It wasn’t all bad. Actually it was quite pleasant until the end.

Jay and I decided to spend our long Thanksgiving weekend this past November renting a car and driving through the south of Spain on a four-day road trip. Our first stop was Granada, home of the Alhambra, a palace and fortress complex constructed mostly during the 14th century by the Moorish rulers. The grounds of the palace are extensive and we spent the afternoon walking through the citadel, the royal complex and the Generalife villa and garden. Much of the beautiful intricate Moorish artwork was reminiscent of what we had seen in Morocco. The center courtyard, the Court of the Myrtles, which helped cool the palace in hot summers, was the highlight. We were even lucky enough to have it to ourselves for a short while. It made me very happy to be visiting in November because in the summer the area is overflowing with tourists. We even had very nice sunny weather, but it didn’t last the rest of the trip.

Our plans for days two and three were to drive to the coast and then up through the Sierra Nevada mountains and to stop at the various pretty “white villages” – small towns filled with old houses comprised of whitewashed walls hugging the mountainsides – scattered throughout the route. Day two was burdened by patchy rainfall. The rain stopped long enough for us to make a short stop at the beach and to walk around the town of Mijas. We were thankful for the respite because most of the day we spent driving by road signs pointing to “beautiful scenic panoramas,” though all we could see was fog. We could see just enough to taunt us and make sure we knew that on a sunny day the mountain view would be amazing.

That evening we had our first Couch Surfing experience. Couch Surfing is a website that connects travelers with people offering a free place to stay in their city – sometimes a couch and other times a private bedroom like we had. We stayed with Evi and her three dogs at her special farmhouse in Estepona. Evi is a German woman who spent much of her life in Africa so her unique home had an authentic safari feel. And her tropical garden looked like the rain forest under the torrential downpour. She shared a lot of fascinating stories about Africa over dinner and wine during the evening and spoiled us with a huge homemade breakfast before we left the next day. She was a gracious host that went well beyond any expectations.

The rain continued on day three as we continued our trip through the mountains. We made the best of the weather and headed out with our umbrellas to explore the town of Ronda which is perched atop cliffs and divided by a steep ravine. It was one of my favorite Spanish towns we visited. We walked all around town and then hiked to the base of a the tall New Bridge (a bit of a misnomer considering it was built in 1751). It is one of three bridges connecting both sides of town across the canyon.

I climbed down some rickety steps and across a narrow path to explore further under the bridge and the other side. Jay watched, thinking I was nuts. There wasn’t much to see except an old rundown slanted steel building that was being overgrown by plants and looked like it belonged on the set of Lost. One blessing from the rain was that the waterfall beneath the bridge was full and flowing.

We spent most of day four in Seville, the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. After Christopher Columbus’s expedition to the New World in 1492, Seville grew to its height of cultural importance. It was designated the only royal port to the New World and all trade from the Spanish Americas had to pass through the city before going on to the rest of Europe. The city’s development grew quickly over the next few hundred years.

Seville was a beautiful historic town to walk around. Like many Spanish towns, it has an impressive towering gothic style cathedral. It was a Sunday so we attended part of mass to get a good look at the inside. We also visited the old Moorish Palace, which had similarities to Alhambra, but was much smaller in comparison. My favorite part of town was the large Plaza de España and the Traditional Arts and Customs Museum, which were both in the The María Luisa Park. The sunny weather returned for our last day so the park was full of families and children. It was perfect people watching.

Our drive back to Madrid took us through the town of Cordoba. We didn’t have time to fully explore the town, but Cordoba is home to a magnificent Cathedral-Mosque, an old mosque that was converted into a cathedral. This impressive site was worth a short stop on its own. Today it is a World Heritage Site and the Cathedral of the diocese of Córdoba.

The mosque was built in 784. It is most notable for its giant candy cane-like arches, with 856 columns of jasper, onyx, marble and granite. After the Spanish Conquest it became a Roman Catholic church and a cathedral was built right in the middle of the mosque. It was fascinating to the the dichotomy and the two still existing side by side.

When we got back to the rental car, I took a photo of Jay in front of the passenger side. As we walked to the other side of the car, we realized something was wrong. The small front window was smashed and broken. My first reaction was, “Oh shit, someone smashed the window and we are going to have to pay for that.” Jay’s reaction was, “Oh shit, someone smashed the window and stole all of our stuff!”

Jay’s reaction was the appropriate one. We lost more stuff than I care to recall: both of our passports, Jay’s work laptop, a Kindle e-reader, Jay’s prescription glasses, a suitcase full of clothes and toiletries including my favorite tailored jeans, a laptop bag full of electronic stuff, my backpack full of stuff, the keys to our apartment and more.

I don’t need to be lectured that we shouldn’t have had all of the stuff in the car, even if it was in the trunk. I understand that, but it seriously baffles me that someone had the nerve to smash our window and steal all of our stuff in broad daylight on a Sunday afternoon when we were parked by 20 other cars. And we were only gone for one hour. People never cease to surprise me.

We spent the evening at the police station waiting in a long line and then filling out forms. We did our best to clean up the glass and I created a make-shift window from cardboard and paper to cover the hole for the long four hour drive back to Madrid. The drive home actually had one bright spot – I discovered the iPod and GPS still in the glove box, which was a small miracle considering the glove box was left open by the thieves and they cleaned the car of everything else. I guess they got spooked before they cleared the glove box – they shouldn’t have saved that for last.

Our aloof landlady never answered her phone on our drive home, so we had no way to get into our apartment. We didn’t arrive back to Madrid until after 1:00 am, so we thought it was too late to call a friend for a place to stay, so we stayed at a hotel. It felt very odd staying at a hotel with no luggage – just the clothes on our backs and my purse. Luckily our doorman had a spare key and we were able to get into our apartment the next morning.

We eventually wrote out a list of everything that was stolen – just to torture ourselves I guess. It was very long and the monetary value made me sick. We didn’t have insurance to cover any of it. And for weeks afterwards, we kept discovering new things that we didn’t realize were stolen at first. It was a frequent reminder of the event, and I cursed the thieves each time. We know the situation could’ve been worse. We were lucky we weren’t hurt at all, and we know things can be replaced. The fact that Jay and I both considered this one of the crappiest events in our lives actually was a nice reminder of just how blessed we are.

