city of gaudi

barcelona is filled with work by architect antonio gaudi, who is known for his wild organic forms and colorful mosaics. we saw sagrada familia cathedral (my highlight) which has been under construction for years and will be for years more. also visited park guell, filled with whimsical forms and colorful mosaics.

with the bortolatos

our good friends, the bortolato family, live in chavanod, france, near annecy close to the border of switzerland. they have two older boys and twin girls that are mahala's age. mahala was able to join in the girls school for a couple of hours where she was treated like a rock star! they took us through the old town of annecy, up into the mountains to view annecy lake, and then higher up into the mountains to view mont blanc, the highest peak in europe, then to switzerland to see a museum and to go swim in the warm water of natural springs. we also toured the old city of lyon before heading off to barcelona by train.

must-sees of paris

we spent many hours touring the louvres's most famous pieces. mahala was impressed with the crowds at the mona lisa- but she did see it! and then we saw notre dame cathedral and finally rode the escalators at the pompidou center to view paris from up high.

sunrise to sunset in france

our first full day in paris was a full one! mahala wanted to see the sun rise at the eiffel tower so we woke up early, grabbed some chocolate croissants and jumped on the metro. and we made it! it was a beautiful morning. then we boarded the train for a 30 minute ride to versailles, palace of the kings and queens of france.

brussels, belgium

we made a quick stop in brussels on train ride to paris. many chocolate shops and fries greeted us. we walked around the historic areas including the main square, a famous heritage site, with many ornate buildings.

ghent, belgium

our first train ride took us to belgium to the small town of ghent. it is a university town and the vegetarian capital of europe, 30 minutes north of brussels. very walkable and extremely scenic with many towers and ornate flemish buildings. we walked into town from our air bnb apartment. we had one drizzly morning but it passed after 30 minutes or so. we toured the castle of the counts, climbed the belfry for views of the city and saw a famous painting in one of the many cathedrals. we enjoyed traditional waffles and fries - the best we've ever had!

when in holland...

...must see windmills! we took a day trip by bus to zaanse schans to see an old mill town. the wind mills still operate to show tourists the traditional methods of making oil and sawing wood. a beautiful sunny day out in the country was a relaxing change from bustling amsterdam.