Barcelona: Better Late than Never

I would like to thank my friend "J" for our conversation about Prague this morning.  It reminded me that I have a neglected blog!  I am hereby making a December resolution to update at least bi-monthly in the coming year.   I enjoy writing and need to be doing more of it.  It's also great for the brain, right?  Who doesn't need brain food?


I never came back to write about our summer travels and I apologise.  We had a lovely trip to Barcelona back in May.  We were hoping for some warmer temperatures (which promptly arrived the day after we left), but it was still a very nice holiday.  We were able to see some of the Gaudi sights. The man designed some amazing buildings and parks.  Sagrada Farmilia is absolutely stunning.  If you get to Barcelona, go there. Parc Guell is also an amazing  place for walking and running off energy with the kids. The city itself was friendly and easy to navigate. Take a walk down the Ramblas and take in the shops and the atmosphere. We stayed outside the city center and used the metro a lot.  The beach was walking distance.

Sagrada Familia

It was our hope that we could spend a day at the beach.  It was the first time the kids and the husband would see the Mediterranean.  It was very windy and only in the mid-60's, but we did it anyway.  Sadly, on our first attempt we didn't realize we were about 100 yards and one bend in the coastline away from a very nice beach.  The part of the coastline we ended up on had trash along the shore and was quite disappointing.  Thankfully, we found a better beach the next day and were able to at least see what we missed out on.  ;-)

We spent one afternoon just wandering and had such a nice time.  We ended up winding through Citutadella Park and finding Arco de Triunfo de Barcelona.  A pleasant surprise.  We also took a long stroll down the promenade and enjoyed the sea views.  We stopped to eat pizza and ice cream in the sunshine.  It was really lovely.

Barcelona has so much to offer and we only saw a fraction.   If you ever have the opportunity to go, grab it. Sorry the blog sight isn't allowing me to add pictures.  I'll try again later.  :(  Update:  Able to add a few pics.

Mom, I found my Blog!

You know it has been a very long time since you shared your life when you can't even remember where your blog is.  :-/  Oops

A lot has happened in the months that have slipped by since my last entry.  I realized I never did an official "mom travels" post.  In the 2 years I've lived in England I have traveled with "the girls" 4 times.  It's so important to me, to get away and recharge.  I need that in my life to be a better mom and wife.

My first trip away from my family was to the Algarve in Portugal.  It was way back in October 2012.  Off season, in a beach front room, with abnormally warm temperatures, with friends.  It was fabulous.  One day was spent entirely laying on the beach, reading and eating.  Choosing the perfect ice cream flavor was the most difficult decision.    We also managed a boat tour along the coast.  Investigating caves and swimming off the boat.  Just for the record, authentic peri peri chicken is one of the best foods ever!  Sadly,  2 of my travel companions left England before the next annual girl's weekend took place.

cliff caves in Portugal

In October 2013, after spending the summer training for my second marathon, my friend Mel and I jetted off to Majorca, Spain.  My first time at the Mediterranean!  I was amazed.  It was so beautiful.  The water so clear.  We went all inclusive on this trip.  Advantage: never having to worry about where to eat.  Disadvantage: Not trying local cuisine and being a slave to the food schedule of the resort (lovingly referred to as the trough).    However, another beach front room, running, hiking and biking along the promenade and local hills was relaxing and fulfilling.  There was also an awesome Abba show in the resort one evening. When the girls asked what countries were represented in the crowd, they didn't even ask if there were Americans. Ha!  Good times, I tell ya.    An interesting fact about the part of the island we stayed in:  Predominantly German tourists.  The resort staff spoke German, English and Spanish. lol  The Germans got rowdy one night, singing and clinking glasses by the pool.  Loved it.

View from resort in Majorca

Next up, was an 8 woman trip to Nice, France in February 2014.  There was a rock n' roll, 10 mile race in Nice.  My friend (Mel, of course) and I decided it would be fun to gather a group of women to travel for this one.  We rented a flat behind Hotel Negresco and had an amazing time.  We hiked and toured the old town, ate at a lovely restaurant, traveled to Monte Carlo, had another lovely dinner prepared in the flat and ran a fun race.  Running along the Cote d'Azure, in a tutu will be among my top 10 favorite running moments.

