We’re recovering from this…

For our spring break, I loaded up the dog and the girls and we headed south.  We dropped the pup off with my mom and then went to Florida to visit my dad.  We went all over St. Petersburg and enjoyed the Rays home opening game, a trip to the beach and a visit to The Florida Aquarium.  The weather was beautiful, the food (and beer) was delicious and the company was excellent. 

I was terrified of the long drive without my husband but the girls were so, so good in the car and traffic on the way down was fine.  On the way back it was terrible but we made it safely so that’s all that matters.  The dog had fun at my mom’s making friends with her puppy and cat.  It was a great vacation for everyone.

Budapest Part 2

Welcome back!  I am actually posting Budapest Part 2 just a few days after Part 1.  Are you shocked?  I am going to try and stay on top of things here and see how that works out for me.  I miss blogging but don’t have too much to say these days. 

Back to the tour of Budapest.  We went up to Castle Hill and visited the Matyas Church.  It was under renovation but we were able to tour inside.  I love the tiled roofs on churches and this reminded me of St. Stephens in Vienna.  We went up here first thing in the morning and the clouds hadn’t lifted yet, however, by the time we went inside the sun was breaking through and the stained glass windows were stunning.

Afterwards we walked over to the Royal Palace and wandered around the grounds and grabbed a quick snack in a cute café.

If you look closely in the above photo you can see my family sticking their head through the gaps in the railings.  After we left the Royal Palace we crossed back over the river.

The photo below is the view of the Royal Palace from across the river.  It really dominates the hill.

We walked over to St. Stephen’s Basilica and wandered around inside.  I think it is awesome that most churches allow you to walk around for free or a small donation.

The last 3 photos are from different places around the city. 

The grand statues above are from Hero’s Square.  This was a pretty awesome place to check out and was once where Communist demonstrations took place.

As we walked around some side streets we came upon this statue of Ronald Reagan.  This was to honor President Reagan for his part in ending communism and is located near the US Embassy.

We loved Budapest and enjoyed our time there.  I miss the old world feel of European cities and the way old and new have merged together.  To visit places that are filled with so much history is very exciting and interesting.  I am thankful for the opportunities we had to visit these gems while we lived in Germany.

Budapest Part 1

I finally sat down and began to tackle the overwhelming number of photos from our last 4 months in Germany.  We moved back to the USA 15 months ago and I just kept putting the task off. 

I remember being a little hesitant to travel to Budapest, mostly because we were going to take the train and 8 hours on a train with little girls sounded painful.  And it was.  Thankfully, you can reserve a cluster of seats with a table so we were able to eat and keep the girls fairly entertained. 

Our first morning there we visited Central Market Hall, Budapest’s largest market. It is always so much fun to visit markets as you really get a great feel of things the locals eat and drink but sometimes too much kitsch as there is usually a large selection of trinkets for travelers to purchase.    Every time I walked past these adorable smiling veggies I couldn’t help but giggle.  It was my favorite part of the market. 

We then headed to the Danube River and took a boat cruise to Margaret Island.  The company we used allowed us to get off on the island and explore a bit on our own.  We rented this a fun bicycle where the girls sat upfront and James and I peddled.  It was the fastest and most fun way to explore the island.

 

We explored some 14th century Franciscan church ruins and enjoyed the beautiful spring day.  There were plenty of paths to peddle on and with two people peddling we quickly toured the island.

We jumped back on the boat and was rewarded with beautiful views of the Hungarian Parliament building. 

We still had plenty of daylight time so we walked up to get a view of Budapest from above.  One thing I love about traveling is when you come across people from the USA that are from the same general area as you are.  I met a gentleman who was familiar with Western NY and had a brief conversation with him about it and what brought him to Budapest.

We ended our day with dinner at a delicious Greek restaurant.  The restaurant was right on the river, the staff were polite and the food was ah.maze.ing.  I know, I know someone is wondering why we didn’t eat Hungarian food and I promise we did. 

I was only going to write one post about Budapest but since this is photo heavy I’ll add the second part later this week.   

Wordless Wednesday

Chateau Gaillard, Les Andelys, France

After we left the magical Disneyland Paris we drove north towards the Normandy region.  Along the way we stopped at the beautiful Chateau Gaillard.  The castle ruins sit high above the Seine River and the small town of Les Andelys. A quick stop in town to grab some lunch and we headed to the ruins.

