The 5 Adventures have made it to our last major stop in Italy – the beautiful city of Venice. But first, we had a fresh breakfast at our farm stay lodging (cold cuts and cheese, pastries, scrambled eggs with bacon – a mixture of European and American). After we packed up, we spent a coupleContinue reading “Venice, Italy; Day 1”
Author Archives: Tiffany
Florence, Italy
We journeyed only an hour this morning from the rural vineyards of Tuscany to the heart of Florence. After navigating the narrow streets in our rental vehicle, we dropped our bags and the car at our hotel right around the corner from the Basilica de San Lorenzo. We joined the throngs of tourists to findContinue reading “Florence, Italy”
San Gimignano, Italy; Day 6
Today was our last full day with 7 Adventurers so we didn’t want to spend it driving all over the countyside. Plus we hadn’t spent enough time in our temporary hometown. One of the joys of staying in a Tuscan town is that there are wineries everywhere you look. There was one right down theContinue reading “San Gimignano, Italy; Day 6”
San Gimignano, Italy; Day 4
Today’s Adventures took us on a short drive through the picturesque Tuscan countryside to the town of Volterra. A walled city dating from the 8th Century BC, it featured narrow streets, charming outdoor eateries and a couple of playgrounds for the kids. We wandered the 2800 year old streets to check out the ancient architectureContinue reading “San Gimignano, Italy; Day 4”
San Gimignano, Italy; Day 3
Today we visited our host town of San Gimignano and we also learned a bit about the train platform in Florence. Our rental house has a wonderful view of the Northwest side of San Gimignano which sits about 4 km across a valley of vineyards. Our 5 Adventurers piled into the rental car to driveContinue reading “San Gimignano, Italy; Day 3”
San Gimignano, Italy; Day 2
We spent our first full day in Tuscany settling in to our house and working with our host on a couple of issues like no gas for the stove, no hot water – you know, small things. Everything got sorted out by mid-day so we headed out to one of the kids’ bucket list itemsContinue reading “San Gimignano, Italy; Day 2”
Rome, Italy; Day 5
Today was our last full day in Rome (for this trip anyway). We had left today open in terms of planning. We had figured that there might be something that we might want to return to or add to our Roma list so it was easy to decide to head back to St. Peter’s Basilica.Continue reading “Rome, Italy; Day 5”
Rome, Italy; Day 3
Today’s Italian adventures started with French Toast in our apartment. From there we did a famous sites 5K. Our first stop was the Colosseum and then to the Roman Forum. We were a bit hot and tired from the walk there – but as we approached the walls of the ruin our spirits lifted. OurContinue reading “Rome, Italy; Day 3”
Rome, Italy; Day 1
Today was a travel day for the 5 Adventurers. We knocked the cobwebs off our backpacks, bid a fond farewell to our Rota apartment and made one last trip to Seville. We returned our reliable but small manual transmission rental car and caught our discount carrier to Rome. Our list of things we like aboutContinue reading “Rome, Italy; Day 1”
Rota, Spain; Day 29
Today marked the last road trip Adventure from our Rota home base and it was back to Seville. We got an early start because we had a few things to do and the temperature was predicted to hit 90 degrees in the afternoon. First stop was the Setas de Sevilla which was new for BrianContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 29”
Rota, Spain; Day 27
Today our 5 Adventurers did our rescheduled activity from Saturday – we went to see Africa! That was only one of the draws of our destination but it was a cool one. Our 90 minute drive this time took us to what is known as the Costa de la Luz (Coast of Light) area ofContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 27”
Rota, Spain; Day 25
Our original plan for the day was to head out to another SW Spain destination for some cool Adventures. But one of the kids turned an ankle last night (CreeperPuppy) and it was still a little sore this morning so we decided to postpone that activity. So today was a day of normalcy. We satContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 25”
Rota, Spain; Day 23
Today our Adventurers took to the road again on a trip through the SW Spain countryside. Known as Andalucia, this area is known for many things, one of which is the Pueblos Blancos or ‘white villages’. They get their name from the whitewashed buildings that make up the towns – initially colored to keep theContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 23”
