Sadly, I have zero pictures to accompany this post. Nada. They were all on my camera that was lost. Annnnnyhoo, I will include the link to the farm that we visited so you can get an idea of the beauty.
Monday 11 May-
We grabbed a very quick bite to eat at the buffet before grabbing our bus number and disembarking the ship. A quick intro to our tour guide, have you seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Ok, so our tour guide was eerily similar to the father in that movie, only female! Ginny told us how pretty much every word could trace it's roots back to the Greek language- gymna, gymnas, gymnasium and there you go! Anyway, she was very nice, smoked like a chimney while walking between sites and spoke fluent English, Italian, Greek, and probably another 2 languages. It's just how Europeans do things.
We drove through the a couple of little towns on the the 30 minute drive to the Olympic grounds, and while the little homes were cute and the scenery was nice, there were huge piles of garbage on the sides of the road from all the sanitation workers being on strike after not being paid for 4 months. It was really sad to see. We pulled into an parking lot and walked into the Olympic grounds to begin our tour. Ginny was kind enough to park us under a tree while she told stories of how the ancient Greek Olympics took place- a completely different game than it is now. They were games displaying friendship, goodwill, and a reminder that they were all brothers. We walked around the area, and I truthfully got very little information other then finding where the original olympic torch was lit. We took a walk to the top of where the stadium was, B carrying J and me wearing L in an Ergo carrier, then took a quick look at the Temple of Zeus before hiking back out to the bus. At this point in the tour, I thought the tour was nice but slightly disappointing. However, the tour became a complete success after we arrived at Magna Grecia Estates, a beautiful little farm nestled into the side of the hills outside Olympia. A farm started by a Greek man and his Italian wife over 30 years ago, it's a charming place where the wife and her two sons still run an olive farm, vineyards, and a variety of other fields. From the time we pulled up, we were welcomed with open arms; the youngest son (28 years old) lifted Layla off the bus, we were poured a glass of white wine, and handed snacks. Then, we were quickly led into the dining room where our plaates were already laid out. Fresh olives, bruschetta made with kalamata olives instead of onions on fresh bread, feta cheese, baklava, and, the most spectacular olive oil I've ever tasted. Let me say, I like to dip my bread in olive oil just as much as the next girl in the chain restaurants around the country, but nothing-NOTHING- tastes like good, fresh, real, Greek olive oil. If you have the chance to try some, buy it. Midway through our meal, the staff started performing traditional Greek dances. Before I knew it, Layla had been swept up from the table and was clinging to the neck of one of the waitresses, swinging around the restaurant. She was fairly quickly returned to me, but before I could shout OPA! Joey was in the center of the dancing circle, being held high as everyone danced around him. For a little bit he was ok with it, but then the bottom lip started to quiver and he was back in my arms again. It was such a fun experience, one we won't easily forget. After we finished eating, the owner took Layla to look at the bunnies they have, and then we shopped through all the unique items they offer- besides olive oil, they had jewelery, art work, wine, ouzo, aprons... a variety of little things. We grabbed a last glass of wine, and then sat in the courtyard until it was time to get on the bus. Joey played in the grass, Layla danced around under the olive tree, and we took the most beautiful family photo that I will never see again (sob,sob). It was truly a sad time when we had to load on the bus and go back to the ship. By the time we were back on the ship, it was time for the kids to nap (AMEN), followed by another dinner spent walking Joey around the lounge, and bedtime.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
We took a CRUISE!
I can't believe that we're finally within the last 90 days of our time here. To put a nice bow on the end of our time here, we took a sea cruise to check off a few more boxes on our "countries to see" list! It was such a big adventure for our little family, and we were able to see some unforgettable locations. This post might be a little short on pictures because, tragically, I lost my camera on the bus on the last night of our trip. I screamed. I cried. I threw myself on the bed. I scared my children with my wails. And it didn't help at all. Anyway. Here's the trip breakdown, day by day.
Thursday, 7 May-
We took off from Ramstein for a 6 hour drive over to Garmish, Germany, our first stop on our drive to Venice (where our cruise took off from). Well, 6 hours turned into 8 due to crazy traffic, so we made an unexpected stop at an Austrian grocery store where we were able to pick up some candied ginger which is supposed to help with any seasickness. All things considered, the kids did really well. We hit a local gasthaus (German restaurant/hotel) for dinner, where Joe gave us a sneak peak of the dinner behavior we could expect for the rest of the trip-which was screaming from the very second we stepped foot in a dining room. At this point, we called it a day.
