May 4, 2010
I will admit that I was strongly motivated by ring envy. When my sister Sarah came to visit us in Vienna, she had shown off a gorgeous and inexpensive beaded flower ring which I secretly coveted. I was surprised to learn that she had purchased it in Yvoire, France with my parents the week before, and even more surprised to hear her description of the charming rows of shops that lined the cobbled streets of the medieval gated village on beautiful Lake Leman (aka Lake Geneva). Huh. I had loved our afternoon in Yvoire during the first week of our stay in Europe, but we saw only a couple of shops and very few people at all on our visit there in cold, blustery March. So even though we had been there before, my parents good-naturedly agreed to another quick road trip and we headed back to the lake-front town to do some shopping.
Sadly, it was a cold, blustery day in May. Yvoire is apparently a fair-weather kind of town, with shopkeepers who open or close based on weather and a whim, so my ring-shopping plans were foiled. On the positive side, however, Cade bought a beautiful Yvoire patch for his European tour patch collection, which (optimistically) will one day join all the others on a Europe trip memory quilt, so the shopping outing was not entirely unproductive. And my parents treated us to lunch at a family-run creperie, so we left feeling deliciously satisfied.
Back in Geneva, we wandered along a lakeside exhibition of GREEN-themed globes and then went on to see a whimsical (but idle) carousel. We took a quick tour through the botanical garden greenhouses before walking back to my parents’ apartment, then gathered up a few things and walked out the door again, as we headed off to meet friends for an indoor “play date.”
It stands to reason, I suppose, that likable parents produce likable children… but I think we've all known a few exceptions (who I am certain eventually outgrow the phase
J). At any rate, I was pleased to find that my children happened to spontaneously bond with the children of my college friends, the Bryans, and were on hugging terms in no time. Whether the friendships with Parker and Alexa were circumstantially or coincidentally driven was of no concern to me. I simply embraced the chance to chat with my friend Allison for a couple of hours while the kids were happily engaged playing games, eating snacks and doing activities together.
Back at the apartment, it was time to pack up. Again. We were all looking forward to our Italian itinerary, starting in Rome after a brief layover in Milan, but Regan didn't want to leave Grandma and Grandpa. She was worried. For some inexplicable reason, she has come to associate trains with stress. I cannot imagine why.
J I assured her that it was bound to be our easiest train boarding of the trip so far; it was an early 7:40 a.m. departure, but our luggage load was significantly lighter and my early-riser parents were helping us get to the train station. Piece of cake. Yum. Hopefully chocolate.
I will admit that I was strongly motivated by ring envy. When my sister Sarah came to visit us in Vienna, she had shown off a gorgeous and inexpensive beaded flower ring which I secretly coveted. I was surprised to learn that she had purchased it in Yvoire, France with my parents the week before, and even more surprised to hear her description of the charming rows of shops that lined the cobbled streets of the medieval gated village on beautiful Lake Leman (aka Lake Geneva). Huh. I had loved our afternoon in Yvoire during the first week of our stay in Europe, but we saw only a couple of shops and very few people at all on our visit there in cold, blustery March. So even though we had been there before, my parents good-naturedly agreed to another quick road trip and we headed back to the lake-front town to do some shopping. 
YAEY! another installment. Good job!
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