Daytona Beach 2018 Days 1 & 2

Last week we took our first vacation as a family of 3! This was Liam's very first vacation. We kept it simple and headed for the beach. Our local airport does a quick, direct flight to Orlando Sanford airport, so we figured that would be great choice for Liam's first flight since it's just under 2 hours, and then we rented a car and drove to Daytona Beach, which is about a 40 min drive from the airport.

Day 1
Liam did great on the airplane. We gave him a bottle during take of and the landing to help with his ears popping. He cried a little during the landing, but just a few wimpers. We played with him and gave him snacks on the plane. We also downloaded his favorite show, Little Baby Bum on our iPad to keep him occupied for a few min as well.

Once we landed in Daytona, we got our bags and car and headed towards the beach! The hotel we stayed at was called the Nautilus Inn, and we loved it. It's nothing super fancy, but its right on the beach, clean, family-friendly, and all of the hotel rooms have a kitchenette (microwave, full fridge, small sink, oven, stove and some cabinet storage). This was great for washing bottles, etc.

We checked into our hotel, dropped off our stuff, and headed to the pier for some dinner. We grabbed a quick personal pizza, ate, walked around briefly and headed back to our hotel. We walked on the beach for a few min, and Liam was IN LOVE. We headed back to the room to put Liam to bed, and I had a grocery delivery scheduled from Publix, so we took care of that and headed to bed ourselves.

Day 2 was Independence Day! We knew everything would be busy, so we headed to the beach early, around 10am. We figured out this week that Liam has about a 2 hour beach span and then he starts fussing. So around lunch time we came in and Liam took a nap, while Lee and I ate lunch in the room. Liam slept for just barely over 2 hours, so Lee and I took a nap ourselves, caught up on some emails, and enjoyed the balcony view.

When we all woke up it was time to get ourselves ready and head for dinner. We chose to eat at Aunt's Catfish, and it was great. I would definitely recommend it. This was our favorite food of the trip.

Waiting for our table outside Aunt's Catfish

They had a small little playground for kids to play on while waiting, and a big dock to walk out on and enjoy the view

View from the dock at Aunt's Catfish

I had a frozen cocktail with dinner, YUM! 

The food at Aunt's Catfish was so good! I don't have pics of my salad plate, but they had a HUGE salad bar with both hot and cold items. You could totally make a meal out of this if you wanted. I chose the "Pick 2" option on their menu with coconut shrimp and clamp strips, and my meal came with two sides. I chose a baked potato and the salad bar. ALL of the meals come with a cinnamon roll, and they are DELICIOUS! I was too full to eat mine, so I took it to go and ate it for breakfast the next morning. Even the next day it was so good.

After eating Aunt's Catfish, we headed back to our hotel and went for an evening walk on the beach, Liam's favorite vacation past time, and then we watched a few fireworks from our balcony.

We watched fireworks in our jammies from the balcony! Look how intrigued Liam was with the fireworks! 

The fireworks were loud outside, so we put noise cancelling headphones on him. He tried to pull them off, but once he started watching the fireworks, he was distracted enough to keep them on. Thankfully, the fireworks didn't bother us while we were inside sleeping!

Check out my next post to read about the next 2 days of our trip!

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Lee & Sara's European Adventure Part 4: Berlin, Germany

We woke up early on our last day in Munich, & flew to Berlin. Our first day in Berlin we were exhausted due to our 6:30am flight departure from Munich. We spent our first couple of hours doing laundry, had some "Mexican food". It was good, but no comparison to Mexican food we eat here in the states: think your fav local Meixan joint minus the queso. 

Me with my Mexican food in Germany... too funny! 

That night we got on the bus planning to do a little sight seeing, but the next place the bus stopped at looked really fun so we got off the bus to check it out! It was a Christmas festival! They called it the Wintergarten. It had all kinds of booths set up w food, drinks, crafts, etc. Berlin is known for its Currywurst, which is like a sausage cut up & covered in tomatoey-curry sauce. Lee tried that & I had this bread pocket filled w chicken & garlic sauce. My favorite thing we ate there was this chocolate covered strawberry kabob. The milk chocolate here is the best I've ever had! It's so milky & smooth & amazing. We spent the whole night walking around & looking at all of the Christmas lights & booths. It was probably my favorite thing in Berlin! 