Friday 8 May-
We woke up expecting to visiting Neuschwanstein Castle (the castle Sleeping Beauty's castle was modeled after) before finishing our drive to Venice. Then, we punched the coordinates into our GPS and discovered that visiting the castle added 2 hours to our 4.5 hour drive.... so we decided to visit on our way home when it added only 45 minutes to the drive. So, off we went to Venice! The drive through Austria was beautiful, and then it gave way to Northern Italy which was just downright gorgeous. I grew up in Colorado, so I'm sort of unphased by mountains in general- but the Dolomite mountains are just crazy! Around every corner was a monastery built into the side of a cliff, or a castle looking over a valley. I would have been unable to peel my eyes off the scenery were it not for Joey SCREAMING in my face 90% of the time. Kid hates his car seat. And, as an added bonus, he also hate tunnels, of which there were about 30 between Garmish and Venice. We stopped at McDonald's, let the kids burn off steam, walked around the attached grocery store, and then finished our drive. Our cruise left Saturday midday so we had Friday night to hang around the Italian town where our hotel was. We walked into the main street, grabbed some pasta, gelato, attempted to come home twice ("At what point are we willing to admit that this sidewalk goes nowhere other than to an underpass?"), and scrubbed the kids down for what I knew would be their last bath for a week as the cruise ship only had showers. I'm so fortunate that Layla is a good sleeper, she loves being in a crib and once her music is playing, she chats a few bossy little phrases at us and is out. Joey sleeps with me, wakes up to nurse multiple times every night, and then wakes up at 5:30 to take a poop that forces me to get up and change him. The infant phase passes so slowly. And too quickly. Anyway. On we go.
Saturday 9 May-
The day we set sail! Layla woke up pumped to go to the hotel of sea cruise, Joey was cooing, it was time to go! I had heard so many stories of waiting for hours to board the ship that we got to the ship early to avoid the crowds. We were on the ship within 45 minutes of arriving at the dock thanks to them giving us priority boarding with our little ones. After dropping our hand luggage in our still uncleaned room, we grabbed lunch at the buffet. The food was good, though I have a new appreciation for GMO's. It was a big fat pain to try to fillet the seeds out of oranges, grapes, and watermelon while holding a squirming Joey so Layla could eat. I prefer my fruit seedless, thank you, Science. By the time we finished lunch, the room was cleaned so we unpacked and then headed to the top deck to watch Venice slip by as we headed out to sea. The view was breathtaking- Venice at sunset. We decided to go to the seated dinner and see how the kids did as it was about an hour after our normal dinner time, and ended about the time we are normally putting them to bed. It didn't go exactly well... Layla hadn't napped and was whiny, and Joey cried and arched his back from the instant we entered the dining room. Still, we found our our tablemates were also American military stationed in Germany with a 6 month old son (who, by the way, slept peacefully in his carrier through dinner every night while my children acted like urchins) and met our waiter- an incredibly patient man who would hold my meal back until Beau could take Joey out every night so it would stay warm. We ate as quickly as possible, then called it a night.
Sunday 10 May-
Mother's Day! The kids got up early, we hit the breakfast buffet before things got too crowded, then found the outdoor kids play area on the top deck. Layla had a ball crawling through the tunnels and slides all be herself. The ship docked in Bari, Italy, but as neither Beau nor I had much interest in the offered excursions, we decided to stay aboard the ship and hit the pool instead. The pool area was a little different than we had expected- the water was either 2 inches deep, or a straight drop to 6 ft. with made it really hard for Layla to play. She did a good job staying in the shallow area, but I still couldn't turn away for a second for fear that she'd slip. Joey wasn't allowed in even in a swim diaper, so our pool day was pretty short. Instead we hung out in the ship's theater, not watching shows but letting Layla run up and down the steps, put her toys on the fold down seats, and letting Joey crawl to his heart's content. Whatever works, right? Dinner that night was a repeat of the night before: walk in, scan the menu while holding a thrashing J, shout my order as I run out the door, sit in the lounge while B eats, swap, eat as fast as possible and run out with L in hand. I think I had ice cream? Maybe? It's all a blur....
More to come on our cruise later!
