We have done quite a bit of travelling over the past few months.
Tony and I went to Paris for the weekend back in Feb to meet up with our friends from Charlotte. It was funny to me the incredible change in atmosphere between London and Paris.
The difference between the London underground and the Paris metro is amazing. The metro is dirty and somehow older looking, while the underground is relatively clean. British people are reserved, stoic people as a whole and it can be seen at no greater place than the underground. On the tube, people generally don't look at each other, sit straight up and only in their seat and barely make any sound. However on the metro, I am immediately surrounding by people kissing and caressing (one couple was a dead ringer for Long Duk Dong and Lumberjack from "Sixteen Candles" with the exception of The Donger being of Middle Eastern descent). I do realize it's the city of love but come on, the metro! Next, a couple of suave French men get on and turn on their boom box loud and start gyrating all over. You will never see that on the underground.
Along the same topic, there is a big difference in a taxi driver in Dublin and one in Prague. The Irishmen all think they are comedians and it's part of their job to entertain you with fork lore while driving. The Czech, who I know speaks English, says just enough to let us know he knows where to take us and tell us we are there.
In March, Tony, Isabelle, Logan, my Mom and I headed to Dublin, Ireland for a long weekend. We, of course, did the Guinness tour. I have to say I felt a little strange taking my young children to a brewery. They really enjoyed watching old tv commericals. For at least a week they both walked around signing "Guinness is good for you"!
Mom, the kids and I also went to Cork while in Ireland. I thought the Blarney castle grounds were beautiful. It helped that it was a sunny day. I was able to kiss the Blarney stone but the kids were to little and Mom wanted no part of that. To climb up to the top of some of these castles you can't be even a little claustrophobic. It was really tight quarters in the stair well up the castle.
Next, we all went on a cruise. We left out of Barcelona on a 9 day Western Mediterranean cruise. Our stops included: Casablanca, Morocco; Agadir, Morocco; Las Plamas, Carnary Island, Spain; Funchal, Madeira, Portugal; Malaga, Spain.
I was a little nervous, since my kids have never been on a cruise, to go for such a long time. On the second day my fears seemed valid. Logan became quite sick... no fever, just violent episodes of vomiting. It started Saturday night just before bed. On Sunday morning again as we were getting off the boat to go to Casablanca. I was so worried about him and the water supply in town that we didn't stay off the boat long. He continued being sick and not keeping anything down. We took him to the ship doctor who gave him so nausea medicine. I was starting to worry we were going to have to get off the boat and fly home. Thankfully, on the 3rd day he got his sea legs.
Morocco was ok... it was very dirty and lots of people trying to sell you something or get you to hold some poor animal and take a picture so they can then demand money. We all got to ride a camel which the kids loved.
The Canary Island stop was in the biggest city on all the islands. It reminded me a lot of Miami so again not my favorite. I am told by many people that Tenerife, a small Canary Island, is fabulous... maybe next time.
Funchal, Portugal was stunning. I loved it. We took a cable car up the mountain and then a toboggan ride down. The ride was interesting. You sit in a "basket" and two men pull, push and steer you down. It was a blast.
Malaga, Spain was also quite beautiful. We walked around a fortress that had so many hazards (ie high stairs with no railings) that in the States it would be a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Overall I think we all had a good time. The kids loved all the food and the kids club. Mom and I liked that we didn't have to come up with an answer of what to eat for lunch or dinner.
The first weekend in April, Tony and I headed to Prague, Czech Republic. I really liked the city. It was old but pristine. The Easter markets were just getting started. Prague is really stunning at night.
For Mom's last weekend (at least for this round) we headed to Hampton Court Palace. As Palace's go this one was pretty good. It has been well preserved. They had been filming a movie there so all the props were still scattered around which made it feel more Medieval. There was a maze that the kids thoroughly enjoyed. We found the center, guided by Isabelle and Logan, in 7 minutes.
Tony, the kids and I went to Holland to stay with our friends Dave, Betsy, Rian and Shane.
I was just so amazed at driving around the Hague and seeing beautiful flowers every where. We stopped to "smell the tulips". We got to see the Flower Parade... amazing floats made with hundreds of flowers. We spent a few hours in Amsterdam. It was a cross between Prague and Venice, although I enjoyed each of those more than Amsterdam. It was fascinating to see the "coffee shops" which have cannabis on the menu. I actually had a bit of a headache from the smells wafting from the shops. It's an interesting atmosphere. The Hague, however, was clean, quiet... it had a simple beauty about it. I love that everywhere you look you see people riding bicycles. There are even multi-level bicycle parking garages. Tony and Dave even rode bikes to a bar to watch football. I wish I could have seen them cycling back at 1:30 a.m. after a few beverages!
As you can probably tell, I'm trying to cram as much in as we can. My poor kids have reached the point of "Not another castle... boring" but I don't know how long we'll be here so they just have to deal. Thanks to God for the iPod!!!
More pictures are posted here...
http://gallery.me.com/fowler99#100072