It didn’t start out so great. Paula was coming from Split and I from Madrid. Both of our flights had layovers in Frankfurt, Germany, which seemed like the perfect opportunity to start our weekend early and arrive in Prague together. We asked each other all sorts of important questions before we left, such as, “What shoes are you bringing?” and “Are you bringing dressy going-out clothes?” Yet we never bothered to trade mobile phone numbers or talk about what we would do if we didn’t see each other at Frankfurt airport as planned and one of us missed the connecting flight.

At Madrid’s airport I learned my flight was delayed an hour, which would give me just enough time to meet Paula, but when I boarded the plane the pilot said it would be another hour before we took off. We were told there was bad weather in Frankfurt causing the delay, but that was a lie; it was perfectly clear when we landed — 10 minutes after my Frankfurt to Prague flight departed.

SpanAir (first leg of flight) and Luftansa (second leg of flight) were not helpful at all. They couldn’t tell me when I could depart and they sent me across the airport to a transfer desk that was already closed for the evening. I finally found someone to direct me to the proper transfer desk where I found a long weaving line awaiting me. I stood and moped as it slowly inched forward.

Suddenly I saw Paula in line too. I tapped her on the shoulder. We hugged and squealed and jumped up and down like 12 year old girls at a Justin Bieber concert. We were stuck in the airport for a few more hours, but at least we were together. We had a nice dinner with our new friend, Karen, from Prague whom Paula met on her flight from Split and eventually we made it to our hotel in Prague around midnight.

We stayed at Ventana Hotel right behind the Old Town Square. It was a beautiful old hotel with the highest ceiling in a hotel I had ever seen (I really appreciate tall ceilings wherever I am; they just feel nice). We couldn’t have asked for a better location because we were in the center of everything. We had hoped to see the town that night, but it was late and we were exhausted. We were even too tired to ask to be moved from the smoking room they gave us; I always forget that you still need to request a non-smoking room in most of Europe. I hope that continues to change.

On Saturday we walked through the Old Town Square, crossed the beautiful old Charle’s Bridge and explored Prague on the castle side of the river. The entire town was wonderful for walking. There were beautiful buildings on every street and everything was in walking distance.

At noon we watched the changing of the guard at the castle. We arrived just in time for a good spot. Playwright-turned-president Václav Havel brought some zeal to the castle in 1989, when he hired the Czech costume designer from the film Amadeus to redesign the guards’ uniforms and then instigated a changing of the guard ceremony. A brass ensemble accompanied the ceremony and played music composed by local rock star/politician Michal Kocáb.

My favorite place we visited in all of Prague was the Strahov Monastery because it housed two of the most beautiful libraries I’ve ever seen. The Monastery sat on top of a hill and the walk up felt grueling since we had already been on our feet all day, but it was worth it. The libraries left me frozen in awe, staring, most likely with my jaw hung open. The libraries, the Theological Hall and the Philosophical Hall, date from the 17th and 18th centuries respectively and still house over 60,000 antique books. The main floors were roped off for preservation purposes and we viewed the libraries from massive wooden doorways. I would’ve loved to walk among the old books, but still nothing took away from the place’s magnitude.

We enjoyed dinner at a typical Czech restaurant. We toasted to my birthday earlier in the week, to good friends and to a fun trip. After dinner we walked through town to see all of the old buildings and monuments lit up at night.

On Sunday we took a free walking tour (The guides work for tips.), just like I did in Berlin and Budapest, and this one lived up to the others; it was very interesting and educational. We walked all through the half of town we didn’t see on Saturday, so it worked out perfectly. Part of the tour took us through the old Jewish quarter and we learned about WWII’s devastating effect on the city’s Jewish population, and the tour finished by the river where we learned about the city’s “liberation” and then immediate communist occupation.

After the tour we visited the Pinkas Synagogue which holds a memorial with names of those murdered and then walked through the old Jewish cemetery. I always find cemeteries fascinating because they usually have such unique characteristics and can show so much about a culture. The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague was used from 1439 to 1787. There were 12 layers of tombs because the city would not give the Jews more room to bury their dead. The headstones were mashed together one right after another. It has been estimated that there are approximately 12,000 tombstones presently visible, and there may be as many as 100,000 burials in all.

Throughout our sightseeing both days we sprinkled in tea breaks and shopping respites. Among the Starbucks there were also plenty of cute local coffee shops – and even an absinthe shop where you could buy marijuana ice cream (we passed on the opportunity). Paula stocked up on great clothes she couldn’t find in Croatia and I resisted as I knew I was already short on luggage space for my trip back to the United States. We finished Sunday evening with a wonderful Italian dinner. We lamented about how quickly the weekend went by and I lamented more about how much I would miss the easy and wonderful European weekend trips.

Most of my weekend trips have been easy, and this one would’ve been if it wasn’t for the flights. We were headed back through Frankfurt again on Monday and we thought for sure our luck couldn’t go wrong both ways, but after we were told to fasten our seat belts for landing we eventually realized we were just flying in circles. The pilot came back on the announcement system to tell us he had no idea when we could land in Frankfurt, so we were going to Nuremberg to refuel. (Once again, the weather was just fine.)

Even with a three hour layover my connecting flight was doomed. Once again we landed in Frankfurt 10 minutes after my connecting flight departed. Luckily I made it out a few hours later. Paula wasn’t as fortunate since there is just one flight daily to Split from Frankfurt. She was rerouted through Zagreb and again didn’t make it to her destination until midnight.

I just hope my luck improves next week with my flights home.

Click here to view more photos from my weekend in Prague, Czech Republic.

Arriving by the high-speed Ave train left me a 15 minute bus ride from town, and then a 20 minute walk to the center of the old town. Cuenca is a small town and January isn’t a popular month for tourists, so I couldn’t just follow the crowds. I had to ask several people for directions to find my way. Throughout the day I saw just a handful of tourists and two buses of Asian tour groups.

I was traveling alone and I enjoyed the quiet of the city. I rarely travel alone, and though I wouldn’t want to make it a habit, I really enjoy it in small doses (even though the entire time I am wishing Jay was with me to see it all). A day I spent alone in Japan at the end of a work trip is one of my most vivid travel memories. I can’t really pinpoint why, but solo traveling can feel so refreshing to me.

