Alive & Well in Our Final Weeks Here

Hi again!  So sorry for the extended break from the blog. Unfortunately, our computer crashed this past weekend, leaving us with only the iPad for surfing and posting. This also means we have no way to post photos from our camera.  But rest assured that we are keeping tabs on our activities - with my crayons and paper - and will update the blog when we are up and running again, whether while here in Europe or back home in Maryland.


Speaking of which, it's hard to believe we will be back home next Thursday. We look forward to seeing everyone and returning to our house where significant improvements in the backyard will be have been completed by the time we arrive. Nevertheless, we are enjoying our final weeks here with visits to beach clubs, spa treatments, a couple of nights in Monaco with friends, sunrise bike rides, many great meals and lots of relaxing at our place in Vence.


We leave Vence on Sunday and will make several overnight stops in northern Italy en route to Munich, where we will drop off daddy's beep for shipment back to the US before boarding our flight back to Dulles.  Well, that's all for now. We look forward to sharing the details of these final weeks when our Dell comes back to life. Until then, we will do our best to post short updates for those interested in our adventure.


Love,
Griffin

Five Hours in Amsterdam

Planes, trains, automobiles…and boats!  After a wonderful time in Stockholm, we took several types of transportation in order to make our way back to Vence.  On the return flight from Sweden, we had a long layover in Amsterdam. As some of you may know, daddy previously lived in Amsterdam so he wanted to show us around his old stompin’ ground. 

Watching "Bubble Guppies" on the plane.

When we arrived in Holland, we boarded a commuter train that headed into the city.   We then transferred to a street tram that took us to daddy’s old neighborhood, the always vibrant Leidseplein. After showing us his former bachelor pad, we had lunch at his favorite pizzeria where the manager/waiter actually remembered daddy! 

Daddy's street in Amsterdam - 10 years later!

Making new memories at daddy's neighborhood pizza joint

Yummy!

After lunch, we strolled around the city’s cobblestone pedestrian streets and along the city’s many canals. With nearly a half million bicycles in use in this city, it’s quite an adventure trying to walk around town without getting run over!  We then boarded a canal tour boat where we were able to admire the unique Dutch architecture, pass by the Anne Frank house and cruise down the Amstel River, namesake for the popular beer Amstel Light and along which the Heineken brewery is situated.

Bikers rule and drivers drool in Amsterdam.

On the canal tour.

View from the canal tour.

 After the boat tour, we walked quickly through Vondel Park before heading back to the central train station, passing by the city’s famous flower market, peeking into a few spots along the main shopping corridor and noticing a unique scent wafting from the many “coffee” shops along the way. We then boarded the train to head back to the airport, where we continued our journey on KLM back to the south of France.

Our plane arrived late into Nice, where we parked daddy’s “hurt beep” and finally pulled into Stefan’s home at midnight.  Talk about a whirlwind day!  We woke up in Sweden, spent the day in the Netherlands and went to bed in France.  We were all exhausted but it was totally worth it.  It was a great way to end an incredible road trip.

I can’t believe we’re nearing the end of our adventure. We will stay put in Vence for about 2.5 weeks before making the trek back to Munich in order to drop off daddy’s car and fly home. Our goal is to soak up every last bit of this unique experience and to eat as much pain au chocolat as humanly possible!!

 

Love,

Griffin

Five Days in Stockholm

Just 14 hours after returning from Provence, we set out for Stockholm, the capital of Sweden and the biggest city in Scandinavia. Stockholm is spread across 14 islands in a large archipelago on the south-central east coast of Sweden (along the Baltic Sea), with 30% of the city consisting of water and 30% of the city consisting of parks and green spaces.  Because the city is so far north, residents and visitors (including us) are able to enjoy almost 24 hours of continuous daylight for most of June and July.  On the flip side, winters are cold and very dark.  English is spoken by just about everyone in Sweden since they mostly watch American TV programs in English.  And in case you didn’t know, we can all thank Sweden for institutions such as Abba, Ikea, Volvo, H&M and, of course, daddy’s former employer QlikTech.

A Stockholm sunset at 11 PM. That's right, I said 11 PM! And in case you're wondering, the sun rose again at 2 AM. Thank goodness for room-darkening shades!

As referenced in my earlier post on Paris, my mommy’s friends Sunyi and Egil have been living in Sweden for 2 years. Mr. Egil, an officer in the Norwegian military, is attending graduate school in Stockholm.  Ms. Sunyi is an English teacher for 1 and 2-year-olds at a Montessori preschool.  In July, they will move to Oslo, Norway, so we wanted to visit them before they left Stockholm. 

Unlike other big cities, Stockholm is an ideal location for cosmopolitan people who also happen to have kids. There’s a playground or park on every other corner and plenty of kid-centric museums to visit.  Perhaps the two most popular attractions for children are Junibacken and Skansen.  Junibacken celebrates the work of Astrid Lindgren, the author of the Pippi Longstocking book series.  Pippi enjoys celebrity status among Swedish kids and I’m her newest fan. The museum has recreated a variety of settings from Lindgren’s books for kids to play around in. Junibacken also features a story train which retells another classic written by Lindgren entitled The Brothers Lionheart.  On the other hand, Skansen is a massive outdoor living history museum. The guides wear traditional Swedish costumes and retell life in former times. I especially enjoyed seeing all of the Scandinavian animals like moose, brown bears and even reindeer!  Unfortunately, there was no sighting of Santa Claus. 

Junibacken

Just like Pippi, I roll out the dough on the kitchen floor.

Petting goats at Skansen.

