When Moms Come to Visit: Leslie in Luxembourg

Donneschdeg, 16 Juni.

I'm officially feeling like the luckiest duck in the world. After listening to me brag about Luxembourg for the past nine months, my mom finally got to come check out the Grand Duchy for herself. She arrived last Friday morning and we have spent the past week exploring some of my favorite corners of Luxembourg.

Selfie time after an obligatory excursion to the Casemates du Bock!

In addition to Luxembourg City and my hometown of Esch-sur-Alzette (après neuf mois, je me considère comme une vraie Eschoise...), we spent a day exploring some of the more distant corners of Luxembourg. I loved having the opportunity to revisit some of my favorite places from the past year, including Larochette Castle. It rained on us a bit during our second day, but we didn't let the bad weather dampen our spirits. And hey, at least my mom got to catch a glimpse of the famous Luxembourgish weather! 

\

 

 

We could have easily spent the rest of the week in the same fashion -- visiting castles and tiny towns before returning to the city for dinner and deux verres de vin blanc, s'il vous plait. But somehow it didn't seem fair for my mom to fly all the way to Luxembourg and not add a country or two to her list!

So after a couple of quiet days in Luxembourg, we hopped in a rental car and headed south. Within the time it would have taken to drive to the mall, we were crossing the Luxembourg-France border. And within the time that it would have taken to drive to my dorm at William & Mary, we were were passing village after village in the beautiful region of Alsace. Stay tuned for more from our international mother-daughter road trip, including our adventures along the famous Route des Vins d'Alsace, our impromptu stops at the Lorraine American Cemetery and the Bastogne War Museum, and our overnight stay in the picturesque town of Vianden.

But in the meantime, here's a quick sneak peek...

 

Between ducking under castle ruins to avoid the rain and driving in circles around roundabouts to the chagrin of our French GPS, I have had an absolute blast showing my mom around my favorite tiny country. I cannot believe that she will be heading back to the States tomorrow morning!

As I come to the end of my grant period, I cannot help but feel a little overwhelmed by how lucky I have been to share Luxembourg with so many wonderful people! From my students and coworkers to my housemates and the friends who went out of their way to add Luxembourg to their list of destinations, the list of people who have made the last nine months so special seems to grow longer every day. Like I said, I'm a lucky duck. :)