June 9-13, 2016 Netherlands

We went to Utrecht, Netherlands to visit Gary's brother Andy. Utrecht is a very quaint canal, city with lots of restaurants, nightlife, and lots and lots of bikes. Andy and Roos live in the center of town, so we can hear the partiers and church bells. Roos threw a great party so we could meet her family. We have enjoyed slowing down. We spent a lot of time just visiting at their home and the kids finished their year-end school project, a video of the highlights of the past 2 years of travel.

In Amsterdam we toured the city on a canal boat, which really is a good way to take in the sights. Next to the train station there is a 3 story bike garage that is completely filled. We went to the Van Gogh museum, but Axel preferred the free ping pong in the park more than the museum.

Probably the most amazing thing about Holland is the number of bikes and how everyone is such a good rider. Now on to Canada to visit my family, then home to San Diego.

Cheers,

Julie

Andy and Roos

Amsterdam

three story bike parking

June 1-8, 2016 France

We spent a quick week in Paris. We were very lucky to arrive after the torrential rains, but we still got to experience the flooded Seine. Fortunately we visited the Louvre our first day, because it was closed after that as they had to move some of the art out of the basement for fear of flooding.

We also visited the Pompidou Center, the modern art museum, walked up the Eiffel tower, and walked all over the city.

On our first night in Paris, we shared many, many bottles of wine with Catherine and Manuel Renoir. On our last night in Paris we visited Katherine Swarney and her family. She has 3 kids around the ages of Gigi and Axel, and they were so happy to be with other kids. They have been troupers hanging out with us and adults, with no kid interaction since we left New Zealand.

After Paris we went to Champagne region and tasted some beautiful bubbly. Then on to Maastricht, Netherlands to visit Gary's old sailing buddy Rob Coherst. Now we are in Utrecht, Netherlands visiting Gary's brother Andy.

Cheers,

Julie

Nice, France on the Mediterranean 

Very cool fountain in Nice

Notre Dame Cathedral next to the flooded Seine

Louvre museum

Pompidou Modern Art Museum

May 18-31, 2016 Italy

May 18-24, 2016  Rome

What an incredible city for all of its thousands of years of history that you can walk around, touch and live. We walked a lot, saw a lot, and ate a lot of pizza (especially Axel). We stayed in a quaint apartment in Trastevere, so we were able to make breakfast and many dinners in. We found after big days of walking that no one had the energy to sit in a restaurant for dinner. That said we still ate plenty of yummy Italian food.

All of the historic sites seem more impressive than the last. There is so much to see in each building or even on each wall. We visited most of the 'must see' sites, such as the Pantheon, Coliseum, Forum, Vatican and St Peter's, many fountains, many churches, … Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are many thousands of words showing some of the highlights of Rome.

We took a tour through the Vatican museum, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica. There is so much to see that realistically you should spend a few days there. We went to Sunday mass with Pope Francis. Even though it was in Latin and Italian, it was still quite moving. 

May 25  Pompeii

We spent a long day taking in the sites of Pompeii. It is mind blowing to think how wealthy and comfortable a life the people of Pompeii lived 2,000 years ago. It was sad to see the casts of the people buried and the anguished expressions on their faces.

May 26-31  Tuscany, Florence, Savona

After a long day of driving we stopped in Montepulciano to taste their fantastic wine and rented an apartment in a beautiful vineyard. The views across the countryside are as postcard like as the travel brochures.

In Florence we visited Il Duomo in the Cathedral Santa Maria. For a long time Gary has been very interested in the construction of the dome and how revolutionary it was when it was built. The exterior of the cathedral is made of stunningly beautiful multicolored marble. We had the fun of climbing up a very narrow staircase onto the roof of the dome and checking out the interesting painting on ceiling up close (lots of hell and damnation only a little heaven above). We also visited the Uffizi museum which houses a stunning collection of Roman through Renaissance art work from many famous artists.

Our last day in Italy was spent visiting an Aussie friend of ours that is currently living in Savona. Neil's apartment from the outside looks very average, but inside it had incredibly ornate plaster ceilings and intricate marble floors. On our way to France we stopped in Sanremo and had a picnic lunch at the beach. Gary and Gigi braved the cool waters of the Mediterranean.

Cheers,

Julie