Wow, two blog posts in one day - this is not the new normal, don't worry!
While we had planned to continue vagabonding into the winter, and then perhaps find work elsewhere in Europe next year, the plans have changed and I think it's making us savor each of our adventures here even more. Eric has a great opportunity to take a role with a company in Arizona starting in January, so we will be wrapping up our European travels mid-November when we head home for Thanksgiving.
Lots to do between now and then, of course...finding a house and some cars and a job for me are all near the top of the list. Probably not surprising, but getting a mortgage and car loans when you're technically unemployed is a bit more challenging :)
While we're super excited about how much good Mexican food we'll get to eat, it will be tough to continue being far away from family and friends. But we'll have a guest room (and a pool, of course) so visitors will be welcome any time. We understand we'll have to come 'up north' to see any of you during the summer, though - somehow managed to find a place even hotter than southern Spain!
Thursday, August 25, 2016
The Alps and Bavaria
We just wrapped up our first train trip and are getting ready to embark on our second, and very much looking forward to it! We spent the past couple weeks traveling through Switzerland, Austria, southern Germany, and even tiny Liechtenstein. Besides going broke in Switzerland, everything was excellent :)
Eric went up to climb for about a week before Coco and I flew up to Geneva to join him. Traveling alone with her has become much less intimidating as she's gotten older and we've gotten more experienced at it. She was very excited to see Daddy (as always!) and it was nice for us all to be together again. The first few days in Geneva included beautiful weather, riding bikes around town and the lake, checking out the local parks, and me having a little stroke every time we got the bill after a meal. Eric warned me that he'd spent $24 for a plate of basic pasta at a truck stop, we tried hard to be frugal but it was nearly impossible. Took advantage of breakfast at the hotel that was included with our room, although that was counter-productive when I got so full I didn't want to move :) We checked out Cathedrale de St Pierre, the botanical garden, a museum and the old city, and ogled the hundreds of watch shops. Overall our verdict was a beautiful city in a beautiful setting.
A short train ride away was Bern, and while we just spent 1 day there, it was awesome that we got to see the Saturday farmers market that took over several squares near the train station. Coco ate a couple pints of blackberries within the first 10 minutes :) We walked down to the river after the obligatory cathedral visit, and saw the bears along the banks (in enclosures, not wild!). Then it was on to Zurich.
More beautiful weather, more watch shops, more expensive living, and more gorgeous scenery. We got bikes again, which is such a great way to explore a new place - especially one that's relatively flat. Through sheer coincidence and no planning whatsoever, we happened to arrive the evening of their annual Street Parade, so the town was literally mobbed with a couple hundred thousands partiers that had been enjoying the day with drinks and music along the lakeshore and riverbanks. Many had managed to lose their clothes in the process, and Coco was insistent that she join them, running amongst the revelers in her Minnie Mouse undies and Crocs. #greatparenting
From Zurich, the next train took us through Liechtenstein to Innsbruck, where Coco and I finally got up into the mountains. Hiked around a bit and was reminded how terrifying a fearless 3-yr old and her encouraging father can be. We all survived, however, and made it back down in one piece. Decided this would be a good place to do the tourist hop-on/hop-off bus, so we got to see an old palace on the outskirts of town that contained one of the world's first museums (just a very large personal collection back in the day). We explored the lovely little Old Town, got to hear an impromptu concert in one of the squares since Austrians (and tourists) apparently love classical music, and I'm sure we must've seen a church in there somewhere.
The final destination was Munich, and amazingly the good weather was continuing. First stop was a ginormous beer garden, of course, where we paid homage to my roots via sausages and pretzels and lagers. We did that several more times before leaving, and sprinkled in some church visits, park strolling, and museum exploration. Another highlight was the day trip out to the countryside where we got to tour the fairytale castle of 'Mad' King Ludwig II. After having seen so many castles that were built 500+ years ago and have survived wars and sieges and attacks, it was surreal to see a comparatively new one (built in the late 1800's) that hasn't seen any struggles whatsoever. Highly recommended putting that one on your bucket list!
Fingers crossed that the next trip goes as smoothly, and that the weather continues to cooperate. It really makes exploring the cities so much more enjoyable. Will be interesting to see how different it feels in some Eastern European spots that are likely less cosmopolitan than the last trip...stay tuned :)
Eric went up to climb for about a week before Coco and I flew up to Geneva to join him. Traveling alone with her has become much less intimidating as she's gotten older and we've gotten more experienced at it. She was very excited to see Daddy (as always!) and it was nice for us all to be together again. The first few days in Geneva included beautiful weather, riding bikes around town and the lake, checking out the local parks, and me having a little stroke every time we got the bill after a meal. Eric warned me that he'd spent $24 for a plate of basic pasta at a truck stop, we tried hard to be frugal but it was nearly impossible. Took advantage of breakfast at the hotel that was included with our room, although that was counter-productive when I got so full I didn't want to move :) We checked out Cathedrale de St Pierre, the botanical garden, a museum and the old city, and ogled the hundreds of watch shops. Overall our verdict was a beautiful city in a beautiful setting.