I spent the afternoon in Cuenca finding the best views of the hanging houses (casas colgadas), seeing the Cathedral in Plaza Mayor and exploring the small winding streets that weave throughout the old town. Parts of the old town, the narrow alleys, some stone houses with clay tile roofs and an abundance of stray cats had me happily reminiscing about Croatia. I also visited the Abstract Art Museum and walked to the other side of town to find Ars Natura, a natural history Museum. I wish I had gotten up early and given myself more time to see different museums; most of them closed at 2:00 because it was Sunday.

Cuenca’s old town is perched up on a cliff above the Huécar gorge. The houses built right up out of the cliff side are called hanging houses or “casas colgadas.” They are the most iconic symbols of Cuenca as their dramatic stance make for picturesque views. Many of the houses were built in the 15th century and were once the houses of nobility. The most famous house is now the Abstract Art Museum. In the 1960’s Cuenca was the center of Spanish abstract art and many artists had homes in the city. A wealthy collector, Fernando Zóbel, donated his collection to the city and helped establish the museum.

The city has numerous other museums, but they were all closed by the time I left the Abstract Art Museum. After seeing photos of the architectural beauty, Ars Natura, it was on my list of “must-sees.” It sat high on a hill in a residential neighborhood on the other side of the gorge. It was an adventure just finding it. I had to navigate a complete maze of streets. There were very few people out to ask for directions so I couldn’t be too picky. Luckily even the guys I had unfairly judged as creepy were actually very friendly. I eventually came to a tall fence surrounding the property only to be told that the entrance was another 10 minute walk away on the other side. I honestly would have climbed the fence if there wasn’t someone out waiting for a bus right near the lowest point.

I’m glad I made the effort to find the museum even though it was closed. I thought the building, designed by architects Carlos Asensio y José María de Lapuerta, was stunning. It is one of my favorite works of architecture I have seen because it harmonizes so well with the environment. Even though it is very contemporary and mostly made of concrete of glass, its low and lengthy shapes and neutral colors integrate it with its habitat. Large windows, each spanning more than 1000 square feet, let light into the building and offer spectacular views out over Cuenca. If I ever make it back to Cuenca I will definitely make sure I have more time and visit the inside too.

My fiasco trying to find Ars Natura left me little time to enjoy it and then rushing to catch the bus so I wouldn’t miss my train. I honestly didn’t think I was going to make it. I thought for sure I would need to take a cab (if I could find one) and even then I worried I might miss the train. I about gave up hope because I didn’t even know how to find my way to the bus station. Suddenly I realized where I was and that I just might make it if I ran. I ran, what in my mind was a full out marathon sprint, for about a half mile (.8 km). I could see the bus as I ran down the street and just prayed it wouldn’t pull away when I was so close. Luckily it didn’t. I arrived at the bus dripping in sweat and panting – not pretty – but I made it. I got on with one other couple, we paid our fares, and the bus driver shut the doors and immediately pulled away. I enjoyed a quiet train ride back to Madrid and immediately showered when I got home.

Click here to view more photos from my solo trip to Cuenca, Spain.

We had a layover in Riga, Latvia on the way to Kaunas, Lithuania. We left the terminal to board the plane outside, and crews seemed to be working steadily on snow removal, but there was still about 3 inches on the ground that we walked through. The plane was a beautiful sight as it sat covered in snow alone on a wide expanse of white fluff. (I wished we had a camera…) After getting de-iced, we took off from Riga in a small prop plane in heavy snow. I was uncharacteristically a bit nervous, but it was actually much smoother than many flights I’ve experienced in calm weather.

Our first full day in Lithuania, the high temperature was 17°F (-8°C). We bundled up and headed to the capital, Vilnius, for sightseeing. I was envious of Milda’s awesome fur hat. I considered buying one for myself, but I thought it might seem like overkill back in Madrid or even Cincinnati. The thick snow made all of Lithuania seem like a winter wonderland. There were so many areas of white powdery untouched snow. I wanted to run and make snow angels, but I wasn’t dressed for it.

Vilnius’s historic old town was full of charming old buildings (and I think also some newer ones made to look old), lots of churches, and two real Christmas trees. We walked through town and then took a break for tea and hot chocolate before climbing up to the town’s fortress. The fort offered a great view over the historic town on one side and the newer modern town on the other. The most amusing part was descending the hill from the fort because parts of the path were a giant slippery ice slide. Luckily there was a railing and we carefully guided (glided?) ourselves down.

We enjoyed a late lunch at a traditional Lithuanian restaurant. After being in Germany, the food prices in Lithuanian were such a welcome surprise. The food was a great value and delicious. My favorite was a thick creamy chicken soup in a bread bowl. It warmed me up inside. We also sampled potato pancakes and dumplings, staple Lithuanian foods.

Milda and Mario are our good friends from Croatia. Milda is Lithuanian, so they were spending the holidays there with her family. It gave us the perfect opportunity to visit with them and see a new place. Jay and I also stayed with Milda’s family. They were such gracious hosts. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations, especially because everyone shared different cultures and different language strengths. The conversations were an amusing crazy mix of spoken languages: English, Lithuanian, Croatian, and German (of course, only English for me and English and German for Kelly).

New Years Eve day we went sightseeing in Kaunas. It wasn’t quite as charming as Vilnius, but I loved walking through the snow-covered park along the frozen river and eating fresh donuts at the Soviet era diner that hasn’t ever changed — the food, the decor, nor the waitresses.

We rang in New Years 2011 at a local bar with half the Lithuanian national basketball team and a white Lithuanian Tina Turner. It was possibly the best people watching New Years ever. There was lots of bleach blond hair, cleavage, very high heels, sparkly dresses and good-looking women. As much as I am sure the guys enjoyed it, I was just as amused.

We had a great night singing along to Tina Turner songs and dancing. We celebrated the Croatian and Spanish New Year at 11pm and then the official Lithuanian New Year at midnight. It all went by way too quickly. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye the next day when we had to leave, especially since I knew that would mean saying goodbye to Jay a few hours later.

Hopefully Milda and Mario visit us someday in Cincinnati.

Click here to view more photos from our visit with Milda and Mario in Kaunas and Vilnius, Lithuania.

