Our epic European trip

Matt and I had been wanting to do this trip to Europe for several summers, and we're so glad it finally worked out. We started in Belgium (Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, Antwerpen), then traveled our way through France on the east (Guebwiller, Kandern, Belfort, Baune, Dijon, Taize, Lyon, Grenoble, Orange,Vaison-La-Romaine, Avignon, Cassis, Marseille), then took a quick flight to Venice, Italy and moved south (Florence, Cinque Terre, Siena, Orvieto, Rome, Ercolano) until Naples where we flew home 1330 pictures later.

This is what we looked like: Matt carrying 33 lbs and me a mere 15.

There's no way I'm going to recount every day of the last five months, but I'll pick out some highlights. When you're on the road, in hotels or camping, there's lots of eating out. Here's what we discovered: In Belgium, they have mastered the French Fry, the Waffle (oh, the Waffle!), Chocolate and Beer. In France, they have mastered Bread and Cheese and Wine, and much Fancy Food we could not afford (hence, many sandwiches and quiches and even canned food). In Italy, they have mastered Mozzarella, Pizza and the Noodle and oh such delicious sauces.... 

In Belgium, we vacationed with my parents which was such a treat! And they spoiled us like crazy! We hung out, caught up, ate out, watched the world cup and explored the different cities. Dad picked me up at the airport with a big sign that read "Welcome Rebekah and Baby!" Now if that doesn't make you choke up, I don't know what will. We hadn't seen each other in a year, and this baby has been more than a roller coaster for us.

The architecture was unlike anything I'd ever seen. I took more pictures of buildings than of family.

We loved sampling the chocolates (normally Europeans are not big on sampling). Crazy story: when my parents bought chocolates for their neighbor, the employee charged them 1500 euros instead of 15. When she tried to cancel it, she accidentally charged them another 1500 euros. Over an hour later, everything was resolved and they walked away with their reimbursements, their purchase (free), AND and extra bag of dark chocolate truffles. Unfortunately, no one made that mistake on our card, so no more free chocolate.

We took a boat tour of Bruges and went inside the castle.

We ate lots of fries and waffles. A Belgium waffle is unlike any other waffle: it's dense and thick with caramelized sugar. Wow.

Matt and Dad got dressed up and we watched Belgium win over Algeria in a restaurant outside in a public square. The crowd went wild. 

Matt really wanted to go to Waterloo, where Napoleon was defeated, and Dad was so kind to make a detour on the way home. The field is pretty much untouched.

Back in my parents' region, we relaxed from the trip, but we also took a hike in the Vosges mountains (one of our favorite memories!). It was a tough hike, but the path led to various family farms that ran small restaurants.

It was hard to say goodbye to my parents, but we're so glad we'll see them again in a few short months. This time, we get to be the hosts, but there won't be much hiking then. Probably mostly a lot of diaper changing and baby admiring.
I love these lovebirds!