European Observations

Every time I come to Europe I notice things that I either wish I had back home and notice clothing/fashion that I know will come in style soon. During my Norway trip in 2004, I remember lots of Norwegians chicks sporting the hair bump and wearing huge UGG boots. The UGGs made it across the ocean faster than the hair bump did, but both did. In our Euro-trip in fall 2005, I was introduced to the baby wrap/sling by our Belgian friends and remember particularly loving the flowing capri pants that I noticed the women wearing in Spain and Italy. With Annabelle on her way just months later, I quickly searched for the wrap once I got home, only to find that the selection was extremely limited (but now you can find they all over the place) and by the time that I was out of maternity clothes, the capri pants were available at Target. Many of the trips have also included music that I found that I liked, only to hear it on American radios a few months later.

Marian and I have been keeping an eye out for those types of things on this trip. We've both been noticing that deep purple seems to be a popular color for clothing. We've seen women (and men) in Austria, Germany, and Belgium sporting this up-and-coming color. While on our bike tour, we noticed quite a few kids my kids' ages riding two wheel bikes without petals like this one. I've seen these before and didn't quite get the point of them, but now I realize that it would be perfect for Corgan who has no interest in learning how to petal, but wants to keep up with his sister. And it would also be great for Annabelle who is learning to ride a two wheel bike, and needs to master the concept and confidence of balancing before the training wheels can come off. When I get back to the states, I'm definitely getting one of these bikes!