First up: Amsterdam. A group of 20 students were on a study tour of Europe, lead by Dr. Bruce Creed and Prof. Lynn Soloway. I first experienced Europe on a similar trip lead by Prof. Soloway a few (!) years ago so it seemed like I was coming full circle meeting up with them.

Although I’d really hoped to spend time in either the Rijksmuseum or the Van Gogh museum with the group so that I could have a tour of the fabulous art narrated by Prof. Soloway, my schedule didn’t work out for that to happen. Instead a friend and fellow Concordia alum hopped on the train with me and we met up with the group outside the Anne Frank House. After lunch we wandered through Amsterdam, chatting with the students and soaking up the atmosphere (and the rain!) until we arrived at the Flower Market. It was great to play catch up!

Next stop: Frankfurt. The A Capella choir was on tour in Europe, and their closest stop was 2 1/2 hours south of us. This time I dragged my family along and when all was said and done they admitted that they kind of enjoyed it.

This picture doesn’t do the choir justice – for that check out this youtube video – but I loved every minute of the concert! I was truly wowed by their talent – from the first note they sang to the last. I tried to take a video myself but I wasn’t terribly successful. Besides, I know I looked ridiculous holding up an ipad to film it.

Okay, college whippersnappers. Carry on and enjoy your time in Europe. This crazy alum will stop bothering you now.

This was in the airport in Mallorca. (Most people have Mallorca as their final destination – we had a brief layover on our way to Faro.) After inserting 2€ a flattened box emerged from slot #2. We opened it up, placed it in the dispenser (opening #3), and it was soon filled with fresh popcorn.

I do love Chupa-Chups, but only certain flavors…so this machine was genius! Dial the desired flavor (chocolate-vanilla ice cream is my choice) and voila!

I’ve seen Pringles in vending machines, but never a machine that sold only Pringles. This will work even in a power outage.

This machine was in the parking garage in Sevilla. The dial-a-snack was old news but the novelty here was the variety of items. The options were can-o-nuts, can-o-jelly beans or can-o-olives. I don’t think I’ve ever seen olives in a vending machine before, and even now I have never purchased olives in a vending machine. Maybe in Italy we’ll find pasta vending machines.

Our last stop before leaving sunny Portugal was the town of Luz.

If we ever go back to the Algarve I think I’ll look for a place to stay in this town – and not just because of the yummy gelato. It seems like just the right size, with plenty of restaurants and shops but not at all crowded.

Although it would be tough to build a sand castle on this “beach” it was fun to explore.

There were a few tide pools, though I’m not sure if we were there at high or low tide.

There were plenty of fossils on the rocks.

We met a few of the locals too – check out the two sea urchins.

We had a great Spring Break – lots of sun and relaxation. We were unplugged from the internet (though unintentionally) and even lost track of the days. It was just what we needed.

After 5 days with broken wi-fi at our rental Villa, we finally connected to the world wide web. I remembered reading about the Algarve on Rick Steves’ website so I was glad to be able to check out his recommendations. He raved about Salema so we headed there to soak up the authentic atmosphere.

Salema is a small village with everything we needed for a great morning – namely a beach and a place that had takeaway coffee.

The waves were beautifully crashing and I could have watched them all day.

The kids were happily building a sand castle and they could have done that all day.

Just like Rick said, the fishing boats were lined up on the beach and fishermen were busy repairing their nets. Since Jeremy didn’t get to go deep sea fishing like he had hoped, I was kind of glad their catch wasn’t on display. That would have been too painful.

We took the scenic route out of the village and it was scenic! As a bonus we saw a pod of dolphins swimming near the shore. (They are barely visible in this picture – they appear as a little splash nearly dead center of the picture.)

A little further up we happened upon these ruins. I’m not sure if they had been a fort or a castle, but they were fun to explore.

It was incredibly windy (Thomas actually wore a winter hat and coat along with his swimsuit) but the sky was blue and the sun was shining.

After some photo ops we headed west to find another beach town to explore.

Recently I asked my 10 year-old what he thought he’d remember the most about living in Germany when he was an adult. His response, “…that it was kind of weird living in a country where I didn’t know the language. And we saw lots of cathedrals.”

Well kid, here’s one more cathedral to stick in your memory banks, and this one is in Guinness. We always hear about superlative cathedrals – the biggest, the biggest tower, the biggest stained glass window – but for this one I saw the official document signed by the people of the Record Book. The Sevilla Cathedral is The Cathedral With The Largest Area. Besides that, it is quite tall, has a notable resident (althogh he’s long stopped breathing), and has quite a history.

This building across from the Cathedral is Alcázar, which is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe. Outside of the Cathedral gates there were mobs of people who were giving out springs of rosemary and trying to read palms.

This windvane is a replica of the one that is at the top of the bell tower.

The architectural style is Gothic, but it is much different from other Gothic cathedrals we have seen. There is definitely a Moorish or Mediterranean influence.

There weren’t a lot of stained glass windows.