We spent Christmas day walking around Munich. Everything was closed, but it was a perfect time to see the city. The streets were relatively quiet and almost everything shimmered in a fresh coat of snow from the day before. I loved seeing the city covered in snow even though the downside was the cold that came with it. It was so frigid! I had gotten quite used to Croatian and Spanish winters where it is rarely below freezing. We experienced cold in Cincinnati, but we never walked anywhere in it for long. Jay and I reminisced about how we would play for hours out in the snow as kids. We don’t know how we did it. Luckily I bought some warm long underwear before we left from the knick knack bazaar shop. It was probably the best $7 USD I’ve ever spent in my life – I wore them almost every day.

Jenna spoiled us all Christmas day with her baking and cooking. Jenna and Ken are vegetarians so we had our first vegetarian Christmas. Honestly, it was likely also our last vegetarian Christmas, but not because we didn’t like it. We just like meat. I loved everything Jenna made except the lentil bean ‘meat’ loaf, which is pretty impressive considering how picky I am. Along with the ‘meat’ loaf we had yummy mashed potatoes and biscuits. Jay might have missed his traditional ham, but surprisingly he even liked the vegetarian ‘meat’ loaf. And we topped it all off with Christmas cookies and chocolate covered pretzels that I ate way too much of.

We spent the evening playing Catch Phrase and Uno and sharing stories. Jay and I love games, but we rarely seem to play them since we left the United States. It was a nice bit of American pop culture to make us feel at home on Christmas.

Jay and I wouldn’t survive well as vegetarians considering we don’t like vegetables, but Ken and Jenna may have influenced where we buy our meat. Jay borrowed Ken’s book, Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, which described in too much detail meat-producing factory practices. The stories about the treatment of animals and the chemicals they put into them were very disturbing. It wasn’t quite enough to make us become vegetarians, but we are definitely going to look into buying non factory farmed chicken and other meats. Findlay Market, Cincinnati’s farmers’ market, may end up being one of our new favorite places. Hopefully we follow through with our plans and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

The Sunday after Christmas we went out for a traditional American brunch and visited two modern art museums in the afternoon. It was a relaxing day before our long day trip to Salzburg, Austria on Monday.

We took the train in the morning. Jay and I have a knack for almost missing trains, but luckily we made it with two or three minutes to spare.

Salzburg is a beautiful little town at the foot of the Alps near the German border. It is the home of Mozart, Klimt, and the Sound of Music. We spent the day walking around the town, stopping in little Christmas shops, and visiting the fortress atop a hill overlooking the city. We found a Christmas shop with the most beautiful hand-painted ornaments I had ever seen, and there were hundreds of them. I spent way too long admiring them and wishing that they were less expensive and that I had more room in my suitcase.

The view from the fortress was magnificent. We could see out over the entire snow-covered town in one direction and over the seemingly endless Alps in the other. I wish we had more photos, but we were borrowing Jenna’s almost defunct camera and the battery died. Somehow we mysteriously lost our own camera in between moving out of our apartment and arriving at the airport at the beginning of our trip. It is still a conundrum.

Before heading back on the train we bought Ken some of his favorite wasabi peanuts and caramelized almonds and a giant warm pretze for us. Surprisingly our favorite pretzels were in Austria and not Germany, though we didn’t have time to do proper taste testing.

The next day we did more sightseeing in Munich. We visited the Schloss Nymphenburg Palace just outside the city center and the Royal Residence in the city center. My favorite part of the Palace was probably the partially frozen lake full of swans and ducks. They were so animated and amusing. Some of the swans were gigantic. I kept telling Jay to step closer for a photo, but they didn’t look friendly enough to him. The swans, along with the Palace, set on the expansive snow covered grounds felt like a fairytale; except if it was my fairytale I would’ve had a long thick furry white coat and golden sleigh with horses to carry me around. We saw a lot of these types of sleighs and ornate carriages on display in the old palace carriage house.

As we left the Schloss Nymphenburg Palace we visited the swans again and then watched people ice skating and curling. The small man-made river leading to the lake freezes over every winter and makes a perfect spot for recreation. Curling looks like a fun sport to play with friends, but I don’t know if I would last long enough outside in the cold.

The Royal Residence in the center of Munich’s historic district was grand and expansive with many beautifully painted ceilings. I’m often bored by audio tours, but I amused myself by listening to the tour in Spanish. At first I accidentally had it set to German. For a few seconds I thought, “Wow, this person speaks Spanish with such a thick German accent that I can’t understand a thing.” I was relieved to realize it was actually German being spoken and not my lack of understanding.

Jay’s German isn’t quite advanced enough to have listened to his audio guide in German, but still, I was repeatedly impressed with his skills. Ken’s German is perfection (at least to my ears). Between the two of them, traveling was easy. I got to sit back and let them ask all the questions and do all of the ordering. For a few days, it was a pleasant change from the ordinary.

Click here to view more photos from our Christmas holiday to Munich, Germany and Salzburg, Austria.

The bus dropped us off right near Segovia’s most famous symbol, its ancient Roman Aqueduct. It is made of over 25,000 granite blocks that were constructed without any mortar around the turn of the 2nd century. The aqueduct is a powerful sight — it is 94 feet tall at its tallest point. In front of the aqueduct was a big pedestrian-only square, which was the sight of a dog show when we arrived. I loved seeing so many dogs together. They had such distinct personalities: the dignified greyhound, the lazy beagle, the spastic french bulldog, etc.

We walked through town and stopped at the Segovia Cathedral, the last Gothic cathedral built in Spain. The magnificent exterior reminded me some of Toledo’s cathedral. For some reason, I always pictured Spain as lacking the glorious cathedrals that dot the rest of Europe, but I was completely wrong. I am repeatedly pleasantly surprised in many of the cities we’ve visited.

We continued on to the Alcazar of Segovia, a palace on the edge of the old city walls. It immediately made me wish we had time to take my parents here because my mom would’ve really liked it. Alcazar is a fairy tale castle, built for the King of Castile in the 12th century. We climbed the castle’s tower to the highest point and we could see out far over the valleys and to the cathedral shortly off in the distance. Up to this point, the sky had been full of gloomy, grey clouds, but as soon as we stepped out of the tower’s spiral staircase and onto the castle rooftop, the clouds in the sky began to break up and the sun peeked out. Not long later, it looked like a completely new day full of sunshine.

