Viva, Barcelona! (Day One)

Ryan Air had a great deal for flights to Barcelona for Labor Day. Being that my parents were here around that time we decided it would be a great trip to take over the long weekend. As we usually do, we rented an apartment so we could have extra room and a kitchen to cook some of the meals in. With the kids it is so nice to wake up and have a good breakfast before we set off for the days adventures.

My mom had been doing research on all the top sights in the area to see and do. We had our days planned out and ready to see the great city of Barcelona.

My dad and the kids playing a card game before heading out on our first day.

 This children's museum was amazing...and the best part was it was only 4 euro for adults and free for the kids. There were so many things for the kids to learn and experience. We spent a good 3 hours at this place. 

 Seeing the roots of the tree from the bottom up.

 There was a special exhibit about microbiology. Loved it!! 

 This is just one of the main floors with all sorts of interactive things for the kids to do.

 Jason and the kids seeing how long they can hold their hands on the huge block of ice. 

 A rain forest with all sorts of animals and fish. Every so often it rained from the ceiling and you could see how the animals reacted when the rain came down. There were fish in the tank bigger than Jackson!

Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton were sitting behind the desk as we walked in the museum. My mom thought they were real before she realized who they looked like. It was creepy seeing these up close. They had real hair, whiskers, real eyes...everything about them was so real. I kept thinking at any point in time they were going to jump at me and say, "boo!"

                                           

 After the museum we took the subway (how we got around everywhere in the city) to La Rambla. This mile or so long stretch was full of stores, restaurants, street vendors and all sorts of people doing crazy things. It was fun to take our time and stroll along this stretch of road.

 We walked around the market for a few hours taking in all the amazing sights of fruits, vegetables, seafood, meat and anything else you can imagine in a market.

 Fishmongers with an crazy amount of fish and shellfish I have ever seen.

 Love the Iberian ham! The men who shave the meat off of the leg do it so precisely and thin you can see through it. 

 The kids souvenirs they picked out for the vacation. Couldn't of been a more perfect fit for each of them. 

 Taking a break and having a much needed sangria along La Rambla.

 At the end of the road is a statue with Christopher Columbus at the top. The statue is a reminder that Barcelona was his first stop after discovering the new continent.

Day one was a big day of sight-seeing, walking and getting the subway system down in this beautiful city. So thankful for sweet, well traveled kids who can enjoy these times we explore another part of Europe!

Monkey Park

Our neighbor owns a company called Monkey Hardware that sells patented climbing equipment world wide. He has a park not far from our house that has the climbing equipment to try out for fun. We have been trying to fit our schedules so we can go and finally it worked out last weekend.

Our other neighbors who recently moved in went with their two children.

Here is Franz getting everyone harnessed up.

 Jackson loved it as you can see.

 Grace got it down!

 Now it was my turn...

and up I go...

    That's me at the top ringing the bell!

 

    I couldn't believe how high Jackson got. He was a little daredevil.

 My dad even attempted to climb.

 Jason used another technique using an ice pick to climb up. It is definitely a skill that takes lots of practice to perfect.

We had such a fun time and will definitely go back again.

The Best for Last...Galway!

This is the place we couldn't wait to go back to and explore together.

We intended to take the ferry to the Aran Islands but after seeing the weather conditions when waking up I had to put a big X on that idea. The boat at the dock was just rocking and swaying back and forth...just making me sick even when we were on land. Thankfully my sweet husband understood and went ahead and made the drive up to Galway.

Here is THE place we met up in 2 days after arriving in Germany.

I just love the inside of the pub and how unique it is. 

We got some great seats right behind two acoustic guitar players and parked for many hours. So thankful for the memories that came flooding back while we were there.

Jason and I loved every minute of this trip. We are so very thankful for my parents being here and us having the time off so we could finish off our summer vacation in our favorite place. It is hard to believe that it's been 10 years since we said "I do." Here are to many, many more anniversaries we have together!

Cliffs of Moher and Doolin

After talking with the owners of the B&B they told us to make our drive up to our next destination by ferry. After looking at a map we were so happy they told us because it saved us about an hour of driving time.

 Just outside of our next B&B (we had a view from our place) was the Cliffs of Moher. We both went to this place (separately with our friends) 12 years ago so we didn't spend too much time. We got our pictures and hit the road again.

 At lunch we had a ginger beer. This might be my drink of choice with as car sick as I get on just about any road.

 Our pictures of the cliff on a somewhat clear day in Ireland.

 After about a 15 minute drive we made it to Doolin. 

 These rock walls are EVERYWHERE in Ireland. I love how they don't use any cement or binding agent to construct the wall. 

 Our rare moments of sunshine during the trip.

 Love this...so perfect for the typical scenery in Ireland. Cows, green grass and rolling hills.

That night we walked to a pub and stayed for about 3 hours. They had live traditional Irish music and a whole crowd of people. Great night #2!

10 Years and Back to Ireland

Hard to believe it's been almost 12 years since we met in a pub in Ireland. We had this 10 year anniversary trip planned for about 4 years now so we were so excited to finally go after all the planning.

Thankfully my parents were here for our anniversary so they took care of the kids so Jason and I could enjoy our special day. We left on Thursday and flew back on Sunday night. Each night we stayed at a different B&B in a different city. Ireland is just too beautiful to stay in one place for the whole time. 

We flew into Kerry Airport and stayed the night at a B&B in Castlemaine which is about 30 km from the airport. Our first adventure we took a quick drive to the Killarney National Park on a typical rainy day when we landed. Good thing we had umbrellas and raincoats!

This tree was amazing! It was just off the trail on the hike we took to the waterfall.

 This IS how green Ireland is. Just beautiful!

 The waterfall was beautiful and so peaceful.

 I loved how short this walkway was on the trail.

 Our first of many Guinesses and Smithwick's during our trip.

 This was the first place we stayed and it was so wonderful. As typical Irish are the owners of the house  they were so nice and made you feel at home. I would recommend this to anyone staying in the area. 

I just loved the four poster bed in our room.

 We walked around the farmhouse and were able to see all sorts of animals.

 We loved just being back in Ireland and getting away together. Our next days only got better...