Goa Thanksgiving 2019

Better than turkey!

Taelyn's shark

Lobster and tiger prawns

We did our 4th consecutive Thanksgiving in India in Goa at the beach. This time we repeated last year's trip with our friends Bob & Tracy and their child, Jack, and Kyle and his three children. However, we stayed at a different place called A's Holiday Beach Resort and were not disappointed. Same white sand beaches, same shacks with beer and seafood. Yet this place had a pool and breakfast made in our villa.  The best part is that it is a short walk from our favorite place: Martin's Corner.

We made it down there Thanksgiving night to enjoy our typical lobster dinner in place of the turkey. Taelyn at shark for the first time and we paid her off to eat a fish eyeball! Each day was spent with a nice run along the beach followed by a catered breakfast. We went to the beach and swam, body surfed, and boogie boarded the day away. Beers were plenty and the sun was hot. We took to the pool in the afternoon followed by a nap. We then hit the beach (or Martin's Corner) for dinners, hammering down shrimp and fish.  It ended all too early.

Boogie Boarding

Spain 2019

Headed to Bilbao for a conference on University Counseling.  A very busy two days but lovely (rare) weather, and lots of food, drink, and connections. Hit up the famous Guggenheim Museum:

Guggenheim

Maman

Puppy

Walked around town and enjoyed.

Fountain of Dogs

Santiago Cathedral

After the conference, I went to San Sebastian for a day. The weather was poor but I did what I could to see the town.

Took a quick day in Barcelona reliving my favorite sights, which include Brewdog, Bier Cab, and Ale & Hop, as well as Mamaine, where they make a cookie mojito!

Arco de Triunfo de Barcelona 

unfinished, yet spectacular

Sagrada Familia

Italy 2019

Taking the chance to run a marathon while on vacation, we bounced over to Venice. The marathon was not as good as planned; Justin was not in great shape and faded a bit coming into town. His friend, Kirsten, was traveling with us but was injured and could not compete. After the race, we strolled the streets, enjoying Aperol Spritz, wine, and some beer. The next few days, we visited Doge Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, and St. Mark's Square. We even saw The Campo San Barnaba, which is where Indiana Jones exits the library in The Last Crusade. Pizza was plentiful, as was pasta, and we navigated the small alleyways out to Rialto Bridge and other interesting views. We wanted to do a gondola ride on the canal, but it was insanely expensive. Venice takes significant advantage of tourism, and it limited our potential to make the most of it. Soon it was time to get out of the tight city.

We rented a car and headed west, stopping first at the Madonna Della Corona, a beautiful church built into the side of a mountain. It was raining, so after we walked a long way down the mountain, we finally come to it, but the view was impaired by the mist. Inside, the church was petty, but the location is the real draw to this place. We drove on to Sirmione, a small village on a peninsula jetting out into lake Garda. We parked and walked the road into the city at the end which looked like a castle. The entire place was surrounded by water, and the city walls protected the area. Gelato places were everywhere - far more than are needed for this small place. We ate at Trattoria La Fiasca, enjoying amazing food and the best bread and balsamic we have ever tasted. We toyed with stopping in fair Verona to see Juliet's balcony from Romeo & Juliet (whatever that means), as well as try grappa in Bassono del Grappa, but the persistent rains kept us in the car. 

We took the train north to Conegliano and then a cab to Soligo. This is where Prosecco is made and it was a beautiful place. We ate pizza at Pizzeria Tonino and had beers. At first, we thought it was the price per slice so we got about 6 of them. It turns out the cheap price was per pizza, so we ended up with more than we could possibly eat. The next day we went on a wine tour, learning about the production of Prosecco and the government regulation over the use of the name. We even walked up a hill and bought a bottle from a vending machine which we enjoyed overlooking the valley. All of the wine was solid.

Venice was crowded and expensive, and it was not making the list of my favorite places in Italy. However, we really enjoyed the areas around it and vowed to come back. We caught great weather for the race and the wine country while it was poor in between, so that was also a win. 

My Smilebox Creation

Ireland and Northern Ireland

With Spring Break falling over St. Patrick's Day, we couldn't resist heading to Ireland again. This time, however, we would skip Dublin and spend more time in the West, which is a lot less touristy and more nature-driven. Plus, the music of the West is world famous. To cap it off, we'd end the trip in Northern Ireland, which we had not been to as of yet.