The painting on the wall is a mural of St. Christopher, patron saint of travelers. In the tomb carried by four pallbearers (statues, of course) is another famous Christopher, also a bit of a traveler, Christopher Columbus. The clock at the top right has been keeping time since 1788.

The intricate masonry on the ceiling is so beautiful!

This huge silver piece is apparently used to during the city’s Corpus Christi festivities. It is used to parade the host around the city.

More treasures in the treasury – I’m not sure who gets to wear these.

We climbed up to the top of the Giralda Tower and were rewarded with this view. (Check out the bullring in the distance!) Unlike other cathedral visits, we can’t brag about how many steps we climbed, but I’ve read it is 330 feet. Rather than steps this tower had a ramp which remains from the tower’s original use. The site of the Cathedral was a mosque back in the 12th century, and the bell tower was the minaret. The ramp allowed men on horseback to travel up to the top of the minaret for the daily Muslim call to prayer.

The Mosque was consecrated as a Cathedral in 1248.

It was a nice quad workout on the way down, fighting gravity.

This courtyard is filled with orange trees, though we were told the oranges are bitter and are only good for marmalade. The lines between the trees are little gutters (the whole courtyard is made of bricks) which were used for irrigation. There are signs around warning people not to trip. Let me just say that the signs weren’t enough for some of us. Ouch.

Apparently this pulpit was for outdoor mass.

Remember the weather vane? Here’s the one on the top. It is a symbol of the triumph of faith.

Okay kids, wasn’t that fun? Now let’s get some gelato!

On our recent trip to Portugal we did take a day to hop across the border and see the beautiful city of Sevilla, Spain. Although I’m sure we missed a lot (that is the result of  travelling without a guidebook – Rick Steves, I’ll never abandon you again!) we enjoyed wandering through the city and taking in the sights.

In a word, Sevilla was BEAUTIFUL! The trees were green and flowers were blooming. The architecture was stunning. The sun was out and the weather was warm. Perfect! The guy on the horse is King Ferdinand III.

Nearly every building we saw could have been a post card! I know this photo would have been much better without the construction equipment in the foreground, but what could I do?

We wandered through the shopping area and spotted this advertisement for Studebaker. I wonder if it is authentic.

This photo is for my BIL who is a big fan of Camper shoes (Hi Chris!) We also stopped at a restaurant for some authentic tapas. What a fun way to eat a meal!

Like any good tourist destination there were horse and carriage rides.

There were also plenty of street performers. My favorite was a guy dressed like John Wayne – he was standing as still as a statue and when he drew his six-shooter I jumped! I didn’t take a photo though.

Certainly the scenery doesn’t get any better than this. For bonus points though, there was a Dunkin’ Donuts right near this fountain so the boys got donuts. That is a huge treat!

I just learned that this is the Palace of San Telmo which is basically the Andalusian White House. I took this picture while the boys were busy playing at a playground nearby.

After wandering around for a few hours – including a visit to the Cathedral, which I am saving for another post – it was time to find the parking garage where we left our car. We walked along the river and saw the Golden Tower, which was once the shipping point for all imports and exports to the New World. We also passed the bullfighting arena and many opportunities to purchase dresses and the necessary accoutrements for Flamenco dancing.

We also saw this statue of Mozart. He apparently liked Sevilla so much he used it as the setting for Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro.

Sadly, the list of things we didn’t get to see in Sevilla seems to be as long as the things we did see. I’m already making a list in case we ever go back: The Spanish Plaza (which was in the Star Wars movies as the setting for Naboo!), a Flamenco dance, Alcázar, Barrio Santa Cruz, more Tapas, and we’ll try to get a hair appointment with that famous Barber.

After our fort adventure we heard one request (repeatedly!): Can we go to the beach now?

Again? Weren’t we just at the beach yesterday? Of course we were! That is what a vacation is all about!

First we stopped for lunch. I can’t remember the name of the restaurant, but it was in a newer resort-type community along the coast; the food was fantastic and the restaurant was super kid-friendly. Not only did they have a special baby menu (who wants to eat baby food out of a jar when the chef will make a special purée just for the little one?) but there was also a playground just beyond the patio.

This beach was hardly crowded. There were some kite fliers in the kite flying zone.

A few adventurers were para-surfing (or whatever it is called.)

We didn’t have a kite, a surfboard or a parachute so we just played in the sand. The water was too cold for swimming.

And we enjoyed the view.

We took a little walk down the beach. The cliffs had some interesting brickwork – the archways near the top of the cliff. We wondered if it was some kind of ancient aqueduct.

I really was hoping to find seashells but there weren’t many around. We did see barnacles though.

It was another great day in the Algarve.

We couldn’t possibly just sit on the beach all day (ha!) so we headed to Promontorium Sacrum, or the End of the World. This is at Cape Sagres, the southwestern corner of Portugal where, once upon a time, people really did think the world ended. After all, that is where the sun went at the end of the day.

There were two notable locations here in Sagres. The first had a small museum and a lighthouse and a giant chair (which is certainly the mark of any tourist attraction.)

This is the guy who started it all – Prince Henry the Navigator. I snapped this pic before I realized photography was not allowed in the museum. Thus, no photos of model ships, maps, or navigation tools.