Cote d'Azure, Nice

Monte Carlo, Monaco

My latest girl's weekend was May 2014.  Mel and I went to Ibiza, Spain as a final trip before she, too, would leave England.  Another one of the Balearic Islands, a bit smaller than Majorca.    Of course, we had a room with a sea view.  What is the point of going to the beach if you can't see it.  ;-)  We accidentally ended up with sun burn the first day.  We just aren't used to being in the sun and it didn't occur to us that walking down the promenade would lead to red necks and arms.    After laying on loungers near the water, we found a pharmacy that was open and bought ourselves a 12 euro bottle of Aloe. Yes, that is a bit much. Beggars can't be choosers.  We ate well in Ibiza.  Indian, French, Mediterranean.  I discovered that I am not a fan of Paella.  At least not the way it was made there.  Oi.  No thanks.  This trip the weather was a bit cooler and we weren't directly on a sandy beach, so we didn't actually go in the water, but we had a nice run and spent a lot of time relaxing and reading.  Another successful holiday.



Next girl's trip is Iceland in October!  Leaving the beach scene behind for now.  I'll be back to share our family adventure in Barcelona and we have a holiday to Ireland in the near future. Plus, I need to tell you about my first triathlon and the Bed Race!  Thankful for these opportunities and experiences.  I am forever changed. 

Success in Prague

It finally happened!  We finally had a trip that we consider a success!  We had a lovely holiday in Prague.  That's not to say there was no fighting or hitting, pinching or crying.  There was.  There was a normal amount of those things and it didn't deter us or keep us from doing the things we had hoped to do.  Hooray!

We had an early morning flight.  Thankfully, it was out of the local airport so a 4:00am wake up time was in order.  The kids weren't thrilled about being woken up,  but they were in awe of all the stars that were still out.  Cait was just excited to be going on holiday and on a plane.  I think we have a born traveler.  ;-)  Every day leading up to our departure she asked me about our holiday and the plane.  Maybe she just likes the lollipops I dole out upon descent.  Our flight was uneventful, the way we like it and we landed in Prague around 10am on a Friday morning.

The owner of the flat we rented was there to greet us and drive us to our home away from home.
It was a spacious, clean apartment, close to everything we wanted to see.  The owner was fantastic.  He gave us tips on what to do and where to go and was super friendly and talkative.  He didn't have any bookings directly before or after us and allowed us to arrive early and depart late.

We spent the first day exploring the area.  Cait and I took a little nap while the boys checked out the Lego museum and Old Town Square.  We hit up the tesco for some basic foods and snacks and ate dinner in the Town Square.  Sausage, kabobs and crepes from local venders.  Yum.  We called it a night fairly early since we had been up since 4am.

We spent the rest of the weekend exploring Old Town, seeing a chamber music concert in the mirror chapel at the Klementinum, visiting the castle and petrin hill and shopping for bohemian crystal.  We also saw the Spanish Synagogue and took a horse and carriage ride through the Jewish Quarter.  One of our favorite activities was running around at a playground, on an island in the center of the river, with great views of the Charles Bridge.

Overall, it was a lovely time.  Prague is an amazing and beautiful place.  I am so glad we made it a priority to see.

Adventures in Vienna

Laying in bed, not sleeping, for the 3^rd night in a row, I realised I never posted about our trip to Vienna.

It is kind of a blurr, but I should write something down to look back on one day.

After 4 nights in Budapest, we boarded a train to Vienna. We did not realise that we sat in reserved seats. Thankfully, the 2 travellers (who were not together), took pity on our family of 5, shoved in to 4 seats with a table (so the kids could color and be occupied) and found different seats. The air conditioning was minimal and the temperature was rising. Cait started having a melt-down early on, but we managed to curb it with snacks and crayons. We all made it to Vienna in one piece, though hot and tired.

I'm not 100% sure what we did that day, other than check in to our flat and get some groceries. It was 95+ degrees the 3 days we were there. If there was hell on Earth, it would have been Vienna those 3 days. Our flat was ground floor (which means below ground in Europe). There was no air conditioning and it was dank. It just felt musty. I also realised immediately, that there was no washer, drying rack or laundry facility at.all. I'm not sure how I missed that.when booking. 7 nights away with only carry-on luggage, requites laundry to be done. We washed laundry in the sink and hung it around the damp apartment. Guess what? It took 2 days to dry. One of the first things I noticed was a bottle of ant spray.  Oh yes, they started to appear on day 2 and by the morning of our departure it was gross.

I think we took a quick walk in to town to get our bearings before settling in for the night. When we returned to the dungeon we were staying in, Cait started having some respiratory issues. It was hard to tell if it was just congestion or an asthma flare up. Jason ended up taking her to the ER. Thank the Lord, her lungs were clear, but they gave us an inhaler to be safe (I, stupidly, left the inhaler on the kitchen counter at home while packing).

