Pisa

Pisa- another great port! The day started off a bit rough because what was supposed to be a 20 minute train ride turned into 1.5 hours. In turn, it took over 3 hours to reach the leaning tower. But, let me say all of our frustrations flew out the window once we finally saw that tower. It's so surreal to actually see these famous structures with your own eyes! We tried a local restaurant and of course our menu choices were something of: pasta, lasagna, pizza, speghetti, tortellini. But hey, who doesn't love Italian food? Some of my family climbed it and said you could feel the lean when coming down.

I just LOVE this picture. All 3 boys genuinely smiling and playing!

Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo & Monaco was by far our favorite port. It's a clean, ritzy, expensive (9 Euros for 2 ice creams) but wonderful. Everything was so manicured and polished. Fancy cars (the kind that cost more than a house) were a dime a dozen. Of course, we could never afford to actually stay a night there, but it was fun to spend a few hours! Our tour guide told us that to live there, 40-50 sq meters goes for over 2,000 Euro a month! Yikes!

Barcelooona!

So we're here in good ol' Barcelona, Spain! While we love traveling, I can't say Barcelona is my favorite. Perhaps we are finally used to the German ways and laws?

We started the morning off with a shock by taking a walk to the local beach. Naked people everywhere! Sadly, I do have a picture of some naked people (better erase that before our mac turns in into a screen savor). Below has fuzzy naked people and Brad's pleasant reaction.

We took a walk downtown afterwards with the family. I'm impressed with how well Miles is doing. His cousins are doing a great job keeping him entertained and happy. We didn't see too much other than a gorgeous museum (see below). Our big trip starts off tomorrow when we board the ship. Really looking forward to the amazing itinerary!

Edelweiss take 2!

We took my parents up to Garmisch for a couple days and it was a blast. We stayed in these tiny cabins (see below) that had no bathrooms or showers. It was like luxury camping. I uploaded a ton of pics. Just couldn't narrow it down!

Top of the Zuchspitz. My parents were SNOW blind!


I, the genius, wore slippers. I was picking snow out all morning. Luckily, it wasn't too cold up there!
We rode a cog train to the top, but rode a cable car down. This thing freaked me out! One snap and we all plummet to our deaths.
Switzerland Alps
So apparently we're sending this picture into the Pentwater newspaper.
Finally made it down. My dad pointing to where we were at.

Our cog train.
Everyone's pastime. Reading on the porch.

Had to take my parents out for a traditional German meal. My Mom loved it... Dad did not.

weather

I realize this is the umpteenth time I've blogged about weather, but doggonit we are frustrated here. It is the talk of the town wherever you go. "Can you believe it is still this cold? What is up with this weather?" Today's high is 45 degrees and it is the middle of MAY! I'm thinking I've finally fallen prey Seasonal Affective Disorder....that or I am just not a northern girl.

I think, (and stupid weather.com has given me false hope countless times) that it's going to warm up for the weekend. But what stinks is... we are taking my parents to the Austrian Alps this weekend and it's 15 degrees colder there! Ahh!

Let me just say I can not WAIT for our Spain/Italy trip in a couple weeks. I don't know how they manage to stay in the 70's when we are stuck in the 40's-50's. But, I'm ready to wear some flip-flops and tank-tops already! I think I've worn shorts once since Spring started!

Ok, done with my weather vent!

Aperture

I've been working with a professional photo-editing program called aperture. They have a 30-day free trial going on right now and I've been giving it a whirl. I don't know why I even tease myself like this because of course it's over $200. While I've really been digging the whole "photography hobby", I'm not sure I could sell Brad on it buying me such an expensive program. Not to mention I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing when I work with it. Who knew there was 7 different ways to make something 'black and white'? Anyway... until I can figure out how to the whole black and white with specific objects in color.. these are some of the edits I've done so far. I tried something different with each picture. Gotta say it helps to have my wonderful camera.

vintage

Older

Ever take pictures of your kiddos and one day notice how much older they look? Bittersweet!