France vs. Italy - the World Cup is over

The World Cup has taken over our lives (and the country). Most noticably, we had to move to Bergisch Gladbach - just outside of Cologne - for two weeks at the beginning of the World Cup. Chiara enjoyed her time there but was visibly relieved to find that we were coming back to the same apartment and that we would not be moving to another "new home".

The first picture is of Kathy and Chiara and our friend Maximilian. We were watching the Ecuador - Germany game and I was forced to wear Germany colors in spite of rooting for the oposition. We also made another visit to the zoo, where Chiara was not terribly impressed by the proximity of the rhinoceros.

First video is of Chiara running around and talking. Second video is of Chiara running with her rain cap in the square in front of the Dom. Video three, Chiara drawing on the chalk board in the kids corner of our local drugstore. In video four, Chiara is walking and telling herself stories like she likes to do in the wide open space of the park just west of us here. Video five - you may remember that Chiara had her face painted in the previous posting of pictures, this is a video of Chiara and Todd reading a book together with the face paint on. Video six, Chiara is swinging and talking about pine cones, I think...

Then follow pictures of our time in Bergisch Gladbach. Chiara got to borrow a tricycle from the neighbor boys next door and almost figured out how to make it go. She also explored several local playgrounds and parks. One weekend Todd and Chiara took a trip with a couple of people from Todd's German class, and Chiara really liked Kata. She also got to wear her raincape and boots when there was a torrential downpour.

The video in this section is of a religious procession that Chiara and Todd watched in Bergisch Gladbach.

Chiara and Kathy attended the last meeting of our German playgroup. It was a picnic at a park in the south of the city and it was great to see everyone again, especially Heike, Chiara's favorite teacher. Heike painted faces again and Chiara came home with flowers all over. There are also some pictures of Chiara out and about the town.

Video one in this section is of Chiara swinging and talking again. Video two is of Chiara singing her version of "She'll be coming around the mountain" with her face painted. Video three is of Chiara showing off her face paint. Video four is of Chiara riding a mechanical pig.