Austria/Germany Continued

April/May 2010

Lots of travel and and lots of fun!

Grandma Marti came for a visit in April. She offered to watch Hailey and Lucas for a few nights so Amy and Tom could get away to Italy to celebrate their 9th wedding anniversary. 2 nights turned into 6 nights because of the volcano that erupted in Iceland that grounded thousands of flights. Florence was lovely...as were Pisa, Luca, and Cinque Terre. The TRAIN ride home was a doosey, but the rest of our visit with Grandma was wonderful.

April 30th, Queen's Day in Holland, was celebrated with friends and food. Kids sold homemade cookies and Amy charged 50 cents to use our bathroom. The bathroom made more money...

Our Austria/Germany road trip began 2 days later...aboard another train. We drove to Dusseldorf and loaded in the Rav4 on the auto train and set up camp in our train cabin. Just as the whistle blew, another passenger joined us in the cabin of bunks; the train didn't seem crowded at all, but our cabin was certainly filled to the limit.

Arriving a short drive from Salzberg, we beheld beautiful mountains and enjoyed the scenery for the ride. Hotel Blobergerhof, set outside the city, offered a spacious apartment with comfy beds and a stellar restaurant in the main lobby. Kids were in heaven with chicken nuggets and Tom and Amy enjoyed weinerschnitzel and pork variations that were delicious.

The Sound of Music Tour consisted of famous filming spots, listening to the music in the van, and stopping for an unexpected alpine slide ride and a bit of apple strudel.

MORE TO FOLLOW

Easter Weekend

Still love dying Easter eggs as much as the kids...

We also got to go see Disney Princesses on Ice!

Two-Wheeling Twins

Lucas and Hailey can ride without training wheels! Due to the last year's practice on a skuut bike, both 4 years olds took off with ease and confidence on their first tries.

It's been exciting and fun for everyone, and we've been surprised by passers-by that want to take their picture.

Keukenhof 2010

Our first visit of the season, March 24th:

Disneyland Paris Highlights

Generally, a fun experience if you plan accordingly. We stayed in a great apartment near the park, that was also close to a giant mall and outlet shops. Favorite rides were Buzz Lightyear and It's a Small World. Snow White and her prince were delightful and we were glad to have Sloopa with us.

The Roman Holiday

given the fact that this blog has been on a 4 month hiatus- enjoy some photos & a few sentences about recent adventures.

Pictured here is the Roman Forum, the family inside the Colosseum, the family sitting on the Spanish steps, St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, and the Colosseum at night. We thoroughly enjoyed our Roman holiday over Christmas, the history, beauty, art, food, and age of the city wowed us all. Kids were bribed with gelato to endure the sight-seeing. Borghese Galleria, with Bernini's sculptures, was Amy's favorite. The Sistine Chapel is remarkable as well. We were glad to see the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, fountains, piazzas, Bocca della Verita, several churches, & the Capuchini Crypt (exerpt from a website)

The crypt of the church comprises five chapels, the floors of which are covered with earth brought from the Holy Land. Friars that were part of the Capucin community at this church were buried in that holy earth, but when the space was filled, bodies of the long deceased were dug up and dismantled to make room for new occupants. The bones of the disinterred – from some 4000 bodies dating between 1528 and 1870 – were then used to create intricate designs that cover the walls and the vaults of the chapels.

December

DECEMBER FESTIVITIES: Christmas tree, Christmas market, Sinterklaas arrives in Delft with Zwarte Piets

October/November 2009

The college pals (the Amys) rallied in Volendam, Lucas & Hailey turned 4 and celebrated with a racecar cake, Lucas was a cowboy for Halloween and we're still looking for Hailey's ladybug photo

God Bless the USA

Thank you to all our dear family and friends for a wonderful visit. We were thrilled to be back on American soil after 14 months away...

Week one was spent in Cape Cod with the DeNucci/Yirga/Degenkolb clan. Delicious homecooked meals and amazing seafood dinners at favorite restaurants. Lucas and Hailey were showered with love & attention by Sloopa, Oompa, Kiki, and "Uncle Chrissy." Tom and Lucas even waited out a rain delay at Fenway to watch the Sox with Uncle Chris Lloyd and cousin Andrew.

Week two was spent in Rhode Island and western Massachusetts. A few killer beach days, harmonious play with cousins, raspberry picking, catching up with friends, and more good eats- love red meat!

A few other thankfuls- Dunkin Donuts, Taco Bell, Marshall's, speaking English, striking up conversations with strangers, expanded cable (in English as well), & variety in all things.

USA