By the time Todd's parents make it back to America tomorrow they will be EXPERT European travelers!
Due to some minor interruptions in our original travel plans (a cruise ship that is sitting half-sunken off the coast of Italy -- Costa Concordia), Bill & Sharon decided they wanted to reorganize their trip so that they could see some of the major, not-to-miss European cities during their 3-week trip abroad. London, Barcelona, Rome, Athens, Madrid, the not-to-be forgotten Linares (our Spanish home), Granada, and Paris made the list. When they originally proposed this list to Todd, he said "No way. No way can you see all of those places and actually enjoy them in such a short amount of time." But those of us who know Todd, know that of course, he found a way. (One of the many reasons I LOVE him so.)
Todd and I were lucky enough to join them in the middle of their trip (Barcelona, Rome, Athens, Madrid, Linares & Granada) and not only did we see all of the places I listed, we explored, experienced, walked and ate our way through each city experiencing it to the max. With blisters on our 'toesies' as souvenirs.
This is a quick post with some pictures of the highlights of each city -- I will let Todd do a major summary on a later post.
BARCELONA
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Meeting the Perzels in the Barcelona airport.
Todd brought flowers to give his mom - how sweet! |
Exploring Parc Güell
Outside of Gaudi's La Pedrera.
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| The front of the Sagrada Familia Catedral. |
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| Inside of the Sagrada Familia Catedral. |
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| Walking down Las Ramblas, the main street in Barcelona. |
ROMA
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| First sighting of the Vatican! |
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| Under the Panthenon - loving the shadows at night :) |
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| The Trevi Fountain! One of my favorite spots in Rome. We all threw coins into the fountain... which means, we'll be back!!! |
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| Inside St. Peter's Basilica |
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| The Colosseum |
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| Enjoying another delicious Italian meal... the food was SO good! |
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| Ravioli with walnut cream sauce - to die for! |
ATHENS
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| Climbing up the steps of the Acropolis. |
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| The Parthenon (not to be confused with the Panthenon in Rome)! |
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| Sitting on top of the Acropolis with the Parthenon in the background. |
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| A great view of Athens and LOTS of white buildings, with Lykavittos Hill (where we later watched the sunset) from a vista point in the Acropolis. |
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| Greek food gets two thumbs up! We have a huge Greek salad and a grilled meat plate in front of us -- can you tell that Todd has already started eating? |
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| The sunset from Lykavittos Hill. |
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| Gyros! |
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| Practicing our jumping skills in front of the Panathenaic Stadium (site of the first modern Olympic games in 1896). |
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| Greece's flag with the Acropolis in the background. |
GRANADA
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| A great view of the Alhambra from the Mirador de San Nicholas. |
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| A great view of Granada (the Albazyin neighborhood) from the Torre de la Vela, or "Watch Tower". |
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| Los Leones (lions) have returned! The Patio of the Lions is probably the most famous place in the Alhambra. The lions have been undergoing renovation for 6 years and they were put back on display the weekend before our visit! |
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| Loving our beautiful, afternoon walk through the Generalife, the gardens of the Alhambra. |
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| Enjoying an awesome flamenco show with an impromptu guest, legendary Niño de la Almendra. |
Whether they are crawling or running home, it was certainly an unforgettable trip that we will always provide us many memories to look back on!
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