On Sunday, we walked to the Old Town Centre to see St.Stephen's Cathedral and scope out places for dinner. It was already hot and the kids were already complaining. My favourite part of the morning was finding a Starbucks that served iced coffee and not a coffee slushy. We didn't go in to the cathedral. It was just too much stress to get the kids on board with that. We took a nice horse and carriage ride through the town, instead. After that we walked to Haus der Musik. It turned out to be a highlight of the trip. It was air conditioned and the kids got to put head phones on in every room and listen to music. I think we all enjoyed it, until the fighting in the gift shop. Alas, I will spare you the gory details. Let's just say the bad attitudes lasted the rest of the day. Dinner, outside, in the 90 degree heat did not help. We did get to see the statue of Mozart. Yay! I saw something on my list. ;-)

Horse and carriage ride with St. Stephen's Cathedral in the back

St. Stephen's cathedral

Conductin at the music museum

Monday, we took the tram out to Schonbrunn Palace. We learned from our visit to Versailles, that the gardens are really the only part worth seeing with our kids. Trying to walk through a crowded palace was not going to happen. The gardens were beautiful. There was a playground area with garden mazes and really interesting playground equipment. Everyone enjoyed that part of the day. We were pretty spent at this point. We decided the best thing we could do is take in a movie. We found an English showing of Despicable Me 2 and headed out to see it. We all enjoyed it and Cait even kept her 3-D glasses on the whole time. I am very thankful for that less than cultural experience that allowed us some down time.

Finally, it was Tuesday and we headed home. The plane ride was a success with the aid of hand held devices and lollipops. It was so nice to be back on UK soil. At least for a few days. I jetted off to Dublin a few days later, but that's a story for another time. Cheers!

Summer Travels: Budapest

Back in late winter we had planned a trip to Prague and Budapest for mid-June.  We found really cheap airfare and nice places to stay.  Unfortunately, our trip was scheduled about the same time as the flooding in that region of Europe and we had to reschedule the trip.  Lesson #1: Travel Insurance.  We will now purchase travel insurance for most of upcoming plans.  It cost a lot of money to rearrange flights and re-book apartments.  In the end, we decided to split the trip in 2 and add an additional city (country). We recently spent time in Budapest and Vienna and will visit Prague later this fall.

Budapest:
At the end of July we left Liverpool, England and headed for Bratislava, Slovakia.  We then hopped a train for Budapest, Hungary.  Our time in Budapest was a mixed bag.  It was hotter than we are used to now and walking around a city in 90+ heat was a bit uncomfortable.  We lost an entire day to complaining, whining and down right refusal to get shoes on and leave the apartment. The boys were running ahead and I think Brady nearly got hit by a car twice.  It was very stressful.  Sigh.  It's a real shame.  What I saw of Buda and Pest was beautiful.  It was unique compared to other places we have been.  There were brass statues all over the city.  It became a game in my head to spot them.  Had I not been on the verge of melting down myself, I may have shared the game with the kids. :) My favourite was Ronald Reagan.  Visit a former communist country and see a statue of a former American president in a park. Very cool.   Budapest also has a ton of water features throughout the city. Some for drinking, some for watching, some for washing, all a pleasant surprise. Liberty Square had an interactive water feature. As you walked closer the spouts dropped down.  In theory, you could enter the centre of the fountain without getting wet.  Of course, in the heat there were several children, running around having a blast with it.

Hello, Mr. President

Water show

We spent a day walking around the Castle District and Buda.  We walked across the Chain Bridge and rode the funicular to the top.  Another first for us.   The Gallery, Fisherman's Bastion and St. Matthias Church were all amazing.  Unfortunately, it was another scorching day and the kids weren't really having it. We did an underground labyrinth that started off as fun and ended up freaking Collin out. We had planned to spend our final day in Budapest on Margaret Island and it was the best decision we made all week. The island itself is just beautiful.  I mean, seriously, an island in the middle of the Danube that serves as a park.  Very little traffic, since there is limited access for vehicles.  I think, but am not certain, that only public transport is allowed on the island.  Personally, I was disappointed that it was so hot and I chose not to run.  There is track that runs the entire perimeter of the island.  A runner's dream.  I teared up a little when I saw it.  We did however, make it to the baths on the island.  The kids loved it.  Pools of all shapes, sizes and temperatures.  It was the best part of the trip.  I sat in a thermal bath in the 90 degree heat and soaked it all in.  As a bonus, we caught the musical fountain on our way off the island and the kids thought it was the best thing ever. I admit, it was Awesome.

In the castle District.  That pink speck is me.

View of Pest from the funicular.

The food in Hungary is delicious, but heavy.  Not exactly the kind of food you want to be eating in the heat, but yummy, none the less.  Of course, the chicken paprikas and langos are to die for.  We also had a lot of really fantastic gelato.  ;-)

 I think I'll save Vienna for another day.

Travel with My Kids: What I've learned

I need to write a post about our actual time in Budapest and Vienna, but today I just wanted to share a list of things that seem to be inevitable when I travel with my kids.

