We had the awesome opportunity to skip over to France and Italy this spring. And I mean awesome. The anticipation around our house before we left was rampant - Q couldn't wait to see the Eiffel Tower and O couldn't wait to use her new backpack, dubbed by her: "buh puh."
Our first stop was Paris. O dressed the part of Parisian fashionista perfectly and got her first taste of European gelato.
The picture says it all - She was all like, "this is the best thing ever." and I was all like, "greaaattt... better back away before this sticky, sugar-rushed ticking time bomb explodes." She didn't explode. She kept her Parisian cool.
Once again, the main purpose of Q's trip was to see the Eiffel Tower. She was enamored when "it was soooo big!"
And then she insisted on climbing up the stairs to the top of the Tower. Unfortunately (fortunately?), you have to pay to climb the stairs... yes you heard me - pay to climb a bunch of stairs. And there was actually a huge line of people waiting to pay to climb the stairs.
So, after some ridiculously skilled (if I do say so myself) maneuvering of a melt-down, we found a nearby carousal and settled on that as an appropriate "Eiffel Tower Ride."
She looks thrilled with this compromise, don't you think?
But, as anyone who's been in Paris will tell you (I don't know that that statement is true actually), the real magic of the city happens at night. So, after it was dark outside, the Boy and I took Q out of her bed - still in her pajamas - and flagged down the world's best tuk tuk to take us to see the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the moonlight. Have you ever seen a happier face on a little girl?? (I'm pretty happy too, because we were in PARIS!)
Here's our tuk tuk. Complete with rope lights, checked duct-tape and clown horns. Fan.tas.tic.
After some quick hoop dancing in the Paris train station,
we made our way down to Provence, where I had never been before but was convinced (and it was confirmed) that I must have lived there in a past life. It was my own personal heaven.
The grounds of the house we stayed at
The nearby town of Lacoste. And no, izod isn't based there. The Boy checked and then checked again
The markets were exactly how I pictured them. We went to four markets in seven days. I could have gone to double that. After all, you can never have enough olives, right?
The colors everywhere were ridiculous. My favorite thing were the Cocoliquots (wild poppies) everywhere. How could that not make you happy?
And then, when we had seen enough red, the Ochre fields said, "BAM! Have some orange." So, we danced around in the orange sand for awhile.
And then, after we had seen enough orange, some crazy cave rigged up with what must have been a hundred projectors shooting video onto all the walls and floors and ceilings said, "BAM! Have lots more color." So, we did
And then, when it started pouring like crazy, our rockstar babysitter was like, "BAM! I'll keep your children entertained." And the Boy's friends John and Astrid just so happened to be in Provence the same time we were, so they came and stayed with us for a few nights and toughed out the rain with us.
And then the Boy drove into a ditch. But, it wasn't even a bad thing, because lo and behold, a couple of hot French farmers happened along on their tractors to help out. I didn't want to get too close to get the picture for fear that they would know my ulterior motives of taking their pictures to prove that they were hot French farmers on my blog. But, don't worry, (spoiler alert), you'll get a close-up of a hot Italian chef later in the post...
After lots of great fun and GREAT food,
we said our goodbyes to France, and it said its goodbye to us in the form of the most vibrant rainbow I think I've ever seen. *Sigh* If you can't tell, I'm completely smitten.
Next up, we made our way over to Tuscany where, not fully known to us, we happened to be staying in a 12th century castle. Say wha?? I'm not kidding. We literally stayed in a castle. And had full reign of the little "borgot" around it complete with a church and a bell tower we could ring whenever we wanted.
Waiting at the house.. err.. castle, were Auntie Di and cousin Marlee to spend the first several days in Tuscany with us.
The grounds of the castle really triggered something in Q's little mind. The second we got there, she went into "fairy mode" and suddenly became a fairy for the rest of the trip. O even got in on the action and started flapping everywhere she went.
Tuscany definitely spoke to Q. There were castles everywhere. We even stumbled upon a random wedding taking place in a castle. Q was enamored when the bride came out and everyone started throwing rice on her. Once we got home, she dressed up like a bride and asked if I would "throw noodles at her." I said I'd be happy to oblige.
After some obligatory Chianti winery touring,
the Boy and I left the girls behind and went up to Florence for a night, which was fantastic. Our hotel even had a elevator with a bench in it and a crank to hand-grind your own oatmeal. I mean, what could be bad about that?
Per Auntie Di's recommendation, the Boy took me to a paper store where we got to dye our own paper. It was really really cool. The Boy quickly secured his spot as "teacher's pet," making me feel less than stellar in the paper-making department. I guess I'll have to find another calling in life. Check it out, the guy didn't even want to take a picture with me and my art, but was more than eager to take a billion with the Boy. Sigh.
And, it turns out the Boy is the perfect European size. Wherever we'd go, he kept undressing the mannequins because they were consistently wearing his size.
Must be his David physique...
We celebrated our 4th anniversary in Florence. Where does the time go??
Then, we met up with my parents in Florence. After some touring around the city, they followed us (as best they could given the Boy's knack for speedy Italian driving) back to the castle.
Back at the castle, the girls were still fairies
and O still loved gelato. So much so, that she didn't want to come with us when we all got up to leave. She opted to blend in with the college kids to finish enjoying her treat.
We had a couple of great dinners at the castle. One from a private chef
and one from a professional pizza chef who came and cooked in our own little pizza oven. (I told you a hot Italian guy was coming...)
It rained a ton while we were in Tuscany, but it made for some good movie watching. The girls got their first taste of "The Sound of Music." They were hooked.
And, similar to Provence, Tuscany left us with a gorgeous goodbye rainbow.
How adorable are my parents, by the way??
So, even despite the rain. and more rain. and more rain... as you can see, it was impossible to not have a grand trip.
And just a head's up, if I go missing from Boulder at any point, you can most likely find me in Provence.