Rota, Spain; Day 21
Today our Adventurers took to the road for a 90 minute drive to Seville. Since it’s somewhat close to Rota we decided the 3 Adventurers that missed it the first time would get a chance to visit. Tiffany and Suaram took advantage of the second trip to see even more. Our main activity for theContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 21”
Rota, Spain; Day 18
Another day of enjoying the Atlantic and relaxing in Rota. For dinner we decided to get a little exercise and did the 20 minute walk into town. Our destination was Domino’s pizza for a taste of the familiar. We walked along the beach to get there and made for a pretty unusual sight. The kidsContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 18”
Rota, Spain; Day 15
Today’s academic activity was to take some practice tests for the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress. The kids did math and language arts. As a small homeschool our students don’t have to take the actual tests, but we figured that the practice tests would be a good way to gauge their readiness forContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 15”
Rota, Spain; Day 13
Much of our Monday was spent as normal life-type Adventures. School for the kids, administrative type work for the parents. In the evening, we ventured out to take a walk on the beach and check out the reef/tide pools just north of our apartment. At low tide we can see very defined lines of rocksContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 13”
Rota, Spain; Day 11
Today’s weather was definitely an improvement over the blustery wind and rain of yesterday. But it was still very questionable for any significant outings with all of the Adventurers. The kids wanted to spend another day at home playing games and legos so Dad agreed to keep them company (and out of trouble) . HeContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 11”
Rota, Spain; Day 9
Today is our first day in two weeks with all 6 of our Adventurers out of isolation so we took the opportunity to explore Rota. We set off from our apartment for the 20 minute walk to town. We chose the boardwalk-through-the-trees route rather than the beach or street routes and it was quite pleasantContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 9”
Rota, Spain; Day 6
Our Adventurers continue to chill at the condo by the beach. No big touring or escapades today. Brian spent the day enjoying some domestic activities – cooking some scratch pasta sauce for dinner which we paired with a nice Spanish Rioja. It’s nice to have a kitchen to cook in for a while. Tiffany taughtContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 6”
Rota, Spain; Day 3
Reunited and it feels so good… Our 6 Adventurers are now together in the town of Rota. It’s great to all be under one roof in the Spanish sunshine. Tiffany, Tracy and Suarum left Seville for Rota this morning by car. The car pick up and 90 minute drive was a much easier experience thanContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 3”
Rota, Spain; Day 2/Seville, Spain; Day 2
Rota Adventurers The day in Rota was pretty chill. We didn’t venture out much other than onto the sun deck. Brian found the washing machine, tripped a circuit breaker and got the boys showered. Minor setbacks, minor accomplishments and minor Adventures today for our recuperating boys. Seville Adventurers Tiffany, Tracy and Suaram’s first outing ofContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 2/Seville, Spain; Day 2”
Rota, Spain; Day 1/Seville, Spain; Day 1
Rota Adventurers Our convalescing boys and their tireless Dad finished the long drive from Barcelona late yesterday and are settling in to our apartment in Rota. We choose this place for our 4 week ‘stay-in-one-place’ place which was scheduled to start Friday. The hosts moved some things around and were able to get us inContinue reading “Rota, Spain; Day 1/Seville, Spain; Day 1”
Madrid, Spain; Day 3
Our three Adventurers took a day trip to the ancient city of Toledo, Spain. It is a walled city on a hill with Arab, Jewish and Christian monuments throughout. It is another UNESCO world heritage site and located on the banks of the Targas River. The same river last seen by the Adventurers flowing pastContinue reading “Madrid, Spain; Day 3”
Warfare: Revenge of the Robot Zombie Warlords
By Suaram In the city of Thingamabob, a portal opened and a bunch of robot zombies came out. They had three REALLY buff and powerful warlords. “Ha ha ha,” they said. Now we shall take over the world!” What the zombie warlords didn’t know was that the famous ninja Ninja McCrackers-and-Cheese was right behind them,Continue reading “Warfare: Revenge of the Robot Zombie Warlords”
