Trip to Athens, Greece - Day 4

On Tuesday we decided to go to the sea.  We took the train (as usual) to the last stop at the piers.  The station there was above-ground and quite nice.  Right outside of the station was a lot of construction.  We walked across the street and walked around the pier and looked at all of the Ferry ships and cruise ships that were docked.  We got to see one ship come in and dock and that was quite fun. 

At the station exiting the train.

Walking on the pier.  Looking at the schools of little fish in the harbor.

Looking out at all the ships.  Many were ferries that go out to the islands.

 

A cruise ship (Italian flag)

 

Lina posing more or less willingly.

These were smaller ferries, and we assume much faster than the normal ones.

A ferry parked and unloading cars.

After we had seen the harbor, we got back on the train and rode back a few stops to a stop near some of the Olympic stadiums from the 2004 Athens games.  We went to get on the trolley to go along the coast and out to the beach areas.  We had to wait for awhile for the trolley, but it was a nice day.  This area was much more rundown and the economic difficulties were more visible.  One of the stadiums was shuttered and in disrepair.

We took the Trolley almost all the way to the end of its route.  We got off at a public beach.  The beaches were more rocky than sandy (gravelly) but the kids all kicked off their shoes and waded, threw rocks, and generally had a good time.  We spent about 90 minutes kicking around at the beach and then walked from there over to the city area and found someplace to eat. 

We wanted to have one seafood meal, so we figured the day we were near the beach would be a good day to do it.  We were walking and saw an "all you can eat" fish place.  We probably should have known better, but we went in.  The food was okay, but not great.  The prices were also okay, but not great.  Everybody got enough to eat, though so in that sense it was a success.  We took the tram back to a subway stop and from there home.  On the way home we stopped for pastries (notice that there are only 5 of them.  I am trying to cut back) and went in for the night.  We had been from one end of Athens to the other by Subway and then by trolley.  It was a fun day and a nice change of pace after our long day of walking and seeing sites the day before.

Waiting for the tram (this was the wrong number!)

Riding (getting ready to go)

At the beach!  The light was soft and the day was warm.

Kids, rocks, and water.  That always equals success and fun!

Skipping rocks.

This was a beach club just down the beach from us - a bit fancier than the public beach.

 

Heading toward town for some food.

Night cap pastries for the ladies!

Spring Break 2018 - Vietnam - Part II

Monday morning we woke up a bit late - sleeping in.  We went downstairs to the pool - only to find out that we were not allowed at the pool.  It turns out that the rental place forgot to tell us that we needed to pick up some tickets from them in order to use the pool. We got the tickets and went back down.  The kids swam and Yulia and I lounged in the shade and read our books.

A real vacation!

Our girls love swimming

And jumping into water

Lexa is a happy camper.

Lina is too.

After swimming, we came up and changed and then went looking for "street food."  We found a little place a few blocks from our hotel and sat down.  The prices were about half what we'd paid the night before, the food was yummy, and the portions were bigger.  We all had fruit smoothies along with our meals and really had a nice lunch.

Walking the streets of Nha Trang in search of food.  Plenty of scooters were also found.

Our best lunch of the trip.  Very yummy food at this hole in the wall place.

We came home and changed again and this time we all went to the beach and swam for a few hours in the ocean.  It was a great day worth of sun and swimming.  After we came home and showered and changed, we went looking for dinner.  We did a bit of walking and ended up on our block at a little restaurant.  Our experience there was a little interesting, but the food was quite good.

View of the skyline, beach, and bay from our balcony.

Walking the streets at night looking for food again.

Lina ate snails.  Lexa had a whole fish.  It was another adventurous food night.

The moment of snaily truth.  Lina shared with everyone but Mama who refused her generosity forcefully.

We stopped by the store on our way home to stock back up on breakfast foods for the next day and settled in for the night.  But not for long.  Lexa came running into our room crying that she had thrown up.  Sophie followed because she had rolled over into the throw up.  The next hour was spent cleaning up the sheets and bed and getting the kids re-situated.  Then Sophie threw up and we were back to the races.  The two of them spent the night being sick. [On a side note, I'd bought the girls blueberry Fanta that they drank before bed..... Green throw up was exciting for everyone!]

Tuesday we spent our time inside for the most part.  Nika and Lina went with Yulia to the pool in the morning, but then Nika's stomach felt upset.  Lina, Yulia, and I went to the grocery store and stopped by to pick up some food from the nearby KFC while the three girls took naps.  They pretty much slept all day.

Sick kiddo hanging out.

We had been scheduled to go on a snorkeling adventure on Tuesday, but we wrote and asked to reschedule, which they let us do - so we postponed snorkeling until Friday.

Yulia and I walking on the beach in the evening.

Night selfie!

