After months (or dare I say years) of planning, we are off on our big trip! We are all very excited, a little anxious, but thankful that we get this opportunity of a lifetime!

Outside the Barcelona Cathedral

Barcelona Cathedral

A few from the Parc de Montjuic

The day ended with Hannah and I enjoying a beer at the local pub watching the USA/Ireland soccer game. Pretty sweet!

While we were there I made a friend, his name was Gary, he was a snail.

After that we walked for about an hour to get some food. We had French fries and calamari. After that we went to this massive church that is still under construction.

It kind of looks like a castle from Harry Potter. The inside was very beautiful, it had stained glass every where.

We came home and watched some spongebob to end the day. Today was pretty action packed and exciting.

Casa Batlló

Catalonia Square

Catalonia Square

Peter in his element

Highlights/ lowlights:

Matt- Strolling the Gothic quarter/Not being able to climb the towers at La Sagrada Familia because of the pouring rain.

Holly- Strolling the Gothic quarter and La Sagrada Familia/The pouring rain while trying to look at the outside of the church.

Hannah- La Sagrada Familia/Smelly streets

Olivia- La Sagrada Familia/Casa Batlló (wasn’t very interesting)

Peter- Eating bread and salami from the local store/Not being able to go up the towers at La Sagrada Familia

Not only was the architecture amazingly stunning but each wall was incredibly colorful with detailed handcrafted artwork.

Each room had its own unique style!

Along side the palace was a beautiful green garden which included tons of fountains and even a labyrinth made from trees!

Liv and I also enjoyed the pretty purple flowers!

also... can't forget about the fishies!

After a long day of exploring this palace we finished off our day at Gusto, a yummy seafood restaurant! Enjoyed a glass of Rosé and was a little adventurous in trying my first paella! Overall a very good day (:

ps if you get this far please enjoy this pic included because it's just funny

Then we went up to the top of the church and watched the bells

We got hangry so we got some lunch

Then we went to the park for a little

After that we went to the Flamenco show to top it off

Peter loves to do this picture 😂

Video

Metropol Parasol (a strange “mushroom” structure made of wood), we weren’t terribly impressed. A bit strange in the middle of the city.

One of the many buildings I thought was pretty.

Cathedral of Seville

Yum!

Churros dipped in hot chocolate

Highlights/Lowlights of Seville:

Matt- Everything/Leaving

Holly- Flamenco show/Our morning wake up to construction in the apartment next door.

Hannah- Walking through the gardens at Palace Alcazar/Overcast weather

Olivia- Touring the Palace/Walking to the park and back.

Peter- Mexican lunch at the beginning of our trip/The long walk to the park and back.

And it went pretty well.

We arrived in Madrid 2 and 1/2 hours later, got settled and decided that we would do something outside all of our comfort zone: a bullfight!

This may be my favorite part of the trip so far. Not because of the event, necessarily, as i could have done without the gore and the “ending” of each fight, but because the entire experience was the first time we immersed ourselves into the locals’ culture and i did not feel like a tourist. I enjoyed the passion of the matadors and the fans, (throwing of hats, live chickens and even a bra or two at the matadors in appreciation), the horsemanship (we saw a Rejoneo, where the matador fights the bull on horseback), and the tradition. I wouldn’t attend again, but the experience was worthwhile. Here is a picture and a video of the fans cheering for one of the matadors to be awarded additional prizes for his fight.

Well, today we are back to being tourists. As many have a suggested, it seems the best way to see the city is on the hop on, hop off, double decker buses that tour the streets. And there is nothing that screams tourist louder!

And finally one last “first.” We have found that the dryers don’t really dry clothes and we have to be creative. Here is Holly, for the first time, drying our clothes with a hairdryer.

After that we hopped on a bus that took us around the town while we listened to an audio tour. After the tour we came home and mom commented how goofy the tour was. We all looked at eachother in confusion. We found out that my mom was listening to the kids version which was narrated by a cat. We all thought this was hilarious. After that mom and dad took a romantic stroll through the park while kids napped at home. For dinner we ate some delicious fried chicken. Today was a good day. P.S. this was a picture from yesterday but I wanted to put it in this blog

Random thoughts on Spain:

•It’s difficult to eat at 11pm at night. Many times we were the only people in the restaurant because we couldn’t wait that long!

•We were not big lovers of Spanish food. We tried many things, but our favorite meals tended to be at the Mexican or Italian restaurants. Peter also didn’t like having to share “tapas” style.

•The gin tonic pours are amazing! Done at the table in front of you, probably triple what I would pour for myself! Must be careful with those!

•It takes FOREVER to do a load of laundry. The washing machines are really small.

On to the Highlights and Lowlights of Madrid:

Matt- Bullfight/Cold weather

Holly-Bullfight was both highlight and lowlight for me.

Hannah-The Royal Palace/Not being able to fit her new purchases into her suitcase (Peter’s bag is growing)

Olivia- Bullfight/Packing AGAIN

Peter- Bullfight/Not getting ice cream on the last night like he was promised. (He’s had it almost daily...)