Madrid, Spain; Day 2
The three Madrid Adventurers woke up slow this morning but to a beautiful Spring day in the City. Our location right next to the train station means there are plenty of cafes and restaurants nearby. Our choice for breakfast can only be described as a Spanish diner – complete with dishes banging, a big variedContinue reading “Madrid, Spain; Day 2”
Madrid, Spain; Day 1
Today started with a tough goodbye as 3 Adventurers split off from the others and headed to Madrid for the next leg of the Spanish tour. We had originally planned to take the train but opted for a car instead. Tracy, Tiffany and Suaram picked up a brand new Citroen C3 and ventured on theContinue reading “Madrid, Spain; Day 1”
Barcelona, Spain; Day 4
So the two youngest, yucky feeing Adventurers turned up positive for their at-home Covid test. Bummer. We knew Europe had a much higher Covid rate than Africa and the risk would be higher, but breakthrough infections still stink. When CreeperPuppy and CreeperKitty came down with a fever it seemed the prudent thing to do wasContinue reading “Barcelona, Spain; Day 4”
Barcelona, Spain; Day 3
Today was the quietest day yet for our whole trip. Our youngest two Adventurers woke up feeling yucky so we spent most of the day taking care of them and making plans for the next few days. While Brian stayed with the boys, Tracy, Tiffany and Suaram took to the streets of the neighborhood forContinue reading “Barcelona, Spain; Day 3”
Barcelona, Spain; Day 2
Today was a wandering day for the 5 6 Adventures as we explored some of the most famous streets of the city. We started with a stroll from our apartment to the Plaça de Catalunya which is where Tracy’s bus from the airport dropped her off yesterday. Widely considered the city center of Barcelona, theContinue reading “Barcelona, Spain; Day 2”
Lisbon, Portugal; Day 5
Today’s adventures took us to the Belèm area of Lisbon via metro and city bus. It’s nearly at the mouth of the Rio Tagas estuary, the water access to Lisbon from the Atlantic. It was from here in 1497 that Vasco Da Gama set off on his historic voyage to India. With it, he usheredContinue reading “Lisbon, Portugal; Day 5”
Lisbon, Portugal; Day 3
A quiet day today. We started by hanging around our lovely apartment and then wandering the neighborhood enjoying the spring sunshine. We basically alternated between walking, stopping at a park/cafe, walking, stopping at another park/cafe etc. The first stop was just down the street. The kids ran around the grass across the street and theContinue reading “Lisbon, Portugal; Day 3”
Lisbon, Portugal; Day 1
The Adventurers have arrived in Europe! Portugal marks our arrival on the 4th continent of the trip (North America, Asia, Africa are the others) and 6th major region if you count Central America and the Middle East. It’s also our 8th country if you’re keeping track. We are planning to spend quite a bit ofContinue reading “Lisbon, Portugal; Day 1”
Marrakech, Morocco; Day 5
Today our Adventures took us out of Marrakech to the coastal town of Essaouira (pronounced ess-uh-weer-uh). It’s primarily a port and fishing city. It has a beautiful crescent beach but is also very windy. So it has tourists and some resorts, but it’s not known as a beach destination. Our interest was in seeing anContinue reading “Marrakech, Morocco; Day 5”
Marrakech, Morocco; Day 3
This morning was spent hanging out at the Riad reading, doing laundry etc. For lunch we wandered around the corner to a 300 year old building that was once a Farouk or hotel. Today it is the home of a local restaurant Terrasse La Medersa. We chose a table on the roof terrace which wasContinue reading “Marrakech, Morocco; Day 3”
Marrakech, Morocco; Day 1
Our short stay in Casablanca ended with a low key morning. We had an outstanding breakfast at Citizen coffee & more, a cafe around the corner from our hotel and then retraced some steps from yesterday. We had passed a store called La Grande Recre or The Big Recess (Arabic is the first language ofContinue reading “Marrakech, Morocco; Day 1”
Casablanca, Morocco; Day 1
Today’s travel day had these Adventurers saying farewell to Egypt after three wonderful weeks. Our next destination is Morocco where we will wrap up our two months in Africa and the Middle East. The attractions of Kenya and Egypt are obvious. Morocco wasn’t always on our list but we added it because we wanted toContinue reading “Casablanca, Morocco; Day 1”
Hurghada, Egypt; Day 6
