Northern European Cruise May 19-31

I finally talked Kent into taking a cruise! This cruise was perfect for us--two stops in Sweden and two days in St. Petersburg. We flew Kent's parents out to stay with the kids and our friends Trent and Katrina Listello came with us. It was so fabulous. We sailed with Royal Caribbean leaving out of Harwich, England. We just drove about1.5hoursto the port, parked, and walked on the ship!The first night was a formal dinner--Kentdidn't like being told what to wear for dinner--but he sure looks handsome! We had a full day of cruising on our way to Copenhagen. We got to workout at the gym, play bridge with some lovely older couples, and enjoy the shows.

Copenhagen was alovely city. We enjoyed walking through along the port where the Little Mermaid used to be. She is currently on loan to China, and they had a live feed of people admiring her. We walked through the government buildings, including the palaces where the current and future Kings of Denmark live. There was a fairly extensive exhibit about Queen Margrethe II, and her son,Frederick

who will become King. We took our picture with Hans Christian

Anderson, whose influence is seen everywhere. We enjoyed some of the tastiest Wienerbrod (pastries) EVER and a yummy Danish hot dog. Then, it was time to head back to the sh

ip for our next port--Stockholm.

Stockholm is another lovely

Scandanavian city. We enjoyed walking around the old parts of thetown, with the town hall and government palaces. We got to go into the treasury, where they keep some of the old weaponry, cavalry pieces, clothing, and carriages. Some of them were pretty elaborate.

The port of Stockholm was far from the center, so we had to take a shuttle.

We had another day of cruising on our way to Helsinki, Finland. We were assigned

to late dinner--8:30, so then we had to go to the late show. Then, we would chat or play games, so every night was for night owls. We slept in as much as we could, and got to read, relax, and gear up for our next day of touring.

Helsinki was full of interesting churches. We visited the "Rock Church," carved out of roc

k with an amazing copper wire ceiling, a Finnish/Russian Orthodox Church, and a Protestant church near the president's palace.

Roma

We found out this spring that Kent was supposed to be deployed from June-December. We promptly scheduled several trips. Then, a coupleweeks later, it was arranged that Kent would not be going--Halleluja! So, this trip to Rome was celebratory instead of a going-away. We found an apartment on laterooms.com and flew on Ryanair, leaving on Thursday evening after school. On Friday, we wenton a VaticanTour wehad arranged. Our tour guide was, umm,interesting. Thetour which was supposed to be 3 hours, turned into 5 and 1/2. The kids were so fabulousand patient. They are really a pleasure to travel with. We got to see some of my favorite things, including the Pieta, which Madeleine had studied in school.Itwas really fun to show the kids St.Peter's andthe fabulous Bernini Colonnade. After a delicious lunch (mozerella di bufalo and penne, mmmm), we went for gelato at the best place in the world, Giolitti. Their strawberry is the best we had anywhere. We wentback a couple times!!!

That afternoon, we walked over to the Trevi Fountain and threw our coins in, guaranteeing at least one more trip to Rome.Then we walkedover to the Spanish Steps where everyone was enjoying the beautiful weather.

The next day, we headed over to the ancient stuff--firstthe Coloseum, where we walked the walk of the gladiators and listened to the audioguide. After the Coloseum, we walked up Palatine Hill and then down into the old RomanForum.

After another stop for lunch and gelato :), we went over to the Pantheon, where we got to see the dome which inspired so many others, including St. Peter's and the Florence Duomo. The next morning, we headed out to the Borghese Gardens, where we rented a pedal car. It was fun--and tiring-- to bike all over the gardens. We only noticed later as we were pushing our way up a very long, steep hill that we had one of the only cars with no engine. At least we worked offsome of that gelato! We then headed down to Piazza del Popolo where we stumbled onto a DaVinci Exhibit. They had built some of his creations out of wood and the kids were allowed to touch and explore them. It was fascinating to see how some of the things he had sketched could be brought to life and worked just as he hadenvisioned. We made one more stop back at Trevi Fountain, where Colin went in for a closer look--maybe a little too close! It was a fabulous trip, made even better by the fact that Kent doesn't have to go to the sandbox and can stay and take lots more trips with us!

London with the Johnsons

Our dear friends, Craig and Lisa Johnson, came to visit, so we spent a couple days in London with them. We met them at our downtown hotel and headed over to Westminster Abbey. It was so cool to see where the Kings and Queens of England have been coronated and see the graves and monuments to the cultural greats of the country. That nightwe went to a yummy Italian restuarant, "Bucca de lupo," in Covent Garden and then went to see "39 Steps."

On Saturday, we went to St. Paul's Cathedral. We took a tour with a very knowledgeable guide who showed us all the ins and outs. We heard the history of the bucket brigade during WWII, where the cathedral was saved from bombings and fires. We made the long climb to the tower where we were treated to fabulous views of the city. It was so fun to spend time with our great friends in our adopted hometown!

