Nathan's Family in Europe

Wednesday, June 27th: A week after we returned from Ukraine, Nathan's dad, mom, and two of his sisters flew into Frankfurt. Nathan picked them up while I tidied up, and they arrived at our house around 5pm. After dropping off luggage and freshening up a bit, we took them to eat dinner at our favorite German restaurant in Schwetzingen. After dinner, we ate gelato and then returned home to watch Portugal play Spain in the Euro 2012 semi-finals. 

Thursday, June 28th: We tried renting a car that would fit 6 people from every place in town with no luck. We crammed into our 5-person Accord and drove to Lucerne, Switzerland. It's probably the most beautiful city Nathan and I have ever been to. Upon arriving, we checked into our hotels, walked around the city, took a boat tour across the lake, and ate dinner at an Italian restaurant.

Friday, June 29th: We met at the Starbucks in between our two hotels and then drove into the Alps a little to Andermatt. We hiked up a trail and drank from a stream. We picked up our lunch from a local grocery store: bread, cheese, yogurt, fresh fruit, etc. and ate it at the foot of the hills on a picnic table. Afterwards, we drove back to Lucerne and walked around some more. Nathan, Randy, Tacie and I hiked up to the old city wall and climbed one of the towers. It was so ridiculously hot that day. We were dying. European weather seems to have stripped us of our tolerance for heat and sweating of any amount.

Saturday, June 30th: We met at the Starbucks again and then went to Mount Pilatus. We stopped about half way up the mountain and rode a summer toboggan, which was a lot of fun and ate some ice cream. At the top, we ate lunch and took in the impressive view. After making our way back down the mountain, we drove to Interlaken. The drive had so much beautiful scenery. The water was the color of blue Hawaiian punch. Gorgeous. By the time we got there, it was overcast and rainy, and there weren't many people out. We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Yes, you read that right. We then drove back to Lucerne and watched a fireworks show over the lake that was part of the Old Town Festival held every year.

Sunday, July 1st: We met yet again at Starbucks and did some travel business on the computer before making the drive back to Germany. We stopped in Basel on the way to see the Roman ruins Nathan and I had seen back in May, and then again at McDonald's for lunch before dropping off the fam at the Baden Baden airport so they could fly to Rome. That night we watched the Euro 2012 final, Spain v. Italy. Nathan's family was in Rome for the Italian win, which was neat.

Monday, July 2nd-Tuesday July 3rd: Nathan's family enjoyed Rome while we worked at home.

Wednesday, July 4th: We drove down to Baden Baden to pick up the fam in a 7-person Chevy van we rented and then drove to Paris. The drive there was not so great. Nowhere to stop and tons of expensive tolls. We dropped them off at their hotel and then we stayed the night at our hotel. 

Thursday, July 5th: We made the drive back to Heidelberg since Nathan had to work the next day, and the fam stayed to see Paris and Normandy. 

Friday, July 6th: After Nathan left work, we drove back to Paris and stayed the night at a ridiculously overpriced hotel.

Saturday, July 7th: We all went to Versailles and spent a few hours seeing the palace. I had been there 7 years ago with a group I studied abroad in Oxford with. This time around, I was able to see the Hall of Mirrors, which had been in renovation when I was there in 2005. We then ate lunch and I bought some makeup and a purse. It started raining insanely hard, so we made our way back to the car and then decided it was worth it to go back to visit the palace gardens, which I had not seen on my previous visit. Haleigh and Shannon napped in the car while Nathan, his parents and I went in. A man in line gave us free tickets, so we didn't even have to pay to enter. By then, the rain had turned into a drizzle. The gardens were beautiful and the fountain show with classical music was awesome. We really loved it. Again, we have a video, but I can't get it to load on here. We left as the gardens were closing and traveled back into Paris to see the Arc de Triomphe and then drive by Moulin Rouge on our way to dinner at the bistro Nathan and I had eaten at on New Year's Eve 2011.

Sunday, July 8th: We visited the Louvre first thing that morning. Nathan thought he wasn't going to enjoy it all that much. We were both so worn out from traveling over the last month. But as soon as we entered and he realized the place contained old Greek, Roman and Egyptian artifacts, he was hooked. We spent a few hours in the Louvre, but due to the size and the crowds, were only able to see a few highlights: Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Nike (my absolute favorite) and the Code of Hammurabi. After, Nathan's family went to the Musee d'Orsay. We grabbed some lunch and then hung out in Starbucks until they were done. Like I said, we were worn out. We then made the drive to Frankfurt to drop Randy off at a hotel near the airport, where he would be flying out early the next morning. On the way, we stopped at Ramstein and ate dinner at Chili's. After saying Goodbye to Randy, the 5 of us drove back to Heidelberg.

Monday, July 9th - Thursday, July 12th: Nathan and I worked while Tacie, Shannon and Haleigh did sightseeing in Heidelberg, Schwetzingen and Dachau. Every morning I dropped them off and went to work, and then picked up Nathan and then them in the evening. We had nice evenings at home, eating dinner in the dining room, rare for the two of us. Wednesday was our third wedding anniversary, so we all drove to Schwetzingen. We ate at the German restaurant while they ate at our favorite Spanish restaurant. Thursday night after dinner, we drove them back to Frankfurt, to stay the night at the same hotel Randy stayed in before their flight out early the next morning.

We really enjoyed having family come visit and sharing Europe with them!