Spring Break 2017

It's been a LONG time so I can't even try to catch up!  I'm picking up with the right now...spring break 2017!

Last week we set out with the my entire family to Turks & Caicos for the week.  Fabulous weather, food and fun!

Europe Spring Break 2016

Dh, the kids, Grandma H, Grandma D and I all set off for Europe for two weeks!  We had an amazing adventure, here is some of our travels....

Day 1

We set off on an overnight flight to Paris, France. Overnight flights with kids are rough. The kids had a hard time getting to sleep. Once they were asleep the sun was out and breakfast was served. 

The airline didn't skimp on food service. Snack and drinks, dinner with three meal options and then raspberry sorbet for dessert. That was all in the first three hours. 

Day 2

Bonjour Paris!

I booked a private transportation company to pick us up at the airport and take us to the hotel. We thought that would be easier than a cab since none of us speak French.  It was a great idea-I highly recommend it!

First thought of Paris-it is a dirty city. We saw a lot of graffiti and garbage on the ground everywhere. 

We checked in our hotel, the Novotel Eiffel Tower. It is a very nice hotel. 

We walked down to a restaurant for our first meal in Paris-pizza and French onion soup;). The kids were fascinated with the outdoor bathroom stalls which they all used at one time during our time in Paris.  We took a little time to relax and settle in.

We went in a cruise on the river Seine. 

Day 3

A few fun Paris things...

All public pools require boys to wear speedos(no swim shorts) and everyone must wear a swim cap. Yea, Kaden now owns a speedo;)

There are these outdoor bathrooms everywhere. You push a button to go in and use it. When you are done it locks and self cleans before the next person can go in. Check it out above.

Gas pumps at the side of the road-just two pumps...  

We saw another one under the street-no Wisconsin gas stations here!

Electric car plug in along the street...

The Louvre is HUGE!  You could spend weeks there. We saw the highlights(aka as much as the kids could handle) which was quite a bit, but not nearly everything. The Mona Lisa is smaller than Kg expected. Larger than I expected. I would say a 16x20

The Eiffel Tower is huge! We went to the summit-900 feet up I believe. 

Day 4 

Paris exploration and shopping...

We started our day at Notre Dame then crossed the bridge behind in to a cute neighborhood and the Bastille neighborhood. It was a nice walk along the neighborhood streets. We stopped at a cafe for a drink then continued on to the Arc de Triomphe and shopping at Champs de Elyees. Then we tried to go to Jardin des Tuileries park.  There was a mishap with our directions(I messed that one up) so it didn't work out. 

**while the kids were playing in the park behind Notre Dame we heard about the events in Brussels from a woman who's kids were playing with ours. We saw a heavy police presence in Paris that day. A police officer was standing in the middle of the street. He would pick a car, have it pull over and four officers search it. Armed officers were front in front of Notre Dame too. I'm glad we started our trip in Paris and didn't end here. Had we planned it the other way I'm not sure we would have went to Paris.  New coverage didn't look good on TV, but on the city streets it is the usual, but with more police.  

Day 5

Good bye Paris!

This Statue of Liberty was at our hotel...

France in review-

Beautiful city!  Non-French speaking people can travel to Paris and travel with ease. The language barrier wasn't a huge deal with the exception of the food allergies. We had a great visit and I am happy to mark Paris off my bucket list of places to visit!  

Travel Day!

Eurostar to London today. 

We are in London!  It is very different from Paris. Pounds not Euros for money, English not French language, chips are their French fries and they are delicious!  

Our hotel had a pool which we enjoyed. No swim caps or speedos required. 

We had lunch at a great local restaurant and went shopping at Harrods. Everyone needs to experience Harrods-it is shopping like no other place!

Day 6

We took the city bus to the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. It is a site to see. Something all visitors need to experience one time(then you will be good:). We took a nice walk through part of St. James Park to Trafalgar Square. 

We went to London Pier and went to the London Eye and London Dungeon. 

Noting Hill Neighborhood for dinner at a great local restaurant.  

Day 7

We took the Underground to the Westminster Pier. We took a nice boat ride down the Thames River to London Bridge where we got off. We toured Tower London. Wow, that has changed in 15 years!  It is much more commercialized now and less rustic. We went to St. Paul's Cathedral and didn't get to see the front because there was a mass for Good Friday. We took a little walk down to another great local restaurant for dinner and took the Underground back to our hotel neighborhood.  

I wish we could have taken the Grandmas to Soho and Shakespheres Globe Theatre. Otherwise we saw a lot!

Day 8

Good bye London - Hello Dublin!

Another passport stamp:)

What a day....

Our departure from Heathrow was intense, I've never seen security screening like that before. They eye can you when you enter security then do it again when you board the plane. They are very strict on their liquids allowed in your carry on, ask Grandma;). 

Our flight tried to land in Dublin, but because of the wind it had to pull up and circle around. It was a bit scary. 

Our rental car had a seat that wouldn't go up, the technician came to fix it. We were off, got to our hotel and parked the car to unload it. When the car park attendant went to move it, it wouldn't start. After a visit from the Hertz technician we found out someone put unleaded gas in a diesel vehicle. They had to tow it away and bring us a new van. Ack!  Tomorrow is Easter it has to be better. 

Day 9

Easter Sunday!  

The Easter Bunny found us:)

The Dublin Remembers Uprising Parade was today. It is the 100 year anniversary here and was quite a celebration. We walked around Dublin, saw the parade, visited Temple Bar, saw Dublin Castle, walked and shopped on Grafton Street and had a nice Easter dinner. 

Day 10

Goodbye Dublin!

Drove to Waterford and toured the Waterford Crystal Factory. My second visit and it was as good as the first!  Kb loved it!  We bought ornaments for Grandmas and a little shamrock for ourselves. We stopped at Jerpoint Abbey on the way to our B&B. We stayed at a cute place called Launard House in Kilkenny.  We went in to Kilkenny and walked around a bit. We had a fun dinner at Kytlers. The girls got to play drums with the man playing music. It was great entertainment!

Day 11 

Goodbye Kilkenny!

We are off to explore Rock of Cashel. 

Blarney was explored too!

We stayed in County Cork at a nice BandB. 

Day 12

We ventured to Muck House Gardens for the kids to stretch their legs and the adults to see some flowers. 

On our way to Dingle we came across Inch Beach. You can take surfing lessons(cold I bet)!

Dingle for a stay

Day 13

Off from Dingle!

Dingle Penninsula Tour looping around the Dingle Penninsula was beautiful. 

We left the loop and headed north tour final stay in County Clare. 

Day 14

Our final day of holiday and it had to rain. We had a fabulous breakfast(the BandB owner is a chef) and set off on our final adventures. We stopped at Burren Perfumery on our way to the Cliffs of Moher. It was raining when we got to the Cliffs and it was decided to not go out in the rain. We ventured back to Bunratty and the rain finally stopped!  We went to Bunratty Castle. The outer area was like an  Irish Old World Wisconsin