Zui and I were fortunate enough to go to Europe for 2 weeks! Zui's mom had planned for us to have a family reunion traveling throughout Europe. As you know, Mom passed away over Christmas, so sadly she wasn't with us, but I'm sure she was in spirit.
My sister Corina, bless her heart, watched the kids for the entire time we were gone. I can't thank her enough! She even kept emailing pictures over of my happy kids to reassure me they were doing well. I was really nervous to leave them for so long, but at the same time excited to have a break from motherhood :)
So... after 10 hours we landed in Amsterdam, and the adventure began!
We didn't spend too long in Amsterdam, although we did go to the Anne Frank house which was neat. Instead we headed over to Haarlem.
If you've seen "The Best Two Years" you'll recognize this train station--where Elder Calhoun first arrives!
Haarlem is beauiful with amazing canals, and lots and lots of bikes!
Here we are inside the Corrie Ten Boom House. If any of you have read
The Hiding Place you will appreciate this next bit.
The Corrie Ten Boom house is where Corrie and her family hid 6 Jews during WW2. The Jews actually lived in the house as normal, but when a bell sounded alarming them of Nazis in the area, they would rush up to this room and climb in through this secret hole in the closet.
The closet was only big enough for 6 people. They would rotate 4 standing and 2 sitting at a time.
Although Corrie and her family were arrested and sent to the concentration camps for helping the Jews, the Jews themselves were never caught. If you haven't read the book, you definitely should, it is a must read!
Meanwhile, Evie and Anjuli continue to play well and fight well--literally :)
I had to start with this one...the girl behind Zui had her hair flying like crazy :) too funny.
So after a bumpy overnight train from Paris, we arrived in Cinque Terre! This is by far my favorite place in Europe. Five little fishing villages line the Italian riviera. With amazing views and true Italians, it just doesn't get any better.
Our first day there all we did was eat gelato and spend 6 hours on the beach--the ideal vacation.
It felt soo so nice to get in the water!
Zui had fun cliff diving. Video to come...
So here is the little village we stayed in called Vernazza. Zui took this shot from our long 7 mile hike we took which trails through each of the 5 cities.
The beginning of the hike is called "Via del Amore" or "Lover's Lane" because, of course, it is so beautiful and romantic :)
Riomaggiore, the first of the 5 cities. This is where I stayed the last time I was in Cinque Terre.
Manarola
Monteroso
Getting sweaty during the long hike. We had to stop a bunch of times...it was a little harder this time being 6 months pregnant. Zui didn't mind, a little gelato along the way sure helps!
The mountainside is filled with grape/wine vineyards.
huph! More stairs?! A killer hike, but it paid off in the amazing views.
It was so neat coming back to Paris--9 years ago I did Study Abroad here for 4 months.
Nothing screams Paris like the Eiffel Tower.
Le Sacre Coeur
Yummy drinking water :) could it be any more green?
Notre Dame
The man I married, gargoyle indeed
The Kim family at Versailles: Lorinda, Lehua, Dad, Lory, Darrell, Zui
One of the many beautiful ceilings.
The Hall of Mirrors
Little Hamlet: Marie Antoinette's retreat from 'difficult' palace life. She had this mock village made so she could feel like a commoner without actually being one.
We had a quick trip to Normandy to see the sights of D-Day. This is the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach.
They had a Trebuchet show that was really fun to watch, with characters dressed up in Medieval Day wear.
Us, Lehua, and Big Ben
London Bridge is falling down...
This is the gardens near Buckingham Palace. We joked this would have made a great wedding announcement (minus the belly).
We spent a wonderful 2 nights in Brugges, a city about an hour outside of Brussels. Such a cute, quaint little town.
My mom and dad just before leaving on their mission to the Dominican Republic. It's hard to believe we won't see them for 18 months!