Many locals get around Stockholm on bikes.  In fact, with dedicated bike lanes along almost every street and loads of bike racks around, it seems the city was built for cyclists. So we decided to do as the locals and ride bikes one day.  We cruised across many of the bridges that connect the islands and ended up at Haga Park, where we picnicked with one of daddy’s former work colleagues and his family.  After lunch, we resumed the bike tour of the park, where we fed horses before daddy, Egil and I decided to take a partial or full skinny dip in the very chilly Brunnsviken Lake.  Here are a few photos (some censored) of our day in the park.

The bike lane. In my opinion, it should be available on more streets.

Helmet on, seat belt strapped and I'm ready to roll.

Of course, the Norwegian went in first!

Damn that's cold!

Feeding the horses with daddy and Egil.

We sure did eat well in Sweden.  When we first arrived, Ms. Sunyi introduced mommy and daddy to one of the locals’ favorites – cardamom cinnamon rolls. It’s hard to imagine, but this combination of sweet cinnamon with the ginger-like spice of cardamom in a moist and chewy pastry was to die for…or so my parents came to believe.  Other culinary highlights included a night out eating Swedish meatballs and caviar, a Korean barbeque that Ms. Sunyi prepared at home and visits to several of the hot dog and sausage stands that can be found on almost every street corner in Stockholm.  We now know why hot dogs are all the rage at Ikea!

An in-home Korean BBQ!

Noshing on a French Dog - that's a hot dog encased in a baguette. Yummy!

Mr. Egil and Ms. Sunyi have a great flat in one of the best neighborhoods of Stockholm.  Centrally located, we could easily walk to all of the main attractions as well as many great playgrounds, bakeries, stores and public transportation options.  We also learned that one of the founders of the clothing store H&M lives across the street from our hosts.  We’re not certain if it’s H or M but it’s definitely one of the two.

Egil and Sunyi (and the H&M dude, in yellow house on right) live on Tysta Gatan, which means "quiet street".

Finally, daddy will always remember Stockholm for the massage he had while there.  You’ll have to ask daddy to tell you the story in person (and be sure mommy is there to provide more colorful commentary), but don’t be surprised if it involves a small Thai woman named 'Apple', a serious language barrier, her foot on his face and a not-so-happy ending!

All in all, Stockholm was a blast!  Many thanks to our gracious hosts Sunyi and Egil.  I just love them so much and hope to visit them again in Oslo.  More photos from our trip to Stockholm can be viewed below. 

Love,

Griffin

Resting up for our adventure on the flight to Stockholm

All smiles in Stockholm.

Relaxin' in one of Stockholm's many parks.

Forks are soooo American!

Catching a few zzzz's with daddy as my pillow.

Happy hour with me and Ms. Sunyi. She drank cider and I ate all of the Japan mix.

'The Good Day' (two, actually) in Provence

At long last, we are back in Vence after a whirlwind week of traveling around France and other parts of Europe.   Finally some time to spend on the computer, so here's one of several updates to come in the next day or so.  Thanks for your patience!

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Early last week, we took an overnight trip to the region of Provence in southern France, about a 3-hour drive west of Vence.  Provence is home to the popular cities of Marseilles, Avignon and Aix-en-Provence and is known for, among other things, its cuisine (e.g., Herbes de Provence), olives, lavender fields, Rosé vineyards and picturesque landscape.   If you have ever seen the movie “A Good Year” (Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe), which was set in Provence, you have a sense for how beautiful the region is.

A lavender field we saw on our drive through Provence

We went to Provence with Stefan’s family and some of their friends.  After a short tour around some of the surrounding villages, we had a leisurely lunch at a bistro attached to a little inn and gourmet cooking school surrounded by vineyards and olive groves in Lourmarin.  We then headed into Aix-en-Provence, a small city with a great vibe and lots of great shopping and cafes for the adults.   

'Nummy' pasta at the bistro

After saying goodbye to the others, mommy, daddy and I headed back to the inn for our overnight stay.   The room was spacious and cozy, the meals tasty and the grounds very fun for me to explore.  Here are a few shots of the inn.

Our inn and the outdoor space of its award-winning gourmet restaurant

A view of the grounds and the surrounding countryside from the inn's terrace.

The garden adjacent to the outdoor bistro where we had lunch

Before heading back to Vence the next day, the three of us explored several mountainside villages in Provence.   Highlights were driving on the narrow roads in the French countryside and visiting the big open-air market in Gordes.

The village of Gordes, home of a great market but perhaps too many American tourists!

We then headed back to Vence to rejoin the others for dinner before packing for our trip to Sweden the next day.  More about Sweden—and our 5-hour stopover in Amsterdam on the way back—in another post later this week.  For now, I hope you enjoy some more photos from our time in Provence (below).

Love,

Griffin

A view of the countryside from the town of Bonneiux.  In the background is the village of Lacoste, namesake for the popular European clothing brand.

Ready to hawk some bubbly on the bicycle!

More Pics

Hello from beautiful Stockholm, where it finally gets dark at 11pm!   We are busy running around town but to satisfy my grandparents, we wanted to post more photos from our adventure.  By the way, we had a great time in Provence earlier this week and will post something about that in the coming days (along with one about Sweden and Amsterdam).  For now, I hope you enjoy the pics!

Love,

Griffin

Sipping apple juice in Vence

Mommy and her yummy shrimp risotto in Cannes

Playing in the sand in Saint-Tropez

In my own big boy seat on the way home from Paris

Touchdown! I must be dreaming that I'm an NFL ref.

Ready for a mountaintop picnic!

Enjoying ice cream in Tourrettes with Daddy. The specialty flavor is violet but I went for vanilla.