european round-up

Before I get to more photos of completely adorable Paris and majestic Switzerland I must share a scrumptious new find.

So, those macarons up there are EVERYWHERE in Paris & Switzerland. Sadly, I didn't try a single one while there because I was under the impression they were a meringue (well, they are, but not how I was envisioning) and I was too busy shoving my pie-hole full of crepes, croissants, and fromage. 

But then I saw these

at Trader Joe's and got all nostalgic (we've been back two weeks:) and snatched them up.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Get ready to freak out because they are downright delicious! 

Just make sure you open the box in front of your family so a) you don't scarf down the whole box by yourself and b) if you do scarf down the whole box by yourself you won't be able to lie to yourself later that you didn't. There will be witnesses to your gluttony.

So worth it though....mmmmmm!

Ahem. 

Onto the photos:

 View from top of the Arc de Triomphe

walking back down the Arc...

Cute little 'Rue' near our hotel with lots of yummy food...

[My hair looked like crap the entire time we were there. My sis-in-law, C'Sue, declares that's the advantage the French have on us Americans. None of our hair appliances work there so we emerge with bed head while they look fresh and polished.]

eating the goods...

Woody ranked this as a top 5 sandwich of his life. He declared it a masterpiece comparable to the masterpiece in the background...

We could barely fit in our hotel room but we could see the Eiffel Tower from it (see it?)

That's how it looked @ night from our room...

This is Michael's office in Sion...

Maisie did some nice artwork on his whiteboard...

I would like to end this photo-stream of our European vacation with a few words about my brother.

I have a one-of-a-kind, uberly-generous brother, which I've always known, but he surpassed all prior bighearted-brotherliness with this little trip of ours.

The whole reason we could afford this excellent trip was because MBH offered us his frequent flyer miles/points (which he claimed were expiring before he could use them). So that meant zero dollars for air-fare, which is a pretty good deal.

So, we planned the dates and a few weeks later MBH forwards me the flight confirmation email:

two First Class tickets from Portland to Dulles International

two Business Class tickets from Dulles International to Geneva, Switzerland!

I stared at the email for like an hour. I couldn't move. I couldn't talk.

Who does that?

This guy!

Wow.

So, ya, it's pretty great. In addition to lots of food, lots of space, lots of drinks, lots of movies, lots of hot towels, and total comfort you also get: no lines to check in, virtually no lines thru security, and swanky lounges to hang out in with giant flat screen TV's and more free drinks (for a gal that hates flying, free drinks are key!) instead of the airport terminals.

It was glorious. He's glorious. We'll never, ever forget it. He really inspires me to be a more generous person. 

You're amazing M.B.H. Thank you so very much!!