Today, we took a boat over to the island of Murano and saw a glass blowing demonstration.

Then went to the island of Burano and looked at all colorful houses.

Last stop, Torcello, one of the first islands populated in Venice.

All good days must end with more gelato!

Grand Canal

Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute

One interesting (and smelly) issue the island is dealing with is how to remove all of its trash and recycling. Our local tour guide gave us a quite lengthy and impassioned speech about the political failures surrounding the issue. Here it is up close!

Our next island was Santorini. It was by far the prettiest of the islands but the most difficult to reach. More on that a bit later. We started in the town of Oia, which sits high above the sea, has unbelievable views and cute white buildings with blue roof tops.

The adventure in Santorini was getting up and down the island. We were tendered in the bay with three to four other cruise ships. This meant that approximately 10,000 people were trying to get over to the island by boat and then up the rather large incline to the city of Fira. \240You either climbed 592 stairs or you waited in a huge line for the cable car that only moved 30 people at a time up and down the incline. In a moment of desperation, we decided to hire a boat to take us 20 minutes down the shore, where a bus would be waiting, that would then take us up to Oia and then a separate bus back to Fira, where we would then have to either cable car down or walk down the incline. All of that more or less happened, except the cable car line was over 2 hours long to get back down. So we hoofed it down ... with thousands of other people and donkeys, trying not to step in donkey poo! We were miserable at the time but laugh about it now.

Our third island was Mykonos. We mainly enjoyed this scenic island by sailboat that dropped us off at a nice beach or right in the middle of the sea.

After a much needed day at sea, we docked in Naples and took a day trip to Pompeii. It was hot and crowded but fascinating.

Our favorite time, however, were the sunsets off the back of our balcony! On to Rome!

We took a VERY long tour of both the Coliseum and the Forum. It was insane how much history was involved in both places!

After our long day of touring we stopped for a yummy italian dinner with lots of pizza and pasta! We then made our way to the Trevi fountain!

We all tossed our coins (over the left shoulder of course) and made wishes!

Here's a quick vid of Finley throwing his Euro! We then finished the day as usual with some delicious gelato!

We then walked through Piazza Novona and Campo di Fiori on our way to the Trastevere neighborhood for lunch. I really liked it there. Very few people, lots of cute alleyways and restaurants everywhere. We enjoyed a nice lunch while watching the rain.

I’m really loving Rome! ❤️

Here are 2 pictures of St. Peter’s Basilica

We couldn’t take any pictures of the Sistine Chapel because the artwork is too valuable. After that tour we ate lunch at a yummy pizza place. After that we headed home and kicked off our shoes and relaxed. But while we relaxed my dad got an Italian haircut.

Highlights/Lowlights:

Matt- Watching it rain in the Pantheon/What felt like hour 5 of our tour of the Forum

Holly- Walking the streets and taking in all the sights/Lots of people

Hannah- Catacombs/Not still being on the cruise ship for my birthday

Olivia- The Vatican/Too much walking

Peter- The Sistine Chapel/Nothing!

View from our patio

We had a big day today. On the recommendation of Oliver (the apartment owner), we took a hike to Ravello which is at the top of the mountain. It is straight up lots and lots of stairs.

It took about an hour, but we made it. We walked around Ravello and then rewarded ourselves with lunch and a drink. The views were fabulous!

We were planning to take a road back down, but somehow we missed it and ended up back at some stairs that were much worse than the ones going up. Quite the adventure getting down!

The day didn’t end there. We cleaned up and rested a little and then took the ferry to Positano.

The Feast of St. Peter was happening today and so after walking around Positano we went to a nearby town that was having a festival and had dinner and watched an insane fireworks show to cap the night off.

Side note, walking here is CRAZY! You share a tiny road with big buses, lots of cars and fast motorcycles. You are always supposed to walk seaside (and hope the cars don’t hit you)!

Positano

On to the Highlights/Lowlights:

Matt- The cruise up and down the coast/Trying to walk around Amalfi while battling the cruise ship crowd. Too many people!

Holly- Also the boat ride/The horns honking on the road below our apartment to warn each other when they were coming around the corner.

Hannah- The boat ride/Spilling my water into the pasta lunch my mom cooked for us.

Olivia- Hiking up to Ravello/Having to walk after the hike and being so sore!

Peter- Hiking down from Ravello (the dangerous stairs!)/Getting kicked out of a private party we wandered into at a hotel. 😬

This morning in Florence we watched the light rain and as soon as it began to warm up we went on an audio tour of a cool museum with lots of interesting sculptures made by Michelangelo! It's amazing how intricate each sculpture is, he must have had a really steady hand!

We stopped for a quick lunch and had some pizza and then off to the next tour! We got to look at the original David!! This sculpture is 3 times the size of an actual human!

Florence has been good to us so far!

We continued the day on our rooftop terrace with more familiar faces (Matt’s parents, Aunt & Uncle). Pizza, wine and a spectacular sunset. It doesn’t get much better than this!

