Meeting new family and a visit to Seligenstadt

I believe we have finally caught up on our sleep (kind of).  At least we don't really have the excuse of jet lag at the moment, only old age.  We had the pleasure of meeting one of my daughter-in-laws sister today.  She had us to her home and prepared us an amazing traditional Moraccan meal of cous cous with chicken and veggies (potatoes, cabbage, pumpkin, carrots, zuchinni, raisins and onions).  It was absolutely delicious and beautiful.  Ely, Widad and Dalal were amazing hostesses and they have a beautiful home.  We had such a great time getting to know them.  Just when we thought we were full, Ely set up a beautiful dessert of Pastilla (another amazing Moroccan desert of sweet chicken, raisins and almonds in a light pastry).  Ely then took us on a tour of Seligenstadt.  It is a castle and gardens with a charming little town surrounding.  Seligenstadt is one of Germany’s oldest towns and some of it dates back to AD 100.  Needless to say, it was beautiful and a lovely time.  Thank you Ely for such a wonderful day!

The world's tiredest Moms . . .

Well, it is currently 7:00pm in beautiful Heidelberg Germany.  I have been awake exactly 29 hours (and counting).  We arrived in Frankfurt at 5:30am (UTC+1) and Marcus and Naoual were waiting for us.  It was fantastic to see them.  The whole process of passports and base passes, etc. will take a little getting used to, but that will be the easy part.  We hung out and relaxed a little in their apartment in Heidelberg before we headed into town for a festival today.  It was wall to wall characters and beautiful scenery.  What an amazing little town.  I did get some pictures and as soon as my mind and body are working as one again, I will download them and share.  We are so happy to be here and we couldn't be more excited to start exploring.

The world's luckiest Mom

This is a story of the sweetest kind.  My beautiful children have given me the most thoughtful and generous gift I've ever received.  They presented me with a round trip ticket to Europe for my birthday this year.  I still cannot believe I am going.  I've been staring at my brand new passport for the last month with such excitement I can hardly stand it.

My sweet husband is staying home with our youngest because she is in school.  The amazing company I work for, Alliance Title & Escrow Corp., has provided me with a sabbatical this year which means my vacation time is extended by two weeks (on them)!  My wonderful family (Mom, Dad, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins) have done so much to help make this happen.

My lovely friend Jeannine, is taking this adventure with me and I am so happy and grateful that she is going.  We are going to have the most amazing time of our lives!

Our youngest son, Marcus, and his wife Naoual, live in Heidelberg Germany.  They have been there for three years now and this will be the first time I will see their home.  I cannot wait to get to spend time getting to know her better and I'm thrilled to get to meet Naoual's family that are in Germany as well. 

The first part of our journey is driving from Spokane to Seattle on Thursday, to take a very early morning flight to Frankfurt on Friday.  Some of our trip will include Germany, France, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and who knows where else!  We are jumping into this with a rental car, plenty of guide books and a sense of adventure (and humor).  Reservations might have been helpful, but it's a little more exciting to just see what we can find.

The blog is aptly named 'aBroads' because Jeannine and I are proud to be two middle aged women with a sense of adventure and a little bit of an attitude.

I'm creating this blog as an attempt to keep the family informed as to our whereabouts.  I'm also terrible at writing notes and actually getting them in the mail.  I would probably never find the time to get a scrapbook put together, so this is my virtual travel journal.

Thank you everyone for your support through all of this and for bearing with me with my ridiculous level of excitement.

I will always be thankful and I love and adore my children for making this happen.  You are all the most amazing, generous and loving people I know.