Today’s big excitement was Covid tests for travel as we prepare to depart Egypt on Thursday. We’re getting pretty used to it at this point. The kids were very happy that their sample was from the mouth rather than a nasal swab…Mom and Dad, not so lucky. As most kids do, these three LOVE treats.Continue reading “Hurghada, Egypt; Day 6”
Hurghada, Egypt; Day 4
Some days we have lots of cool, interesting Adventures to share. This is not one of those days. This was another resort day which started of course with the breakfast buffet. After that, Brian hit the gym while the kids snuck in some tablet time and Tiffany did some research and trip planning for futureContinue reading “Hurghada, Egypt; Day 4”
Hurghada, Egypt; Day 2
Our first full day in Hurghada was a stay-at-the-resort day. It was our first day in a while with no place to be so last night we stayed up a little late for Family movie night. We watched the movie Holes which was a kids’ choice. We’d listened to the audiobook last week on theContinue reading “Hurghada, Egypt; Day 2”
Luxor, Egypt; Day 4
We’ve been in Egypt 2 weeks now and everything we own is covered in a powdery layer of Sahara sand. It’s a beautiful country filled with fascinating history, generous people and amazing fresh food. We’ve got another week to enjoy the people and the food but our tours of Ancient Egyptian sites ended today withContinue reading “Luxor, Egypt; Day 4”
Luxor, Egypt; Day 2
Today was a rest day for the Adventures. After a cold night on the boat and a long touring/driving Sunday we took today off from the wonders of Ancient Egypt. Instead we enjoyed a slow day on the quiet West Bank of modern Luxor. We slept in. We had breakfast on the roof which seemsContinue reading “Luxor, Egypt; Day 2”
Aswan, Egypt; Day 4
For our Saturday adventure we took to the water. Many tourists who come to Egypt take a cruise on the Nile between Aswan and Luxor. There are different options for how to do it. One is a 3-7 night journey on a river cruiser with various levels of luxury. We saw about 35 of theseContinue reading “Aswan, Egypt; Day 4”
Aswan, Egypt; Day 3
We were back at full strength today with 5 Adventurers and headed out to see another amazing temple from Ancient Egypt. Today we headed 140 miles south of Aswan near the southern border with Sudan. Once we left Aswan, the scenery was desert for the entire 3 hour trip south with the same view comingContinue reading “Aswan, Egypt; Day 3”
Aswan, Egypt; Day 1
This morning we said goodbye to our beautiful rooftop view of the Pyramids and the Sphinx. We won’t miss the room but will definitely miss the astounding view and the evening light show. After breakfast we headed for the airport and a short flight 550 miles to Aswan in southern Egypt. This ancient city isContinue reading “Aswan, Egypt; Day 1”
Cairo/Giza, Egypt; Day 3
Sometimes it’s good to have flexibility in your plans. Today was supposed to be our day to tour the pyramids outside our doorstep. But when we arrived on the roof for breakfast this morning it was windy with sand blowing everywhere and no visibility. Not a particularly good day for being outside on the plateau.Continue reading “Cairo/Giza, Egypt; Day 3”
Dubai, UAE; Day 5
Today’s primary adventure was a guided tour around Old Dubai to get a lesson in traditional Emirati life. We again used ‘Get Your Guide’ and met Mahmoud early afternoon for our walking tour through the Al Fahidi Historic Neighborhood and some of the other key sites. We had a good experience on public transportation yesterdayContinue reading “Dubai, UAE; Day 5”
Dubai, UAE; Day 3
We didn’t waste any time getting ourselves to the tallest building in the world – the Burj Khalifa. We needed to do some shopping. We carry about a week’s worth of clothes in our backpacks. After wearing and washing them over and over for the last 35 weeks or so, some are starting to getContinue reading “Dubai, UAE; Day 3”
Dubai, UAE; Day 1
Not much of our day was actually spent in Dubai although it was foremost on our minds. That and bidding farewell to Kenya after three diverse and interesting weeks. Our travel day featured a 3:30 pm flight so there was no need to rush this morning. We headed back down to the buffet for breakfastContinue reading “Dubai, UAE; Day 1”
Nairobi, Kenya Part 3; Day 2
A quiet day today as we finish up our Kenya stay and head out to our next Adventure. The day started with an unexpected call at 7:30am letting us know the doctor had arrived for our 11am Covid test. Ummm…we were sleeping. Kenya recently had some problems with private labs providing fake test results andContinue reading “Nairobi, Kenya Part 3; Day 2”
5 Adventures Together 