Highlights/Lowlights:

Matt- Seeing the minor Michelangelo’s at The Bargello museum/The first night in our apartment was very warm because the air conditioner hadn’t cooled things off yet.

Holly- Seeing The David, family and our terrace/It was HOT!

Hannah- Seeing family/Feeling like our apartment was haunted

Olivia- Seeing family/Missed The Bargello museum because I didn’t feel good.

Peter-The Steakhouse we ate at the first night/My food didn’t come out on time at the Steakhouse.

The trip to Umbria started a bit shaky. We had to rent a car in Florence, which was a lot of waiting and not a lot of help for confused Americans:

We also put my parents on a train in Florence with hopes of seeing them in our Umbrian town (Perugia) a few hours later. Unfortunately, the train broke down, but a lovely “angel” student from Perugia swooped in and helped them navigate their way. And only 2 and 1/2 hours late!

Once we all arrived safe and sound, we were awed by the beauty and tranquility of our villa and the area. We enjoyed the evening and then had a nice pool day, ending the evening with a nice dinner in one of the many nearby towns (Umbertide). This looks like it will be a very fun and relaxing two weeks here.

After returning home, we went for dinner to a fun wine tasting/lesson and four course meal.

Today consisted of sleeping in and more pool time! Dinner was in an idyllic Italian countryside setting. Saluti!

We then walked the old streets, admiring the wonderful views and old buildings and churches along the way:

Until I got cranky and hungry and made us all stop and feast:

On Friday, July 13, we said goodbye to my parents and enjoyed a day of rest (or some of us did). I talked Holly into playing 9 holes at the golf course we have been passing everyday. It sits below a castle, which I thought was cool. What was not cool, was the temperature and hilly terrain we walked for 2 and 1/2 hours chasing our little white ball.

Today, we welcome Holly’s Dad to the villa and we look forward to another fun week with him here.

Then we walked around the streets in look of the lifts to take us up to the church where Saint Ubaldo is mummified. The lifts looked like bird cages and were really small, but the view was worth it.

Once we got up to the church we explored the inside of it and saw Saint Ubaldo. He looked very scary.

Mom and Grandpa took a really cool photo outside of the church.

After that, we had a snack at a bar at the top of the mountain; and then went back down and came home where we watched the World Cup final and ate burgers.

Today, we ventured into Tuscany to a town called Cortona. Again, up a steep hill, but the views were spectacular! We walked the streets and visited several churches. One church in particular held another Saint’s remains (St. Margherita) above the alter. Interesting to say the least.

A yummy pizza and pasta dinner in Cortona and then back to the villa to catch another beautiful sunset.

We docked the boat right in front of a castle while we fished on a dock nearby.

After that we ate lunch at a really yummy restaurant where everyone except for Grandpa ordered fish and chips Fresh from the lake. On the way back I got to drive the boat, it was awesome. We drove back to our villa and the rest of the day we relaxed.

Our hotel has an incredible view of the Matterhorn.

Zermatt is full of flower boxes everywhere! 💗

When in Switzerland, cheese fondue for dinner!

This picture was taken early this morning just when the sun was making its way up! How incredible it hits the Matterhorn's peak perfectly!

My day began with a yummy breakfast which included fresh orange juice from oranges i cut and squeezed myself! I ate a great breakfast in preparation for our hike.

In order to get to the trails we had to take an underground funicular that practically went straight up the mountain! It looked like a roller coaster ride you'd find at Disney World!! Once we got off this bus we then had to take a gondola ride to the very top.

It was worth the transportation because look at this view!!

On our hike we passed a pretty lake which everyone seemed to like to stop to eat lunch or let their dogs jump in the water.

After we had a few great hours of exercise and lots of views we cleaned up and had one last meal in Zermatt.

Here's a funny pre dinner video of something you definitely won't find anywhere else!

Our last dinner was very good especially because of the friendly service we received. This restaurant was run by a family and it was very nice to see they were very welcoming and even went out of their way to make our last dinner a little extra special. I was really hoping to eat at a restaurant that had chocolate fondue on the dessert menu which this restaurant did not. However, the owner went out of his way to make this dessert happen!

I think this was a great way to end our stop in Zermatt!

After we explored the cool castle and the dungeons, we took the ferry to another part and ate a yummy lunch.

Here is a picture of me in front of a cool statue. We went back to our hotel and took some naps. We had a yummy dinner at the hotel and watched the sun set.

We then grabbed dinner and watched a crazy storm roll through. It did help cool the city down.

After dinner, we hopped on a night cruise down the Seine river. The city looked pretty cool all lit up.

We then saw much of the city from the Hop On Hop Off bus. Stopped at the Arc de Triomphe and climbed to the top for some great views.

And of course the Eiffel Tower.

The Louvre,

Sainte-Chapelle church,

and a wonderful meal to cap the day with.

It’s hard to believe our 2 months is over. It has gone by so quickly! We have seen so many amazing things and places. I’m sad to be leaving, but so happy we had this opportunity and made so many unforgettable memories.

Adios, ciao, auf wiedersehen, au revoir Europe!