Greece: Athens and the Islands

BEST TRIP EVER. That is how I think I will always refer to these twelve days in Greece. It easily exceeded all of my expectations.

We flew from Stuttgart to Athens, where we met up with my parents, and then we all took a high speed ferry to the island of Paros, where we had rented a villa for the week. We usually rent apartments or homes when we travel and we have learned to expect that the photos of the properties are often much nicer than the properties themselves. Imagine my happiness and surprise when we arrived and the villa was just as nice, if not nicer, than depicted. Even better, it was in walking distance to the beach and a short car ride to the center of town.

We spent the mornings swimming and the afternoons exploring. We feasted daily on fresh fish, calamari, octopus, Greek salads and yogurt, and my favorite, spanikopita.

One day, my parents kept the boys and CM and I took a ferry over to Mykonos. What an extraordinary island. Paros is much more family friendly, while Mykonos is perfect for a couple or a group of friends looking to rage all day and all night. Definitely the party island. The landscape of Mykonos is unbelievably picturesque: the famous windmills, white stucco homes, crystal blue water. We spent the day pretending we were kid less, eating and drinking and soaking up the culture.

After spending a week on Paros, we checked out of the villa and headed back to Athens.
I have learned that having children means you stay at hotels that have pools. The Athens Marriott has a rooftop pool that overlooks the Acropolis. Quite a view.

Athens was hotter, dirtier, and not as beautiful as Paros but we had just as much fun. We walked to the top of the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon, and also toured the city, stopping to eat, shop and people watch.

I know that our travels will take us to many other places, all with wonderfully rich cultures. However, our nearly two weeks in Greece will be hard to top.  And until proven otherwise, this remains the BEST TRIP EVER.

Legoland Deutchland

When you have little boys, Lego's are introduced pretty early. You progress from the really large blocks to smaller and smaller ones. At three and a half, Griffin is only part of the way there. I don't think he really understood the types of things that Lego's can be built into. He was in for a surprise and in the end, we all were.

We were very excited to learn that we were living only about an hour away from Legoland Deutchland. This was Griff's first official amusement park visit and his excitement was contagious. He didn't stop talking the entire hour plus drive to get there.

Once inside the park, we narrowed down the rides and games that he was big enough for.  It was actually kind of limiting, but he was none the wiser. He drove a boat, a canoe, an airplane, a small car. He even drove his own jeep through a Lego Safari. Very cool.  He also rode on a topsy-turvy pirate ship. We attempted to get onto the tea-cups but he was pulled off because he didn't make the height requirement. Initially it was a bummer but the nice young girl who was working the ride gave Griff a little Legoman and that was even more valuable to him than the ride itself.

Poor Brogan spent most of the day in the stroller, with the exception of the Lego Train that we all took around the park.

At the center of the park is a large area that has Lego models of European cities, like Venice, Hamburg, Berlin, Paris, etc and famous German monuments and structures, like the Munich soccer stadium and the Frankfurt airport. It was incredible!

We lucked out with extraordinary weather. All in all, it was a wonderful day, like so many of our days have been while living here.

Israel: Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

Israel has been on my wish list for some time and the only way to fit it in before the arrival of baby #2 was to plan a trip around the 35th week of pregnancy. Not ideal, but with a doctor's note and some wrangling with airport personnel we were able to make it to Tel Aviv.

The view of the Mediterranean from our hotel room and the temperatures in the high 60's and low 70's made me feel that we were very far from home. What a wonderful break from the frigid German winter!

The second day after we arrived we arranged for a private guide of Jerusalem. I would recommend this to anyone who travels to this historic city. Our guide was fantastic.  For eight hours we toured and she gave us the Christian, Hebrew and Muslim history and perspective of the capital. What an education!

It was amazing and overwhelming to see the places where Christ once shared his teachings, was condemned, picked up the cross, was crucified and was buried.

We also visited the Wailing Wall, which is one of the most sacred sites in Judaism. We also had the privilege of touring the Western Wall Tunnels which runs the length of the Western Wall and runs beneath the Old City of Jerusalem.

Our day was complete when we toured, shopped and ate in the Jewish Quarter, Christian Quarter and Arab Quarter.

The rest of the trip was spent reading on the beach, indulging in Israeli cuisine and a few spa treatments. Not bad! I have to say that this trip was the highlight of all of our travels. I feel so privileged to have been able to see and experience such a different culture and history than my own. It was a week that I will not soon forget.

Holiday craziness in Madrid

We decided that five days in Madrid would be our second to last trip before the arrival of baby #2. We had no idea that the week after Christmas in Madrid is insane!  The streets are literally teeming with thousands of people looking for a party. It's reminiscent of New Orleans during Mardi Gras. It made for great people watching but also some difficulty navigating the streets with a three year old.

We focused our days with a walking tour in the morning, a large and late lunch after G's naptime and then a museum in the afternoon.

My focus of the trip was the food of Spain. I had received some recommendations from friends and also through foodie sites like Chowhound.

Although breakfast isn't a popular meal among the Spaniards, they will stop for a churro and chocolate. The hot chocolate is so rich and thick, its texture is like a warm pudding.  The churros are served hot and sugary and are ridiculously good.

We also enjoyed our fair share of tapas, jamon serrano, calamares, chorizo and cocido madrileno (a chickpea and meat stew that is a specialty of Madrid).

We visited the Museo de Prado to see Diego Velazquez's Las Meninas and to the Reina Sofia Museum to see Picasso's Guernica. We also toured the Palace and a number of churches. We covered a lot of ground in five days. It was fabulous but being in the middle of my third trimester, it was also exhausting.  Would love to and plan to return and explore other cities in Spain.

Italian adventure: Verona, Venice and Modena

A couple of months ago we realized that our time living overseas is limited (and punctuated by the birth of another child), so it was time to make some crucial travel decisions. We pulled out the atlas and discussed the countries we would like to further explore. France, Spain, Greece and Italy made the top four.

Northern Italy was the first of our four big trips. We rented a small apartment in downtown Verona and made the 6 hour drive. Prior to living there for a week, my knowledge of  Verona was very limited. Having taught it, I knew the famous Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet was set in Verona; and that people still flock there to see Juliet's home and balcony, thought by most to be folklore. However there is a lot more to this historical city. It houses the Verona Arena which is an ancient amphitheater built by the Romans that is still used today for opera, dance and theatre performances. In addition to the arena, many other Roman monuments, exquisite churches, and bustling plazas are found throughout the city.

Venice is only an hour train ride away, so we left early one morning to spend the day in the city on the water. After a fun train ride, we arrived in Venice and immediately hopped on a water bus to take us on the Grand Canal.  After we toured Venice on the water by boat, we headed to a great lunch at a small, nine table L'osteria where we feasted on Venetian specialities, followed by touring the city on foot. What a great day!

Modena was another day trip. CM wanted to hit the Ferrari Museum and Factory and I wanted to get my hands on some of that great balsamic vinegar for which Modena is known. The Ferrari Museum was kind of a disappointment. After visiting the Porche, Mercedes and BMW museums (my husband enjoys cars), we had certain expectations for the Ferrari Museum. Unfortunately, they weren't met. The staff was rude and it was small and expensive for what was on display. Modena itself was a lovely city with a large indoor market, (where I found my balsamic vinegar) and we shared some fantastic pizza, so the trip wasn't a total bust.

Our week in Northern Italy was memorable. We ate our way through the region and tried it all (who knew that the Veronese ate horse... regularly!??) and got a real feel for the Northern Italian culture. Off to France next....stay tuned.