France-tastic!

Well my Canon Rebel is out of commission for the moment because we can't find the charger so I used my Nokia Cell phone to capture these today.

This is what we love most about living in France, our little jump in the car castle hunting adventures. Today we loaded up the girls, complete with sippy cups and bottles (and who needs snacks when you have great boulangeries at every turn) and headed for Pau.

I love all of the old winding roads and cafes and restaurants not to mention the amazing architecture from the cathedrals to the gorgeous castles. The one seen above is where King Henry the 4th was born. His mother had to sing during the entire delivery the song of the region so that he would be a strong "bearn man" (bearn is the region). Songs sung during labor, by the mother no less cannot sound very pleasant:)

I love exploring with my wife. She has an amazing gift for navigating us through all the "non-planned" cities in France and even though our girls are young hopefully they will be able to soak up and appreciate some of the amazing culture around them. every time we see a castle Ryn gets so excited and asks which princess lives in that one! If this is my last year( most likely it is) we want to see and do as much as we can. On our list of to do this year, including having a baby is..

*Keukenhof (google this if you've never heard of it. It's in the Netherlands and to die for)

*Vienna --We LOVED Salzburg and touring the sound of music sites

*Prague-- Mark says it's his favorite European city

*Cambrai--Ryn's birthplace in the north of France

*Cholet--Elle's birthplace

*Lisbon-- to go see Kits bro Spence on his mission

*Greece--- might not make it here this year but it's a must do sometime!

*Alsace-- Eastern France---the only corner of France we haven't played in yet

*French Riviera-- Would love to rent a car and just drive the coastline wrapping all the way around to cinca terra in Italy.

* And hopefully either a Mediterranean cruise or northern Europe cruise with my fam at the end of the year.

Yep busy busy busy... but it's worth it, the memories we make are priceless.

But all in all as big and wonderful as the list is, just driving through the countryside here as the sun sets, holding my loves hand and glancing in the rear view mirror and my two angels is priceless enough for me! I am blessed!:)