A short train ride away was Bern, and while we just spent 1 day there, it was awesome that we got to see the Saturday farmers market that took over several squares near the train station. Coco ate a couple pints of blackberries within the first 10 minutes :) We walked down to the river after the obligatory cathedral visit, and saw the bears along the banks (in enclosures, not wild!). Then it was on to Zurich.
More beautiful weather, more watch shops, more expensive living, and more gorgeous scenery. We got bikes again, which is such a great way to explore a new place - especially one that's relatively flat. Through sheer coincidence and no planning whatsoever, we happened to arrive the evening of their annual Street Parade, so the town was literally mobbed with a couple hundred thousands partiers that had been enjoying the day with drinks and music along the lakeshore and riverbanks. Many had managed to lose their clothes in the process, and Coco was insistent that she join them, running amongst the revelers in her Minnie Mouse undies and Crocs. #greatparenting
From Zurich, the next train took us through Liechtenstein to Innsbruck, where Coco and I finally got up into the mountains. Hiked around a bit and was reminded how terrifying a fearless 3-yr old and her encouraging father can be. We all survived, however, and made it back down in one piece. Decided this would be a good place to do the tourist hop-on/hop-off bus, so we got to see an old palace on the outskirts of town that contained one of the world's first museums (just a very large personal collection back in the day). We explored the lovely little Old Town, got to hear an impromptu concert in one of the squares since Austrians (and tourists) apparently love classical music, and I'm sure we must've seen a church in there somewhere.
The final destination was Munich, and amazingly the good weather was continuing. First stop was a ginormous beer garden, of course, where we paid homage to my roots via sausages and pretzels and lagers. We did that several more times before leaving, and sprinkled in some church visits, park strolling, and museum exploration. Another highlight was the day trip out to the countryside where we got to tour the fairytale castle of 'Mad' King Ludwig II. After having seen so many castles that were built 500+ years ago and have survived wars and sieges and attacks, it was surreal to see a comparatively new one (built in the late 1800's) that hasn't seen any struggles whatsoever. Highly recommended putting that one on your bucket list!
Fingers crossed that the next trip goes as smoothly, and that the weather continues to cooperate. It really makes exploring the cities so much more enjoyable. Will be interesting to see how different it feels in some Eastern European spots that are likely less cosmopolitan than the last trip...stay tuned :)
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
6 countries in 2 weeks
How did August get here already?! It doesn't seem possible, but since half the businesses in Granada are closed for the next several weeks, it must be true. It will be interesting to see if this is also the case further north in Europe (Coco and I join Eric in Switzerland next week). Here, ~60% of the shops and cafes are either shuttered for weeks or operating on very limited hours for the whole month. I'm not exactly sure where everyone is, but they've gone. Hard to imagine that happening in the US besides a few days here and there around a specific holiday. Even Coco's school is operating on reduced hours before closing altogether in mid-August. Hopefully the Science Museum is open then, we'll be spending every day in their kids area that has great A/C :)
Over the past couple weeks, we got to spend time with my sister and her husband when they came over to vacation. Coco was BEYOND excited to have Aunt Lauren and Uncle Ryan as her constant companions, and I think this may have been one vacation where they needed another vacation to recover. Sorry!! :)
We started in Barcelona, checking out Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, the 1992 Olympic grounds, and Camp Nou. We also did the hop-on/hop-off tourist bus, which seemed really necessary there, since the town is pretty spread out. The little audio-guide they offer is kinda cheesy, but I do love to hear the details about the places we're seeing. Splurged on a nice hotel there using our Marriott points, so it was also pretty tempting to just hang out around the pool and let Coco 'swim' a bit.
From there, we flew over to Dubrovnik, Croatia and got to see one of the best preserved old towns in Europe. These guys built some excellent city walls a handful of centuries ago, and they haven't been breached to this day. Truly feels like you have gone back in time...except for the Game of Thrones tours happening everywhere. Coco and I tagged along behind one guide and eavesdropped for a few minutes while the rest of the gang was out kayaking. Eric and Ryan also took a mini-road trip to nearby Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina and learned that the whole area is blessed with dramatic and breath-taking views of the hills and Adriatic Sea.
Next, a quick flight to Milan and then a drive down to the sea to explore the "Five Lands" or Cinque Terre. These are pretty tiny villages set along the rugged Ligurian coast, and connected by hiking paths up over the super-hilly terrain. Coco and I stuck to trains and the ferry, but the others made the trek from Riomaggiore back to Manarola (where we stayed). We didn't make it up to Corniglia, which is a hilltop village, but we did explore Vernazza and Monterosso Al Mare...and drink wine and eat pasta/pizza everywhere we could! 4 out of 5 ain't bad.
