Believe it or not I was excited to get home from London. Why, you might ask? Well, my mom and brother were waiting for me at my house! They flew in a couple hours before I got back from London. They were here the whole first week of June and we had a ton of fun. It was wonderful to have visitors and to spend time together. Rachel absolutely loved having her grandma for a roommate and whenever Jeff was out of her sight she became quite concerned. Rachel loved all the surprises that Uncle Jeff and Grandma brought her. :) Here are the adventures of our busy, fun week! 
We took it pretty easy on Monday and headed to Zaanse Schans to check out some windmills. We didn't last very long there because it was so warm! We even tried to duck into a souvenir shop for awhile, in hopes of cooling down, but it was worse inside than outside. The Dutch really need to consider the benefits of A/C! 
Tuesday morning we then all boarded a plane and headed to Barcelona, Spain. We spent the next three days in Barcelona and enjoyed the cooler weather down by the Mediterranean Sea! We purchased a 2-day pass on a hop-on, hop-off tourist bus, which basically took us to all the must-sees in Barcelona. It was well worth the money and we enjoyed the narrative history that we learned while we rode the bus. 
One of the first places we got off at was the Park Guell. We had a good time exploring the park and were able to take some pictures with great views of Barcelona. 
Before getting on the tour bus on Wednesday we checked out the Palau Reial, which is a royal palace that was built in 1924. 
Once we were on the tour bus, one of our first stops was Sagrada Familia. It's a church that was started in the late 19th-century and is still under construction today. 
After touring through Sagrada Familia we headed over toe Placa de Catalunya. You can see Rachel trying to get the birds to allow her to "hold you". Uncle Jeff bought some bird food and Rachel loved having all the birds around. 
We also stopped off at the Palau Nacional. We definitely saw some architectural marvels while we were in Barcelona. 
Of course a trip to Barcelona wouldn't be complete without a stop at the beach. Even though the water wasn't that warm it didn't take Rachel that long to enjoy it. It was tough to get her away from the water so we could get some dinner! :) 
We then spent Thursday morning at the Barcelona Aquarium. Rachel enjoyed checking out the fish.
Thursday afternoon we walked around Barcelona a bit more and then headed back to Amsterdam. We definitely enjoyed our trip to Barcelona. We couldn't have asked for better weather and it was fun to see some more of Europe. On Friday we headed into Amsterdam for the day. I guess we were pictured out, because I don't have any pictures of our adventures that day. We did take a canal boat tour and once again it was awfully warm. We missed our cool Barcelona weather! :) On Saturday morning we went to Clara Maria to see how Dutch shoes and cheese are made. We got that quick outing in right before having to head to the airport. It was no fun saying good-bye to Grandma and Uncle Jeff. We all enjoyed having them here. Rachel hasn't slept as well since her roommate has been gone. :) We're so glad they were able to make it out to visit!
We took it pretty easy on Monday and headed to Zaanse Schans to check out some windmills. We didn't last very long there because it was so warm! We even tried to duck into a souvenir shop for awhile, in hopes of cooling down, but it was worse inside than outside. The Dutch really need to consider the benefits of A/C! Tuesday morning we then all boarded a plane and headed to Barcelona, Spain. We spent the next three days in Barcelona and enjoyed the cooler weather down by the Mediterranean Sea! We purchased a 2-day pass on a hop-on, hop-off tourist bus, which basically took us to all the must-sees in Barcelona. It was well worth the money and we enjoyed the narrative history that we learned while we rode the bus. One of the first places we got off at was the Park Guell. We had a good time exploring the park and were able to take some pictures with great views of Barcelona. Before getting on the tour bus on Wednesday we checked out the Palau Reial, which is a royal palace that was built in 1924. Once we were on the tour bus, one of our first stops was Sagrada Familia. It's a church that was started in the late 19th-century and is still under construction today. After touring through Sagrada Familia we headed over toe Placa de Catalunya. You can see Rachel trying to get the birds to allow her to "hold you". Uncle Jeff bought some bird food and Rachel loved having all the birds around. We also stopped off at the Palau Nacional. We definitely saw some architectural marvels while we were in Barcelona. Of course a trip to Barcelona wouldn't be complete without a stop at the beach. Even though the water wasn't that warm it didn't take Rachel that long to enjoy it. It was tough to get her away from the water so we could get some dinner! :) We then spent Thursday morning at the Barcelona Aquarium. Rachel enjoyed checking out the fish. 
Thursday afternoon we walked around Barcelona a bit more and then headed back to Amsterdam. We definitely enjoyed our trip to Barcelona. We couldn't have asked for better weather and it was fun to see some more of Europe. On Friday we headed into Amsterdam for the day. I guess we were pictured out, because I don't have any pictures of our adventures that day. We did take a canal boat tour and once again it was awfully warm. We missed our cool Barcelona weather! :) On Saturday morning we went to Clara Maria to see how Dutch shoes and cheese are made. We got that quick outing in right before having to head to the airport. It was no fun saying good-bye to Grandma and Uncle Jeff. We all enjoyed having them here. Rachel hasn't slept as well since her roommate has been gone. :) We're so glad they were able to make it out to visit! 
5 comments:
How FUN FUN FUN!!! I am sooooo jealous!!!!!!!!!!! My time will come though! Right?!
What a packed week you had. I'm sure you're enjoying your rest after the craziness though!
Golly you are becoming such a world traveler!! From England to Barcelona...you go girl!! That is so awesome and thanks for sharing all the things you are seeing with us. It is fun to live through you. Please tell your Mom I said "hi" next time you talk with her! ;-)
Awesome! You know, you're making my husband want to move out of the country when his residency is done! All the fun traveling makes him want to go work for a company that reads the US night radiology stuff during the daytime in Europe (or something like that). What amazing trips you have done, it's just so cool! It's also fun to see pictures of your mom and Jeff. Tell him them hi for me. I must say, that picture with Jeff and Rachel walking hand in hand is my fav!:) Too cute!
I have been anticipating this blog with excitement. You are having some incredible experiences. I love that picture of Jeff and Rachel walking together holding hands. Spain looks beautiful. So glad there was some grandma time. It is all good for everyone.
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