We arrived in the off season and the main building was closed but we were able to wander around the ruins for free and take in the beautiful view.  It is hard to not be in awe while visiting the fortress that was built by Richard the Lionheart.  The structure took a year to build and was finished in 1198.  It was built as a deterrent to the king of France to keep him from invading Normandy.  

If you click on the link in the first paragraph it will take you to a site with the complete but brief history of the castle. 

Paris!

While we were at Disneyland Paris we took the train into Paris for the day.  It is nearly an hour train ride into the city but the trains are efficient and there is a station right at the Disneyland entrance so it doesn’t get more convenient than that. 

Our first stop was the Memorial de la Shoah (the French do not use the word Holocaust which is Greek, they use Shoah which is a Hebrew word).  It is interesting to see how each country has dealt with this tragic part of their history and then decided to share the information.  We have been to museums in Poland, the Netherlands, Berlin and now Paris and each one has shared how events leading up to, during and after World War II has affected their country and it’s citizens. 

This wall had names of people who helped the Jewish during WWII.  It was a very long monument.  Below is the crypt and the only place inside where we were allowed to take a photo. 

The memorial was well put together with a lot of information and artifacts on display.  My girls are very well behaved while we visit museums but they do get bored so we don’t always get to spend as much time as we would like to thoroughly read over displays but we did get a chance to see everything.  I would highly recommend a visit to the memorial if you get the chance.  Admission is free and it is fairly easy to get to.

We also visited the Musee Marmottan Monet.  We had wanted to visit the Orsay but we didn’t plan well and purchase admission tickets ahead of time.  So we visited this smaller, less crowded, more focused museum and enjoyed it.  Of course we couldn’t take photos here, either, but I wanted to mention it since it was a nice museum.

After a late lunch we made our way towards the Eiffel Tower, where we did plan ahead and had a reserved time to take the elevator up to the second level.  We took some photos from across the river looking at the Eiffel Tower and these may be my most favorite photos from our entire trip!  I did not pose them, just asked them to stand there so I could take their photos!  I love these so much!

While you are sitting near the Eiffel Tower it looks tall, of course, but it feels soooo much taller once you go up.  The first we visited Paris we didn’t go up because one of the elevators were under repair and we didn’t want to wait in line or climb up the stairs carrying  2 and 3 year old kids. 

Once in the elevator the ride is quick!  I liked the “man” sitting on the outside.

And here is a view looking up from the observation deck.

I could take photos of the Eiffel Tower all day long and as we walked away I kept looking back over my shoulder so I could get just one more look. 

I love Paris!  The coffee is delicious, the macaron’s are ah.maze.ing!  The city is gorgeous!  I hope to go back someday and spend more time there.

There’s No Place Like Home

 

Hello friends!  It has been too long since I have sat down and written a blog post.  I could make up a hundred reasons why I have neglected my blog but I’ll be honest and say that I just haven’t felt like blogging!

We have been getting settled into our new home and routines over the past 3 months.  In October we went to NY State to visit my brother while my oldest was on her fall break.  I love being in NY, even the small, rural area in which I grew up.  Even though I only have a handful of family members still there, Western NY will always be my home!

While we were there we took our girls to Letchworth State Park.  I grew up just 15 minutes from here and we went there often.  After traveling in the Pacific Northwest and a bit of Europe this place is still gorgeous and one of my most favorite places in the world.  The Genesee River runs through the park and after 10,000’s of years has created a stunning gorge with 3 waterfalls.  In the photo above the train trestle sits high above the Upper Falls.  Sadly, the trestle is supposed to be removed much to the dismay of many.  It is a symbol of the park to a lot of people but it is old and the railroad doesn’t want to maintain it any longer.

 

The third photo is of the Middle Falls, the largest in the park.  The last photo is taken from “Inspiration Point” and it offers the very best view of the Upper and Middle Falls.  The fall colors were gorgeous and I am glad we were able to visit during this time.  I miss NY the most in the fall.  With many hills covered in gorgeous and vibrant colors I haven’t been anywhere that offers such a stunning show of Mother Nature at her finest.

We had a great visit with my family and I cannot wait to see everyone again now that I am back on the east coast!