Munich

Giverny in Spring...

On Tuesday morning we drove out to Giverny, after seeing the Monet's at l'Orangerie on Monday afternoon, and wandered thru the Monet foundation. It was weird weather, raining in Paris, pouring on the road, but once we reached the town we had great periods of bright sunshine, and then pouring showers. The great part was it left the garden fairly empty for a spring day, with most of the tourists staying away. Sophia loved throwing leaves into the spring & watching them float away, and it was a thrill for us to see how much mom & dad loved being there.

The Garden at Versailles

We continued our garden theme with an afternoon at Versailles, walking along the great canal, over to the Grand Trianon, thru the forest & up to the chateau for a wonderfully lazy afternoon. Sophia loves going out there, loves to run on the grass, and picks up endless amounts of rocks for little mountain collections she makes all over the place.
It was great to be able to show mom & dad the gardens without fear of freezing, the last time they were there, in Jan 06, we couldn't get ourselves out past the gate because it was snowing, & with the wind up the canal it felt like we were in the great siberian north.

Ahhh, Paris

Papa, Nana, Sophia & Troy at Trocadero...
This time with Moya.
The ultimate carousel ride with Papa & Nana.

We finally made it back to a DRY Paris, and spent the evening at the carousel at the bottom of Trocadero. Sophia managed to talk Nana & Papa into riding the horses with her, as long as she got the only black horse...

Eze - Village

Over looking the church from the top of the Hill in Eze is the Exotic Garden with the sculptures of the earth goddesses. It was an amazing place to see the whole town, and to enjoy the views of the sea looking west towards Antibes, and then east toward Monaco.

St Paul de Vence

Sophia & her back seat travel buddies for our rainy travel!

The hill towns of Southern France were most impressive! This is St Paul de Vence, amazing streets with lots of artist and antique shops, cafe's with beautiful views down to the sea (if we could only have seen the sea thru the raindrops), only accessable by walking the narrow corridors, and practically empty because of the rain. We had a great time, and then Sophia found fountains to play in (why not get wetter when you can) and she had a great time.

Hiding out under the umbrella.
Wandering the streets...
Thrilled to be playing in the water!

The town was beautiful, and we all enjoyed the dry church at the top of the hill, but my favorite part was when we were walking thru the tunnel on the way into the town as it was pouring on us & Sophia yelling out "I want to stay in here, I don't want to go back outside". There were a number of english speaking travelers around us & they all started cracking up as they were slipping & sliding down the hill.

Kite Surfing in Cannes...

Driving down the coast from Antibes, we started into Cannes (where there was some set up going on for the film festival), and saw these amazing athletes kite (or para) surfing just off the beach.

Sophia was enthralled, and even more so after Papa took her out of the car to experience the wind & the sea first hand. She loved watching all of the surfers, and giggled like crazy when they jumped & fell in the water.

All we could do was imagine Brehan hopping out of the car, putting on a dry suit, and surfing with the best of them.

Market Day in Antibes

The piles of spices in the food stalls and shopping baskets hanging from the walls.
Nana & Sophia picking out fresh strawberries! (Great for the champagne later)
Provencial aromatic Soaps, lavender is a favorite.
Play time with Papa on the trampoline in the park after lunch.

We spent a great morning at the Markets in Antibes. We were a little late, so we only had a few minutes in the clothing stalls (like anything fits americans anyway), and walked thru the old town to the enclosed food market. The smells of spices, stinky cheeses, flowers, fruits & vegetables is amazing, and probably overwhelming when it is 90, however we hit it on a cold & rainy day in the south of France so we were just able to smell with pleasure & not be assulted by them.

Lunch was from one of the better bakeries we found, and eaten at the play park where Sophia was finally able to work off some of her energy. It's amazing how much energy a 3 year old has.

Gardens of Villa Rothschild

Looking back at Villefranche.
Roses along the entrance to the formal garden.

Sophia & Nana in the Love Temple
Papa, Nana & Sophia at the temple with the formal gardens & villa behind them.
Sophia running free in the gardens.

Villa Rothschild

Papa, Sophia & Nana at the entrance to the Villa.

The entrance hall.
Nana & Sophia on the staircase.

The view from the gardens of the villa looking down at Cap Ferrat.

The garden side of the Villa.

We spent the afternoon wandering thru the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on Cap Ferrat. We had a break in the weather which allowed us to wander thru the rooms, and then out into the HUGE perfectly maintained gardens. Amazing... The sun would wash over everything, and then the rain would come again.

Sophia was torn between enjoying the freedom out of the car (we did a lot of driving this week), and being jealous of the villas below us that had a pool AND a trampoline (Trampolines are very important to a 3 year old.)