum near Genk.

The playground equipment here in Belgium can be pretty impressive.

The outdoor museum had several examples of crafts. The boys got to try their hand at pottery.

Windmill at the outdoor museum

The next to arrive was two friends of ours from Baltimore, Tony and Colleen. We had a good time showing them around the area, including a nice bike ride through the local woods.

Tony Kathy and Colleen in front of our house.

Our next visitors were Kathy's sister Theresa (aka TT) and her family, Mark, Maddie, and Joey. The weekend they arrived happened to coincide with the big reenactment at Waterloo so we went to check it out. Unfortunately the weather turned cold and rainy that day so it wasn't quite as fun as it would have been. The mock battles and uniforms were still pretty impressive though.

A scene from the battle

We had seats on the mound (butte) which had a decent view of the battle but was a 45 degree slope of slippery wet grass. You really had to dig in your feet to keep from sliding down the hill. As you can see Madeline in particular was having a great time.

A couple days later Mark left for a conference in London and Nana, TT, Madeline and Joey all left to check out Paris. When they got back from Paris Nana left for the states and TT, Wes and the kids all drove up to London to meet Mark. Kathy was stuck in Leuven making sure the Loyola students made it on their flight home.

We drove the car into a train for trip through the chunnel. This is the view as we drove into the train. It only took about 30 minutes to get across. Our first stop in England was Bodiam castle. This time we had the time to go inside and check it out.

TT and the kids in front of Bodiam castle.

At the top of the castle (Joey was missing in action for this shot)

After Bodiam we drove north and parked the car then took a short train ride to our hotel where we met Mark. We had a good location just a few minutes walk to the tower bridge. We did all the usual tourist locations:

TT and the kids in front of Tower Bridge

The boys and I rode the double-decker tour bus.

We visited the British Museum

Watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace

Visited the Tower of London on a really hot day - ice cream treats helped.

Rode in the London Eye. Jesse had a massive problem in his pants about a minute after this picture was taken. Probably due to the large greasy hamburger he downed at lunch. I have a vivid memory of cleaning his pants in the sink of the WC near the London Eye - having kids can be lots of fun at times.

Waiting for our boat ride home after the London Eye.

We found a dinner spot with a view to watch the tower bridge open.

Jesse had recovered enough to have some pasta.

TT and I needed a drink after our adventures with the kids.

Jesse holding up some modern art near the tower bridge

The last night after dinner we let the kids go crazy on these flat table-like fountains near our hotel. I think that was the most fun Jesse had on the whole trip.

When we got back in Leuven we took it easy for a few days then Mark met us again and we all went for weekend in Amsterdam.

The boys in front of the Iamsterdam sign. I think that's Joey's gangster look.

After Amsterdam we made a short drive from Leuven (Mark and I rode bikes) to watch the Tour de France pass through. The main entertainment was watching all the sponsor cars, helicopters, and police motorcycles zip by. The actual racers went by in just a few seconds.

The next day all of our visitors were gone and had a few days rest before we started on our big summer holiday.