The Island of Mallorca, Spain

To visit Spain, one might think of the capital Madrid or the Gaudi architecture of Barcelona. But we recently had the wonderful opportunity to visit this rugged, but docile island off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea. Interestingly, it is an island on which German is spoken as often as Spanish, as it is a very common get-away for Germans.


Travelling out of Krakow on low cost carriers doesn't make for an easy trip. We left early in the morning on a Ryan Air flight to the UK, and then caught a Monarch flight (ThomasCook on the return) to Mallorca. As the crow flies, it is only about 1100 miles, about the same distance as DFW to Phoenix. But we doubled that by flying through London. Unfortunately, these are low cost carriers, so we do not benefit from the extra miles.
On this trip, we had the honor of travelling with the Humphrey family (Terry-age withheld, Sherri-younger than Terry, Morgan-9, and Tyler-6). They are a Texas family that moved to KRK almost a year before we did (and they get to stay one more year too!). They were fantastic travelling partners with whom we shared lots of laughs.

Arriving mid afternoon, we rented an 8 person van (exactly like the van the kids go to school in...a Mercedes 6 speed-not as fancy as it sounds). Renting the van turned out to be a great decision as we roadtripped all over the island, roughly shaped like a diamond about 40 miles across in either direction.

On our first full day we hit the road to go to the south east coast of the island where we would do some spelunking. The Cuevas de Drach (Dragon Caves) we visited were fantastic. About an hour long walk led to one of the biggest subterranean lakes in the world more than 80 feet underground. There we sat in a naturally formed ampitheater and listened to a 20 minute classical music concert played by musicians floating in boats on the lake. The acoustics were amazing. Then, we got to ride in one of the boats toward the exit of the cave. It was cool.

That afternoon, while wandering around the nearby town of Porto Cristo, we happened upon a perfect spot where we could eat in an outdoor cafe. The table overlooked a small beach which allowed the adults to hang at the table sipping beers while the kids played down below on the beach. We remained there until the sun began to set. The purchase of 15 Euros worth of sand toys, paddle ball and beach towel served us well the rest of the trip!

Day 2 was mostly about the beach. We alternated between the frigid outdoor pool and the beach. Brody and I wandered more than 100 meters out in the ocean to a depth about at Brody's underarms. But eventually, the cold water and shivers led us to turn around and race to shore amidst the crystal clear water and playful 2 foot waves. In the pool, it was all I could do to accept the dare to jump in and swim across the pool. The cold literally took my breath away. Don't let the picture of Ariana and Morgan on the raft fool you: it was COLD. Luckily, there was a nice warm indoor pool which is where we spent most of the rest of the week for swimming activities. That evening, I stayed at the hotel with Ariana while the others went out to dinner, as Ariana was not feeling well...fortunately a temporary condition.

Day 3 meant another roadtrip, this time an all day endeavor along the northern coast of the island known for its rocky shores, steep cliffs, and winding mountain roads, the latter of which left many of us feeling a little woozy. One of the highlights was a stop at the Torre del Verger tower, a lookout tower built in 1579 high up on one of the cliffs overlooking the ocean. The coastline is dotted with these towers that are a symbol of the defensive techniques used at the time.

The other highlight was a stop for lunch at a swanky and picturesque place. Picture the Oasis restaurant in Austin along the rocky shores of Maine. This restaurant in Mallorca was a wonderful combination of both. And, the food was great. We weren't seeking a fancy meal, but we just needed to get out of the van on solid ground and this was the only spot we had found for miles. The good thing is that Tyler kept asking "Are we we almost there yet?" so we always knew where we were. Fortunately, for Tyler, we went in search of ice cream at the end of the day and found a small market that had Haagen Daaz. Oh what a treat that was.

The next day we decided to rent bikes and head to a nearby nature reserve called Albufera. After the usual arguments that went something like..."I wanted that bike. No, I called it. No, That's mine!"...we were finally able to get going. And, that was just the battle between me and Terry. For the kids, we had to wait around for the delivery of some additional kids' size bikes, and we watched while the bike rental guy showed us how easy it is, with a simple pair of wire cutters, to cut the lock off a bike for which no key could be found.

Anyway, it was a fun bike ride where we saw lots of beautiful ducks and fish; and Terry and I even saw what we think was an Osprey hawk. It had rained the previous day, so we all pretended to be kids and splashed through as many of the big puddles as possible. Some were deep and spanned the entire path, so all we could do was go fast and hold our legs out while we coasted through the puddle, all the while hoping that the momentum didn't run out half way through the puddle.

That afternoon, we played on the beach. Terry had a little fun designing a "special" body shape for Brody as he covered him in sand.

On the final full day, we headed into Palma, the main city and port on the island, and also the home of Marine Land. We had been looking forward to this all week...mainly the dolphin and seal shows. Both were fantastic. Ariana and I walked down to the pool before the show and dolphins came right up next to us and looked us right in the eyes. They are beautiful animals with great personalities. And, of course, Ariana got her picture taken with one of the seals who gave her a big kiss on the head.

