Tour de Family

My sister was visiting for 2 weeks earlier this month and we were very happy to have her stay with us! Her husband also joined for part of the visit, and it was a pleasure to stay up late catching up, and share some of our daily experiences with them, such as a school concert and an after-work party. But we've decided that the "Top 3" special experiences while they were here were the following:

1) Paris. How could Paris not be a top experience? Paris is memorable and an experience all of its own. But one of our favorite parts of the trip was seeing Paris by bike tour, which I would highly recommend. The kids came along too, and I was impressed by how well they tagged along. We learned some history, breaked at a cafe and Willem fell asleep in front of the Eiffel Tower. Paris was very bike friendly (especially with a tour guide), and we had beautiful weather.

2) For a proper German experience, I took my sister and brother-in-law to the city of Freiburg in the Black Forest. It was a perfect summer day visit, with a large market in the old-town. We decided to go to the top of the cathedral to see the view. We didn't plan it, but we were at the top just before noon, so we had a front row seat to hear the bells. At 12:00, the wooden floor planks first started slightly shaking as the gears started turning for the largest bell (named Hosanna). This bell dates from the year 1258 and the sound of the bells was deafening as you would imagine. A memorable moment.

Excellent pic from my sister!

3) And...watching the Tour de France! I was really excited about this event. I wouldn't consider myself a loyal follower of the race, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go and watch. The tour course changes every year, and this year, it dipped into Switzerland, about 1 hour from us. We took the train to St. Ursanne, the last town before the finish, during Stage 8. The quaint town was decorated with bike tires and red, white and blue French flags for the Tour. We found a place to watch the race just outside the town at the start of a mountain stage. This was a good decision, because the riders weren't going that fast by us. (One rider, maybe American, even said hi to us after seeing our American flag!) But here's what you won't see on TV when watching the tour: The massive caravan parade that comes through before the riders. The caravan is a publicity parade that was started in 1930 in order to even the playing field (prior to the change, riders sponsored by cycling companies had an equipment advantage). It gives sponsors a chance to build their brand. Floats from various companies (like snack, tire and water brands) speed by and toss giveaways to the supporters. (Let me know if you need a keychain...we've got about 20.) The "floats" are going by at what seems like 50 mph/ 80kph, seemingly to keep a good lead in front of the cyclists. The caravan did a great job to get the crowd excited for the race -- it was about 45 minutes long and very entertaining! We had a lull before we could hear the helicopters coming and then finally, the cyclists. You could really get a sense for the amazing ability of the riders over the course of the race. 

Working the crowd with Vittel (bottled water)

Of course, there were plenty of other memorable moments on our list (including favorites for the kids like visiting monkeys and a day at the pool). We were able to do a lot and get a lot of different experiences in...a great visit!