Salzburg for a day

Not having much time left, we’ve been thinking about the things we really want to do in Munich.  It doesn’t look like we will be able to climb the Olympic stadium, and U2 isn’t scheduled until Oct, but I really wanted to get back to Salzburg.

So today was my day.  A little strange because while both girls were in school, Troy & I were in 2 different countries, and neither were the country our girls were in.  But I could have run across the border so I felt pretty ok about it…

It was beautiful, and just amazing to be back “home.” 

I actually drove right to the Stiegl Brewery, and loved what they have done to the Brewery Museum! (loved their May Pole!!) The beer garden in the courtyard was amazing, and I know it would have been one of our hangouts – if only it was open when we lived there.  Now days, (sounding so old) the kids live across town & would never come to this area…

After picking up my kitch, I parked in the most amazing parking lot under the Moenchsberg, and walked thru town. The cathedral is finally finished – no more photos of Kylie Minogue on the outside – and looks clean, beautiful, and very peaceful considering the scene outside.

Obviously setting up for a concert.  I hope the weather holds!!

I did notice that the streets were rather empty for the end of June.  Maybe the weather in Europe is finally getting to the tourists (I’ve never see the rivers so high), or the world economy is finally taking it’s toll, but Hugo Boss is gone…  Sorry.

What a day, thank you…

World Cup Fever

I forgot to post this, with all the end of school year excitement, but now that the US has moved on to the next round, along with England, I can share with pride the night we tied…

who knew I was married to Captain America?

The group watching from inside the sports hall was quite intense, so I was part of the “outdoor crowd” that just ran to the screen when things got loud…

As an American, I was thrilled with the tie – And after 2 weeks of world cup fever, even Sophia knows how to chant “USA!  USA!”

Sophia's Irish Dancing

Just a bit of video from the performance on Saturday. The little girls, and then one of the 6-hand reels with the big girls. Enjoy!

Sophia - Irish Dancing from Moya Z on Vimeo.

Irish Dancing Performance

Sophia has been taking Irish Dancing at school for the past year, and is loving it!  Today was their end of year performance, and it is amazing what their teacher has been able to teach them, and how much fun they have had with it!

And Brehan & Caro were able to come down to see it!  She was so excited!!

Another one gone

Sophia passed another milestone today, and was able to pull out her front tooth at school!!

You can already see the big tooth coming down already!!  And then Alexandra had to be in the photo as well ~ luckily Sophia doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight…

The beginning of Goodbye

Ever since we arrived in Munich, and Sophia saw the indoor play areas, she has been begging for a party there.  I always said she could have one when we were leaving, and so today was the day.

So we hosted a “goodbye to Sophia/ 6-1/2 year old birthday” party.  It was, unfortunately, the last of amazingly hot days this week, but it actually was even too hot for the kids to be outside, and it meant that there weren’t too many people inside with us!

  Even Alexandra had her own friends to play with!

I was actually serving Apple Juice to the kids, not beer.  But the parents were able to enjoy the beer!

Back to Munich

After racing back to Munich from Provence (crying in our wine at night), Troy headed off to Seattle for some meetings, and the girls & I dealt with an amazing heat wave that had the temperatures in Munich increase by 40 (seriously it went from 55 to 95) in 2 days.  It was such a shock to the system! 

We went to beer gardens,

sat out on the terrace & attempted to listen to Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood while some jerk across the courtyard decided to have a Karaoke party with windows open at the same time! This new art arrived on our street on the back side of the construction wall for the Lenbachaus museum.  I had been quite surprised that no one had tagged the wall (the security cameras from the aEon building probably scared them away), but they finally came up with an agreement from one of the schools because there are now about 25 characters greeting us every time we turn on the street. Sophia & Alexandra decided the floor was the coolest place to be – personally I would have been on the tile in the kitchen, but I was cooking in there.

And ice cream on the terrace!

Given early dismissal on Fridays, we were actually able to make it to the swimming pool after school! Pizza for dinner, eaten poolside.  Nice…

Bonnieux, jour deux

We just had to go back.  A small hill town, and the site of a wonderful family lunch last year, and we loved the market.  So back we came, and it was as wonderful as we remembered.  Plus we actually drove thru the upper town, so we saw some areas that we hadn’t found last year, and were able to admire the views again…

No photos of the market, but lasting images of a quiet walk (we were there early again), an acoustic guitar player in the middle of the square (which kept everyone speaking just a little quieter than normal), and lots of locals kissing each other in greeting.  We purchased our last tablecloths and pottery, and then back to the estate for the warmest (hot) day of the week, and our last time to play by the pool.

Delightful to be here, but next time we need 2 weeks…

Roussillon – the red town

In an area where there isn’t a lot of color on buildings, except for the shutters & windows, Roussillon is a beautiful sight for the eyes… We actually got up & out really early, 9am, and made it to the market while there were very few people in the town.  A bit of shopping & a nice walk thru the village up to the church at the very top, and we were able to really appreciate the view, and the colors.  Amazing… Alexandra loved finding the geckos on the walls…