Guests!

I've taken a little hiatus from posting to enjoy our guests! Geoff's sister Emily, and her daughter Bailey, arrived on March 6th. While their eyes were a little glossed over from having lost a night of sleep we spent the afternoon in Ventimiglia, the first town across the border in Italy.

Emily and Geoff take a little spin on the Vespa

Cousins (that's me in the background in our stubby little car)

Words can't describe how excited the girls were to have a cousin in town. As a matter of fact there was a competition of sorts over who could win Bailey over. Bailey has been a good sport, and things have calmed down...thankfully!

Turns out they like gelato, too!

We walked through the Friday street markets

Saturday they were dragging a little bit so we stuck around Menton, went to our Marche (market) and ate at a beach-side restaurant. Sunday Emily woke up not feeling great but pushed through church and picnic in Nice. It turned worse and she has been sick in bed with a cold/flu that she claims is the worst sickness she's ever had. Bummer.

Sunday after church we had a picnic in a park that sits at the top of a hill overlooking Nice and the sea. It was a perfect day.

The girls had a great time playing in a sandbox while Geoff and I enjoyed Emily

Geoff tried to introduce Bailey to how fish in France look...she wasn't interested. Ceci who isn't the least bit faint-hearted demonstrated love for her fellow creatures before eating them for dinner.

This past Thursday Geoff's brother Ian, his wife Liz and their five-month old son Jamison joined us. Somehow they had no problem with jet lag and were rearing to go on day one. We spent their first day walking through Old Town Menton. Friday Emily and Bailey (who also caught what Emily has, though in a more mild form) stayed home to rest and the rest of us went to Monacco.

The parks around Monte Carlo are amazingly beautiful and well kept. Stay off the grass, please!

While taking a family picture Ceci's lively personality was coming through. I zoomed in on this pose because she was clearly on center stage in the family shot.

Tennie and Adele posing for Tennie's camera

That is Monte Carlo in the background. Monaco sold Menton and another coastal town to France in the 1860s because the country was going bankrupt. The then prince of Monaco built this casino, and five years later (and to this day) the casino brought in enough revenue that the people of this small principality weren't taxed.

We drove along the coast and stopped in Eze. The streets were much more quiet than when we went in the fall. Ian and Liz agreed that this little perched village with its nooks and crannies, unique doors and lights, skinny cobbled streets and climbing vines is filled with charm and well worth the visit.

By the time we left there was a spectacular sunset. We took this picture for the sky.

Saturday our visitors headed up to Switzerland. Today we're headed to the temple. We'll meet up Tuesday night in Chamonix and then make our way back to Menton Thursday night. They leave this Sunday (Tennie's birthday!) so I may not post until then.