Portobello Road

Our Officers and Cilivilian Spouse Club took a trip to Portobello Road and Notting Hill one lovely Saturday in April. We spent the morning shopping at the legendary Portobello Market and taking a London Walks tour through Notting Hill. It was fun to see "how the other half lives," including houses owned by Madonna and others. I loved this garden in Notting Hill--they really do have these private enclosed gardens. And, of course we stopped by the travel book shop. No Hugh Grant, though--bummer.

Ireland, Day 5, 6, 7

Day 5: We headed off on a beautiful drive through Killarney National Forest. There was some incredible scenery.Wecontinued ourdrive along theRing of Kerry. Each corner brought a view more breathtaking than the last. We stoppedat some ring forts (large circular rock walls that the kids never tired of climbing.And, at St. Finan's Bay, we pulled over to a beach with a cool castle. The kidsloved exploring the rocks and wading in the water (even though it was FREEZING!).

We paid too many euros to stop at the "Best View in Kerry County."It was pretty amazing with fabulous views of the Skellig Islands. We also stopped at the Skellig chocolate factory,which hadhomemade and very yummy truffles.

We drove on to Dingle and stayed at Castlewood House, one of the most beautiful Bed andBreakfasts we had the pleasure tovisit.

Day 6: We explored the Dingle Peninsula, stopping for ice cream at Murphy's--a definite don't miss. The kids took a photo with Fungie, Dingle's hometown dolphin. After leaving Dingle, wedrove on. We took the Ferry over to County Clare, and drove up to the Cliffs ofMoher--Amazing.

We stopped at the Burren to see the unique rocky landscape and cool passage tomb on our way to our hotel in Galway.

Day 7: We drove from Galway to Dublin, stopping at Clonmacnoise. I loved the Celtic crosses and Kent enjoyed playing King for a bit. It was our last day in this beautiful country. We were sad to leave, but grateful that we could go home. This was the time of the ash cloud over Europe, and people were stranded everywhere! Because had already scheduled our Ferry, we were free and clear. Surprisingly, the weather in Ireland was sunny and beautiful all week--they said they had never had such a lovely week.

Ireland, Day 3 and 4

Day 3: We drove south a bit to Kilkenny, where we toured the castle. An early 1172 fortress evolved into this 17th c chateau of the Butler Family. They kids favorite part was the fabulous playground on the grounds. After Kilkenny, wedrove on to the Rock of Cashel. This is a group of ancient buildings, where in 450 St. Patrick baptized King Aengus (one of the ancient Kings of Munster).All the kids had an amazing time climing on all the rocks and cliffs on the side of the hill.

Day 4: Today we drove on to Blarney. This was probably the highlight of our trip. The castle is so much more than just the stone. But that was so much fun too! We all got to lean over--way over--while one cute little man helped us up andanother took our photo. We loved it.

After Blarney, we drove on to Killarney, where we stayed in a Bed and Breakfast. That afternoon, we drove over to the Muckross House, a Victorian House set at the edge of the Killarney National Forest. It is preserved in the style that it was when Queen Victoria came to stay for 3 nights after the family prepared for years for the visit. We took a walk through the grounds to a lovely waterfall.

The Emerald Isle

Over spring break, we took a trip with our friends the Listellos to Ireland. It was such a great trip. Here are some of the highlights:

Day 1: We begin our drive passing through Wal

es on our way to our Irish Ferry. We made a stop at Conwy Castle and stretched our legs. Then we went on to the Ferry for our two hour ride over to Dublin. It was a wee bit windy!

Day 2: We went to Bru Na Boinne, which is a neolithic passage tomb north of Dublin. It was incredible--we got to go inside, and they recreated how the light comes infor 17 minutes on the morning of the winter solstice. There were amazing carvings all over the ceilings and walls. Afterwards, we went to the site of the Battle of the Boyne, which was the site of the largest battle every fought in the British Isles. Protestant William of Orange defeated Catholic King James II as 50,000 soldiers fought it out in this tiny area. We stayed one more night in the area and then headed off on our grand tour.

Day 3: We drove south a bit to Kilkenny, where we toured the castle. An early 1172 fortress evolved into this 17th c chateau of the Butler Family. They kids favorite part was the fabulous playground on the grounds. After Kilkenny, we drove on to the Rock of Cashel. This is a group of ancient buildings, where in 450 St. Patrick baptized King Aengus (one of the ancient Kings of Munster). All the kids had an amazing time climing on all the rocks and cliffs on the side of the hill.

Day 4: Today we drove on to Blarney. This was probably the highlight of our trip. The castle is so much more than just the stone. We loved it.