France

Paris. What else is there to say about Paris that hasn't been said by better writers than me? I will say this: We woke each morning and exercised for a couple of hours under the Eiffel Tower. Then we would eat a light breakfast of incomparable French pastry, and then wander the city the rest of the day, eating lunch in whatever wonderful cafe happened to be near. In the evenings, we would hang out with Meghan and Rick, and my sister Nora, who was vacationing in Paris and Morocco. It's a pretty great life.

Italy

After leaving Berlin, we hooked up with my sister Meghan and her husband Rick, who live in Paris. We rented a car and drove down to Rome. Along the way, we spent a few days in Cinque Terra along the Italian coast, just south of Genoa. It was amazing, the pictures don't do it justice. Walking along the coast, drinking hot chocolate in cafes during the day and good wine at night are really as fantastic as you might think it would be.

Rome was amazing as well. We spent a bunch of time with my mom's cousins, Alvaro Mino and his sister Pierra. They are awesome. The stories were great, as was the food and the wine and the little tours that Pierra would give spontaneously. If you have any relatives at all in Italy, I suggest you visit them.

Germany

We climbed aboard an Airbus in Ulaan Bataar, and 8 short hours later we had winged across much of Asia and landed in Berlin. Welcome back to the Western World! We loved Berlin. The city is busy yet quiet, filled with great parks and displaying it's tumultuous history. We enjoyed the way the Germans have embraced the difficult period of the Nazi regime, and gloried in the fall of the authoritarian state. I'm happy to say there was no danger of me being shot as I scaled a remnant of the Berlin Wall. We spent far less time here than the city deserves, especially since, as Europe goes, this town is quite affordable. But, Paris and Rome were calling to us...