Thursday, 7 May-
We took off from Ramstein for a 6 hour drive over to Garmish, Germany, our first stop on our drive to Venice (where our cruise took off from). Well, 6 hours turned into 8 due to crazy traffic, so we made an unexpected stop at an Austrian grocery store where we were able to pick up some candied ginger which is supposed to help with any seasickness. All things considered, the kids did really well. We hit a local gasthaus (German restaurant/hotel) for dinner, where Joe gave us a sneak peak of the dinner behavior we could expect for the rest of the trip-which was screaming from the very second we stepped foot in a dining room. At this point, we called it a day.
Friday 8 May-
We woke up expecting to visiting Neuschwanstein Castle (the castle Sleeping Beauty's castle was modeled after) before finishing our drive to Venice. Then, we punched the coordinates into our GPS and discovered that visiting the castle added 2 hours to our 4.5 hour drive.... so we decided to visit on our way home when it added only 45 minutes to the drive. So, off we went to Venice! The drive through Austria was beautiful, and then it gave way to Northern Italy which was just downright gorgeous. I grew up in Colorado, so I'm sort of unphased by mountains in general- but the Dolomite mountains are just crazy! Around every corner was a monastery built into the side of a cliff, or a castle looking over a valley. I would have been unable to peel my eyes off the scenery were it not for Joey SCREAMING in my face 90% of the time. Kid hates his car seat. And, as an added bonus, he also hate tunnels, of which there were about 30 between Garmish and Venice. We stopped at McDonald's, let the kids burn off steam, walked around the attached grocery store, and then finished our drive. Our cruise left Saturday midday so we had Friday night to hang around the Italian town where our hotel was. We walked into the main street, grabbed some pasta, gelato, attempted to come home twice ("At what point are we willing to admit that this sidewalk goes nowhere other than to an underpass?"), and scrubbed the kids down for what I knew would be their last bath for a week as the cruise ship only had showers. I'm so fortunate that Layla is a good sleeper, she loves being in a crib and once her music is playing, she chats a few bossy little phrases at us and is out. Joey sleeps with me, wakes up to nurse multiple times every night, and then wakes up at 5:30 to take a poop that forces me to get up and change him. The infant phase passes so slowly. And too quickly. Anyway. On we go.
Saturday 9 May-
The day we set sail! Layla woke up pumped to go to the hotel of sea cruise, Joey was cooing, it was time to go! I had heard so many stories of waiting for hours to board the ship that we got to the ship early to avoid the crowds. We were on the ship within 45 minutes of arriving at the dock thanks to them giving us priority boarding with our little ones. After dropping our hand luggage in our still uncleaned room, we grabbed lunch at the buffet. The food was good, though I have a new appreciation for GMO's. It was a big fat pain to try to fillet the seeds out of oranges, grapes, and watermelon while holding a squirming Joey so Layla could eat. I prefer my fruit seedless, thank you, Science. By the time we finished lunch, the room was cleaned so we unpacked and then headed to the top deck to watch Venice slip by as we headed out to sea. The view was breathtaking- Venice at sunset. We decided to go to the seated dinner and see how the kids did as it was about an hour after our normal dinner time, and ended about the time we are normally putting them to bed. It didn't go exactly well... Layla hadn't napped and was whiny, and Joey cried and arched his back from the instant we entered the dining room. Still, we found our our tablemates were also American military stationed in Germany with a 6 month old son (who, by the way, slept peacefully in his carrier through dinner every night while my children acted like urchins) and met our waiter- an incredibly patient man who would hold my meal back until Beau could take Joey out every night so it would stay warm. We ate as quickly as possible, then called it a night.
Sunday 10 May-
Mother's Day! The kids got up early, we hit the breakfast buffet before things got too crowded, then found the outdoor kids play area on the top deck. Layla had a ball crawling through the tunnels and slides all be herself. The ship docked in Bari, Italy, but as neither Beau nor I had much interest in the offered excursions, we decided to stay aboard the ship and hit the pool instead. The pool area was a little different than we had expected- the water was either 2 inches deep, or a straight drop to 6 ft. with made it really hard for Layla to play. She did a good job staying in the shallow area, but I still couldn't turn away for a second for fear that she'd slip. Joey wasn't allowed in even in a swim diaper, so our pool day was pretty short. Instead we hung out in the ship's theater, not watching shows but letting Layla run up and down the steps, put her toys on the fold down seats, and letting Joey crawl to his heart's content. Whatever works, right? Dinner that night was a repeat of the night before: walk in, scan the menu while holding a thrashing J, shout my order as I run out the door, sit in the lounge while B eats, swap, eat as fast as possible and run out with L in hand. I think I had ice cream? Maybe? It's all a blur....
More to come on our cruise later!
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