Barcelona Part 2

Hello again,
Continuing on our holiday in Spain...  Nick and I decided to hire a babysitter one night and go on a date. We found a great agency that hires nannies and also babysitters for people who are traveling. Em goes to bed early so we put her to bed and then had the sitter come and sit in the apartment. Nick found an amazing restaurant just a few blocks from our apartment. When you walk inside the restaurant there was an ice bar full of fresh sea food and live lobster. You pick the sea food you would like and tell them how you would like it cooked and then enjoy! It was so nice to see how fresh everything was and it was delicious!

Nick enjoying our fresh oysters.

 The next day we traveled to Park Guell. It was a bit of a walk, up hill, from the closest metro stop but worth pushing the stroller up hill for the view at the top. Once again, we were amazed by Gaudi's work and his creativity, especially in his time frame. Because this was a park, Em was able to run around a lot more which was good for everyone.

One of my favorite pictures ever. My two favorite people doing their research.

The next day we decided to do something that was more fun for Emily. We considered the aquarium but it was 20 euros a person and had mixed reviews. After some more research, I found great reviews on the Science Museum and it was only 4 euros a person, win! It took us a while to get to the museum, not near a metro stop and a little difficult to find but we were so glad we found it. The museum looked completely new and had so many exhibits. We only made it through 1 of 5 floors in over 2 hours! This was such a hidden gem. The best part was Em had a great time exploring and Nick and I both learned a lot and felt that we could recommend this museum to people with or without kids.

There was a 5 story curved hallway at the entry. This was Em's favorite part of the museum, she ran down all 5 levels!

Learning about salt water

And different types of sand

Em loved this fish, she waved at him for 5 minutes and eventually tried to give him kisses.

Fish hooks hanging from the ceiling.

Rolling marbles

Rainforest biosphere inside the museum

Inside the rainforest

One very tired toddler after a day of learning and playing.

We had a great week in Barcelona and are so thankful for the chance to mark another location off of our bucket list. Until the next adventure!

Barcelona Spain

Hello!
Our newest adventure was to Barcelona, Spain. We knew we had to take one more trip before Nick "classed up." We were not sure exactly where we wanted to go so we researched multiple locations from warmer weather to ski locations. We found cheap flights to Barcelona through Ryan Air and found a 2 bedroom apartment with an amazing view of the Sagrada Familia for less than $80 a night so Barcelona became our destination! Unlike Ireland, where we saw 5 cities in 7 days, we decided to just stay in one place and see all that Barcelona had to offer. Also, we are learning that is the easiest way to travel with a toddler, and she does better with being able to sleep in the same place every night. One of the main attaractions in Barcelona is the Sagrada Familia and Gaudi's other works. The Sagrada Familia is a large cathedral that has been under construction for over 100 years and still is not scheduled to be completed for another 30-80 years. The details in this building and the magnitude of its size is unbelievable.We were only able to spend a couple of hours but even with days of exploring, I am sure we could not have seen it all.

The main cathedral, looking up. The columns are reminiscent of tree trunks with the tops like palm leaves.

The stain glass windows reflected throughout.

The back of the cathedral and the most finished outside area.

We had one audio tour between the two of us (to save money and because we can really only one listen at a time).

Back of the Sagrada Familia from the park.

 The next day we went to another piece of Gaudi's work, the Casa Batllo. Due to the nature of the house (multiple levels with stairs) and Em's mood, we decided that only one of us would tour the building and the other would entertain our baby. The hubs was very sweet and let me take the tour, with the condition that I take lots of pictures to show him. Out of the 3 Gaudi works we saw, this was my favorite. Gaudi designed this house and it was so interesting to see the detail he put into a home. I felt that I was able to appreciate the details more because it was on a more manageable scale. The entire home has a "sea life" theme and is can be seen from the curves in the walls and windows to the tile choice used in the atrium.

Casa Batllo

Balconies of Casa Batllo

Nick and Emily fighting for a picture in front of the Casa Batllo

The lighting in the livingroom, sea life inspired.

Top of the atrium looking down.

Rooftop view

 Nick found a market while he was walking around with Emily and we decided to buy lunch/dinner there one day. Markets are one of our favorite places to find on vacation and we love "self catering".

Check out the next blog for the rest of our holiday in Barcelona!

Ireland: The Final Leg

Hello!
Continuing on with our adventure in Ireland! We finished in Limerick and drove to the Cliffs of Moher. We had heard mixed reviews on the cliffs, some saying it was very touristy while others saying it was well worth the visit. We decided since we were there we might as well go! Unfortunately, the weather was terrible with 40 mph winds, very cold and foggy so we did not get the full experience of hiking around (much too cold to be out for long, especially with little girl!) It was beautiful and we are glad we made the trip though!

By this point, you can tell Em is done with the sightseeing.

And because you can not go to Ireland and not go to Dublin, we finished our trip there! In Dublin we stayed in a private room in a hostel, which was the first time I had stayed in a hostel. I was a little nervous about how Emily would do but the room was larger than many of the hotel rooms we stayed in and the breakfast was fantastic! While in Dublin, we toured the Guinness factory. I was very excited about it because Guinness is my favorite beer! I thought the factory tour was well done and although there were a lot of people, we never felt crowded!

We learned how to pour the perfect pint. Once again we used and loved the Ergo so that Nick and I could both participate and Em was close with all of the people around. 

We loved our time in Ireland and are so glad we got to check an item off of our bucket list! On to the next adventure! 

Ireland Part 2

Hello again!
Continuing on our Irish adventure, we went to Cork, Ireland. We stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast and enjoyed touring the city for 2 days. Out of the 5 cities we stayed in, Cork was our favorite. Cork had a wonderful, fresh market which we self catered many times.It was also a very young city and we were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go.

Emily loved the buckets of olives!

 After Cork we toured the Jameson whiskey distillery on our way to Limerick. The tour was of the old distillery and was interesting. We learned the process of making Jameson whiskey and the differences between whiskeys made in various countries. 

After the Jameson tour we traveled onto Limerick, Ireland. We found a fantastic hotel with a playroom which was such an amazing find! Traveling with an active toddler has its own set of challenges and we are learning how to adapt and make it enjoyable for all 3 of us!

In Limerick, we visited King John's Castle. It had been newly remodeled, with an interactive museum and then the original castle. The view from the top of the castle was stunning, with a view of the mighty Shannon River!

Two more stops on our Irish adventure coming up in the next blog!