We took a break for a late Spanish-time lunch and a pleasant conversation with Gaelle and Thibaut. They told us stories about their time studying at Georgia Tech and traveling all around the United States. It is always fun to hear what surprises people about the States, from the large food portions and free refills to tipping etiquette to the abundance of fast food restaurants to dating misunderstandings to the lack of public transportation and the urban sprawl to giant houses. I think the urban sprawl of Atlanta would be a culture shock for anyone from Europe. At least now Gaelle and Thibaut are conditioned to long drives, and a three hour road trip for sightseeing is no big deal. After eight months in Georgia, their English is perfect, and luckily they still have French accents and not Southern ones.

After lunch we took a walk, downhill, outside the city walls, along a small river and through a wooded path that offered peeks of spectacular views of the castle and the cathedral. It was hard to believe the morning had been dreary and cloudy. We eventually climbed many flights of steps back to the center of town and leisurely walked through the uncrowded streets. Segovia had such a calm and tranquil feel, probably because there aren’t too many tourists in November and most head to Toledo anyways. I loved the traditional architecture of the old town: tiled roofs and walls decorated with sgraffito, contrasting patterned designs made of plaster.

As the sun set so did the temperature and we stopped for hot chocolate and tea. Before we knew it we were almost late for the bus back to the train. As we left the coffee shop we could see the cathedral brilliantly lit up, but there was no time to stop and enjoy it. We made it to the bus just in time – we were the last ones on the standing-room-only-filled bus. The day wore us all out; Jay and Thibaut both napped on the ride back to Madrid.

Click here to view more photos from our day trip to Segovia.

We were able to share many of our favorite places in Madrid with Mom and Dad and to discover new favorite places. We packed a lot into three days; we checked out the Temple of Debod, Campo del Moro Park, a city guided walking tour, Plaza de Mayor, Puerta del Sol and the yummy bakery, a walk along Paseo del Prado, Plaza de Cibeles and the old post office, the Caixa Forum Museum, the turtles at Atocha Train Station, the Costume Museum, San Francisco El Grande Basilica, the Royal Palace, the Cathedral of Almudena, Retiro Park, and a day trip to Toledo. We had perfect sunny weather everyday (Historically, Madrid has more sunny days than any other European capital – in a close running with Athens.) and my favorite part of their visit was probably simply walking all around the city spotting random beautiful buildings.

Here were a few of our other new favorites:

San Francisco El Grande Basilica
The San Francisco El Grande Basilica rises above La Latina neighborhood in the older part of Madrid not far from the Royal Palace. It has a commanding exterior presence, but the interior is where it really shines. We entered through one of the seven massive carved walnut doors.

There visiting hours are quite limited (11:00-12:30 and 4:00-6:30) and we arrived just in time to join a tour that was included in the small entrance fee. The tour was in Spanish and luckily the guide acknowledged non-native tourists in the group and he spoke very slowly and clearly. I enjoyed the listening comprehension practice and being able to periodically translate a few sentences for Mom and Dad.

The basilica has a round floor plan and our guide led us around the outer edge along the adjoining chapels. One by one he turned on the lights in each chapel while explaining its highlights and he would turn off the lights before heading to the next one. Each was elaborately decorated and once contained the basilica’s most famous painting by Goya. The center of the basilica boasts the largest dome in Spain, at 108 feet in diameter. Every surface was covered in decoration with minute attention to detail, gorgeous stained-glass windows, elegant frescoes and barrel vaulted ceilings.

The Costume Museum (Museo del Traje)
Mom and I have always been fascinated with costumes and period clothing, so when I found out Madrid had a Costume Museum, I saved a visit to share with her. I didn’t have high expectations because most museums and exhibits I have seen in other cities have been small and homogeneous; always the same with mannequins lined shoulder to shoulder displaying the costumes. Madrid’s Costume Museum quickly blew away my expectations with its size, voluminous collection, and very well-designed displays.

The permanent collection takes you on a walk through fashion history from 16th century tunics and doublets to contemporary runway designs. I loved seeing the cocktail dresses from the 1950s; there were so many that I wished I owned today. There was also a temporary exhibition displaying the costumes from a current Spanish movie set in the 17th century called Lope. Mom and I spent a couple hours strolling through all of the displays. I was impressed with the detail and ingenuity in each of them. I know Jay and Dad were thankful they didn’t have to go to this museum, but I know they would have enjoyed it more than they think. Mom and I could’ve spent all day there, but more of Madrid was calling.

The city of Toledo and its cathedral
We spent the last day of my parents trip visiting the medieval town of Toledo (Toledo, Spain (pronounced toe-LAY-doe), not Toledo, Ohio (toe-LEE-doe). It is a formal capital of the Spanish Empire and actually has a much longer history than Madrid. Long ago Christians, Jews and Muslims coexisted here, and the city boasts ancient sights representing the different cultures.

Toledo is just a half hour speedy train ride from Madrid’s main Atocha station, so it was an easy day trip, but there were so many places of interest that one day didn’t give us nearly enough time to see everything. It was the last chapter on a long trip and we were a bit worn out so we took our time, taking in what we did see a bit slower than normal. We walked around town enjoying all of the historic buildings. We visited inside the Alcazar fortress and the Army museum, the Synagogue of El Transito, and my favorite of the day, Toledo’s cathedral.

Toledo’s 15th century cathedral has a dominating gothic exterior, but it was almost hard to get a good view of it because it is nestled so closely between other historic buildings. The interior felt like a maze of treasures to me. There were so many side chapels, a sacristy, a treasury, and more and more rooms leading to other rooms whose names I quickly forgot.

My favorite part was the Transparente, an ornate Baroque altarpiece in the ambulatory behind the high altar. Its name refers to the unique illumination coming in from the skylight in the vault above it and the numerous stained glass windows. (The cathedral has over 750 stained glass windows.) The transparente is decorated with with fantastic figures in stucco and bronze, paintings, and many colors of marble.

