Esslingen am Neckar, Germany

Cousin Claudia and Nathan...coffee in the sunshine.






Esslingen is located on the Neckar river, about 14 km southeast of Stuttgart city centre. In the 1^st century AD the Esslingen region became a part of the Roman Empire. Esslingen was occupied bu US soldiers in April 1945, toward the end of WW II. During the war the city suffered very little damage thus most of the medivial appearance of its city centre has been preserved.

Konstanz, Germany

Because it practically lies within Switzerland, directly adjacent to the Swiss border, Konstanz was not bombed by the Allied Forces during WW II. The city left all its lights on at night, and thus fooled the bombers into thinking it was actually Switzerland. The painted buildings are just fascinating...so much detail and so well preserved.

The kuchen and coffee were definitely high on our list of favorite things in Germany...ok, ok...one of MY favorite things!

Family in Singen, Germany

Aunt Hedi and Uncle Walter
Walter and Mike
Aunt Hedi, Celia, Jazzy and Nathan
Celia, Nathan and Uncle Walter

Pottery Fair and lunch in Quissac

Winter was especially long and dreary here in the South of France. So it was such a treat to be able to sit in the sun for lunch after shopping the pottery fair in Quissac.
The tart was so sweet and beautiful!

Yummy mushroom bisque
The stand where we found the sunny yellow and red mugs and platter to add to our collection.

International Pillow Fight Day in Montpellier

How funny was this?! Celia and I happened to be in Place Comedie when the International Pillow Fight Day event broke out. Feathers and synthetic fluff everywhere!

April Fools Day

Did you know that in France they refer to an April Fools prank as a "poisson d'avril" or an April fish? The kids make paper fish and attempt to stick them on the back of as many adults as they can.

At Easter the Cloche volant or flying bell delivers the chocolate eggs that the kids search for...as long as it involves chocolate, I am ok with such a leap of faith as to believe in a flying bell! The Easter bunny is one thing, but a bell that flies??? The Flying Bells are another significant part of the French Easter tradition which is carried out on Good Friday as it's believed that all the church bells in France miraculously fly to the Vatican City in Rome. They carry with them the misery and sorrow of those who mourn Jesus' crucifixion on that very day. These flying French bells then return on Easter morning commemorating the celebration of Jesus' resurrection.