Towards the end of the summer we spent a weekend on the Cape with Aaron’s family. We enjoyed spending time with Andrew and his friend Cordelia and were lucky with the weather, so we got to spend the majority of the weekend outside. It was a relaxing visit and great as always to be able to spend time together. Click on the photo above of Lisa and her dog Lindy to see the small album of photos from the weekend.

Way back in July (I know, I know I am so far behind) the family made our usual trek down to the Connecticut shore for a lovely vacation at the beach. We swam, played games, read, napped – all very good things – and enjoyed being together in such a wonderful place. Justin keeps asking Amy and Joe when they can go back to the beach and I feel exactly the same way. Highlights from our time this summer would be the sparklers on the 4th of July, the bonfire on the beach, playing in the sand and all of Justin’s “fishing” (like in the photo above). Needless to say, we had a really great time. There is a large album of photos from our time there this summer. Normally, I would break it up across several posts, but I am trying (I swear) to catch up.

It was Joe’s idea actually…so my thanks to him. Back in mid June, Amy and I went away for a weekend, just the two of us to Meredith, New Hampshire for a relaxing weekend. We stayed at The Church Landing at Mill Falls in a room that looked out on Lake Winnipesaukee. We had some good meals, went shopping, got pedicures and just enjoyed spending some time together. We didn’t know it when we planned the trip, but it turns out we were in New Hampshire for part of Motorcycle Week – so we saw all sorts of interesting sites. I tried to convince Amy that she should go to one of the bike leather clothing shops and ask if they carried maternity chaps, but she passed on that one. Instead she posed for me under the Frankie’s Firearms sign – which was almost as funny. Take a look at the photos.

Back at the end of May, Aaron and I went to the beach for a relaxing weekend. It was very quiet. We felt like we had the whole beach to ourselves, which was not so bad. We spent the weekend reading, playing games and just enjoying being there. James and Chrissy came up for dinner one night while we were there and it was great to catch up with them. Click on the photo above to see the small album of photos we took over the weekend.

Our final port was in the city of Cádiz. We didn’t really see any of it, as we hopped on a bus early in the morning and drove out to see Seville, instead. We started our tour with a walk through the streets of Seville, past beautiful buildings and fountains. It felt very much like a European city. We stopped at the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See), which is also known as The Cathedral of Seville. We only got to see the outside as there was some special bishop meeting being held, but it was impressive nonetheless. Next we explored the Alcázares Reales de Sevilla (Royal Alcazars of Seville), a royal palace that was originally built in the 14th century as a Moorish fort. We wandered through the palace complex and explored the extensive gardens with their fountains and pavilions. We left the Alcázar and walked through the narrow streets of the old Jewish quarter. Our next stop was the Casa de Pilatos, a 16th century palace that combines Gothic, Moorish and Renaissance style architecture in its courtyards, fountains, gardens and salons. Our final stop in Seville was the Plaza de España, an expansive plaza edged with government buildings that contains a moat, bridges and fountains. It was beautiful and apparently has been used as a set for several movies. After a long day we headed back to the ship to start the journey home. It was a wonderful trip.

Next we sailed on to Casablanca, Morocco. We docked early in the morning at a fairly industrial port and loaded onto a bus to explore the city. Our first stop was an open market that had fresh produce, fish, flowers and meat. As early as it was, the market was alive and bustling with people and tourists alike. Next we drove onto the Hassan II Mosque which was quite an impressive site to see. The main prayer room is large enough for 25,000 worshipers. It is the largest mosque in all of Morocco (third largest in the world) and the minaret, which stands 689 feet tall, is the tallest minaret in the world. It felt very opulent and new, which was a stark contrast against the rest of Casablanca. After the mosque we drove around the city some more, stopped at a spice house that had more jars and vials in one room than I have ever seen. It was all very neatly arranged and went from floor to ceiling and the man running the shop reported to have herbal or spice cures for everything from dry skin to impotence. It was an entertaining presentation, but Becki and I both opted to leave empty handed. Our last stop was the Mahkama du Pacha, a parliamentary building that was built in the 1940s which houses both the courts of justice and reception rooms for state occasions. The carved cedar ceilings and chiseled stucco walls were remarkable. At the center of the building there was a beautiful courtyard with roses and fountains. We also managed to squeeze in some shopping and Becki bought a beautiful Moroccan carpet, which we carried home in a duffel bag.