Then it was back up to Milan (with poor Coco car-sick again), and Ryan headed for home while we checked out the Duomo and some art, and had more wine/pasta/pizza. The next day was a flight back to Barcelona and then a quick drive to Montserrat. Maybe the pix on the Photo Album page will give you a better feel than I can, but that place has some incredibly unique rock formations, and I'm not even the one who's usually into that :) We managed to be there on the day that the train was on strike, but we drove up to the monastery set in the cliffs and got to explore a bit, and then hit up the community pool to cool off.
After getting back to Granada with Lauren, we figured it would be good to squeeze a bit more in, so took a beach day down in Nerja and then went through Ronda and over to Gibraltar for a night. Crazy how this tiny strip of land can feel and look so different from Spain. We came around a curve on the drive from Ronda (one of about 4,723 curves!) and realized that the weird shape in the distance was the Rock of Gibraltar, and in the haze beyond that were mountains in northern Morocco. Very cool. Went through passport control into British territory and then drove across the airport runway, which confused Coco a lot, then did a tour of the rock to see the monkeys and some caves. Finished the trip off with a couple of pints and some 'normal' food...cheesy garlic bread, yum!
Was sad to see Lauren off, especially knowing that we won't see her for 3.5 months, but the past 3 months have gone SO fast and I think it will feel like this adventure has gone by in the blink of an eye once we're back in the States living like 'normal' people again :) Today, Eric spent his birthday climbing around the Alps near the Swiss/French border, which is gonna be hard to top next year! After Coco and I join him in Geneva next week, we'll start the first of our 3 train trips, which I'm really looking forward to. Fingers crossed that the car-sickness Coco's been struggling with doesn't also exist as train-sickness, but the Dramamine will be packed just in case!
Over the past couple weeks, we got to spend time with my sister and her husband when they came over to vacation. Coco was BEYOND excited to have Aunt Lauren and Uncle Ryan as her constant companions, and I think this may have been one vacation where they needed another vacation to recover. Sorry!! :)
We started in Barcelona, checking out Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, the 1992 Olympic grounds, and Camp Nou. We also did the hop-on/hop-off tourist bus, which seemed really necessary there, since the town is pretty spread out. The little audio-guide they offer is kinda cheesy, but I do love to hear the details about the places we're seeing. Splurged on a nice hotel there using our Marriott points, so it was also pretty tempting to just hang out around the pool and let Coco 'swim' a bit.
From there, we flew over to Dubrovnik, Croatia and got to see one of the best preserved old towns in Europe. These guys built some excellent city walls a handful of centuries ago, and they haven't been breached to this day. Truly feels like you have gone back in time...except for the Game of Thrones tours happening everywhere. Coco and I tagged along behind one guide and eavesdropped for a few minutes while the rest of the gang was out kayaking. Eric and Ryan also took a mini-road trip to nearby Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina and learned that the whole area is blessed with dramatic and breath-taking views of the hills and Adriatic Sea.
Next, a quick flight to Milan and then a drive down to the sea to explore the "Five Lands" or Cinque Terre. These are pretty tiny villages set along the rugged Ligurian coast, and connected by hiking paths up over the super-hilly terrain. Coco and I stuck to trains and the ferry, but the others made the trek from Riomaggiore back to Manarola (where we stayed). We didn't make it up to Corniglia, which is a hilltop village, but we did explore Vernazza and Monterosso Al Mare...and drink wine and eat pasta/pizza everywhere we could! 4 out of 5 ain't bad.
Then it was back up to Milan (with poor Coco car-sick again), and Ryan headed for home while we checked out the Duomo and some art, and had more wine/pasta/pizza. The next day was a flight back to Barcelona and then a quick drive to Montserrat. Maybe the pix on the Photo Album page will give you a better feel than I can, but that place has some incredibly unique rock formations, and I'm not even the one who's usually into that :) We managed to be there on the day that the train was on strike, but we drove up to the monastery set in the cliffs and got to explore a bit, and then hit up the community pool to cool off.
After getting back to Granada with Lauren, we figured it would be good to squeeze a bit more in, so took a beach day down in Nerja and then went through Ronda and over to Gibraltar for a night. Crazy how this tiny strip of land can feel and look so different from Spain. We came around a curve on the drive from Ronda (one of about 4,723 curves!) and realized that the weird shape in the distance was the Rock of Gibraltar, and in the haze beyond that were mountains in northern Morocco. Very cool. Went through passport control into British territory and then drove across the airport runway, which confused Coco a lot, then did a tour of the rock to see the monkeys and some caves. Finished the trip off with a couple of pints and some 'normal' food...cheesy garlic bread, yum!
Was sad to see Lauren off, especially knowing that we won't see her for 3.5 months, but the past 3 months have gone SO fast and I think it will feel like this adventure has gone by in the blink of an eye once we're back in the States living like 'normal' people again :) Today, Eric spent his birthday climbing around the Alps near the Swiss/French border, which is gonna be hard to top next year! After Coco and I join him in Geneva next week, we'll start the first of our 3 train trips, which I'm really looking forward to. Fingers crossed that the car-sickness Coco's been struggling with doesn't also exist as train-sickness, but the Dramamine will be packed just in case!
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