World Travellers

Well, we are back!!! We got back Sunday from a WONDERFUL trip to Heidelberg, Germany and Paris, France. We went with a group from church, then we also brought my mom along to help with Nash. I have to say - we were a little nervous about taking a 5 month old on a cross-continent trip, but he did AWESOME! We are learning just how laid back and easy Nash is! On the 10.5 hr plane trip he cried maybe a total of 30 minutes. We drug him around by plane, train, boat, bus, taxi, subway, stroller, and backpack and he rarely complained! He even changed time zones without much hesitation. As long as Mom and Dad are close by, he will go anywhere. Boy, do we have it easy! I think he's got it pretty good, too - I mean what 5 month old can say he has eaten German gelato in Heidelberg, made friends with Parisians on the subway, screamed bloody murder in the same Paris subway, put his feet in the fountain at the Louvre, had a picnic under the Eiffel tower, had a poopy blowout at a German palace, taken a boat ride on the Seine, or napped through the Musee d'Orsay???

Mark's favorite part of the whole trip was sitting at his corner table on the square in Heidelberg, drinking Hefeweizen and watching people. My favorite part was singing at the German church - they were so appreciative of us and it was really special to praise God together when you don't even speak the same language. Paris was fun too and there was so much to see, but in our opinion, it could not compare to the beauty and serenity of Germany. The thing I'll miss most about Europe, however, is: the CHEESE!!! It MADE the food.

Here are some of my favorite pics from the trip:

Mark and Nash on the Old Bridge in Heidelberg overlooking the Neckar River

Mark's previously mentioned corner table in Heidelberg

"Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" The boys being silly at the palace gardens!

The family at the German palace gardens

Mama cannot go any further - lugging around 19 lbs for 3 hrs is exhausting!

Time to wake up and play!

His first taste of real food - gelato! He loved it - a boy after my own heart (I had it twice a day in Germany)!

The quaint streets of Heidelberg

A happy boy on the bus back to the hotel

Eiffel Tower on a beautiful day

JoJo, Mark and a sleepy baby on a boat cruise on the Seine River in Paris

Nash putting his feet in the fountain at the Louvre. The Louvre is a HUGE and overwhelming art museum (Mona Lisa and the Venus statue are housed there). They said if you spent 1 minute looking at every piece of art there, it would take you 4 months.

The Arc de Triomphe - Napoleon used to march his troops through here after each battle victory. Pretty stinking cool!

A nap at the Arc - thank goodness Nash's stroller lays flat b/c he had many a nap on his tummy this way

Lunch at a cafe in Paris

Our friends and trip buddies at the next table - that's Cary, Andria, Valisa, and Aaron

My favorite place in Paris - Sacre Coeur. The only way up is thousands of steps, which Mark, Cary, and Aaron carried the stroller all the way up ( with Nash sleeping in it) -whew!

The Brannon Family! This is after our park picnic at the base of the Eiffel Tower

This is my favorite picture from the whole trip! It almost makes me tear up! How blessed am I to be walking the streets of Paris with my precious sleeping son in my arms?!!

All of the French women pose like models for their everyday snapshots, so we thought we'd try our hands at it!

The inside of Notre Dame Cathedral during mass - a priceless experience. Pictures could never do it justice.