Hanging from the transparente (and several other places in the cathedral) was a lone red hat. It belonged to a cardinal who was buried in a tomb directly beneath me. Toledo’s cardinals have the opportunity to choose anywhere in the cathedral to be buried, and their hats are hung above their tombs until they rot away (which obviously takes a long time). I had read about these before visiting the cathedral, so I had my eye out for them, but they were quite hard to spot at first. They somehow blended into the fabric of the decoration in the cathedral. I felt like I was playing a game of Where’s Waldo? So many cathedrals run together in my memory, but the transparente and the cardinals’ red hats made Toledo’s unique.

The last thing we did before heading back on the train to Madrid we was introduced Mom and Dad to churros, often referred to as Spanish donuts. They are fried rings of dough sprinkled in sugar or dipped in chocolate that taste similar to a funnel cake. They are my favorite Spanish treat — delicious!

The next morning we took Mom and Dad to the airport. We were so glad they had gotten to visit us in Madrid to share in a city we love. It may have been snug in the apartment, but I had gotten used to them being around. I surely wasn’t ready for them to leave.

Click here to view more photos from Mom and Dad Klocke’s visit with us in Madrid and Toledo.

Our day in Sinop was another low-key day, but it was one of the most enjoyable to me. The weather was absolutely perfect and sunny. We walked all around town and along their long sea front. It offered pretty views of our cruise ship, which was docked alone and dominated the town’s small port. We also saw a sailing class for kids with lots of miniature sailboats; it reminded us of Croatia since we had often watched these classes from the balcony of our first apartment.

The most fascinating part of Sinop’s sea was the abundance of jelly fish. They were absolutely everywhere. I had never seen so many. They were beautiful and their semi translucent bodies floated tranquilly like they were little angels in the sea.

We visited Sinop’s citadel, an ancient sea-side prison that was decommissioned in the 1970s. There wasn’t a lot of explanations for the sights except for a few signs with pitifully translated English, which were always a treat to read; for example, we were warned to “slip carefully” and the next day in Ukraine we read about a “batman bringing water during a battle (in the 1800s)”. The prison had a few interesting cells, offices, a gutted old bus, and a work-out yard where Jay was very amused showing off his pull-ups and weightlifting “skills.”

Sinop sits on a peninsula, and from the prison, we walked to the other side of the peninsula to view the sea. It had a much more picturesque landscape than the port side: a mixture of sandy beaches and rocky cliffs and a view of a town a short way off in the distance. We stopped for awhile taking in the view and basking in the sun.

We spent a short time shopping at a craft center and a clothing store, spent more time watching the jelly fish, and returned to the ship for a late lunch and relaxing afternoon. My dinner that night was my favorite of the trip: parmesan crusted turkey and creamy pasta, and, of course, lots of desserts (and the boys continued their steak-eating trend).

Monday, October 11 – Sevastopol, Ukraine

We had been looking forward to this port in Ukraine since we booked the cruise because our friends, Jon and Elena, (who we met in Croatia) are now living in Ukraine, just two hours from Sevastopol. They were kind enough to come visit with us and show us around. We had big plans to rent a car and see the countryside, a beautiful church, and some submarines, but sadly they were rained out. Sevastopol was our one day of really cruddy weather on the cruise. There was an almost constant light rain with dark clouds and very cool air.

We didn’t let the weather completely ruin our day though. We visited an impressive 360 degree panorama and 3D model of the 1855 Battle of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. It was normally closed on Mondays, but opened just for the official cruise sponsored tours. Luckily Jon and Elena speak Russian (Elena is Russian) and they were able to talk our way in too. We had a tour guide explaining the exhibit in Russian and Jon did a wonderful job of translating. The painting of scenes from the battle were so detailed and the most impressive part was how the 3D model in the foreground seamlessly connected with the painting, so much so that it was visually difficult to tell where the painting ended and the 3D model began.

In the 20th century Sevastopol was the home port of the Soviet Navy’s Black Sea Fleet, and the city retains a significant Russian naval presence. It was one of the most secret towns of the USSR due to its military status. It was closed not only to foreigners, but also to all Ukrainians until 1997. While eating breakfast in the morning on the ship, we saw a submarine leaving the bay with two heavily armed navy ships as escorts. It was the first time I’d seen a submarine on the move and the dark rainy weather gave the scene a curious ominous feel.

After the visit to the panorama, we went on a harbor tour to see the Russian fleet up close. Once again Jon did a great job of translating the Russian explanations. He had his work cut out for him because the guide spoke a million miles a minute non-stop the entire time; I’m sure Jon didn’t know his day was going to be such hard work. We saw all sort of ships from medical ships to spy ships to cable laying ships.

After purchasing a few small souvenirs, we decided to head back to the cruise ship because it began raining even harder. We gave Jon and Elena small gifts we had brought: wine and Alpen, Jon’s favorite cereal that he couldn’t get it in Ukraine. It might have been the best part of the day. We loved seeing how excited Jon was over a box of cereal and how much Elena laughed. It was a good end to a nice day. Hopefully we will get to return the favor to Jon and Elena some day in the future.

Back on our ship, we enjoyed a late lunch and afternoon of ping pong, playing cards, and happy hour drinks. That evening was our last formal night and it included an after dinner chocolate dessert night. There were more decadent chocolate desserts than I could’ve imagined; alas I was too full from dinner to eat much of any of them. Either way, they were pretty to look at.

Tuesday, October 12 – Day at Sea

Our last day on the cruise was spent at sea. Once again we were up just in time to get waffles (just writing this is giving me a craving for them) — delicious! We had no agenda for the day and it was welcomed for relaxing and packing.

There was one last self-indulgent dinner with a little too much wine and reminiscing about how quickly the cruise had passed. We couldn’t believe that in the morning we’d be off on our ways back to Spain and Ohio.

Click here to view more photos from our Black Sea Cruise to Greece, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine.

We spent the day in the 2014 Winter Olympics city – Sochi, Russia. Usually tourists need visas to visit Russia, but on a one-day cruise stop, you just need to be part of a Russian-authorized tour group. The cruise companies like to scare people and tell them they can’t get off unless they are part of the cruise-sponsored tour, but luckily we knew this wasn’t true. In Sochi, we actually could have gotten off without any type of paperwork if we had the courage to act like we belonged and knew what we were doing. We had a private tour booked and met our guide, Yaroslav, when we exited the tender boat.

