europe un(lish)ed: the mckereghans

By March, we had the pleasure of hosting both of our parents but had yet to host any friends. No offense, Jerri, Karen, and Dave, but sometimes partying with your parents just isn't the same as with your best friends. That all changed in mid-March when my best friend, Katie, her husband, Jerame, and their almost-two-year-old, Jack, came to visit for two weeks. They spent most of their trip in and around Munich due to challenges of traveling with a small child, but they definitely made the most of their time. They probably know Munich better than we do (at least from a monuments and tourist perspective) and also visited Salzburg, Neuschwanstein Castle, and Dachau. It was nice having them in town for the majority of their trip, because we were able to spend a lot of time just hanging out at the apartment drinking beers, taking them to various restaurants around the city, beer gardens when the weather allowed, etc. In fact, one of my favorite nights was just hanging out with Katie and Jerame (Ryan had gone to bed, lame) and drinking late into the night. We told stories, watched funny movies and clips, and it felt like I had never left Seattle. Oh, how I have missed our friends!

We did get them out of Bavaria for a long weekend to spend some time in Italy. Some of you may remember that Ryan and I have already been to South Tyrol, and we are generally not people to repeat trips. However, South Tyrol is just some special kind of wonderful. We were excited to show one of favorite places to some of our favorite people. Plus, we did a much different trip than last time... yes some of the activities were the same (wine tasting, hiking, and of course eating delicious foods), but at least all were at different locations.

Before I get into the South Tyrol photos and commentary (complements of Katie & Jerame's excellent photography skills), here are a few other favorite anecdotes from their visit, and yes they mostly revolve around Jack:

We successfully convinced Jack to call tractors (big deal in a little boy's world) "Lisha car." This is because, upon showing them my EU driver's license, we discovered that I am licensed to drive scooters, cars, and small tractors. He still calls a tractor "Lisha car" two months later, which I adore!
Every time Jack saw a motorcycle, he would yell/growl "motorkicle!" This kid is seriously into his motor vehicles.
During our hike in South Tyrol we saw a bunch of sheep. From this moment on, Jack and I spoke to each other in "Baaaa!" only.
I bet Jerame 20 euros that he couldn't fit an entire bread dumpling in his mouth and eat it without spitting any out. He successfully won this bet, and we have it all on video. If you ever want to see this hilarious footage, just ask.