My Parents' Visit and a Trip to Monaco!

When my parents arrived, Nate and I were ecstatic! It had been a very long time since we'd seen family, so we were glad that they were able to come. My parents love to travel, so they did not waste any time while they were here. The same day that they flew in from NC, we hopped on a plane from Basel to go see my dad's side of the family in Monaco for a few days. I visited them back in April and had a blast, so I was looking forward to going back!
.

On our first full day, we went to the beach!Later that evening, Chris (my cousin's husband) took us on a tour. Here is Monaco's port all lit up at night...

Nate, me, my mom, and Chris in front of the Casino

The next day, we went for a walk to see the palace, but something was terribly wrong with Nate. He started having severe pain in his chest (next to his heart!) and shortness of breath. He is never one to complain, so when he told me how he felt, I started to get worried. Nate thought he should see a doctor, so we tried calling my cousin, but she wasn't answering. My mom was with us and she remembered that Chris was going to be in court in the morning (since he is a lawyer), so we waited in front of the courthouse for him to come out.

Minutes later Chris came out and we were so relieved because Nate was only feeling worse. Chris said that if he were to drop Nate off at the ER, it would take forever for someone to see him, so he said he had to call the firemen. Another few minutes later, an ambulance shows up to take Nate away. Fortunately, I could ride with him. I didn't take any pictures of this because it was a serious moment, but at the same time it was kind of funny because they turned the siren on. This was our first, and hopefully last, time to ride in an ambulance.

When we arrived at the hospital, they took Nate back to run some tests. This took a few hours, and I was not allowed in his room, so it seemed like an eternity. After running the tests, they could not find anything wrong, which was good, but also confusing. Then they did an x-ray... and still found nothing. It was hard to understand the doctor's English, but they think that he just pulled a tendon or muscle, which made sense because Nate had just played in a basketball tournament over the weekend and that's when the pain started. So all that for a pulled tendon, but at least we had a peace of mind that it wasn't something more serious!

After a dramatic afternoon, we had a very relaxing evening at my cousin's parents' villa. They have a beautiful sea view.

They also have a swimming pool which was fun for the kids... and me and Nate. Nate was feeling much better and even acting like a kid here!

It was Sean's 6th birthday, so we celebrated it with cake, balloons, and presents... and he was very happy :)

Here is my cousin, Renata, and her kids Dylan, Sean, Andrea, and little Victoria

Our last full day we took a walk along the coast...

To get to this beach:

It was beautiful and very relaxing because there weren't any crowds. Me, my mom, and my dad going for a swim...

That night, Chris took us to the tennis club of Monaco. It is neat playing there, not only for the view, but also because many famous tennis players have played there at their big tournament.My dad, serving it up...

They played against me, Dylan, and Chris (we rotated) and won by the skin of their teeth in a tiebreak. They are gloating here...

We had a blast, as always, with the Sosso family! The next day we said our goodbyes and headed back to Basel. Next adventure with my parents... the Czech Republic.