Wednesday was another sun and fun day.  We slept in and had a late breakfast and then went to the beach and spent about two hours swimming.  The waves were very high, but the ocean was still warm and nice to be in.  There were fewer people than on previous days, but still plenty that braved the ocean. 

Swimming in the bay!

The waves were relentless.

The face of a satisfied vacationer.

Lina in the foreground - Nika, Sophie, and Papa in the background.

Proof that Yulia came with us! (The curse of being the person with the expensive camera and a desire to use it)

Builders

We came home and cleaned up and then at 4:00 went looking for dinner.  We found a seafood buffet where you cook your own food at your table.  The price was about $50 for all six of us and we really enjoyed it - it was an adventure.

Dinner at the barbecue buffet.

Squid and octopus!

At most of the places we ate, we found some pet or pets that would come and hang out at our table.  The first night in Nha Trang it was a dog and cat that fought.  The next day it was a dog at our lunch spot and birds and fish at the restaurant in the evening.  At the barbecue we had two skinny cats that came to hang out near us.  Our kids must be messy eaters and kind souls because these pets always find us.

Pets under our table fighting - from our first night in town.

Fall Break in Barcelona Part V - Our last day and trip home.

Thursday was our last day in Barcelona.  Our flight didn’t leave until just after midnight, though, so it gave us a full day in the city.  We first checked out of our apartment at 11:00.  We were able to store our bags in a different apartment for the day so we could get out and explore for the morning.

Our first stop was at a city park that had a maze in it (Parque del Laberinto de Horta).  It was a park that has been around since the 19th century and was near some of the venues for the 1992 Olympic games.  We had to walk a fair distance from the metro station to the park and then spent about an hour in the maze.  Lexa was running and fell down in the mud.  It rained early in the morning, but while we were at the park, it was nice.

Parque del Laberinto de Horta

the Maze

We divided into three groups: Nika and Lexa were together, then Sophie and Lina, and finally us, the old folks. The goal was to beat the other groups to the center of the maze. Wisdom won against the speed (in other words,  we, the parents, rock!) 

After we (the old folks) enjoyed our quiet time in the center of the maze for what felt like 15 minutes, our kids finally showed up.

By the entrance/exit to/out of the maze. As soon as we were done, a couple of big groups of school kids showed up and it became very crowded.  So, we left.

Muddy Lexa

After we had seen the park, we took the metro downtown.  Sophie was looking quite pale and we thought she was dehydrated.  We went to Burger King and got lunch.  Sophie felt better, but Lexa immediately began complaining that she wanted to throw up.  We walked in the city (we had avoided a large downpour while we ate) and saw a place that used to be a convent and where babies were dropped off on a little turnstyle.  Then we happened upon the big market in the town and saw the fresh seafood.  The market was loud and crowded, but was very impressive - especially the sheer selection of seafood that was available.

By the turnstyle. We asked the kids to look very sad as we were dropping them off at the convent. Lina couldn't play the part.  Lexa on the other hand didn't have to pretend.  Poor kid didn't feel well at the moment.

At this huge market we discovered on accident

They had rows and rows of every kind of fruit, fresh and dry.

Candy made to look like items from fast food menu.

More fruit

Still more fruit

And then they had this ginormous seafood section 

And it didn't even have this specific fish smells we've encountered at other similar markets of the world. The fish was laying on a thick layer of ice.

We stopped for gelato and then wanted to ride the funicular and the cable car at Montjuïc.  The funicular was part of the metro ride and was just a slow climbing car up and down the mountain.  The cable car up to the top of the mountain was much more impressive - and we had to pay for it.  We were riding the cable car in the middle of a downpour, so it was a very exciting ride.  Lexa threw up before we got on the funicular and once when we were down.

Inside the cable car. As soon as we got in, it was a downpour!

Switching the cable cars midway up the mountain

Pretty cool

It is Barcelona down there, but in this storm you can hardly see anything.

The cable car up close.

By the time we had gone up and down the mountain, it was about 4:30 and we went back to the apartment early.  We had told the apartment people we would be back at 6:30 to pick up our bags.  We got to the apartment building a bit after 5:00, but couldn’t get in touch with the maintenance man to get our bags.  We hung out outside and in the lobby of the building.  Lexa was quite ill and threw up a couple of times - poor girl!  We finally got in, used the bathroom, and got our bags.  We decided to take the subway to the airport and caught things just right to get there by about 8:00 p.m.  We had to wait for a couple of hours to check in, and then for about an hour and a half to board our plane which flew out at just after midnight.

At the airport. Again.

We loved Barcelona airport. This new terminal is really spacious (of course we flew out late at night, so there weren't that many flights going out).

Goodbye, Barcelona! Goodbye, Spain

We had a pretty quick layover in Moscow - a couple of hours, and were home in Astana by mid afternoon on Friday.  We had a wonderful time in Barcelona!  It is always nice to be back home, though.

And hello, Astana!