Nice, France (Parade of Lights)

When we decided to go to Nice for the Rock'N'Roll 10 Miler du Carnaval we knew we had to check out the Parade of Lights!

We made seat reservations online through their website, easy peasy.  We just printed the tickets out and took them with us to the gate!  The parade was amazing!  The people were so energetic and the floats were spectacular!

Hitcsherhof Pumpkin Festival, Germany

Spent the day at the Hitcsherhof Pumpkin Festival!

There were tons of vendors in the farmer's and craft markets, a place to pick your own flowers, a place for the kids to play in the hay, a corn field labyrinth...

Landstuhl, Germany (Sickingen Fair)

We went to Lanstuhl today to check out the annual Sickingen May Market Fair.  The festival is not very big, but it had a few kids rides and yummy food...and that is what we go for!

Speyer, Germany (Renaissance Festival)

We went with a friend of ours to Speyer, Germany today to check out what we thought would be a small town medieval festival...we ended up going to "the largest traveling Medieval Cultural Festival in the world!"

(Photo:  http://www.spectaculum.de)

Travel to Speyer was easy, it was mostly all autobahn and only took an hour.  We got there just in time for a "traditional German" lunch at the Domhof Hausbrauerei (and a few yummy home brews) and walk the main square before heading into the festival...

Rome, Italy (Festival of the Italian Republic)

Today our "plan" was to hit the Colosseum then roam Palatine Hill and check out the Roman Forum. However, we failed to consider that today was Festa della Repubblica Italiana, Republic Day in Italy (kinda like our July 4th).  Most of the sites were closed until mid-afternoon, the streets were closed for parades, security was beefed up everywhere, and things were just utter chaos!

It was really cool to see how they celebrate their holiday though (even if it meant we ended up walking SEVEN MILES with two hot, cranky, small children all day).  And, it actually worked out great because we got to cram a lot more into our trip than we intended to and it made our next day even easier!

Kaiserslautern, Germany (Maikerwe)

After visiting last year's Oktoberkerwe, we were super excited for the Maikerwe (May Carnival).  Luckily, Grandma was here to enjoy it with us this time!

This is one of the biggest "folk fests" in the West Pfalz area with tons of food, vendors, craftsmen, beer gardens, and lots and lots of fun RIDES!

Keukenhof Gardens, Holland (Tulip Festival)

We went on a quick weekend getaway to the Tulip Festival in Holland this weekend!  We have heard such lovely things about the gardens and knew that the tulips would be a "must-see" during our time here.

Trying to find a hotel near Keukenhof proved a little difficult on short notice (at least for our price point), so we ended up staying in Rotterdam.  It worked out perfectly though, we left on a Friday afternoon after work and made the four hour drive to Rotterdam with hardly any traffic.

Ramstein, Germany (Wendelinusmarkt)

Had a fun afternoon in Ramstein-Misenbach checking out the local Wendelinus market!  This is one of the larger festivals in Ramstein, with over 140+ vendors and craftsmen presenting their wares.  In addition to all the local vendors, there was also an international arts and crafts area and French market with lots of imported goodies!

Kaiserslautern, Germany (Oktoberkerwe)

We went to Kaiserslautern today to check out their annual Oktoberkerwe (October festival).  It was packed with people, vendors, rides, and FOOD!

Annweiler, Germany (Chestnut Festival)

After a fun morning touring the Trifel's Castle, we hopped back on our tour bus and headed into downtown Annweiler.

Annweiler is a lovely little village in the Palatinate forest, a perfect setting for their annual chestnut festival!

Annweiler, Germany (Trifels Castle)

Today we went on our first big sightseeing adventure since arriving in Europe!  We had a blast checking out two amazing castles and a nearby chestnut festival through a guided USO tour...a much needed break from the stresses of moving overseas and living in a cramped hotel room for a month with two small children!

Our first stop on the tour was to Trifels Castle in the Palatinate Forest.

Weilerbach, Germany (Weilerbach Festival)

We were able to experience our first German festival today with some great friends of ours!  Although the village might be small, Weilerbach does know how to show folks a good time!

We started the day off right with some brats and pizza then let the kids go crazy on the rides!