Malaga Spain

When we dock in Malaga we are almost a mile from the edge of town. It is a pleasant walk along the quay now. Our first few visits were not so pleasant, walking along the construction site on very uneven ground was not so good. This trip we decided to take the bus as to not wear the kids out before even getting into town.  We left the bus stop and walked up to the business district to visit some shops that we like there and go to the Marche. I knew that Karin and the kids would love walking around the marche..so many wonderful fresh fruits and veggies. They were very impressed and we once again bought strawberries...but alas they were not as good as the ones in Cadiz.

 

Walking around in Malaga is fairly simple and safe. Traffic is limited on the large squares and there is plenty of shopping from souvenir shops to high end department stores. There is a fan shop there that we go to each time. The fans and hair ornaments are works of art and worthy of a visit. There are also many places to get tourist souvenirs and local food!

If you get too tired..there are many ways to get around!

 

Beautiful buildings everywhere you look. The downtown is being restored with high end department stores  downstairs and beautiful apartments above.

The Picasso home museum is one of the best bargains we have found in Europe. One Euro for the house and you get a free ticket to another museum across the street!

The Fortress on the hill, well worth the walk..and beautiful. You will need at least an hour there, just to ooh and aww!!

 

And then there's always Cheers!

More later.

Cadiz May 25 2012

Cadiz has always been one of my favorite ports. It is very user friendly, and we have enjoyed good times here.  On one of our first stops we took a taxi out to Jerez de la Frontera with friends that we met on the ship. We visited the Equestrian Center and watched the beautiful horses train, then on to the The House of Sandeman, a real treat, even if you don't drink!
http://www.sandeman.eu/

http://youtu.be/s9CDini9SDM

on this trip we took a walking tour. You can walk from one side of Cadiz to the other in a short time. We choose to go down through the residential streets toward the bay. We came upon a shop that sold fresh fruit and veggies. Brenna and Declan chose fresh peas in the pod for a snack and we chose beautiful strawberries. These proved to be the marker by which we judged all future berries..and we never found any so delicious.
We continued around to the bay side walk way, a wide walk way that follows the bay out to the sea.


 

 

Wandering the streets of Cadiz

 

 

When we got to the Port we followed the walk to a place that the kids could go down to the water.

 

and then they saw it....The playground!   One of several actually!

 

 

 

after a visit to the Fort we followed the street around

 

Cadiz is small, but packed with things to see and do. We have been many times and still have much to see. It is a great place to go with family.

Tomorrow on to Malaga! 

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadiz

 

 

Tenerife Canary Islands

April 23rd.. On land again after many days!  I love Tenerife and am glad to be there once again. I is a pleasure to share it with my daughter and grand kids. The streets are laid out simply and it is easy to get around, even if you are under 4 feet tall!

We checked out the shopping of course and walked through the park, then we searched for the McDonald's so that Karin could try to contact Brandon to let him know all was well.


 

 

Looking for wifi..

 

I have been to Tenerife many times, but this is the first time that the water was in this fountain.

 

 

 

Everywhere we went the kids found playgrounds, we were thinking of publishing a paper about playgrounds in Europe.

 

 

 

 

 

There are many beautiful flowers and trees in Tenerife, The Jacaranda is purple and one of my favorites. The Bird of Paradise is colorful and most everywhere you look! springtime is a great time to be in the Canary Islands!

 

 

 

 

Finally....McDonald's and Wifi

 

 

Tomorrow at sea..then on to Cadiz!! I can't wait to show the kids. Cadiz is probably the most kid friendly port of call. 

More later!

 

 

April 16, 2012                Nassau  The Bahamas

 
 Pulling into harbor in Nassau

On the street in Nassau..getting ready to shop !

 

When we arrived in Nassau it was warm, the last really warm day that we would see for a while. The kids were excited to see all the vendors on the street, and Declan struck up a conversation with a street merchant, discussing his wares. 

Declan is quite a photographer..and took many good pictures along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

We walked down to the ice cream store. Michael loves Ice Cream and can spot a shop a mile away!

He had a malt and the kids ice cream and we all enjoyed the view from the balcony!

               Across the street from the ice cream shop was a chapel.There is a lot of construction going on around it and I fear that it will be the victim of progress.

                the houses are interesting and sometimes very colorful.

April 15, 2012           Settling in for the night!


when we first got on the ship, Declan was a little nervous. It was really high in the air and he was afraid to go too close to the edge.  After an afternoon of exploring the ship he was feeling better about it.  Our "room" overlooked the front of the ship...a good and bad thing. The view was great, but we learned that all the crew went into the maintenance area through a door directly below our window.. ALL night and all day...THUMP, THUMP, Crash Bang!!
That was an annoyance, but we all survived!


 

                                    Brenna watching herself brush her teeth, first night out!

 

Mom and Declan choosing a story for bedtime.

 

 

I was worried that there would be cabin fever, or sea sickness, but once we were out to sea everyone seemed to be OK. It was Very windy all the way across so we were limited to inside activities, but there was plenty to do on the ship. Declan got over his fear of heights and on the last few days aboard he climbed the rock wall! I couldn't watch!

Europe 2012 catching up

Last year in Europe was a busy year. It was filled with fun, adventure, some new things, and some sad things. I am going to attempt to catch up over the next few days.
 
The adventure began on April 14, 2012, with a stop at my sister , Patti's house near Tampa FL.  She has been kind enough to be "auntie" to Sian, the cat of the house, and she takes us across FL to Ft. Lauderdale to get on the ship. She always had a private room waiting for Sian with a view of the pool andhis own TV.
 

                                             Sian on his perch overlooking the pool!

                                          
                                   Sian giving us the "I know you're up to something" look!

We visited with Patti and the next evening Brandon and Karin arrived with Brenna and Declan.  We came home from a day of shopping to find them in the kind of chilly pool!
They are young so they can take it! The next morning at 4:30 we will get up and begin the adventure.

      some pool time with Mom and Dad..you will note that Mom is prudently sitting on the side.

     A lot of luggage, and that does not include ours!

                                            Always time for a little building! Declan loves to build.

                                        
                                           4:30 A.M comes fast, loading up with Daddy!


                                         On the ship at last! There was a short wait in Port!
                                          

                                            Promise of future fun!!

                                                  And now the food...we are all hungry!

The weather on the cruise was pretty cool and very windy, but we managed to do some really fun things along the way!  First stop was at Nassau the Bahamas..  We walked around and looked at historic places and had ice cream near the harbor!  The kids met some interesting folks and bought their first treasures!
Now 6 days at sea..to fill with fun!
More later!

side note: Our Sian passed in his sleep on April 8,2013. Thanks to Auntie Patti, Partytime, Prissy, and Murphy for lovey summers spent in Florida!

Universal language

random thoughts in the middle of the night.


In my travels I have found that there is a universal language, one that we all can understand. Babies cry in the same language everywhere, and giggle! We all recognise a smile or a frown and a hand shake needs no translation!(or a kiss on the cheek)
I have seen too the universal, it would seem, language of discord with the way governments are leading countries in this world.
In Italy the girl in the gas station is wondering what will happen with her in the state that the Italian government exists..she is in her 20's..
In France the people are stirring in the villages questioning the government. Schools in our area in the South of France being shrunk, due to cuts..they already are so small that many kids have to go to boarding school when they  reach middle school age..teachers are being let go and classes canceled.. Same is true of America...
In England a young person can not even dream of owning a home because of cost.. and gangs rule the streets and public transport..