This year, while Natalie was at her summer camp in Colorado and hiking another 14,000 foot mountain, Kate and I took off to Europe. We tried to mostly stay in Belgium and France, but couldn’t resist a few day trips to the Netherlands and Germany, and a few days in Luxembourg. We were able to celebrate with the Belgium Soccer Team in the Grand Place in Brussels after their 3rd place finish at the World Cup. We then spent a week in Bruges and feasted on plenty of beer, waffles, chocolate, fries and mussels. We road bicycles, took a river cruise, and attended a huge outdoor karaoke sing along concert. We traveled to Paris and switched to wine and cheese. We sampled a bunch of croissants and Kate was on a quest to find the best macaron between Pierre Hermé and Ladurée. Besides visiting museums and the opera house, we were able to watch the conclusion of the Tour de France. We would drink champagne at night while watching the sparkly lights of the Eiffel Tower and not worry about boredom from a tween. We could simply enjoy people-watching and adult conversation.
