Bavaria

Neuschwanstein castle is so iconic and pretty....and this is as close as we got!  It didn't dawn on us until too late that we should have bought tickets months in advance and so they were sold out.  Oh well, it happens!

We drove up a little ways and had a picnic at the base of the German Alps.  The area reminded us a lot of Park City.  They also had an alpine slide and lots of people jumping off the top of the mountain and sailing down.  It was very fun to watch. 

Castle in the background.

Evening in Munich

We arrived in Munich after flying into Nuremberg and driving down to our hotel in Munich.  After checking in we wandered to the main square in town to eat dinner, wander, and check out the shops.  I was very excited for the Germany food and it did not disappoint!  Schnitzel and spaetzle and wurst!

And, of course, top the night off with ice cream!!

We went past Buckingham Palace today on our way to meet our new friends in Green Park. We had a great time talking and playing and it was funny how much I had in common with the mom, Caitlin. We have plans to go to the science museum with them on Monday. Yippee for new friends!

Hottest day in July in London, EVER

Since our flat doesn't have AC we knew we would have to find a way to stay cool today.  So, the kids and I headed to Hyde Park to the Serpentine Lido to swim in the lake.  Turns out the water was nastier than I thought and Alex and I only spent a few minutes in there cooling off.  Samantha went straight to the kiddy pool which, while only a few inches, was still a welcome cool down.  I found some shade and camped out and ate lunch.  After we were bored at the Lido the kids were begging for ice cream and paddle boats.  So we did both!  The paddle boats were very fun and we enjoyed a half hour on the lake.  After the boats we headed to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain where half of London was playing in the water.  We found a shady spot and I sat there with my feet dipped in the river-like fountain and the kids ran up and down and around it with all of the other kids.  Samantha, not surprisingly, found a few friends so we stayed longer than I planned while she played.  Turns out the 2 new friends are also here for the summer from Boston so the mom and I swapped numbers and email and hopefully we can get the girls together.  It would be a welcome break for everyone!!!  Too bad they didn't have son for Alex to play with!

Weekend in Southern Wales

We had a fantastic weekend in Wales.  We were able to stay in a beautiful Marriott that looked like a castle, see a lot of castles, find towns where my Loveridge ancestors were from, and drive on incredibly beautiful and tiny roads.  We also hiked to two waterfalls and scared a lot of sheep.

Happy birthday to Andy!

Unfortunately he had to work all day, but when he got home we celebrated with dinner, silly hats, a little movie watching, tantrums, and berry trifle.

Mudchute farm and park

Feeding the swan and dinner in grovesner park

Today we went to Harrods