That afternoon, we visited the old city center of Mallorca as well as the Cathedral, a beautiful 700+ year old church overlooking the ocean. There was a very interesting part of this old building that was designed by Gaudi--mixing the old with the new.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip with great friends, lots of sun, and special treats from Haagen Daaz to kissing seals.

Venice

Since the kids had Friday May 1st off as a holiday, we decided to take advantage of the long weekend to go to ...Venice. Sounds crazy I know, but we got $73 tickets to Milan round trip and a 2 1/2 hour train ride later found us in Venice. The city is frequently touted as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and I agree. Everywhere you look is a visual feast that a mere camera can hardly capture. Venice is actually comprised of 118 small islands in the marshy Venetian lagoon in the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy.

There are no cars on the main islands and we found ourselves wandering down various streets that looked more like large pedestrian sidewalks or just plain alleyways. The streets would frequently find us on beautiful curved bridges to take us over the canal ways below. The watery canals criss-cross the city allowing gondolas and private boat owners to navigate the city by water.

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Of course, if you go to Venice you really have to take a gondola ride. Luckily Corey bargained them down from really expensive to just mildly expensive. In fact, the negotiation process became part of our afternoon activities, but it was well worth it. We all enjoyed the ride.

After our ride we got to enjoy yet another fantastic dip of Italian ice cream (gelato). We definitely didn't lack for good food. The pizza and pasta is delicious.

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St. Mark's Square is one of the most famous areas on land in Venice. Ironically, Brody will be attending St. Mark's next year but in Dallas...not Venice. The St. Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace and the Bell Tower are all beautiful landmarks in the Square. When we weren't being swarmed by other tourists, we could actually enjoy these sites.

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We waited in line for 45 minutes to take an elevator to the top of the bell tower. The views were amazing. Corey and I even managed to get a picture of us at the top.

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Throughout St. Mark's Square and actually all of Venice you can find statues and pictures of lions, and in particular the image of the winged lion. Centuries ago when Venice was a nation, it adopted St. Mark as its patron saint. The apostle Mark is represented by a winged lion and this creature them came to symbolize Venetian power. Is it any wonder that St. Mark's in Dallas has a lion for its mascot?

We also enjoyed a tour of the Doge's Palace and a walk over the Bridge of Sighs. Evidently the bridge got its name because it connects the judicial rooms in the Palace to the prison. Prisoners walking to prison would get their last view of the outside world and beauty of Venice by looking through the small windows in the otherwise enclosed bridge.

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Ultimately, we had a wonderful time just walking around Venice. The shops are filled with Murano Glass made on neighboring Murano Island. The shops are also filled with inexpensive glass from China, so buyers beware. We also enjoyed looking at all the Venetian masks made famous by the Carnival of Venice.

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Some of our travels may blur together over time. Was that Budapest or Prague? But I have no doubt that Venice will always stand out as the unique city it is.

Finally, we say goodnight to Venice.

Zakopane

We waited until my sister Laura and her boyfriend Adam arrived to visit Zakopane, a town in the Tatra Mountains in Poland. While we never got to ski here, all 6 of us enjoyed the picturesque town and the beautiful mountain views. Luckily, we also enjoyed the funicular railway going up the mountain. At the top we found a great restaurant where we ate some tasty Polish food and a few in the group drank Żywiec.











At the top of the mountain, we found more to do than just eat and drink. First we took advantage of the Alpine Slide. Alpine slides have tracks that look like a bobsled run, but instead of having snow or ice as a base, you'll have metal or concrete. You sit on a sled that has a brake operated by a lever in the middle. The curves on the track are banked so as you whiz downhill and turn, your sled will ride up the embankment, but you won't go over the edge...at least I haven't seen that yet. We went without brakes until the landing runway and no one flew over the edge. We all had a great time and the short lines allowed us to all ride multiple times. A tow rope for the slides would bring the sled (with rider on it) back to the top where we could get ready for the next ride.

We also found a great ropes course. Laura, Adam and Brody decided to do the straight high line where they actually got to switch lines on a tall pole before continuing on to the ground. Check out Brody zipping in to the top of the pole.


I know in the picture below Brody, Laura looks like she has taken up a new career making repairs on tlelphone poles, but in fact she's just switching zip lines to finish her run.

Ariana chose the ropes obstacle course where she got to scooter across a few rope lines. She also got to swing across on a rope, climb through rope mesh and zip down her own zipline.

After a great time on top of the mountain, we decided we should head back down. Laura, Adam and Ariana decided to take the train back down. Brody, Corey and I decided to walk down. As we started down the trail, Brody decided we should try to beat the others to the bottom. At the beginning this meant a quick hike down a rocky trail. We stopped at the middle to take the picture at the top of this post with Corey and Brody. After taking pictures, we started down the trail again, this time at a faster pace. Brody encouraged us on...faster Mom, faster Mom. I started running down the hill with gravity urging me on more than Brody. At the bottom I proudly turned to Brody and realized that he wasn't there. When I looked up the hill I saw Brody and Corey casually walking down. I was proud of my run despite being abandoned by my fellow runner. Unfortunately, the muscles on the side of my thighs were veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery sore for the next several days.