Chocolate desserts at the Wintergarden

Lee's currywurst

Booths at the Wintergarden

Beautiful tree in Berlin

The next two days we spent sightseeing both by walking & from our Hop on-Hop off bus. We didn't get to see as much as we would've liked because many things were closed for New Years, but we did get to see a part that is left of the BerlinWall, the Jewish Museum, the German History Museum, & the German president's house! 

A little chunk of what's left of the Berlin wall

On New Year's Eve, we went to the Brandenburg Gate to celebrate. For the Germans, this is similar to going to Times Square in New York City. There were TONS of people there. They had djs, food and drink booths, bands, etc. Thy had a huge section if the street closed off & it was just a huge party. At midnight they had a fireworks show. This was a great time, & our sight seeing yesterday definitely suffered because of it! Haha. We made friends with two girls from the UK & spent most of the night hanging w them! It was such a memorable time for us

Look at all of those people celebrating at the Brandenburg Gate for NYE! The light in the very back is the main stage. 

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Our last night in Germany, we had one last German meal, & the next day we headed to Paris. My poor Leeroy started coming down w a cold at this point in our trip. We brought some medicine w us, but it was one of those colds where you need a few days in bed to sleep it off & he didn't want to sleep off our last 2 days of vacation, so he took medicine and pushed through. To end our time in Berlin we got up at 3:30am to get ready & get to the airport, and arrived in Paris around 9:00 a.m. 

Lee was excited for one last German meal! This statue was outside our restaurant. 

Berlin was the city we did the least amount of planning for, but we enjoyed it none-the-less. It was so fun to experience New Years Eve in another country! 

Lee & Sara's European Adventure Part 3: Munich, Germany

After visiting Rome and Venice, we ventured over to Germany and spent a short time in Munich. Munich is in the state of Bavaria, and they are known for having great food. Rightfully so, because this was by far our favorite place to eat the whole trip. Unfortunately, the way our flights worked out, this was the city we got the least amount of time in.

The flight to Munich was both good and bad: it sucked because when we checked in for our flight,w e found out that baggage was not included in our ticket price, so we had to pay extra money to check our bags. The good news is, the flight did serve way better food than all the others, and Lee got a complimentary beer and snack. During this flight we also flew over a portion of the Alps, which was so beautiful. You can see them in the picture below. 

We arrived in Munich on the 28th, and this was the only real day we had to spend in Munich. When we got off the plane in Germany, the first thing we did after claiming our luggage was crab a German Bratwurst. The airport had this open area where they had a little festival set up of food and craft booths, so we figured this would be the prefect place to grab lunch.

Here is a picture of our first German Bratwurst outside the airport.

 When we left the airport, we took the subway to our hotel. We sat next to a German couple on the subway, and the man spoke really great English, and had spent a large amount of time in America! He was so friendly and helpful, and showed us where we should get on and off the train, and also gave us some helpful hints for touring Munich. At first we were a little creeped out because he was SO friendly, that it was almost creepy, but as it turns out, he really was just genuinely trying to help some clueless American tourists!

When we got off the subway, our hotel was super close to the stop, so we didn't have to do much walking with our luggage, which was really nice. We checked into our hotel room, dropped off our stuff, and set out to explore. We wanted to make the most of this afternoon/night since we knew it was the only real day we had to spend in Munich.

We knew for sure we wanted to eat supper at the Hofbrauhaus. This is a famous German beer hall, and several people suggested that if we come to Munich, that we visit this place. It is said that Hitler once held a few meetings there. This place was amazing and I'm so glad we went. The beer I had at this restaurant was by far the very best beer I've ever had...EVER. It was a little sweet, and crisp and refreshing. So refreshing, its crazy! Lee and I had heard several times that the Germans drink their beer warm, not cold like we do here in the US. We were kind of nervous about this, but as it turns out, that is not true at all. Don't get me wrong, the beer wasn't ice cold like it is when you order a Budweiser in an icy mug, but it was chilled, and very very good.

The strange thing about eating at a place like the Hofbrauhaus, is they don't have a hostess to seat you like most American restaurants do, and they don't have a lot of individual tables. If there is a table with 8 chairs, and a family of 6 is sitting there, it's not unusual for a random couple to sit down at the two empty seats. We weren't aware of this at first, so it took us a while to find a seat, but once we figured out how it worked, we scored a place to sit.

When we ordered our drinks, they came in HUGE 1 liter mugs. As much as I love a good beer, I knew there was no way I could drink a whole liter, so I asked the waiter if they had any smaller glasses. He said only in one type of beer, so that was my deciding factor on what to order.

