Costa Blanca and Valencia (with the Smiths!)

 We had a lovely trip to Spain over Easter week with Trent, Cortney, and Dexter Smith (I can't believe I'm just now writing this!).  It was a very relaxing time and our "last hurrah" of European vacations and we are thankful to the Smiths for making the trip across the pond to spend some quality time with us.




We spent quite a bit of time at the villa enjoying gorgeous views, fine food and drink, and lovely company (including a few lively, late-night games of spades).  The guys grilled out several times and we enjoyed lots of fresh produce from local farmers' markets.

  

The villa we stayed in is on the Mediterranean coast in the quaint beach town of Moraira.  We went into the village most days and enjoyed the beach, shopping, and restaurants.

Trent and Cortney took Eli for a night and we looked after Dexter so we both got to have a date night!

We all went into Valencia for the day.  We went to the most amazing fresh air market that had every kind of seafood imaginable (living and dead!), gorgeous pastries, and a variety of meats (you can see the pig's head behind Drew here) and veg.




 

After the market we walked around the city a bit and enjoyed lunch in the courtyard of the cathedral.

Perhaps our favorite activity was relaxing on the beach!  The first night we were there the guys went out to get us dinner and they found this little open-air restaurant on the beach.  We liked the food and it was very casual so the boys could run around and we could hang out on the beach while we waited for food (paella--which is to die for-- takes over an hour) so we went there several days.

 

All in all, it was an incredible vacation and we feel really blessed to have been able to enjoy such a beautiful place as a family and with such great friends.

 

Lisbon, Portugal

We had a really nice time exploring Lisbon, despite the fact that it rained quite a bit during our visit.  The people were very friendly and there was a lot of good seafood and pastries.  Our hotel was located right next to a huge (10 stories, I think) El Corte Ingles, with a complete grocery store, several restaurants and a bakery/sweet shop.  Needless to say we indulged on pastries during our stay; our favorites were the coconut bonbons and a traditional Portuguese Christmas treat that was kind of a cross between pecan pie and toffee.

We visited the Cathedral, which had beautiful, gigantic doors, with little doors cut out of them that people are meant to actually pass through.  It was a beautiful church, very similar to many of the other Cathedrals we have seen in Spain and France, with lots of gold artistry and ornate fixtures.

After the Cathedral, we went up to the castle, which had amazing views of the city.  Here you can see the beginnings of a baby bump.

The city was beautifully decorated for Christmas and, although it was a bit chilly in the evenings, the weather was nice enough for people, including us, to sit at the outdoor cafes and enjoy a meal. In Lisbon, they always seemed to offer tapas-style appetizers  including bread and cheese (often sheep's cheese) before a meal and one of the most popular menu items was an extremely salty cod with boiled potatoes and vegetables.

We spent our last day at the Lisbon aquarium. It was really neat for us to see some of the amazing underwater creatures, including huge stingrays and sharks, but the most fun was watching Elijah being mesmerized by all the amazing sites and the glowing lights at the aquarium.

Mediterranean Cruise- Chania, Crete (Last stop!)

 We had a lovely, relaxing day in Crete.  After we got off the ship, we walked through part of the port city of Chania, stopping to check out the small, but ornate, Cathedral in town.

Then, we went to a small beach to enjoy the sun.  Elijah had a great time playing in the sand and in the water.  It was such a peaceful and relaxing day to spend as a family.

Crete was also the culinary highlight of our cruise stops.  We had gyros at every stop, but the ones in Crete were the best and the cheapest. We saw a sign at a cafe on the harbor that was a special gyro meal for two and included two gyros, fries, and beer or another drink for 10 euros.  Little did we know that we each got two gyros, fries and a drink.  We couldn't even finish!! 

Furthermore, we are huge gelatto fans and have tried it at easily over a dozen places in several European cities, but the gelatto we had in Crete was the best!  It was so creamy and the chocolate and hazelnut flavors were to die for!

This (finally) concludes the blogs about our cruise.  Overall, it was a very nice trip and we are so happy to have seen some cities we wouldn't have been able to travel to if it weren't for the cruise.

Mediterranean Cruise- Kusadasi/Ephesus, Turkey

Kusadasi/Ephesus may be our favorite stop on any of our European travels.  The religious significance of this area is very important to us and it was amazing to see some of these places where friends and family of Jesus actually walked.  We had an excellent tour guide who was able to explain all of the sights, which was very helpful because signage was limited.

 First we went to the House of the Virgin Mary.  It is widely believed that St. John took Mary to live in this house after the death of Jesus.

Then we went to see the actual ruins of Ephesus.  Some of the more notable sites are pictured here:

The theater could hold 25,000 people.  It was used for plays and for gladiator competitions. 

Much of the original plumbing is still in tact.  These are pipes used to carry water in and out of the city.

Original roads of Ephesus.

Hadrian's Temple

These are the terrace houses, which are particularly fascinating because much of the paint and mosaics on the walls, floors, and ceilings are still in tact.  These were the "city apartments" for the most wealthy citizens of Ephesus.

 Library of Celsus.

This is one of the places in Ephesus that St. Paul was commonly known to preach.

Finally, we went to see Artemis' Temple.  Although it is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it seemed a bit underwhelming compared to some of the other ruins.

Little man was a little worn out by all of our sight seeing!!

After going through the ruins, we went to have lunch at one of the places where the weavers make traditional Turkish rugs.  Lunch consisted of several Turkish salads, bread, and roasted, kabob-like chicken.  It was amazing to see the intricacy and beauty of some of the weavings.

We couldn't get back on the ship without trying a Turkish gyro from a street vendor.

We would highly recommend a trip to Ephesus and hope to one day be able to see more Christian heritage sights in Israel and beyond.