More Pictures from Avignon and the Provence Region

Here are a few more pictures from the Provence trip. As you can tell, it was warm and sunny and very lovely. All of these pictures were taken in or near the village of Sault, France.
Of course the day included a trip to a fabric shop where I purchased a tablecloth for our dining room.

The girls enjoyed walking in the fields and smelling the plants. We have no idea if we were even allowed to trespass onto the property, but there were no signs indicating otherwise and no gates to keep us out, so we made ourselves at home.

The sweet smell of Provence

On Sunday, August 5th, we returned home from 4 days in the Provence region of Southern France. It was absolutely beautiful......one of my favorite trips so far. Since this is our last summer in Europe (we move back to the States early next summer), I told Jared that I wanted to visit Provence while the lavender fields were still in bloom. We made it.

I don't think I can really describe the beauty of the region in a manner that would do it justice, so you will just have to check out this picture and some from postings that will follow and imagine for yourselves. Sorry that I can't turn the picture into a scratch and sniff sticker so that each of you could enjoy the deliciously sweet and relaxing scent of the lavender.

More pictures from Barcelona and Las Palmas

A few more pictures of our Barcelona/Las Palmas trip: Mea is walking along the wall at the Las Palmas harbor; a cafe in Barcelona with the Berwegers; coffee; Lily with 'Don King' hair (and a runny nose) after an afternoon at the beach; last, Christopher Columbus statue near the port in Barcelona.

Barcelona, Spain and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

The girls and I recently had the pleasure of tagging along with Jared on a business trip he made to Barcelona and the Canary Islands. What a treat to have a 'bonus' getaway! We had a great time sightseeing and enjoying the beautiful weather and beaches.

We flew to Barcelona on Friday afternoon and enjoyed a relaxed evening and half day on Saturday making our way around the city with Peter Berweger, one of Jared's co-workers, and his wife and son. Peter's wife, Sylvia, is a native of Barcelona and she was very informative as to things to do and see as well as just a wealth of knowledge about Barcelona's history and the surrounding areas.

Late Saturday evening we flew to Las Palmas, a city on the Grand Canary Island. We spent Sunday exploring a little bit of Las Palmas and then making our way to the beautiful dune beaches of Maspalomas. It was a perfectly clear and cloudless day which meant that it was also very hot and the sun was directly upon us. Since the girls and I have such fair skin, we only spent about an hour or two in the sun before retreating to a nicely shaded cafe and enjoying an early supper. From looking at the pictures it appears that the water was dark and dirty, but actually the sand was like a fine mix of gold and black so you can't tell that the water was extremely clear and beautiful. We got to see lots of speedos and boobs.........but what else could we expect at a beach in Europe.

It was an exhausting trip since we had to stop through Barcelona on the way to Las Palmas and back, but we had a great time being together and just exploring another part of Europe. We hope to make another trip to Barcelona when we have more dedicated time there and are able to check out the museums and Gaudi stuff.