HS Friends Visit and Affenberg!

After we got back from our trip to France, we were lucky enough to get some visitors from Julian's high school! It was a few of the same friends that we were with in London in May. Anne (who we stayed with in London), Helle (who we stayed with in Berlin a couple years ago), and David all came down to the Bodensee! Although the weather could've been better, we had a really nice time going to Rutenfest in Ravensburg (a fun summer festival), and the highlight of the weekend - Affenberg! Affenberg literally means "Monkey Mountain" and it was surprisingly accurate. I could not get over this... you pay to get into this gated park and there are hundreds of monkeys just out loose in there! You get handfuls of popcorn and they just chill out on the railings of the park waiting to be fed their snack.

Julian and David monkeying around

Helle feeding David, with Anne and me

David and Julian

Paris, Etampes, and Bretignolles Sur Mer

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I've written! So much to catch up on from the past two months!



In July, Julian and I took a week off for a vacation to the western coast of France with a colleague of his (Georg) and his fiancee (Aline). Aline's family has a house in Bretignolles Sur Mer, which is a cute town in between Brittany and Bordeaux. On the way out there, we stopped for two nights to stay with Aline's parents in Etampes, just outside of Paris. We spent one day in Paris, and one day at a big family lunch with her entire French family :-)




Julian on top of the Arc de Triomphe





Me in front of Notre Dame





Aline's extended family (and me towards the left) at her grandparent's house. They live right across the street from her parents.





From L to R: Aline's dad, Georg, Aline's mom, Aline, her niece, brother-in-law, and sister, and me and Julian





From Etampes, we drove on to the coast! Bretignolles sur Mer is a beautiful little town right on the water. Aline's family's house was just a 5 minute walk from the ocean and we had beautiful weather!! We had such a great time; it was a week full of sunshine, French wine and cheese, fresh grilled fish, and relaxation!



Julian and me on the beach




Taking a break during our electro-bike ride along the coast







Another break on our bike tour





Julian on the beach at sunset




Me on the beach



We were also joined by two of Georg's friends from childhood and college - Karsten and Yvonne. the 6 of us went to Les Sables d'Olonne, another neighboring town on the water:





Here is another view in Les Sables:

Cute streets and my cute fiance!