We took a short city tour and walked along the seafront. Yaroslav was full of stories of Russian corruption and the need for reform. The seafront was lined with expensive apartments illegally built on property that used to be green parks. Money can buy just about anything in Russia, and the judges drive some of the nicest cars in town.

All day we got so lucky and arrived between the big tour groups missing the crowds at all of the sights. We got a beautiful view of the city, the mountains, and the sea from an observation tower atop Akhun Mount. We had the whole tower to ourselves.

Next we spent some time at a national park and hiked to Agura waterfall for a picnic lunch. The waterfall wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was a nice spot for a picnic and the easy hike was enjoyable. I liked climbing over the rocks by the waterfall to get a closer look.

I was most amused by the old man at the park entrance collecting an admittance fee. We saw Yaroslav argue with him, grunt in exasperation, hand him a little money, and move on. Yaroslav told us that the Russian government deemed the park admittance free, but the old man said the locals didn’t agree with it, so they were collecting money anyways.

As we left the park, we stopped by a natural hot sulphur spring. The sulphur springs have made Sochi a famous health spa resort town in Russia. The sulphur is used to treat respiratory and cardiac problems. We were told it is quite potent and should only be used under instruction of a doctor. People have died of asphyxia from going deep into caves where the sulphur runs. The odor it produced was unpleasant, but the river of cloudy white water was fascinating.

From there we visited Stalin’s dacha, his favorite summer home where he spent a lot of time with his family and with other Russian diplomats from 1937 until his death in 1952. Most of the furnishing and decor were original including his desk and pool table. We were entertained by stories of Stalin’s madness. He led a bizarre life. His colleagues hated visiting him there because it was never a short visit; he forced them to sit through repeated movies and long drunken dinners, and even to dance with one another while he watched.

As we left the dacha and headed back to the ship, Yaroslav found Dad a Mountain Dew at a newsstand (Russia was the only country we visited during the trip that sold Dad’s favorite soda), and Mom, Kyleen and I admired the wedding photo sessions taking place in the park near the harbor. I appreciated how stereotypically Russian the scene felt to me with so many ladies with long bleach blond hair, short skirts, high heels, and dark heavy eye make-up and the beautiful bride smoking a cigarette.

Saturday, October 9 – Trabzon, Turkey

Today we met up with Sertac from Couch Surfing (Couch Surfing is a website kind of like Facebook intended to help people out with a place to stay and getting to a know a city while traveling). He was a perfect host for our day in Trabzon.

Sertac helped us rent a dolmus (taxi van) to go to Sumela Monastery in the mountains of Altındere National Park. The monastery was founded in 386 AD, and during its long history it has fallen into ruins and been restored several times. As we drove through the woods and up through the mountains the scenery was beautiful. The monastery is located on a picturesque steep cliff. The weather was cloudy and foggy, but luckily no rain. The thick fog made the beautiful view we had seen in photos impossible to see, but at the same time added to the mysterious enchantment of the monastery as we approached it up a long and narrow stairway.

We walked around the monastery, took lots of photos, and tried to avoid the crowds before heading back to our dolmus. The 40-minute ride to and from the monastery went quickly as we swapped stories with Sertac. He was a great story teller and his English was superb from the couple years he had spent in the United States. He had been an intern at a park in Pennsylvania and camp counselor in the bible belt in Texas; he said they were worlds apart. He seemed to have had girlfriends from all over the world. He was currently seeing someone from Poland and in the past had dated girls from Croatia and even Columbus, Ohio. I couldn’t stop laughing when he threw his arms in the air and broke out the “OH-IO!” I wish I had taken photos.

We had the dolmus drop us off atop Boztepe Hill for a view over the city and then walked down to the coast. Our walk down the hill took us through winding streets and neighborhoods. We walked by a soccer game being played in front of a mosque. We ate a fresh fig off of a tree. We watched kids playing in the small streets. They all stared at us curiously. Two small boys leaned out their window and waved hello. As we waved back they proceeded to make farting noises and giggled uncontrollably as their mother ran over to scold them.

We stopped for some delicious baked bread still hot and fresh from the oven that reminded Jay and I of being in Croatia. We sat at a small cafe on the coast and enjoyed a picnic lunch and some local beverages (the local beer, Efes, and tea). Sertac seemed particularly pleased with the chocolate chip cookies we had brought from the ship; no one quite does chocolate chip cookies like Americans. The sun was even nice enough to shine through breaks in the clouds.

After a stroll through the local bazaar and a stop at an internet cafe, we said goodbye to our new friend, Sertac, and headed back to the ship.

Click here to view more photos from our Black Sea Cruise to Greece, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine.

Istanbul became my favorite port before we even docked. We didn’t dock until noon so it gave us plenty of time to sleep in and watch us sail through Bosphorus, the Istanbul Strait that connects the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea with the Black Sea. It is the world’s narrowest strait used for international navigation. Its shores are densely populated on both sides with the city of Istanbul. It was fabulous seeing all of the mosques rise majestically from the compact clutter of buildings.

Our family’s first stop in Istanbul was Mom’s pick: the Suleymaniye Hamam, a beautiful Turkish bath built in 1557. We found our way there winding through the maze of streets in Spice Market using Kyleen’s GPS, a birthday gift from her parents which she loaded with Turkey maps including outstanding walking directions (and public transportation directions — it had lots of fun features). Once at the hamam we changed into our swimsuits, hamam-provided towels, and silly uncomfortable clogs. We were directed into the main haman room where we were tortured and pampered for the next hour and a half.

The first step was detox: we sat and layed on a hot marble stone slab under an impressive dome sweating all of our insides away. The heat was generated by logs of wood burnt in the furnace, and not electricity. It was 140°F and I had never felt anything like it in my life. Sweat continuously streamed from my pores and the dome seemed to sway a bit as I tried to decide if I might pass out. I didn’t. I wondered if people ever did and thought how people die in this kind of heat.

Jay convinced me to lie down and relax. For a few seconds it felt like the skin on my back was going to sizzle, but I grew accustomed to it. I relaxed a bit as I stared at rays of light from the small holes in the ceiling of the dome.