Our second stop in the Canary Islands was the island of Tenerife. This was our favorite stop of the trip. We arrived at the port of Santa Cruz and hopped into one of several open air jeeps with a driver and a guide. We traveled caravan style, up the spine of the island on narrow, steep roads. Our route snaked up through towns, then farms to the Esperanza Forest of eucalyptus and pine trees. The ride was fast and bumpy and in the open air jeeps we had the wind in our faces and beautiful views on all sides. After a stop at a scenic overlook where all was lush and green, we got back into the jeeps and continued to climb higher. The green landscape turned to gold, brown and grey with our surroundings turning to lava as we moved closer and closer to Mount Teide. Our next stop was the National Park of Las Canadas which covers the enormous interior crater of the mountain from which the cone of Mount Teide was formed. It covers an area of 13,571 hectares. We saw the lava fields of the Ucana Valley, including the Mirador del Dedo de Dios, a lava stone formation that looks like a finger and is therefore called “God’s Finger.” Our route back to the ship took us up and over the island. We found ourselves above the clouds looking out over the island and to the sea beyond. It was quite a site. We returned to the ship and as we sailed away from Tenerife, we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

Next up, we made it to the Canary Islands – I learned the named is derived from the Latin Insula Canaria, meaning “Island of the Dogs.” Silly me, I had assumed they were named after the bird. Lanzarote is a volcanic island, which becomes quite obvious, fairly quickly. The last eruptions were back in 1824, but because it gets so little rain it feels like the eruptions must have ended yesterday. It’s quite stark and dark – a bit like I imagine how the moon would look. We spent most of our visit in Timanfaya National Park, home to the Montañas del Fuego. We started at the visitors center where we shown some fairly basic demonstrations that proved the beneath the surface, the island is still quite hot. Next we took a bus tour through the park during which we saw craters, cooled lava flows, lava caves, lava tunnels and what appeared to be acres upon acres of flat, dead, lava coated earth. Next we left the national park and visited the Salinas (or salt flats) of Janubio. These flats are still farmed today and produce about 2,000 tons of salt a year. Finally, we visited the vineyards of La Gería, the greenest place we saw all day. The grape vines are planted in these little pits (to help collect the minimal rain and overnight dew) and each pit gets a horseshoe shaped wall to protect the plants from the island’s winds. Looking at thousands of these plants across miles of land is a pretty cool site. Click on the shot above to see the album of photos from Lanzarote.

Sorry for the delay in posting – summer has been busy.

After we sailed out of Barcelona, Málaga was our first port. It’s a fairly large city on the southern coast of Spain. We actually didn’t spend any time in Málaga itself; we instead spent the day exploring small villages in the area and the mountains that surround the city in a jeep. Our first stop was the washed village of Frigiliana – it was a maze of little alleys and roads built into the hillside. Next we drove deeper into the mountains to the small village of Acebuchal, which actually feels more like a collection of houses, rather than a village. It’s situated in a valley, in the National Park Sierra de Tejeda. We stopped for a drink and then climbed back into the jeep and rode up the mountains. We took a tiny, windy dirt road, literally driving though streams and on the edge of cliffs, up into the Sierra de Almijara mountains. At the top, the views were unbelievable. Our last stop was Cómpeta (pictured in the photo above), a larger white washed village, also built into the hillside. In Cómpeta we had an opportunity to have some local meats and cheese, Becki tried the local sweet wine and we also did a little shopping before heading back to the ship. Click on the photo above to see all my pictures from this day.

As many of you know, my Aunt Becki and I went globetrotting again at the end of April. This time we started in Barcelona, Spain. After a few days in Barcelona we hopped on a cruise ship and sailed to other parts of Spain, the Canary Islands and Morocco. We had a wonderful time. This is the first batch of photos. It has taken me a while to get these up, as I went a little crazy with the picture taking this time around…but I will continue to post them in batches as I make progress.

We loved Barcelona. It was vivid and clean and a great city to explore. We visited several of Antonio Gaudí’s buildings including Sagrada Família (pictured above) which has been under construction since 1882 and is currently slated to be completed in 2026 (after our visit, we’re a little skeptical if they’ll make it). We also loved Gaudí’s rooftop sculptures at La Pedrera. We walked La Rambla and did a little shopping, visited Barcelona Cathedral and the Picasso Museum and of course ate tapas. We packed a lot into our few days in Barcelona, and then boarded our ship, the Brilliance of the Seas and set sail. Click on the image above to see my photos from Barcelona.