The French Riveria

We spent a fabulous week full of sunshine in the beautiful French Riveria. Seth's mom outdid herself again with accommodations and we had a two bedroom apartment for the whole week WITH a great view of the coast and the apartment's pool. We spent our mornings sightseeing and our afternoons poolside, is there a better combination?

The water was so pretty-look at those colors!

Pool time

Our cute boy just being cute

View from La Turbie

La Turbie

Eze

Monte Carlo Casino-and the Ferrari I bought to match Taft's stroller

Monaco

Taft people watching

Celebrating life

Seth dreaming about life on a yacht

Taft on the Red Carpet in Cannes

The Cannes Film Festival had just ended

We had perfect weather the entire time, it was so great. Seth's dad really wanted to look at yachts so we went one day and toured one. Seth and his dad got really excited about living on one, but seeing that I go  motion sick just sitting on the boat in the marina, I might not be living on a yacht anytime soon. That and we are about 1 million dollars short.

(p.s. I have short hair now. I didn't have a blow dryer on this trip so don't judge yet.)

Proof

Proof to my mother that Taft isn't ALWAYS happy. Here he is, quite UNhappy.

But here's also proof that he's still as cute and fun as ever.

The City of Love

Seth and I left early, early one morning and took the train to Paris to stay for a two days and a night. It was heavenly. Traveling without a child is much, much, much easier and I highly recommend cramming in a bunch of travel before having a kiddo. Not that traveling with kids is really hard, per se, it's just a million times easier without. AND when it's just you and your husband, you can take a nap on the Place de Voge. In the middle of the day. In the sun. Together. Like I said, heavenly.

We rented bikes which I loved until we were on small streets with lots of cars and lots of people. But most of the time I loved it. We didn't take many pictures because we were really just enjoying taking our time seeing the city again, enjoying being together, and only worrying about ourselves.

First Things First

In case anyone is wondering, Seth graduated from medical school. We didn't attend the actual graduation because of our whereabouts and sadly, nobody including ourselves, remembered the event until two days had passed. I made an impromptu diploma with scrap paper and markers. Seth wants everyone to know that they don't need to call him Dr. Herway. He wants to keep things cazsh so friends and family can just call him Dr. Seth. 

Did you know that Seth hasn't attended any of his graduations since high school? That's three graduations. I admit, graduations are booooring, but it makes things a little anticlimactic don'cha think? Right now it feels just like, "Woopee. Glad that's over" when we really should be CELEBRATING! Seth doesn't really see a whole lotta point to celebrating til after residency because what he becomes next is basically an indentured servant.

I think we should celebrate because Seth actually worked quite hard these past four years. For the record, Seth has been able to do a really great job at balancing his real life (me, The Boy, fun stuff) and school. Many a folk have asked if it's been hard these last four years but it hasn't been at all. I like to attribute it to the fact that Seth has his priorities well in check and doesn't care if he's at the top of his class if it means sacrificing other things that are more important to him. I like that about him. I think he'll always be like that because the guy already wants to retire and likes/looks forward to down time more than anyone I know. So to celebrate, I think we should do Seth's favorite and thing and have some down time. Oh yeah, that's what we've been doing this whole month.

Keukenhof

When I was younger I never understood why when we drove around neighborhoods my mom would comment on the pretty yards and flowers. I thought she was nuts. I thought that when I got old I would never care about something as boring as flowers. Well here I am, caring, A LOT, about flowers. We went to Keukenhof last week, it's a flower garden/museum type thing. We drove to Holland to see the tulip fields but most had been cut down already so we went here. They even had a petting zoo for Bumski, baby pony, baby sheep, and even guinea pigs! 

Normandy

We went with Seth's parents to Normandy this past week/weekend. BEAUTIFUL countryside. I feel like France has gotten a bad wrap, Freedom Fries? Really? I for one, LOVE France. I LOVE it. And I haven't met a rude French person yet either. Maybe that's because I'm always with someone who knows at least a little French to get by though.

Our first night was in a town called Etratat and we stayed here:

Charming huh? Seth's mom did a fabulous job at picking places to stay this trip. She always does, but this time she really outdid herself! And then we saw these views while we were there:

And Taft took a ride on the suitcase

                         

This picture is for my dad, the World War II buff. A German pill box.

                        

Later this day we drove to Mont Saint Michel

                        

Then we drove to a town near the famous World War II sites, Utah Beach, Point du Hoc, and Omaha Beach. And stayed here: 

                             

                              

This plaque was at Utah Beach. All these places hit closer to home now that my brother is serving in the Navy. We watched a very moving movie at the Normandy Cemetary and Omaha Beach Memorial. Since the war was so long ago and the survivors now would be so old, I just seem to forget how young they were when the fought. They were just boys. At the end of the movie the narrator says," these young men didn't realize that the freedom of the world, the ENTIRE world, lay on their shoulders, their very young shoulders." I thought about my brother the entire time and I pray with all my might we don't have another war on the level of World War II. In the Normandy Cemetary 9,000 American soliders are buried, and 41 sets of brothers. I was so saddened at the thought of a mother losing mulitple sons in the war. 

The rest of the pictures are mostly for my dad. He'll make it there someday, but for now he'll have to live vicariously through blog pictures:

The church at Sainte-Mere-Eglise where the paratrooper hung for the whole battle

Point du Hoc

Point du Hoc

Remaining gun battery at Point du Hoc

A gun still in its original position

German Battery

Remnants of the Temporary Harbor at Arromanches (Mulberry B)

The location where the first allied troop sightings on D-day were reported to Berlin

Utah Beach

More Pictures from Staci D Photography

Bruxelles

We made it to Belgium but due to jet lag, a teething jet lagged baby, and not the best weather, we haven't done too much to report. Seth's friend Rubin and his wife, Janelle, are visiting Rubin's parents in Amsterdam so they headed to Brussels for the day. This is Seth being the tour guide. 

We also went to Leuven with the McDougals so they could experience the famous Herway-fave restaurant, Domus. 

This is the forest behind Seth's parents' home. It's beautiful! 

We're headed to Normandy for the rest of the weekend and weekend tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post when we get back.


p.s. I forgot. Taft, Seth, and I went to The Netherlands yesterday to see the tulip fields. Pictures will come later.