This Year In Europe

With the madness of the first year at this school, I didn't make time to blog about some of the awesome cities in Europe I went this year.  Therefore, I thought I would put them all together in one blog, with photos and strong memories that have stuck with me.  This goal of mine to see some of Europe is going to keep me busy for quite some time.

September 2016: Prague
Librarians Conference with Kris

There's a book tower in one of the libraries in Prague.
As we were all librarians enjoying the sights, this was a thing that we saw.

A "famous" dessert in Prague is the Trdelnik, with a cone made from some dough rolled in cinnamon sugar,
with insides of ice cream.  I had one with apples and cinnamon, and it was a beautiful treat. 

Kris and I were thrilled that we got "carded" on the bus.  The public transport works like an honor system - you buy and validate your tickets, and when you least expect it, someone will come on and check your ticket.  We were on our last ride in Prague, some of our last tickets, and we were thrilled to get caught following the rules. 

An overlook of the city, from a museum of science in conjunction with the famed Prague library
(which we weren't allowed to photograph).  It's old, and bricked, and beautiful.  

Prague was a great time, and the conference was fantastic!

October 2016: Geneva and the French Alps
Birthday Celebration with Peter

Birthday Cake! A lovely cheesecake.  Someone tried to wake me up for cake at 3:32 (my birth day in this time zone)
but we ate it at a more reasonable hour instead. 

The view in our little mountain chalet.  This is one of my favorite photos. 

At one point, our water was being finicky, so I drew a bath the old fashioned way. 

We did some geocaching and exploring of both the French and Swiss borders.

The view.... the glorious view.

November 2016: Paris
More time with Peter

The first... 50 of my photos in Paris were pastry related. I'll spare you the trouble of looking through them all.
Just know... they exist.

There's this church in Paris that was turned into an academy of science, and then a museum: Arts et Metiers.  It was fantastic, and there was everything from an iPod (first edition, how old I feel), to models of architecture. 

We saw a pianist in an old church, all echoey and cold. 

The Jardin du Luxembourg was so gorgeous! Also chilly. 

Okay, just one more food. Crepes. They put chocolate sticks in there!

November 2016: Sofia, Bulgaria
MS Robotics Trip

The school in Sofia has creatures and nature. Our kids were quite amused. 

Our robotics team hard at work. 

They told us that it was difficult to build the metro because they had all these ruins underneath the city.
Here is a handful. 

There was even an old spring that popped up in the middle of the city.
We, of course, all drank from it. (Maybe I'll live forever now).

December 2016: Lyon, France

Christmas with Peter

We looked around the old city of Lyon, into this old church and beautiful decorations.
I lit a candle for one of the saints.   

This was a chocolate maker, and I loved his shop so intensely.  He was a bit of the strong silent type, but the lady running the shop front (shockingly to us, his wife) was chatty and delightful.  I tasted some dark chocolates of all kinds and enjoyed the feel of the shop. 

We bought this colorful plethora of veggies at the local grocery store, and I made a ton of food.
This beautiful bouquet, though, I barely knew what to do with myself.  Plus this garlic was absolutely perfect. 

I took a French cooking class, and basically learned that if you add enough cream or butter, it will be delicious.
I also learned to make Foie Gras, which I made for Peter.  It was all in French, but luckily, a few nice ladies took me under their wing and helped me figure out some of the finer points.  

My favorite thing to visit when I travel is botanical gardens.
The gardens in Lyon had this little tropical greenhouse, which was nice because it was so chilly that day!

There will be more and more throughout the next years.  I am loving Europe, and will enjoy Portugal and Amsterdam in the coming months.