Upon arriving in Dublin, we rented a car and cruised across the island, arriving in Galway by mid-day and staying at the Connacht Hotel. There were various events happening all weekend and we watched a concert on Eyre Square and visited O'Connells pub where Ed Sheeran filmed his video for "Galway Girl". The next morning was St. Patrick's Day so we started it like I have for the past 20 years by watching the U2 video of "Where the Streets Have No Name"from the Rattle and Hum tour. A full Irish breakfast, complete with Guinness fueled us up and we hit the streets to watch the parade. The weather cooperated and while a bit windy, we had some sun. After the parade, we popped into a pub and the girls did some coloring and reading on the floor while we enjoyed a pint. Sarah and I headed to the Salthill Prom to visit a pub in the evening without the kids. We listened to some great music and enjoyed some Guinness. 

Not wanting to linger, we drove north on the 18th up to Connemara National Park. It rained the whole day so when we came to Kylemore Abbey, we just took a picture and got back in the car. We glimpsed the bridge used in the John Wayne film, The Quiet Man, and hooked around to see Dunguaire Castle
Our base for two days was Doolin, the home of traditional Irish music, and we took full advantage, spending each night in the pubs listening to people jam. During the day we visited the Aillwee Caves, hiking beneath the ground, and visiting the birds of prey show outside, where we saw demonstrations and the girls readily volunteered to hold some of the bigger animals. We also hiked the Burren - the rocky land outside of Doolin - and braved the hills. 

After two days, we headed north to the other part of the island - Northern Ireland. Based in beautiful Belfast, we took side trips. Since Sarah is an English teacher and was teaching the author, we visited the Seamus Heaney Home Place where much of his work was on display. While the kids weren't thrilled with this stop, we made up for it by putting in an afternoon at the Titanic Belfast museum. The building site of the ship was outside, still mapped and sitting there in drydock. Inside, numerous exhibits showcase the construction as well as the stories aboard before its downfall. It really is a must-see in the world. We finished the day with a stop in CS Lewis Square where the author has several statues in tribute to his work. 

Outside of the city, we took a hike along the famous Giant's Causeway. The unique rock formations are something that just don't seem to exist elsewhere. Many of the rock formations are open to climb on and the pictures just don't do it justice. Just down the road is the Dark Hedges, the unique road with very old trees arching across. While at this time of year, the trees are bare of leaves, it was a cool sight. Others might remember this as "The King's Road" from "Game of Thrones." And no trip to the north of the island would be complete without a stop at the Bushmill's distillery, a staple of the region for more than 400 years. While it is not my favorite spirit, we had a small taster just to try it out. 

The rest of our time in Belfast was simple. We enjoyed seeing some of the artwork that is on the sides of buildings, ranging from patriotic to violent, showing elements of the city's storied past. Belfast now is one of the more safe cities around, but the tensions still exist. Upon leaving the city, we took a stop in the town of Downpatrick, where outside of Down Cathedral, sits the grave of St. Patrick. Our drive was lovely, lots of sun, and we cut through the Morne Mountains before getting Dublin for our flight. 

My Smilebox Creation

European Christmas 2018

We landed in Budapest to meet our long-time overseas friends, the Jettners, who we are meeting for the 4th Christmas in a row. The trip started on a low with a broken computer and leaving a phone in the cab (which we amazingly got back after two days). But it perked up when we went to the Nutcracker. Incredible costumes and music told a great story, and none of us had done a ballet before. The first 2.5 acts were great, but two intermissions and a long third act dragged on. Dinner with craft beer and BBQ revitalized the spirits.

Our usual gift exchange and movie on Christmas Eve lead to our annual water park visit on Christmas Day. Great slides and hot tubs broke up the cold. The next day we hit the zoo and then went ice skating on the outdoor rink in front of the castle in the evening.  The week was packed with mulled wine, sausages, and chimney stacks at the markets. Budapest did not disappoint.

We flew to Romania and got another treat. They would not rent me a car without an international driving license, despite nothing being said about this when I booked. We eventually got a different company to do it. It cost double the price and we tacked on full insurance so as to not get charged for some scratch at the end. After a long day, we arrived in Brasov.

