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Pics from Mom and Dad's Visit October 2011

Another rainy Belgian day, passing the time playing Mario Cart on the Wii

Reading with Grandpa

We took my parent's to Gaasbeek Castle only to discover they were having an art exhibition called Sleeping Beauties.  Not appropriate for kids, some interesting art but some was too scary for an imaginative 5 year old.

We had a nice time despite the many days of rain and cold.  And now we look forward to going home in December to visit everyone.

Trunk or Treat 2011

We had our first Halloween celebration in Belgium last weekend at the American Women's Club.  My parents were here to help celebrate and we had a great time with friends.

Our Frankenstein cupcake pull a part for the party!

Ready to go

Aidan's pumpkin creation

Jax won the "guess how many in the jar" game. He was so excited, he wanted to eat the chocolate pumpkins in the jar when we were guessing how many.

Bo, Will, Aidan, Jax & Grayer. Great friends!

I really liked this set up.  Boom, Boom and done, no running from house to house, perfect for little kids.

The Mothers of Young Children group at the club arranged this great party.  The kids could decorate pumpkins, decorate their bags, dancing and games.  Then dinner and trick or treat. A big thanks to the ladies who made it a great time.

Mediterranean September 2011

We recently returned for our latest “holiday” in the Mediterranean.  We began our adventure in Barcelona on September 22^nd. 

Jax insisted on bringing his "suitcase" too!

 It just so happened to be the La Merce festival that occurs annually.  The festival has music stages set throughout the city along with parades in the evenings and I am sure many other activities that we did not take part in. 

During our time in Barcelona we stayed in an apartment right on La Rambla, a main “drag” in the city.  We had originally booked a nice hotel near the beach, but after some debate and the fact that we don’t like all staying in one hotel room we opted for the 3 bedroom apartment which was in a great location. Come to learn that a great location does not make up for comfort.  The beds were small, smaller than a twin in the room Greg said would be ours.  After one night of trying to sleep together in the small bed, I opted to sleep in Aidan’s room which had 2 twin beds pushed together.  

 And there is nothing like windows that don’t completely close on the busiest street in town. Needless to say we heard a lot of street noise.  Thank God for sound machines and kids who sleep soundly.

Greg really enjoyed carrying heavy luggage up 4 flights of stairs upon our arrival and departure.  The day we left Barcelona it was raining and finding a cab was not as easy as it should be.  We even had the number to a cab company but the lady per Greg did not speak much English and he did not speak much Spanish.  You have to see the picture of our door, I felt like we may have been in a not so safe part of town, but we were fine.

Aidan's room.

Our bed. I wish I had a picture that show that the mattress is not even the size of the frame and the pillow was one long body pillow.

This large market was just behind our apartment. The boys got fresh deep fried shimp there, we also had ice cream and fresh fruit smoothies.

Sagrada Familia

Barcelona Cathedral

We had dinner at Sinatra's. Great food and they were great with the kids.

Barcelona

My Barcelona hairdryer. I knew I should have brought my own, but no room in the luggage.

Arc de Triumph, Barcelona

Watching the parade from our apartment balcony,10:45pm.

Both times we have been in Spain Greg has wanted Paella, so I agreed much to my regret. The shrimp were good but that was about it, the boys had a great hamburger though.

From Barcelona we went on our Mediterranean cruise aboard the Liberty of the Seas.  The cruise was wonderful , the staff was friendly and the charges and stores were in US $!  I really can’t say enough how much we enjoyed this trip.  The boys had a great time too, Aidan loved going to the kids club, he wanted to go everyday.  He would even have lunch and dinner with them some days.  Jax too spent time in his club, having dinner there so Greg and I could enjoy a nice dinner.  We had stops in Toulon, France; Nice, France; Florence, Italy; Rome, Italy; Naples/Capri, Italy and then back to Barcelona.  Our favorite stop was Rome, but the best food I had was in Florence.  Greg, Jax and I even tried the pizza in Naples since it is home of pizza, but was not overly impressed. It was good but not the best I have had. 

Our first stop in Toulon we stayed on the ship.  It was Sunday, and where the boat docked was a naval yard not near the city. The next day Greg and I enjoyed a few hour together in Nice while to boys stayed in their kids clubs.  For the next 3 stops we had private tour guides which if anyone would like the info please let me know.  Especially in Rome our guide Silvia was excellent.

And now here are the pictures:

safety drill



Our ship!



Our first moment on board!

We had a great time on our cruise.  Our first stop was in France on a Sunday and we opted to stay on the ship.  We played at the pool that was ice cold, visited the arcade and the boys spent some time in the kids clubs. Next stop Florence and Pisa!

This is a replica of the statue of David, the real David is in museum not far from here. As our guide pointed out this statue looks small because it is outside, whereas the authentic statue of David looks huge in the museum. Aidan would spot many pictures of David through out the trip.

Florence: one of the largest Cathedral's

The Australian photographer of the year took this picture. Unfortunately, we dont' have a wide angle lens yet.

Next stop Rome! We loved Rome and our guide Silvia was amazing.

Outside the Vatican. The Vatican is it's own city, they have their own passports too.

St. Peter's Cathedral.  The Pope was speaking the day we were there so we were unable to go to the square or Cathedral but we did see the museum and Sistine Chapel.

Silvia is explaining the cherubs.

Outside the Pantheon. It is a church too and every year on the 21st of June, Aidan's birthday and the longest day of the year the sun shines through the hole in the top of the Pantheon and illuminates the church. I think you know where we will be for his 6th birthday!

Trevi Fountain!
We all tossed a coin in with specific directions from Silvia on the correct way. If I remember correctly toss with your right hand over your left shoulder.

Aidan and Jax versus the Gladiator at the Colleseum!

Pinocchio originated in Italy!  Then Walt Disney made him famous to us.

We are in Capri now. Aidan stayed on the ship with the kids club. Our guide Alberto met us in Naples and helped us take the hydrofoil to Capri.

Jax is sharing his fruit loops with Alberto. This was Alberto's first time having fruit loops. He was nice and said they were good :)

Captain Jax

We took a private boat tour around the Island of Capri and Jax fell asleep shortly into the excursion.

 Jax and Alberto in Naples square.  Since Naples is where pizza got it's start Alberto suggested a place to grab a quick slice. It was good, but we will have to try it again.  I also had a canoli and Greg had a real espresso (thick).
Italy was absolutely amazing as was France.  We can't wait to go back. And the cruise was awesome, we all had a great time.

We had breakfast with the Shrek gang one morning and another morning with the Madagascar gang another. The boys loved it, Puss in Boots was there favorite.