Saturday, July 30, 2011

Vacation : Day 5

Day 5 equals Sunday.  We had the opportunity to visit my cousin's church.  The pastor there is actually from England but speaks Spanish fluently.  There are actually quite a few people from England at the church so the service is translated simultaneously in English via earphones, so Jon got to hear the sermon in English.
Here's a picture of the church...........as I took this picture I almost 
fell.  I slipped on something and when I looked down to see what
I slipped on I was so upset.  I slipped on dog poo poo! Eeeeww!



After church we headed to the beach which was located in a cove.






The last 3 pictures were taken by my cousin Dario!

My cousin took this picture also.  Jon and I
are standing in front of a signal tower.  When
pirates were approaching the island years and
years ago, the townspeople would light a fire 
on top of the tower to notify the town that 
pirates were coming!


Friday, July 29, 2011

Vacation : Day 4

On day 4, which was also a Saturday, we all took off to a local water park with my cousin, his wife, and their daughter.  It had been real long since I had been to a water park and thankfully they are still just as much fun.  Jon and my cousin right away went on the huge straight drop slide and they were quickly acting like little kids.
The following pictures were taken by my cousin-we didn't take our camera.


Jon is the figure in the middle getting a ton of water dumped on him.




Both boys aren't too sure what to think about this owl.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Vacation: Day 3


On day 3 we ventured out to the beach on our own.  The water was so clear and beautiful.  It was a bit windy and then these para-surfers(I think that's what you call them) started coming out.  We enjoyed watching them,especially when they got major "air".  The boys enjoyed playing in the sand and collecting seashells and Jon and I took turns swimming out in the deep Mediterranean Sea.


After arriving from the beach we thought it would be best for all of us to take a nap since that evening we were going over to one of my cousin's home for an "asado" (cookout). 





My Tio Daniel cooking up all the meat............it was absolutely
delicious and I had not eaten that much meat in a while!



All the cousins.



My Tio Daniel and I.................he is my mother's only brother.


Vacation: Day 2 Part 2

So, we walked a ton in the old part of the city.  There were so many amazing sites, I just have to keep sharing!
There are lots of people entertaining the tourists along the narrow streets.


The local police.  




There is a lot of Roman influence on the island
and even ancient Roman ruins!




My three boys!



I had to take a picture of these flowers because here in Russia
the bouquets are wrapped the same way.



Cute little cafes all over the place.

 

Can someone please make the front of our
apartment building look like this?





Bless my husband who is super duper allergic to horses - he 
was trying to get some good shots of the horse drawn carriages
and ended up with a bit of an allergy attack.




Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Vacation : Day 2

We did a lot of walking on day 2 and walked all over the "Old Town".  We decided to take a bus into the city center (which was only 5 minutes from my cousin's home) because the center is just total chaos and parking is impossible.  The main attractions in the Old Town are the Cathedral and the Palace which sit side by side.

I found the following on Wikipedia regarding the Cathedral:

"The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, more commonly referred to as La Seu, is a Gothic Roman Catholic church located in Palma, Majorca, Spain, built on the site of a pre-existing Arab mosque. It is 121 metres long, 55 metres wide and its nave is 44 metres tall. Designed in the Catalan Gothic style but with Northern European influences, it was begun by King James I of Aragon in 1229 but finished only in 1601. It sits within the old city of Palma atop the former citadel of the Roman city, between the Royal Palace La Almudaina and the episcopal palace. It also overlooks the Parc de la Mar and the Mediterranean Sea."



I have never been to the cathedral of Notre Dame nor have I seen
the Vatican but the architecture of this cathedral is absolutely 
incredible.  Pictures don't really do the building justice.  It is
huge, but when we were inside Jon told me that this cathedral
would fit inside the Vatican...........amazing!






Being inside of a Catholic church or Russian Orthodox church
only brings me one kind of feeling and that is one of total
sadness.  I felt the same way inside this cathedral.

So, now for a little humor.  One of the few
reasons why we paid 4 euros for each adult
to get inside of the cathedral was for Naynay
to use the restroom.  We were a bit desperate. 
The restrooms were at the exit of the cathedral
in a courtyard.  As we approached the bathroom
there was a sign up above that had a man and a
woman so Jon assumed that the bathrooms were
communal.  So.......he took both boys in with
him but as I was waiting for him I realized that
the left entrance was for men and the right
entrance for women!!!!  He totally went to 
the right!  As I peeked in and saw when he was
finished and about to wash hands I yelled at him to
get out quick.  This is a picture of him coming out
of the men's bathroom after washing hands!  I 
couldn't stop laughing, it was hilarious.




This is the courtyard area.  

