Cousin Abbie Visit

Our niece, Abbie, is visiting us for 2 weeks. The kids are having such a great time with her! We picked her up from Amsterdam over the weekend and spent the day in the city. On our way back home, we stopped in Cologne, Germany to visit the beautiful Cathedral and eat some dinner. This is her first time to Europe and have so many things to show her. We have an exciting few weeks planned! We have many day trips to all of the great sites around us, and a trip to the Lake district in Austria over the 4th of July. We also are linking up with Mimi and Papa in Rudesheim as they cruise down the Rhine River. 

Abbie and the kids in our village:

In front of the Cologne, Cathedral

The Cathedral, it's pretty amazing!

Train station in Amsterdam:

 Eating ice cream in Cologne:

Picture of our town again after our ice cream stop:

Costa Del Sol, Spain

We just returned from a week in Spain; our first trip ever to the country (for all of us!). We had a great time in the lovely Southern tip of Costa Del Sol, and even snuck in a trip to Africa (post below). Besides Africa, our highlights include Gibralter, Ronda, and hanging out at the pool of our resort. We did spend most days soaking up the sun at the pool, and every other day ventured out to see some sights. Ronda was a very cool city in Spain. We decided that the coast was not as pretty as the mountain towns off the coast. We drove inland through some mountains to get to Ronda, and had a great time enjoying the drive too. Ronda was very picturesque, and so super clean. Definitely a must see in the area! Plus, we had such a fabulous tapas meal that I can't stop thinking about. 

In Ronda, views are spectacular:

Luke wandering the cute streets of Old Town Ronda:

 The bridge/dam that separates the Old Town from the New Town in Ronda:

On the bridge in Ronda:

This is the restaurant that we LOVED:

More Beautiful views in Ronda:

Our resort in Estepona:

 Beautiful Spanish Church in the New Town city square:

The souvenir she picked:

Addy also learned how to swim! This is huge as we have tried swim lessons last year that didn't quite work out. But by the end of the week, she was doing great. 

Tangier, Morocco

Our favorite day of our trip was probably the side trip to Tangier, Morocco. Tangier is easily accessible by fairy from Spain and only takes an hour. We hired a private tour guide ahead of time to show us around. We really weren't sure what to expect in this city, but we had such a cool experience! Our tour guide took us to the old town that had a wall built around it. We also went into plenty of shops and walked through several markets. I am still remembering the strong smell of fresh cilantro as we walked through the streets--- loved it! We ate at a typical Moroccan restaurant that served us salad, cous cous, lamb, kabobs, moroccan mint tea, and cookies. It was also complete with a Moroccan band; the kids had a blast! Luke and Addy also were fitted for an Arabic Turban that they sported throughout the day. We ended the day near the beaches where the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean meet. The kids were able to get in a camel ride and pose for a picture. 

Point where the 2 bodies of water meet:

Love this:

Taking a stroll through the shopping district where we harassed to buy things:

Best. Picture. Ever.

The Cave of Hercules. Isn't it cool that the view to the ocean is almost the exact shape of Africa?

Gibralter

Our first day trip we took while in Southern Spain was to Gibralter. Gibralter is actually it's own separate country and belongs to the UK. Everyone speaks the Queen's English, and there is plenty of British flair all over the town. It's famous for it's huge rock that overlooks much of Costa Del Sol, and also has a great view into Morocco. We took a little tour up the rock and visited inside some neat caves. We also enjoyed meeting all of the friendly apes that hang out trying to steal things from people. And of course, we enjoyed the amazing view!!

At the top of the Rock:

Her sweater must have smelled like something he wanted:

Luke is a little skeptical:

This is Hercules Rock, not quite at the top. This is the view over to Morocco:

He was pretty cool:

 Inside the caves:

View on the other side of the rock, looking down into Spain:

Oppenheim Field trip

The homeschool group we are a part of here does a field trip almost every week. Most of them are really cool, educational, and within a 30 minute drive. The trip to Oppenheim was the first one we decided to try out. Addy is just about done with German Kindergarten and she'll be home with me full time next year, so we have been wanting to tap in to some of these fun and exciting adventures with the  group. Oppenheim is a little town along the Rhein River and is historically significant because it has a cellar "kellar" labyrinth that runs under the entire city. People used it in the Middle Ages to escape enemies and it was also used frequently during WWII. It is used now for wine storage, wine tasting parties, and other festivities. They give guided tours of the labyrinth and also offer them in English. The tour was really neat, the kids enjoyed exploring underground. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures underground. We also visited the Church up the hill that had a "bone house" full of skeletons (the kids loved this, me not so much). 

Entrance to the labyrinth

We all had to wear hard hats because the stone walls were short and many of us bumped our heads:

The town Church:

Really kind of gross, I know. Addy insisted on taking pictures and wanted this posted: