Home Sweet Home...39 hrs later...

Happy kids in Chicago... with luggage!!


Well, we finally made it - YIPPEE!!
Got the kids up early today so we could head over the airport to check on our connecting flights. Of course, Lufthansa had not rebooked us at all overnight, so I stood at the Service Counter for over an hour trying to figure out how to get us all home, without having to separate. The best I could do was get us all to Chicago and hope for rides after that. Luckily, I got Hannah on a flight to Des Moines, but there were only 2 seats to Moline.... need 5, so no. Fortunately, 2 kids volunteered their dads to come get us in Chicago, but couldn't confirm that since it was the middle of the night back home. Texted my mom - she contacted the dads once she got up so that by the time we hit Boston, it was good to go.

No problems with this take-off to Boston this a.m... yippee!! Was a fairly smooth flight - everyone in their same positions.... same crew, just different plane. Luggage showed in Boston - had to haul it to a different terminal and recheck & retag it to Chicago.

Sadly, said our good-byes to Hannah in Chicago and headed to baggage claim... saw the 2 girls take off ahead of me all of a sudden... then saw why: their dads were there! :) Luggage showed - woo hoo!! Hopped in the cars and off we went!

We're all happy to be back... sad to have left some dear new and old friends behind. I know we're all going to sleep well tonight... in new jammies! :)

What an amazing 2 weeks it has been! Looking back on all the great things we got to do and see is just overwhelming! I was very fortunate to have traveled with some spectacular people (new and old) and my kids were awesome! They were willing to try just about anything and were excited about all the awesome things they got to see as well!! Paris seems like forever ago... amazing how time flies. Tomorrow will be an odd day... no waking anyone up, no lame-o bfast, no loading/riding on a bus... but sadly no kids that I've seen every day for the past 2 weeks. Miss you - thanks for some amazing memories!!
~steph :)


What an amazing group of Group Leaderss... and our spectacular Tour Director!
(Donna, me, Carla, Jesus, Dan, Garrett)

Frankfurt fun...NOT

Departing Malaga :)



Just before take off from Frankfurt to Boston

The bumb plane in the background... overnight in Frankfurt.

We're hoping this is our last supper together...

We are currently stuck in Frankfurt... got here fine from Malaga... but as we were taking off, the pilot slammed the brakes on... some lights popped on that he didn't like. Sat on the plane for 2 1/2 hrs when they decided to cancel our flight. We're staying at the Sheraton - got dinner... and breakfast tomorrow ... but sadly no luggage. Sounds like they're running our flight at 10:45 am tomorrow, so hopefully we can still get home tomorrow.

Crazy irony of this all is the parallel to my 1st trip with kids.... we flew from Omaha to St. Louis... had engine problems... stayed over in SL, with no luggage.... now, 10 yrs later, just about the same thing...

Crazy how history repeats itself...

~steph

Marvelous Morocco

Morocco was AMAZING!!!

The kids LOVED it - I know see why everyone does that optional... wow!!

We got on the bus super early... drove to the Ferry... took a 45 min Ferry across the straight to Ceuta (Spanish city). We met our local guide, Larabie, who took us across the border into Morocco. It was amazing to see all the people crossing the border, buying cheaper goods in Spain and then returning to Morocco to sell them... We drove along the coast - gorgeous!

First stop were the camels!! Gotta ride camels in Africa :)

We next got out at the Medina and were met by more 'local guides'... aka bodyguards. They constantly counting us and flanking us on the sides and behind us... was a tad unnerving, but also nice that I didn't have to keep such a close eye on the kids for a while. We wandered thru all the winding, narrow alley ways of the Medina... thru the meat market, the food market, the flea market places... had couscous for lunch... YUM!! Went to the rug store next and then the pharmacy to buy spices... some of us got an awesome neck/upper back massage... WELL worth the 3 euros!!

Next stop was a flea market type place with shoes, hookas (!), jewelry boxes... was asked how many camels I was worth... answer: there aren't enough here in all of Africa... he laughed... and moved on.

It was an amazing experience for the kids... to see that others don't live like them. I think they truly appreciated it more than they can express.

Caught our Ferry back... and then sadly said our goodbyes to all our new friends. We will miss them dearly and will laugh at the many fond memories we have made along the way. Enjoy our pics... listen to our stories... laugh at the crazy experiences we've had. :)

~steph :)

Adventures in Andalucia

Peek-a-boo!!



Jumping fun on the Mediterranean - have a couple extra kids with us!

Look ma - new hair style!!! :)

Today was another amazing day here in Paradise. They definitely didn't pave it to put up a parking lot...hahaha :)

We took a gorgeous tour of the lovely town of Sevilla this morning. We walked around the quaint streets, went inside the Santa Maria Cathedral where Christopher Columbus is buried, took a break in the Santa Cruz area, toured the bullring and the museum, explored the amazing Alcazar palace - the Royal palace of Sevilla - and it's lovely gardens, and ended with some free time/shopping/lunch near the cathedral. Many kids went for tapas for lunch and enjoyed ordering in Spanish :)

We all hopped back on the bus - said good-bye to Jesus' hometown and headed south. Along the route, Jesus bought the kids some of his favorite snacks to share. We enjoyed those while watching the amazing countryside go by with all it's olive trees and sunflower fields.... amazing!

Our next stop was in Ronda - a white-washed village nestled in the mountains with amazing cliffs and a cool bridge. A few kids hiked to the bottom... and even got in the waterfall. the kids loved the village, of course! :)

We finally arrived in Benalmadena, our last home of the trip. It's a coastal town and I can see the Mediterranean from my hotel window :) After a quick dinner, took the kids down to the beach...they walked, they walked the boardwalk, they played soccer... I sat in the beach chair & watched the sunset...sigh...

Tomorrow is a BIG day for us!! We're off to Morocco - continent numero tres!!! :)

Keep us in your thoughts & prayers as we tour this new continent...and ride camels!! :)

~steph :)

Sensacional Sevilla

Sevilla is such a lovely city... sigh...





We left Madrid bright and early this morning and headed south to Cordoba. We toured the Mezquita and it's red & white arches... the marble in there was amazing! It kept the place extremely cool... which was a nice relief from the heat outside. The kids grabbed a quick lunch and back on the bus we went towards Sevilla.

Sadly, many of them were sleeping and missed all the gorgeous landscape that the south of Spain (Andalucia) has to offer. It's covered in fields and fields and fields of olive trees as well as sunflowers... breathtaking, actually!!

We arrived in Sevilla and headed straight to our hotel - it's lovely - but it's out in the middle of nowhere. We just chilled around the hotel, some went out to the pool, some of us hiked to the mall for some shopping. After dinner, our driver, Antonio, took us all downtown where we were able to watch the 2nd half of the World Cup game. Luckily, we were able to see USA's only goal... and then sadly watch the rest of the game... boo Ghana... We actually were in a Tex-Mex bar, Texas Lone Star Saloon, with all the other Americans, Aussies, and Brits... was weird hearing soooo much English.

After the game, we wandered around the narrow streets of Sevilla with our Tour Director, Jesus, who is from Sevilla. Such a gorgeous city... and then to see it all lit up... amazing!! 'Course we had to grab some ice cream...and back out to our hotel we went.

Tomorrow is another busy day... which most of them have been... we're off to tour the city, visit the Cathedral, Alcazar, bull ring, hopefully Plaza de Espana... then, we're heading south to the lovely town of Ronda before hitting Costa del Sol so they can have some beach time.

It's so hard to belive that we only have 2 days left... the kids would say it feels like we've just got here... and that it feels like we've been here forever... mainly, they're tired of living out of a suitcase :) But, it's all good... they've seen some amazing things and learned soooo much... and had soooo much fun along the way.

Love the comments - keep 'em coming!! The kids love reading them as well... I'd have them blog, but they're all in bed and I'm hanging out in the lobby.

Talk soon ~ steph :)

Madrid mania

Flamenco Night in Madrid

Kids at the Royal Palace

Ice cream break on our looooooong bus ride

Obviously, we're at Zaragoza :)

Sweet Home Madrid!!
We left Barcelona early and headed west to Madrid... looooong bus ride. Stopped for a quick tour & lunch stop in Zaragoza - beautiful city - gorgeous cathedral. There were actually holes in the ceiling where a couple bombs came thru but luckily never exploded. They now are hanging on the wall. Grabbed quick tapas for lunch and got back on the bus... were prob on the bus a good 7+ hrs... ay :(

Arrived in Madrid and checked into our hotel - awesome location - right off of Gran Via - and headed to the Prado. Got to see all the amazing works of Velazquez and Goya and a whole bunch of other artists that aren't coming to me right now! :) Had a nice dinner of pasta, croquetas and ice cream :) Went out later for a walking tour... and it started pouring on us. So, we ducked into the mercado, then made a break for it and ran towards the Plaza Mayor for a Coke to try & wait it out. Ended up walking home in the ran... just not as heavy a rain.

Friday we did a city tour on the bus as well as a tour of the Royal Palace... still gorgeous as ever. :) Had a nice lunch and during our free time we headed out to the Reina Sofia museum to see some Picasso - Guernica (mainly). We then took a cab back, did some shopping, and quickly changed for an amazing evening of Spanish culture: tapas, churros y chocolate, and World Cup Soccer.

Went to this great, old place for tapas. The kids got to try ham & cheese, chorizo, tortilla espanola, calimari, as well as a bit of Sangria. The Tuna guys showed up and did some singing & playing music for them - good stuff!! We then headed for Churros y Chocolate - soooooo yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The best ever!! Afterwards, we HAD to go find a place to watch the big game: Spain v. Chile. Ended up in an Irish Pub (drinking Coke) and watching the game with all the Spaniards. Kids loved it!! Some bought flags and joined in the fun!!

Sad to leave Madrid, but now heading south - Sevilla here we come!!

I'll post pics later!!
~steph :)

Figueras y Fireworks

What a beautiful day in Barca it was today!! We headed out of the city to the little town of Figueras to tour the Dali museum. The kids LOVED it! Boy, that Dali was a strange fella... wow... Our museum guide was interesting and the kids soaked up all Dali's works... they were amazing... AND we got to take pics! I'll be able to use it all in my classes!

Once we returned to town, we went for Paella - yum yum! Some kids didn't like it, but enjoyed the chocolate cake desert... but at least they all tried Paella. After lunch, the kids split into 2 groups and hit the shops... sorry parents :) We toured the gothic quarter and got to see all the winding alley ways and some amazing architecture.

Dinner was down along the beach - buffet !! Yippee!! Today is Dia de San Juan, so we took the kids down to the beach to see fireworks and bonfires. They enjoyed dipping their toes into the warm Mediterranean. There were oodles of people out, so we packed it up early. We already had 2 people have attempted pickpocketing. ... none were my kids, but both happened right in front of me. I shooed off one and a complete stranger got another guy who had his hand in another girls backpack.

It's late... and the celebrating continues... there are fireworks going off around our hotel and every single type of firework you could think of as well... ob joy!!

Tomorrow is a long bus day - heading to Madrid - lunch/site seeing stop in Zaragoza... or is it Tharagotha?!?! :)

~steph :)

Au revoir France... Bienvenidos a Espana

Crowded quarters on the train!! :)


Parque Guell -cool kids with Jesus as our guide...

I hear it's Tuesday... it's amazing how you lose track of time, day, date... life.. when you travel... you're so absorbed in all the beauty around you, all the memories & new friends you're making that you don't worry about the day-to-day stressers... plus not having much access to the american news channels helps...

Anyways... we left Paris yesterday and are now currently in Barcelona. We stored our luggage at the hotel, & headed into Paris - wandered around the Plaza de la Concorde, & the gardens near the Louvre... another chilly, gloomy day in Paris. Saw all the good stuff in the Louvre... Mona, Venus, Nike, etc... all good, except for the fact that there were 7 million people there, pushing & shoving to see Mona... unreal... We then wandered around town, went to the perfume factory, had a lovely last meal in Paris, and had some free time to shop before heading out.

Last night we caught an overnight train to the south of France, Perpignan. Everyone was assigned a compartment of 6 (1st picture above) and you had to fit yourselves and alllll your luggage in there...ay ya ya!! It was a bit crowded with the 6 bunks, but I think the kids enjoyed the adventure - we definitely don't have that in Iowa. :) There were only 2 bathrooms for 9 compartments to use in the morning. We left Paris at 9:53 pm and got into Perpignan around 7:10 am today.

We then hopped on a bus & crossed the border - yeah Spain!! Feels sooooo good to be home!! After a bfast stop, our next stop was Tossa de mar - a LOVELY town along the coast. The kids LOVED it... me too!! Got to walk along the beach, stick my toes in the Mediterranean and have a nice, relaxing lunch seaside.

Off to Barca we went... what an amazing city! We saw the Sagrada Familia (impressive), took a city tour with a local guide, trekked around Parque Guell (the flower pics above), saw much of Gaudi's influence around the city. Saw the Olympic stadium, las Ramblas, the port area, Plaza de Espana, etc... Ay, dios mio we're pooped!!

After dinner we walked around town a bit and had to metro & tram it home. Took the kids for phone calls (most everyone got to talk to someone!!) :)

Tomorrow is another big day for us... so stay tuned to see what more adventures await the cool Iowa group!!

Con carino ~ steph :)

French Countryside

What a looooong day it's been! We left the hustle & bustle of Paris and headed out into the French countryside. We went to Chenonceau to see it's beautiful castle, gardens and maze. We went to the lovely little town of Amboise for a quick lunch and a tour of the castle. Saw where DaVinci lived at one time. Then headed to Chartres to see the beautiful cathedral and it's stained glass windows. It was a lot of bus time, but it was good napping time for the kids.

Once we got back to town, we headed off to dinner and had to get crepes afterwards.... yummmmm!!!! I then took my kids and walked around the city, heading towards the Tower to see it Sparkle... we didn't get to see it the other day and they wanted to watch it. It sparkles for 5 minutes every hour on the hour starting at 11. We sat on the bridge by the Plaza de la Concorde was awaited the twinkle lights... breathtaking... We then walked down the Champs so the kids could drool over all the amazing stores. It was a bit late, because we missed the last metro, so we took cabs home. All went well and I think they enjoyed their city tour via cab. :)

It's been so icky, rainy & cold here... am looking foward to warmer weather in Spain.

Happy Father's Day!!
~steph :)

Victory!!

It's our luggage!! Hip-Hip-Hooray!!! Here they are... exhausted from a super long day, but SOOOO elated to see their luggage that they now can't sleep!! :)

Our day started out late... our bus showed up with a microphone that didn't work, so it took an hour to replace/fix that, so we were late leaving for our city tour. Our local guide took us all over the city of Paris to see the Arc, the Louvre, Luxoumburg Gardens/Palace, Invalides, Concord Plaza, Ritz Carlton hotel, Opera, River Seine, down the Champs, across many bridges, and the Eiffel Tower. Phew...

We then headed out to the Palace of Versailles - they've added some gold since I was last there. Half did the Palace tour 1st and the other half grabbed lunch - we then switched and ended in the gardens. They were amazing - so manicured and maticulate... impressive. Got some freshly squeezed orange juice on our way out... and were just in time to see the fountains go off. They only go off for 1 1/2 hrs... not even sure it's every day!! Awesome!

We then headed back to Center City - went into Notre Dame - yeah!!
After dinner, we trekked over the the Eiffel Tower and got to go up to the top... even Erin (Cyndy - you would have been proud!!) After Eiffel Tower, we met at 10 pm and took a boat cruise of the City of Lights. Beautiful!! Luckily our boat was covered because it was a crazy weather day today. The kids have been freezing because it was probably in the 50s with spitting rain... oh joy... this afternoon/evening. A couple 'sticky fingers' snagged blankets from the airplane and have been using those... looked like hobos, but it worked. Erin & Kelly got sweatshirts at the Tower... little high priced, but worth it for the freezing kids.

We didn't get back to the hotel till 12:30 a.m. to have our Tour Director, Jesus, surprise us with our luggage!! You would've thought we'd won the lottery!!! You can see it in their faces in the picture! :)

I do have to say that I've gotten quite a few compliments from the other adults on how mature the kids have been about the whole lost luggage fiasco... they really haven't been whining... just when they're cold... but not a lot about being in the same clothes, etc... Kudos to them!!

Well, it's after 2 a.m. and I need to be up at 6 a.m. to leave at 7:30 tomorrow. Ay dios mio! We're off to Chartres & the Loire Valley - leaving the big metropolis of Paris for a while.
Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers & funny comments - all that was lost is now found!!
Hugs ~ steph :)

City of Lights... Day 1

So, we made it - yippee!! We all survived all our flights, connections, etc... even my sickie looks MUCH better than when we left Moline! :) She finally ate something at dinner.

The kids are all tucked in...pooped after a long day. Not many got a lot of sleep on the jumbo jet... and I do mean JUMBO. 61 rows...10 people across... PACKED!! Left Chicago a little late, but made our connection in Frankfurt to Paris... sadly our luggage did not.

None of us currently have luggage...none. It didn't show tonight while we were out at dinner and are hoping (fingers crossed) that it shows tomorrow... i would hate for this to damper their spirits and their trip. They (me included) are all feeling a tad gross at the moment, so new clothes would be nice. I luckily packed a change of clothes in my carry-on...others did not.

But, some good stuff about our day... we've met all the other groups traveling with us. Nice folks. Was great seeing my old friends, Garrett and Jesus...speaking of Jesus... everyone LOVED our shirts... super hit - we prob got asked 6-8 times what mission trip we were doing... lol

Kids got to climb up to the top of the Arc de Triumphe - could see the whole city from up there!! They rode the metro quite a bit, so they are learning about life in a big city real quick! We at dinner at Flam's... they're famous for their super-thin crust pizza. We scarfed down the water, the pizza and even the dessert pizza... yum yum!!

Took them to get money after dinner and then they all crashed. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow: city tour, Versailles, Notre Dame,, dinner, boat cruise & Eiffel Tower at night... sigh... good stuff. :)

Say an extra prayer that our luggage shows and our magical day ends on a happy note. :)

So, for now, I say Bonsoir y Buenas Noches!
~steph:)

Off we go...

It's that time of the year again... am off to France & Spain for 13 days. There are 7 students traveling with me (Daniel, Kari, Hannah, Desiree, Kelly, Erin & Katie). We are paired up with 4 other groups from around the States: OH, NC and 2 groups from CA. My friend, Garrett, is leading one of the CA groups - I met him and his wife, Lisa, when I was in Sicily/Tunisia a few years back. Am excited to be linked up with people I know... and to have an awesome Tour Director taking care of us---Jesus!! He was my TD 2 years ago and we are so fortunate to have him leading us around again!!

Day 1 of our journey will take us from Moline to Chicago (1 hr flight), Chicago to Frankfurt (8 1/2 hrs), then Frankfurt to Paris (1+ hr), arriving in Paris around 1:20 pm Friday. We're on United & Lufthansa and get to take a big Airbus across the pond.

This year is the year of the Royal Purple team, as you can see from our shirt design:

We are all very excited for our journey! For most of the kids, it will be their first time overseas. For me, it means going back to many places I cherish & adore, along with a variety of new places to see & explore. So, sit back, relax, enjoy reading our blog & join us on our many adventures that await us!

~steph :)