Coops Family Blog: October 2012

We had our first family vacation (for the 4 of us)! We started out with a drive through Belgium, Luxembourg, and France to arrive in the Alsace region of France. this is a valley along the Rhine River that is edged with mountains (not real mountains, more like East Coast mountains). The mountains are topped with ruins of old castles and still inhabited Chateaus. In the valleys on the French side up to the mountains is a huge grape growing area for lovely wines....mmmmm. We were there just in time for harvest! It was so beautiful.

The villages are about a 5 minute drive (or less) from one to the next. They all are filled with buildings from the 1500s and 1600s. The villages also have large homes/wineries that process the grapes and have been doing so for centuries. The tractors pull up to the courtyards of the houses and unload the grapes for processing. Most of the villages are working villages but have lots of great shops for wine, food, and coffee. It was amazing. We could have spent a week there.

Our hotel! I looks like something Disney tried to recreate but it is real!

Typical style buildings

Vineyard overlooking one of the towns.

One of the many walks we did through a village.

OMG, I LOVE this! These desserts were SO beautiful. I can't imagine ruining them by eating them. I wish I had ruined a couple though! They were gorgeous.

One of the many castles at the top of a vineyard

How cute it this?!

Of course we sampled all the different grapes. Campbell had a great time inspecting the vineyards, the different styles of grapes, and the harvesting. Since his father spent many years growing grapes himself, he had lots on insight into the operations and growing that he could entertain me with.

Of course we found a playground for Archie as well!

After a wonderful time in France, we crossed the Rhine River and headed to the Black Forest of Germany. It was a short distance away but completely different in every way. It too had the steep "mountains" up from the valley below. On the hills were cute little villages and pastures for the dairy cows and goats. The villages looked completely different and almost looked Swiss. We spent time there visiting nearby villages and going for walks. Mostly it was a place to relax. There wasn't as much for us to see there but we still had a wonderful time.

This is so Archie. He loves to make us laugh and Sylvie spends a large part of her day watching what he is doing.

Freiburg, Germany. This is the city square where we enjoyed many sausages!

And here are some more photos of the kids since we have been home!

Archie has started kissing Sylvie. He loves to do it and it is so sweet to see. He has only kissed Campbell once.....and me never. So hopefully the love will spread to the rest of us. :)