I Capture the Castle

Howard, mum, Zev and I in downtown Stuttgart. Summer in Europe is gorgeous.
My man cooking us up another wonderful dish (he really is the world's best cook in my humble opinion).

In front of the Altes Schloss in downtown Stuttgart. Side note: I could have lived in ANY of these castles- aren't castles simply amazing? They just don't build castles like they used to anymore....haha

We enjoyed a packed lunch on the grass at Schlossplatz in Stuttgart.

Our flower boxes are looking lovely- in time for Meme and Howard's visit. Zev usually takes our "self-portraits" but I thought this one that I took was cool, with mum and Howard enjoying a conversation in the background.

Zev showing us the finer points of how to play Petanque (or "Boule" as it is commonly called in Australia).

Howard showing us how it's done. Team Howard and Meme- they said they hadn't played Petanque before, but I'm not sure....

Mum really took to the game- she was a natural and now she is asking when we will go and play again!! Fun stuff. We visited Strasbourg, France, which is in the heart of the Alsace region. My sweet friend, Adele's husband, Romain also comes from another city in Alsace called Colmar, and she has been filling me in on the specialities of this region in France. We enjoyed a yummy French lunch (very rich- it really is a wonder how those French girls stay so slim!).

Mum inspecting the French bakery.

HOT!!! Zev eloquently describing his lunch dish in France (his neighbor on the next table ended up ordering the same dish...."I'll have what he's having.....")
Walking through the streets of Strasbourg was lovely- mum kept saying that it reminded her of an old movie called "Umbrellas in Strasbourg." Good memory, mum!

Zev leafing through some antique prints in a Strasbourg market.

Our day trip to the historic university town of Tuebingen (where Fi is hoping to study next year!) and the pretty medieval town of Rottenberg was beautiful- the sun was shining and the colors of the flowers and artwork on the buildings seemed to be extra vibrant. Zev took some really neat close up shots, which showed the detail of craftsmanship and beauty in design.

Beautiful Heidelberg on the Neckar River- the same river that flows through our town of Esslingen, as well as the towns of Rottenberg and Tuebingen, which we also visited.

We toured Heidelberg Castle.Follow me, folks!

The title to this blog seems fitting as it is the title of one of my (Fifi) favorite childhood books (by English author Dodie Smith), and yesterday we visited our 5th castle in 8 days. Meme and Howard are visiting us all the way from Australia, and we have really enjoyed showing them the beauty of Europe in the summer time, as well as exploring some places that we have not been to before. Zev had to return back to work today, so I will take mum and Howard to visit one of my favorite local castles here, Ludwigsburg Castle (you've probably seen pictures in our blog as this is a "must do" for our guests!) So far we have also shown mum and Howard our sweet historic town of Esslingen (of course), as well as Stuttgart, Strasbourg in France where we enjoyed a yummy French lunch, Tuebingen (the flowers on the bridge were absolutely gorgeous), Rottenberg, and Heidelberg where we toured the historic Heidelberg Castle. Yesterday we visited Hohenzollern Castle, which is really one of the more picturesque castles that I have ever seen- it is one of those castles that when you imagine what a beautful castle perched on a mountain looks like- well Hohenzollern is that and more.The weather has been gorgeous thus far, and for Zev and I, this is our first summer in Europe (what a beautiful experience). We pinch ourselves and thank the Lord every day that we live here- we feel so incredibly blessed to live in Southern Germany. It is really neat to learn the history of Europe first hand as we visit all these amazing historic places. Hope you enjoy the pictures, God bless and take care wherever you are! Love and hugs, Fifi xoxoxo