Our first trip was to Bran Castle, the inspiration for Dracula's Castle. The we hit up Peles Castle which had the most beautiful interior of any castle we have ever seen.  We went skiing. Thinking that ski school would help the girls be more confident. We paid a ton, battled for parking, and the girls spent most of the day walking up the hill because the lift was too crowded.  Meanwhile, I hiked 15 min in ski gear with skis, waited 25 min for a lift ticket, then another 20 min for the gondola. I skied maybe 15 min and hiked all the way back.  Kaelia and Sarah had enough so I took Taelyn for more runs. For each 1 min of skiing, we stood in line for 15. It was not fun. Needless to say, we declined a second day on the slopes.

I must say we redeemed ourselves by going back on the First.  We arrived early and for a flat rate had a go of tubing and sledding. The tubing was so fast and exciting we wished we stayed longer or came for another day. It was Sarah's birthday so we went to Keller's Steak House, a great little place serving up some nice cuts of beef.

We drove about an hour and a half to Fagaras Fortress but it ended up being closed on that day, which was disappointing. Another hour or so drive took us up the mountain to a small place called Balea Cascada, above which the road was closed. We parked in a snow bank and headed to the cable car. There were no signs or information but a long line of people filing out of the building.  There were three stories to this place and the line wound up all of them. The cable car comes once every 15-20 minutes and holds only about 15 people. There were more than 150 in line. We waited for a long time while people pushed past, saying they were meeting friends. Nearly all of them were dressed hugely inappropriately, with jeans and light shoes on. Apparently, the thing to do is go to the top and take a few pictures; however, the wait was many hours and the weather had the mountain socked in so there was nothing to see. We, unfortunately, had to go up since we were staying in the ice hotel.  After 90 minutes of standing on the stairs, we saw a person walk by with a large backpack. Sarah went up and found out that those staying at the hotel can just walk to the front. It was a huge waste of time.

The cable car finally got us to the top nearly 3 hours after we had arrived. The entire place was a whiteout and freezing. We ate lunch in the lodge and toured the ice hotel which is open to the public during the day time.  We finally were let in about 6pm for dinner. Eating while sitting on tables and chairs made of ice was a unique experience. We had some drinks and listened to music while the girls played outside in the snow building a fort. We slept on beds which had a wooden platform and a mattress, and we stayed very warm with good sleeping bags. The next morning we attempted to head down but the cable car was iced over and did not run. It took 3.5 hours of waiting before the car started running and we got on one eventually. Luckily, I did not have to dig the car out and we started on our way. Our next stop was a long drive to Corvin Castle.  While it was quite impressive on the outside, the inside was not anything to write home about, and given the late night, stress of getting up and down the mountain, and the long drive, we should have skipped it. A massive snowstorm arrived and made the drive even longer as we slowed to a crawl to just stay on the road. The next morning left us with a 4-hour-drive to Bucharest so we could fly on to Prague.

Once in Prague we started off with dinner on Lod Pivovar, a boat-turned-brewery. The next few day we wandered around town, revisiting some sights like the Charles Bridge, Lennon Wall, the Piss Statue, and the Crawling Babies.  We ate at lovely places like Craft House, Fat Cat and Ukunstatu and one of the oldest breweries in Europe (U Medvidku), with a stop at the far too touristy and disappointing Prague Beer Museum.  Of course, waterparks are a great place to spend cold days in Europe so we hit up Aquaplace again. The kids found the Lego Museum enjoyable as they had just about every Lego set ever made constructed over four floors. After the kids had their fun, we had ours, by attending the Prague Beer Spa.  We walked into a private room and sure enough, there was a large barrel.  The host put a scoop of hops and a scoop of malt into the hot water and turned it on. We were left alone, undressed, and soaked in the beer. The best part was that a tap was positioned right next to the tub, dispensing unlimited beer.  After the tub, we donned white robes and rested on the straw bed in front of the fire. 

For a side trip, we took a train out of town to the Sedlec Ossuary in Kunta Hora. This church is lined entirely with human bones, tens of thousands of them. While impressive and pretty in a way, it was very haunting. The rain was falling and no cabs came by so we stepped into some museum to smoking (not the best) to get help. A taxi took us Dacicky, a medieval-looking restaurant in town that was highly rated. It did not disappoint.  Warm comfort food picked up our spirits before the ride back to the city.