This was the only building that actually looked old. While the location is historic, the original buildings were not preserved.

After that stop (and a scenic overlook and a Portugese Pottery shop) we went to Fort Vincent. We could see where’d we just been and this is just one time that I realized how handy a zoom lens would have been.

Of course the boys were pretty excited to go to a Fort and they were going to be quite disappointed if there were not cannons.

This remarkable find was only uncovered in “recent” history. This is the site of Prince Henry’s sailing school, but no one actually knows what this is. According to the sign (which, thankfully, was in English) it could be used for learning how to navigate using the stars. It could be a wind compass – a flag would be placed in the center and the direction of the wind would be noted. Or, it could have been a place to dry fish. Ha!

This is the view to the East. It looks like rain is coming but thankfully we enjoyed sun all day.

We walked along the perimeter of the fort. Here is a lookout tower.

Ah, cannons! We’ve got two happy boys now.

And as an added bonus, there are snails all over.

The power of erosion – yes, that is the ocean peeking through the hole in the rock.

The lighthouse here looked rather modern.

Erected in 1965, this monument was a gift from the U.S. Power Squadron in recognition of the contributions of Henry the Navigator on the 500th anniversary of his death (give or take a few years.)

This church was from the original school. Magellan, Diaz and Vasco da Gama could have worshipped here!

I can imagine the sailors gathering here to pray for safety on their journey.

Okay, can we leave now and go to the beach?

The marketing people at Zoomarine know what they are doing. While waiting (and waiting….and waiting…) for our luggage at the Faro airport, it was impossible to miss the huge Zoomarine advertising displays strategically placed all around the luggage carousel. In no time at all the boys had grabbed brochures and were asking if we could go there.

It looked like fun and the prices were reasonable (for that kind of thing) so our first day in Portugal we headed to take in all that Zoomarine had to offer. It is like a very small version of Sea World, with rides, shows, animals, and plenty of souvenirs to buy. It brought back memories of a visit to Marineland Niagara Falls back when I was young enough to think that it would be cool to be “kissed” by a killer whale. Ewwwww.

We got to the park just as it was opening and our first stop was the birds of prey show. Birds flew all around us and showed off their amazing eyesight and skills. Thanks to Andrew’s choice of seats we got an up close and personal look at this beauty.

They had a fairly impressive aquarium. Thomas liked it so much we went through twice.

This guy was definitely the star attraction.

The dolphin show was enjoyable. Dolphins did all the usual dolphin-y tricks – jumping, flipping, pulling boats, touching balls with their noses, and snacking on fish afterwards.

I love the water spray in this shot.

Here we are, high above the park on the Ferris Wheel! I was enjoying it until we stopped at the top to let more people on. It was a windy day…

Here’s a classic – the pirate ship ride.

This was called the Hari-Keri. (I know that spelling isn’t “correct” but that is how they spelled it.) I think the boys went on this a half dozen times. There were also swimming pools (unheated, so it was a quick swim.)

When we left Zoomarine we headed to the beach for some playtime (and some gelato!) The weather was predicted to be rainy the rest of the week so we wanted to make sand castles while the sun shine(d). Fortunately the forecast was wrong, so this was not the last time we’d feel the sun on our faces and the sand between our toes.

Here’s the part of Spring Break that I had been looking forward to for months – especially after a long, dreary winter. We had made plans to go to the Algarve region of Portugal back in November (I’ll give myself a pat on the back for planning ahead!) and we were so looking forward to it. Unlike our usual trips where I’ve spent hours researching, planning, and scheduling, I had no agenda for this trip – and didn’t even bring a single travel guide along! Egads!

The Algarve is the southern coast of Portugal. (I thought it was on the Mediterranean Sea, but I just learned that it is actually on the Atlantic Ocean. Apparently the Mediterranean begins at the Strait of Gibraltar. Perhaps if I had brought a travel guide I would have known this.)

Here is the above scenery without those people in the way.

We stayed in a Villa that was quite close to the coast (but sadly, not close to a beach.) It was quite lovely with all the amenities that we could want, including a fine collection of German literature.

Nothing says “Spring Break” like a palm tree!

We had a private pool, but the water was worthy of a event for the Polar Bear Swim Club. That didn’t stop everyone – but I never even put on my suit.

The Villa had a name, which is what might distinguish it from a house. This type of tiles were all over the Algarve area and they were beautiful. If we had a permanent address I would have made a custom order.

Close to the villa were some walking paths and as picturesque as they were, I was a little nervous. Although the boys probably know not to go too close to the edge, I recognize that they very well could have inherited my sense of grace (or as I like to say, I’m not klutzy – I’m just a very enthusiastic person with a bit of a depth perception problem.) Thankfully there were no accidents – that is quite a drop!

There were some very interesting geological features and plants. And even a glimpse of a sunset.

It wasn’t completely unsafe. Notice the fence pictured above.

Thus ends the first day of our Portuguese adventure. We wished the sea gulls “good night,” prayed for good weather, and headed to bed.