Ugh.

1. Very few things are fun in 95 degree heat.
2. There will be complaining.  A LOT of complaining.  "It's too hot."  "Are we there?."  "How far, long, hot is    it?"
3.  There will be more sibling fighting than at home.
4.  No one eats or sleeps enough.
5.  We may not see a vegetable for days.
6.  I will, at some point, become a very unsuccessful dictator.
7.  Complaints will arise about the food, lack of English speaking TV and missing video games.
8.  Someone will have or nearly have a toilet accident.  It is most likely NOT the 3 year old.
9.  One or more child will decide he/she doesn't want to do something, drag their feet and cause us to miss our scheduled activity.
10. It is very likely someone will fall asleep at an inconvenient time and melt down later.

 Yay.

1. Coloring books, activity books and crayons are great for planes and trains.
2.  Mad Libs work. (Waiting at restaurants, airports, for a movie)
3.  Bribing with gelato also works.
4.  Handing out lollipops during descent and landing is genius.
5.  When flying a budget airline with a family, Priority boarding is worth the extra expense.
6.  Someone will surprise you with good behaviour and/or appreciation of something historical or cultural.
7.  A horse and carriage tour will generally make my kids smile.
8.  Water parks and public baths ARE fun in 95 degree heat.
9.  We will take longer to get around, but might see things we would have missed otherwise.
10. Even if they complain the whole trip, when we get home they will continually discuss the cool things they did and share this information with strangers they meet.

I guess they are getting something out of it.  However, I'm looking forward to some kid free trips.  :)  Dublin or Bust!

Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun!

Once again, I have been a horrible blog poster.  I just can not seem to focus long enough to write coherently.  I'm sure a ton has happened (though none of it very exciting) since my last post, so I'll do a brief recap for you.  :)

Lake District:
We decided last minute to spend a night near the Lake District in the north west part of England.  It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and we plan to return more than once.  The mountains, the lakes, the hiking, the views.  It was simply breath-taking.   We arrived in Keswick in the early afternoon and grabbed a quick lunch from a vendor in the parking lot.  Burgers and chips (fries).  Hiking fuel, of course.  Then we headed along the path to Derwent Water, one of the large lakes in the region.  Our goal was to hike catbells, one of the many walks in the area.  The catch was that Jason was wearing Caitlin on his back and there were a few steep climbs.  We did not quite make it to the top.  It became steep and craggy and just not worth the risk with Cait in a back carrier.  Anyone want to come stay with us and baby sit so Jason and I can go back and finish the hike?  ;-)  The boys loved it.  They kept saying, "I can't believe we are on a mountain".   Of course, Brady in true form, was running and leaping and being his usual dare devil self.  He was not pleased when I made him hold my hand on the walk down.  It really could have been a bad situation.

Sittin' on the dock of the bay.  Waiting for a ride to the other side.

Derwent Water from the path

All the way to the left is one of the peaks from catbells

After our hike we had a nice dinner at a small italian restaurant and set out for icecream.  Sadly, most of the shops had closed, but we did find ice cream before heading to our hotel.  Our hotel was actually in Penrith.  It was great.  One of the few places that fit all 5 of us in one room.  There were bunkbeds and a pull out couch in addition to a Queen sized bed.  There were cookies and milk waiting in the room for the kids.  They had even spelled out their names with chocolate sauce on the plate.  Nice touch.  Of course, the down side of staying in one room is that one person, let's not name any names, Caitlin, woke up screaming in the middle of the night, we were all up.

The next morning, we headed to Windermere.  Another beautiful lake and adorable town.  Though we preferred the "outdoorsy" feel of Keswick over Windermere,'s "boutique" feel.  We took a short 3 mile walk along the edge of the lake and through the town.  We were ready to head home, so we picked up a few things for lunch at the grocery store and headed out.  We had perfect weather and a lovely time.

The Weather
The weather has been AMAZING!!!  It has been sunny and dry for weeks.  It started with some nice days in the 60's with very little rain and continued to escalate to days on end of sunshine and temps reaching the upper 70's/low 80's.  I even have a bit of color.  A farmer's tan, but still, that 's color.  I hope that is not an offensive phrase, "farmer's tan," is it?  Anyhow, after the long, cold, dark, damp, did I say cold? winter, it is a very welcome weather pattern.  I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but in the meantime, I'll take it!

It afforded us the opportunity to check out a beach.  We headed to Filey beach on the North Sea a week or two ago.  It was not like being in Rehoboth Beach, DE, but it was nice.  The beach was way too rocky for my taste, but the kids had a blast playing in the water and digging in the sand.

We are heading off on our next adventure soon, so I plan to share that experience with you when we return.  Right now, I need to go enjoy the sun.  :)