The foundation of the cathedral.
So, what did we learn on our second day?  
1.  Eating out in Spain is super duper expensive.  I don't even want to 
write how many Euros we spent at Burger King...........ouch!!! 
2.  There's Coke Zero in Spain!  One of Jon's all time favorite drinks.
3.   Don't believe everything you read in the internet.  Before going to
     Mallorca I read up a lot on safety and health issues on the island. 
Everything I read about this cathedral always warned tourists 
   about Gyspies who try to sell you a flower and then pick-pocket
    you.  As you can imagine, I was totally horrified and on the look
     out for women selling flowers.  I didn't see a single one and never
    felt threatened at all.  I found all the people we encountered to be
extremely gracious and welcoming.
4.  Always make sure you double check the entrance of the bathroom!










Monday, July 25, 2011

Vacation : Day 1 Part 2

Once we got our suitcases we met my cousin at the airport.  It was really great seeing him and hard to hold back the tears.  We then rented our car and followed my cousin home where we had some pizza.  By this time it was already 4 pm (6 pm in Samara) and we were pretty exhausted from all the travel.  My cousin wanted to drive us down to the local beach so we waited for his wife to come home and off we went.
My uncle stopped by real quick to say hi.  It was amazing seeing him again.




As we drove towards the beach I took some pictures.  
I quickly fell in love with the architecture!



Beach, oh glorious beach!



My poor Naynay was so tired by this time.



The big cathedral in the old city.  More on that on our Day 2!

By the time we got home it was already 9pm and needless to say we were worn out.  Vilma, my cousin's wife, started preparing dinner and by 10 pm we ate dinner.  We heard already from our friends the Pidals that dinner is served super late in Spain, so that was something we were definitely going to have to get used to.  After bathes we all got to bed by midnight which felt like 2 in the morning for us.  We slept very well!

So, there are a few things I learned on our first day:
1.   You kiss both sides of the cheek in Spain.
2.  Dinner is not eaten until late in the evening.
3.  One is always greeted with "hola" in a sing 
songy kind of voice.




Sunday, July 24, 2011

Vacation : Day 1

Since we did not return to the States this summer we decided to take a little family vacation to Mallorca, Spain.  Mallorca is a part of the Balearic Islands...........I had never even heard of Mallorca until a couple of years ago when I was reconnected with my cousins and uncle via Facebook.  They all live there and since reconnecting they have been asking when we were going to come and visit!  I think I surprised them when I told them that it was going to be a reality.................this summer!  Thankfully we had frequent flier miles and my cousin Dario invited us to stay with him and his family.


1.  Before leaving for our trip I made these "treasure" containers.  The boys weren't allowed to see the contents.  Inside I included candy, cookies, crackers, and some new small toys.  The boys couldn't wait to see what was inside but they were only allowed to open it on the airplane.  It was a big hit!

2.  This is inside the Samara airport.  Unfortunately the flights to Germany now depart at 4:45 a.m. which means we have to leave our home at 1:15 a.m.  After getting hassled and questioned by passport control we were finally waiting to board our plane.

3.  This is my favorite article in the Lufthansa magazine.  I seriously look forward to this article every time we fly.  The idea of the piece is that they interview a famous artist/actor/singer and ask them what is in their carry-on.

4.  On the moving walkway in the Frankfurt airport getting to our gate to fly to Duesseldorf, Germany.

5.  Waiting at our gate to Duesseldorf.  The airplane was late meaning we were going to pretty much miss our connecting flight to Palma De Mallorca.  I look pretty exhausted in this picture.

6.  Taking the bus to get to our airplane to go to Duesseldorf.

7.  On the airplane to Duesdeldorf.  At this point making the connecting flight was going to be super duper tight if not impossible.

8. We actually made the flight and it was like a scene out of a movie.  I sent Jon ahead of the boys and I to find the gate while we waited for our stroller to come which seemed like F-O-R-E-V-E-R!!!  As soon as I got the stroller I opened it up, threw put Nathan in it, and Jojo and I took off running.  Jon was nowhere in sight and I couldn't find the screen to check our flight............................................................................then as I rounded a corner I heard Jon yell my name.  We took off running and barely made our flight.  Jon was able to get the boys and I sitting together but he had to sit in the back.  We think they may have been holding our seats.  When we boarded the plane everyone was seated and waiting for the plane to take off.  This is also the flight where the flight attendant spilled Coke all over me.  She felt awful about it but I was just glad to be headed to Mallorca.

9.  Flying into Mallorca was just gorgeous.  The beautiful beaches were calling my name!!!!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Sleepover

It's been a few days since I blogged.  That's because we went on a little vacation which I will be blogging about very soon.  Before we left though we had Jojo's bud Brucey Old Boy(this is what Jojo calls him) spend the night.
 
The boys played with Legos of course.

 
Then they watched some Star Wars: Clone Wars.

As soon as the movie finished they started some light saber fighting...................BOYS!