No one can ever convince my Dad to relax, so it was a lost cause in the heat of the hamam. There were several small galleries off the main dome used for the massages. Most were empty, so Dad paced back and fourth walking wherever he could. He had the men’s changing room key around his wrist and we could hear his anxious jingle wherever he walked.

After what seemed like hours, and was actually a very long 40 minutes, it was our turn for the massage. There were four masseuses and six of us. Mom and I took one for the team and stayed in the heat 20 minutes longer and watched as the others got doused in water, covered in soap suds, and rubbed into a relaxed stupor. I prayed that the water was cold and a thumbs up from Jay indicated it was.

It was finally our turn. Mom and I were led to the same room and directed to sit on the floor next to our massage table and a faucet continually pouring water into a basin that the masseuses used during the massage. As the masseuses left to direct the rest of the family to a changing area, I quickly plunged my arms into the nice cool water and threw as much as I could onto my body as it overflowed the basin. Mom laughed at me and waited patiently.

When my masseuse returned he used a bowl to poor the water all over me. It felt glorious. He used a bristled mitt to scrub and scour my body of all its dead skin. Then he poured more cool water. He directed me to the marble massage table and used soap suds and strong hands for a wonderful muscle relaxing massage. I felt unhinged from my head to my toes. My skin was so soft and smooth. I would say it was the best massage I’ve ever had, but I don’t know if that is fair to say since I was tortured with heat first. It was definitely the most memorable spa experience I’ve had.

Afterwards we were wrapped tightly in towels and joined the rest of the family in a room for water and relaxing. There was one other couple there and we talked about their travels with them. It really is a small world; the guy was from Wapakoneta, Ohio. I wanted to ask him if he knew Kent from So You Think You Can Dance, but it seemed unlikely since he hadn’t lived there in years. We did confirm that he knew of Kent on the show, at least. The couple was traveling with Disney on Ice; I also wanted to ask them which characters they played. My excitement from the So You Think You Can Dance reference and Disney on Ice was making me feel like a real nerd, so I mostly kept to myself enjoying my relaxed stupor.

We eventually plied ourselves from the cushions, changed, and headed out into the chaos of Istanbul. We visited Galeta Tower for the best view of Istanbul. It was crowded, but we made it to the top at the perfect time to see the city and the sun setting.

Wednesday, October 6 – Istanbul, Turkey

Today was a sightseeing-packed adventure. Everywhere was crowded, but it never felt like the Disneyland disarray of Athens or Rome. We started at Topkapi Palace and on Kevin’s instructions headed straight to the Imperial Harem to beat the crowds. It was a good idea because we had many of the rooms to ourselves to enjoy the magnificent opulence and intricate tile work. The harem was home to all women who lived and worked in the Palace and they usually numbered over 1000. The Sultan’s mother was the queen bee here and often reigned mercilessly. It was amazingly decorated, but came with a twisted ugly history of concubines, slaves, stranglings, drownings, and more. Few girls who entered the harem ever left again.

The rest of the buildings on the palace grounds followed a similar style to the harem with magnificent tiles and amazing domes. The Imperial Treasury stood out with its vast collection of artworks and ridiculously large jewels belonging to the Ottoman dynasty. The most valuable was an 86-carat pear shaped diamond.

After a picnic lunch in the park-like setting at the entrance, we made our way to Hagia Sophia, a towering mosque-like structure. It was inaugurated in 360 AD and served as the cathedral of for over 1000 years. Later, it was converted into a mosque for about 500 years and most recently opened as a museum in 1935. It is famous in particular for its massive dome (182 feet tall) and is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for its first 1000 years until the completion of the the cathedral in Seville, Spain in 1520.

On the walls we saw a mix of different mosaics from various centuries. The most memorable decorations were gigantic circular-framed disks hung on the columns in the mid-1800s with Arabic inscriptions on them. These made the Hagia Sophia very identifiable when it appeared momentarily in an awesome movie we recently watched called The Fall (click here for the trailer).

Next was The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, better known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia aren’t far apart and there was a small pretty park in the middle that offered a beautiful views of both. Built in the 1600s, the Blue Mosque is still a practicing mosque, but is now also a popular tourist attraction. I couldn’t imagine trying to pray there with all of the tourist commotion. The interior was beautifully decorated, but it lacked the tranquility of less visited mosques like we visited in Sarajevo.

We made a quick visit to Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. It was much cleaner and more organized than I expected, but not so clean that we weren’t ripped off by a dirty vendor. Jay and Dad both wanted a t-shirt and needed a size L. We only saw an L and an XL of the style we liked, so we asked the vendor if he had another size L. He asked us to wait and he returned with another size L folded and sealed in it “original” clear plastic wrapping. We bought both and moved on, only to realize once we were back on the ship that he had taken us for fools and succeeded. He had simply opened the bag, colored in the white X on the black tag with permanent marker, carefully repackaged the shirt and sold us an XL as a L. It would’ve been nearly impossible to distinguish it in the the dimness of the bazaar without opening the package and the vendor clearly knew this. We were angry for a second, but couldn’t do much more than laugh at the discovery. Luckily we were able to shrink it in the dryer and it fits just fine.

The day out ended with a boat ride on the Bosphorus giving us a closer look of the mosques and elegant homes that lined the banks of the strait. The regality and conspicuous display of wealth in the homes along the banks took me for surprise in Istanbul. Many were swanky and beautiful. We watched them go by from the roof of the boat, but eventually watched from the windows downstairs as the air grew colder and the wind stronger. It started to rain just as we left the boat and it was the perfect time to head back to our ship.

Thursday, October 7 – Day at Sea

We were ready for a relaxing day at sea after our long day of sightseeing in Istanbul. We slept in just late enough to get our favorite breakfast waffles; the ship had amazing waffles that we ate every morning — addicting! I spent most of the day reading, working on a blog entry, and playing ping pong. My friends from my old job at Landor would be proud of my improved ping pong skills. In the afternoon we played trivia and got last place, which we attributed to the abundance of “old people” questions catering to the majority population on the cruise.

The evening was another formal night and more delicious food. After dinner we went to the ship’s theater for a Broadway-themed show and I was unexpectedly impressed with the singers. They sang a few of my favorite Broadway numbers, including “Seasons of Love” from Rent. It always leaves me with a smile.

Click here to view more photos from our Black Sea Cruise to Greece, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine.