Geneva, Switzerland

This past Saturday morning we left for Geneva, Switzerland. We flew out at 8:25 and by 10:00 we were on our way to the hotel. We were not able to get into our hotel room until 12 so we checked our luggage (after we fixed the broken zipper, luckily it didn't happen at the airport!) Geneva has a lot of parks, really, I have come to find that ALL european cities have MANY parks. It is one of the things I have come to love about Europe. So, we headed off to see the Jet d'Eau. It is one of the largest fountains in the world. Along the way we saw many swans, mountains and a lot of bank buildings and watch stores. Here is a pic of Kaylin and the flower clock. The clock is a collection of 6,500 flowers, celebration Switzerland's watch making industry.

We headed back to the hotel to get settled in and make a plan for what we wanted to do the rest of the day and trip.

I had the bright idea of buying a new pair of walking shoes before the trip, not for the trip, but just because I wanted a dressier pair of shoes that I could do a lot of walking in. The problem was that I only brought those shoes. Such a BAD idea. My feet had blister upon blister by the middle of the first day. By the end of the first day I HAD to find a new pair of shoes because I could barely walk. By the end of the 4 days I went through 2 boxes of band aids. So, after I rested the little piggies for a bit we headed back out to a park not far from the hotel which had some awesome views! The kids played at the playground and we just relaxed and took in the sights. We went back to the

hotel and while I gave the kids a bath Matt went and picked up some pizza for dinner. There was a store right across the street from the the hotel which was so nice. The next morning, Sunday, we walked to an out door market and bought some really sweet and juicy fruit. Being Sunday, almost all the stores were closed, so we were thankful to have found the market. We stopped at a playground for a bit and then went to the section of the city called "old town." The weather was great and there were not a lot of people around. We walked to St. Peter's Cathedral where John Calvin preached from 1536-1564.

A few pics of the town

As we were leaving the Church, Kaylin decided to transform into a lion. We then stopped at Reformation Wall, a 325 foot long, 30 foot high monument including statues of Guillaume Farel-first to preach of reformation in Geneva, John Calvin-leader of the reformation, Theodore Beza-Calvin's successor, and John Knox-friend of Calvin and founder of Presbyterianism in Scotland.

A stop for a carousel ride before lunch was a must!The rest of the afternoon was spent at Parc de la Grange on the south side of Lake Geneva. The park features a large rose garden and quite a few walking paths.

This is probably going to sound funny, but I think this was one of the most peaceful playgrounds! It was such a nice day and everyone around was so relaxed, the kids played and across the path were roses. So nice.

On Monday we decided to spend the day across the border in France. We took the bus, which by the way, all transportation for visitors to Geneva is FREE! Yes, buses, trams, and trains were FREE! :) The bus dropped us of at the border and we walked across to Etrembieres, France and then to the cable car which would take us up Mont Saleve.
Shane and I in the cable car.

Looking down from the cable car.

Once we got off the car there were some looking points, a little store with snacks and drinks and a playground. We were directed to a path that would lead us further up the mountain so we did that.

I think this is my favorite picture of Kaylin.

A picnic lunch

Our flight on Tuesday wasn't until 6:55 pm, so we checked our bags at the hotel and took the train to Satigny which is the largest wine growing region in Switzerland. We did some wine tasting and looked at the vineyards. It was right in the middle of harvesting so we saw people in the vineyards and truck of grapes. We had great trip!

Back in Amsterdam

We have been back in Amsterdam for 3 weeks now and it feels so nice to be back on a routine. We have caught up with friends and have been spending a lot of time at the park, (before the MONTHS of rain and clouds come)! Matt has been assigned a job in Antwerp, Belgium so for the next few weeks he will be spending a few days per week there and a few days here. This weekend our friend Callum is turning 4 so we are going to his birthday party and after that we have a going away party for one of Matt's colleges. A week from Saturday we are going to Geneva, Switzerland for 4 days. I am so excited because this was Matt's birthday surprise trip we had to cancel back in April.

Last weekend we went to the zoo and the weekend before we went to Amsterdamse Bos which is an HUGE park, so big that after spending the entire day there we still didn't see the whole thing. We definitely plan on going back when the leaves start to change. There is a ropes course, camping, swimming, paddle boats, petting zoo, bike and walking trails.

Trip to WI and IL

On July 25 Bud and Jane flew with Kaylin back to the states and I flew with Shane. Both flights went well. We had a great time visiting with everyone and while there we found out we were not going back to Tokyo. Just want to post a few pics of our trip back. I hardly took the camera out, but did get quite a few of the great time the kids spent with their cousins! It was so nice seeing everyone!!

Edinburgh, Scotland

Wednesday was our first full day in Edinburgh. We got on a hop on hop of double decker bus to learn a bit more about the city and find out where we wanted to go. We got off by the castle and toured it which was a city itself! After the castle we went on a whisky tour. The tour was nice, but I really don't like whisky aside from a bottle of sweet whisky that Bud bought. The following day Matt and Bud left early to go to British Open. They had to check their cameras, so no pics but they had a great time. While they were at the tournament Jane and I took the kids shopping! We found some Christmas ornaments and a great little shop with jewelry, scarves and things of that sort. We dug through our change and spent a long time playing around in that store. For dinner we picked up fish and chips and had a picnic and let the kids run around outside. The following day it was time to leave. It was a cold rainy day so we stopped at a FREE discovery museum before we went to the boat. We waited for a LONG time to get on the boat but once on we again had a lot of fun. We came back to Amsterdam and packed Matt's bags because he was set to leave for Tokyo the next day. Bill and Lauren came back from their Italy trip that night. So, Matt left, Bill and Lauren left and Bud and Jane spent the last week of their trip touring around and spending time with the kids. It was a wonderful time and so nice to have family around!

Alnwick and Bamburgh Castle

Our first stop of the day was Alnwick Castle, http://www.alnwickcastle.com/. This castle was everything I imagined a castle to be. It was awesome even before I knew that parts of Harry Potter were filmed there!

We started out by having a picnic on the castle grounds.

There was an area where the kids could dress up and play. There wasn't a costume small enough for Shane, but he still had a good time.

Dancing around the May pole.

Shane slaying the dragon!

We easily could have spent the day here, but after a couple of hours decided to go to the next spot. The kids feel asleep in the car and were still sleeping when we arrived at Bamburgh Castle, http://www.bamburghcastle.com/. Jane offered to stay in the car with the kids while Bud, Matt and I walked around.

We didn't go into the castle but decided we would have to stop back on our way home to see more of it. Unfortunately on our way back it was cold and rainy so we didn't stop. The kids were awake when we came back, so we all got back into the car and were on our way to Edinburgh! Kaylin got carsick on the way but did a great job of letting us know before hand!

Matt did a really good job of driving on the "wrong" side of the road and we arrived at the Holyrood Aparthotel. It was a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment that worked out PERFECTLY for all of us. Edinburgh will be the next post.

Scotland July 13 (Day 1)

To get things straight since I did the last post a little out of order, The Heineken Experience was on Friday along with dinner out with Bill and Lauren, Antwerp was on Saturday. Sunday, July 12th Bill and Lauren were leaving for Italy and the next day (Monday) we were leaving for our trip. Everyone was getting ready for the day, showers were being taken, dishwasher and washing machine running, general running around. Well, the power kept going off. We thought it was just because so much was on, but Matt went downstairs to find that the cap of a pipe burst open. Water was pouring all over the electrical socket. Oh wait, it wasn't water, it was sewage. Fantastic. Sewage leaking into our basement on a SUNDAY when everything is closed. Even better! Matt was able to get a hold of the maintenance guy who gave us a number for a plumber who was not too excited to come here for a small problem like ours! We were told not to use the toilet or showers on one half of the house until they came back the next day.
I had to take a picture of what Bud did on his European vacation.
Gross! Thank you so much Bud!!!

The next day, the day we are to to leave for Scotland, we crossed our fingers that they would be back to figure out the problem before we had to leave. Luckily the arrived about 9:30 and lifted up a few of the cement blocks right outside our house and found that the roots from the tree were going into the pipe and blocking it up. So, they cut the roots, filled up the whole and covered it back up. It looked like like the sidewalk was not even dug up. They came in and sucked up the rest of the wetness and off they went.
Bud, Jane, Matt, the kids and I left around 1:30 for our trip. We piled into the car and drove to Imuijen to board the ferry. A ferry is an understatement! It looked more like a cruise ship! We waited in line for about 2 hours before we could get on. Let me tell you, we were packed in like sardines! There was probably 2-3 feet of space on the right side of the car and maybe a foot on the left and JUST enough room to open the trunk. We took all of our bags out and went into the main part of the ship.

We dropped our bags of in our rooms. Kaylin was happy to bunk with mana and papa and we walked around the ship. There were restaurants, bars, a duty free shop and a place for the kids to play. That night we ate dinner and sat on the deck.

We had a great night and were up early the next

morning. We docked in New Castle, England around 10. It took us no time at all to get off the ship. Since it is only about a 2 hour drive from New Castle to Edinburgh we decided to tour Alnwick Castle and stop and just look at Bamburgh Castle. Both are breath taking and will be in the next post! :)

Here the kids are dancing.