Tuesday, March 10, 2009

joe and elise come to europe





I had to say goodbye to my parents today after a great week with them. I feel really lucky that we got to have this time together! They took me out to dinner and all over France. Although there were certainly times when we had disagreements ("BRENNA I DON'T READ FRENCH!" -my dad, before going through the first toll booth in france), I have awesome memories of the trip. I learned a lot about them and had a lot of fun! Just some of my favorite memories:
- the first night in nice when we ended up having a political discussion with the french guys sitting next to us
- watching the nice carnaval fireworks
- me and my mom trying to be cultural and going to the bar in orange for happy hour: she ended up talking to a "woman's companion" while I chatted in French to a nice lady
- dinner with my host family and my parents!!!
- wine tasting in chateauneuf du pape, the sommelier worked with American soldiers during Desert Storm and had an American coin collection!
- everyone staring at us and our tourist ways in Carmagnola, Italy
- the delicious dinner we had at 14 and our friendly waitress Ornella
- breakfast in Nice/my French lesson with the "dirty rag man"
-driving through the Alps and facing near death experiences on the road, driving through the 2006 Olympic Villages
-me and my mom losing my dad nearly EVERY MINUTE because he walked so slow
-my dad making faces at the group of italian students who were staring at us at the Matisse exhibit
-me being grumpy about missing the Chagall museum, and my mom finding an original Chagall in an old church in Vence!
- my mom and I making delicious dinner picnic in our hotel room after a long day of touring: success at the supermarket!
-waking up in Carmagnola (which we thought was an ugly industrial town) after the fog cleared to see the MOUNTAINS!

I love this picture of my mom in Vence, observing the beautiful old buildings. And how cute are my parents sharing an umbrella in Turin? It was so cold that day, my poor dad didn't have a jacket! The next picture is a view from our hotel in Carmagnola! It was so beautiful there :) Then my dad in front of RACCONICI castle in Italy ! Yes, he did drive that little car, stick shift, for 8 hours!

2 comments:

  1. Merci! I loved seeing these pictures and reading about your adventures with your Mom and Dad! I haven't talked to them since they got home - I figured they needed a day or two to recover - but can't wait to hear about it from them as well! Love you and miss you. Keep posting! Giant hugs, Teresa

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  2. Brenna-
    We love to read your blog...You look and sound so happy! We are rookies with the blog thing, so we don't know if this will end up in the right place or not...but most important is you know we are happy for you...and praying for you so much safety, joy, and wonderful experiences come your way! Love and Hugs, Aunt Donna and family

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