Here is Lee at the Hofbrauhaus with his one liter beer. 

Here is me with my smaller beer. 

Whenever we ordered, Lee ordered a pig knuckle, and I ordered a German sausage with Au Gratin potatoes. When our food came out, mine looked amazing, but Lee's did not come out as a pig knuckle. He told the waiter, and the waiter took his plate back and brought him the right plate. We were both really glad he spoke up, because the pig knuckle was amazing, and totally worth the wait. 

This is a picture of my German Sausage, Au Gratin Potatoes, and the meal that Lee did not order. This sausage had such a good flavor, and the potatoes were one in a million. They were sliced tissue paper thin, and covered in a creamy cheese sauce. If I ever go back to Munich, I definitely plan on ordering this exact same meal again, because it was definitely worth repeating. 

here is a picture of the pig knuckle + potato that Lee got. It was heavenly. 

At the restaurant, there was an upstairs and a downstairs. The downstairs was pretty full, so we found a place to sit upstairs. We didn't get one here, but one of the things they were serving was Bavarian Pretzels. As you can see, the pretzels were HUGE.

 

After we finished our dinner, there was some musical entertainment. These men played music and did a performance using whips. It was interesting to say the least! 

Once we left the restaurant, we decided just to walk around the city and enjoy our evening. Since we were in Europe around Christmas time, we got to see some of the most beautiful Christmas decor. In the city square there was a HUGE Christmas Tree decorated. Below you can see a picture of it, and to emphasize how huge it was, you can see Lee standing next to the trunk. 

We also walked saw the famous Glockenspiel, and you can see that picture below. We walked in and out of a few shops and bakeries, and finally stumbled upon this hole in the wall pub. This was definitely not a tourist spot, but I think it was fate that we ended up there. We talked to the bar tender and a local musician who was sitting at the bar, and they were so friendly, although their English was minimal. A little while later, another couple walked in speaking English, and they ended up sitting down next to us. 

The rest of the night was so much fun. We ended up drinking and talking with this Australian couple all night, and had a ball!! We shared so many stories, opinions, frustrations about the USA & Australia. This couple was so fun, and I wish we would've been able to spend more time with them during our visit in Europe. They were an engaged couple taking a trip similar to  Lee and I, except they were going to be gone from home for about a month. 

Here is Lee & I with Ryan and Gabrielle, our friends from down under. 

We stayed out partying with Gabrielle & Ryan much later than we had planned, but it was worth it because we had a great time. Probably not the most cultural experience we could've had in Germany, but we were really happy we got to meet those two. If we ever visit Australia, we will definitely call them and try to meet up again.

The next morning we got up early and got on the bus for our castle tour. This was such an awesome day. We started at the Linderhof Castle, and then onto the Neuschwanstein Castle. The Neuschwanstein was breath-takingly beautiful. This is the castle that inspired the Disney castle design, so you can see why it is so amazing. It is up in the mountains, and there is quite a hill to walk to get there.

Here is a picture of Lee in front of a waterfall on our walk up to the Nueschwanstein Castle. 

This is a view looking out from a castle window. 

Here is a side view of the castle. 

Another side view

On our way home from the Castle tour, we stopped and had some free time in this cute, tiny little German town. We walked through a couple of shops and looked around, and then we ended up at this cute, warm little diner that had an AMAZING dessert list. We went with an Apple Strudel, and it was divine, 

After we got back from our tour that night, we grabbed some dinner, took one last walk through Munich, and then headed back to our room. The next day we hopped on a plane and headed to Berlin! 

Lee & Sara's European Adventure Part 2: Venice, Italy

Our first stop of our European adventure was Rome, Italy. You can read about that part of our trip here. On Christmas morning we woke up in Rome, packed up our stuff, ate some lunch, and headed to the train station. This was the only train we rode this trip, but we really loved it! We were weary about booking train travel, because we couldn't book that until the month of our trip, and everything else we booked several months in advance. Now that we know how easy it is, we will probably do more train travel and less air travel next time. Getting on the train was much less chaotic than going to an airport, checking in, going through security, etc. All we had to do was find the station, get on, and find a seat! Once the train started, someone came around and checked our tickets. Easy as that!

Here are a few snapshots from the window of our train from Rome to Venice. 

Most businesses are closed on Christmas Day, so we figured this would be a good day to travel. We got to Venice that evening and had to take the Vaporetti to get to our hotel. The Vaporetti is like a water bus. Venice is a group of very small islands, and there are no real roads there. To walk around the city, you walk through small alley ways and over bridges. There are no cars there what-so-ever. Their public transportation is the Vaporetti, and they also have water taxis and of course Gondolas.

Once we got to our hotel, we were STARVING! The man working the front desk at our hotel told us that there were only a couple of places open. We chose the place closest to the hotel, and were so glad we did. This restaurant was serving 3 course meals, and this is where Lee and I had the very best lasagna we've ever tasted! It had a hint of cinnamon in it, and as strange as that sounds, it was amazing!

We're only on our second city, and Lee is already tired of me taking pictures of him! haha. This is him and his first course on Christmas night. Below is the best lasagna we've ever tasted. 

The next day was our first full day in Venice. We didn't have any excursions booked, but we knew there were a few things we wanted to see. This day we toured a small church and an art museum, did some shopping near the Rialto Bridge (Venice's most famous bridge/shopping area), then we spent some time in St. Mark's Square & St. Mark's Basilica, and toured the Doge's Palace. St Mark's Square is the main attraction in Venice, and is what you would probably see if you were to see part of Venice in a movie. The Doge's palace was the palace of the "presidents" when Venice was its own state. Now that it is part of Italy, the palace has been preserved and used as a tourist attraction.

Not sure if you can see it, but Lee and I each stood on a bridge and took each other's pictures. This is what venise is like: lots of canals and little waterways and cute little bridges. 

This is a picture of the main waterway going through Venice

Here is Lee in front of an old gondola on display. This was in the courtyard of the Doge's palace. 

Here is a picture of the front of the Doge's Palace. So many sculptures and details on the outside of the building. 

The Doge's Palace is boxed in and there is a large courtyard in the middle. This picture is taken from that courtyard. 

This is a picture from inside a window of the Doge's Palace. 

Here is a picture of Lee and I in St. Mark's Square. Of course there is scaffolding everywhere, because they happened to be doing construction on it while we were there. The ground looks wet, and it was! This area floods commonly while the tide is high, and that was something really cool we got to see while we were there. 

Our second day in Venice we went to the top of Venice's bell tower & got to see the city from the top. It was really beautiful! We could see the city, the water, and the mountains, all at once.  We think they were the Dolomite Mountains. Next we went to two small islands called Murano & Burano. Murano is the island where they specialize in glass blowing & sculpting, & Burano is known for lace making & it's pastel colored houses, both of which were really awesome! In Murano we got to see a guy sculpting & blowing glass, but we got to Burano too late to see any of the lace being made, but we did purchase a lace hankie as a wedding gift for a friend, and it was beautiful!  That evening we took a gondola ride. That was really fun too because you got to see the buildings all from a different view. This night we were about 6 days into our trip, and we caved and ate some American food: Hard Rock Cafe, and I don't know if I've never been so happy to eat hot wings and ranch haha! This is the one and only time I ate ranch on this trip, and even when I went to Spain in college, they did not have ranch...the Europeans just don't know what they're missing out on! 

This is the Hard Rock Cafe we ate at in Venice. 

Here is our view from the top of the bell tower. You can see the city, water, and mountains all in one picture. So beautiful! 

A selfie of me and my love at the top of the bell tower. 

Here is a guy melting and forming glass in Murano. 

Lee loved this old wooden boat! 

A view of the water, mountains, and sun beginning to set in Burano. 

Here is a pic of the pastel colored homes in Burano. 

One of the best things about traveling over Christmas is seeing all of the lights and decor! I LOVE Christmas and everything that goes along with it! 

We enjoyed the sights we saw, but really the best part about Venice was the city itself. Even though it was cold, we loved seeing all of the boats, and the water, etc. It was so fun just to walk around and see all of the canals & bridges, window shop, etc. Venice is such a cool place!

Here are a few pics of us eating and drinking. Ignore my make-up-less face please! 

Speaking of window shopping, Lee found some Duff beer like they serve on The Simpson''s. We tried it out. It wasn't anything amazing, but it was cool to see that product in a touristy shop in Venice! 

I can't seem to find any pics of us on our Gondola ride, but once I find those, I will add them to this post. Our next stop after Venice was Munich, Germany! Check out my next blog post to read about how fun our visit in Munich was! 

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