10 months: European Vacation

A week before Squiggles turned 10 months old, we left for a two-week vacation in Europe.  Well… it wasn’t all vacation.  I had the opportunity to go to an RSV conference and of course I couldn’t leave my cute little squishy baby home without me!  Tim took care of the baby while I was at the conference (which thankfully was in the same hotel where we stayed so that I could pop up during breaks and feed the baby.  The conference lasted a few days, and we spent the rest of the time playing.  First stop: Amsterdam. 

We went to an Eetcafe near a canal (that really goes without saying).  Squiggles likes to pretend to read, so she carefully considered the sandwich menu:

Squiggles was an angel the entire time we were in Europe with the exception of the Anne Frank museum.  She got really bored in there, and didn’t seem to realize the gravity of the situation.

So we took her on a canal cruise.  This pacified her – she loves being outside and looking at stuff.

Next stop: Bruges, Belgium.  We walked around a lot, without a squeak from Squiggles.  She just loved walking around, waving at people, and looking around.

Squiggles was delighted to pose for our garden-gnome Travelocity-commercial-ripoff photos.  We took them everywhere we went.

Next, we drove to Switzerland.  Tim and I read The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo on the road – Squiggles was content for the most part to listen to me read the grownup book while she looked at pictures in her board books.  Of course we played games and sang songs, too.  I sat in back while the baby was awake, and in front while she was asleep (to keep Daddy company).

Squiggles really liked the pattern on the high chair at our hotel’s restaurant.

In fact, she loved it so much she tried to eat it.

She loved the cable car rides up and down the Swiss Alps:

And seemed duly impressed by the Schilthorn peak:

She played with Daddy at the awesome rotating restaurant:

And once again studied the menu carefully.  She tried to order a beer but got turned down because she forgot her ID.  Just kidding.

On the trip, she took naps while strapped to Tim in the Baby Bjorn whenever she felt the need.

She was an angel on the hike we took in the snow from one mountain village to another.

And really enjoyed the trainride back because the windows are like mirrors at night. 

On our way to France, we stopped at Chateau de Chillon. 

We arrived in Southern France very late.  Mommy and Daddy were exhausted, but Squiggles was ready to keep partying.

The next day, we went to Pont du Gard.  We put Squiggles in the stocks for being naughty at the Anne Frank museum.

We ate a rather fancy restaurant (by accident… we didn’t know it was fancy until it was too late).  Squiggles delighted the waiter and other restaurant guests by smiling and clapping at them.

During the trip, Squiggles and Daddy were best friends. They went everywhere together.  It was cold (December) most of the places we went, so we bundled the baby up accordingly.

Southern France was extremely windy due to a winter wind called Le Mistral.  Squiggles didn’t mind; in fact, she seemed to find the wind hilarious.

This is at Mommy’s favorite restaurant, even though it was all pink. 

And this was Squiggles favorite waitress – she played with the baby for nearly two hours while we ate. 

Daddy let Squiggles pretend drive while Mommy took a restroom break.

Daddy and Squiggles after a long day walking around Paris:

Hey, look!  A tower thingy!

We rode to the top at about 10:00 pm.  Squiggles fell asleep so we decided to call it a night and go home.