We also enjoy driving through the mountain villages sprinkled along the base of the Alps. Garmisch is one of our favorites. We visited where the 1936 Winter Olympics were held. Hitler himself was in attendance.
J & G just love ski school. They learned some great skills. Their teachers were awesome.
On one other cities we stayed in was Lermoos, Austria. We stayed in a great little house with the Ponds. The kids and husbands enjoyed skiing while Kim and I quilted the day away.
So, we found a steal on tickets for MLK weekend through Ryan Air. Our travel buddies, the Pond family, came along too. It was quite hilarious walking to our apartment in Old Town with all our luggage and 7 children. We drew a lot of attention. One man's face had a look of complete disgust (it was funny)...but most people were smiling. We enjoyed walking around this architecturally amazing city. We enjoyed many buildings built by Gaudi, including the Sagrada Familia (which is STILL being built and has been for the last 150 years). This church looks like a sand castle. It's the most unique one we've seen. Spain has its own triumphal arch, and also a coast. We enjoyed the sunshine, warmer weather, and speaking Spanish! Growing up in Arizona has made us very comfortable with Spanish speakers, and Matt's LDS mission to Peru helped him learn Spanish fluently...so we found it easier to get around and understand things. Jack was so proud of his daddy speaking the language. It was fun to watch. We took a gondola over the city, enjoyed the Disney Channel in English, and even sat down and enjoyed a 1 EURO hamburger from good old McDondalds. There were many parks and fountains, and street entertainers galore! Also, sadly we were the objects of a pick-pocketer. Yup, they got my iPhone. Dang...we've always been so careful. Well, better my phone than my wallet. We also slipped into the ocean. My kids got their clothes all wet, so after I gave G my long socks and she wore her dry shirt upside down. The funny thing is, she thought her outfit was fun and could care less about her unusual appearance. We also went to the spot where the summer Olympics were held. My kids loved riding the subway, and we enjoyed walking through this bustling city. There were many beautiful mosaics and other art. We ate yummy pitas, waffles, gelato, and smoothies. I also got my Barcelona plate. It was a great trip.
The bad part was coming home because we left our keys in the Barcelona apartment, so we had to call a lock smith when we got back. 280 EUROS later...ouch. That was more than our flights over there!! Then we find that we have a leak in our upstairs bathroom, which shorted out half our lights in our house. Also, Matt's phone was laying in the direct line of the leak so his phone is ruined too! So, we have no lights in our bathrooms, no house key, and no phones...awesome. We all have our health, and we made it home in one piece. Let's focus on the positive.
