Short Spa Getaway at Zwaluwhoeve

My last spa trip in the fall was with two mom friends I made through Jude's baby group. When one of my friends from Maeve's baby group saw my post, it inspired her to plan one. It was just an hour away and for only one night so it didn't seem too indulgent to ask Pete if I could go off again. And it was only 50 euros for a shared hotel room with breakfast and entrance to the spa for a day! 

The group was queried and we settled on Zwaluwhoeve, which has bathing suit weekends once a month :) The spa doesn't have an attached hotel, but the trip planner (not me for once!) found our deal at Kasteel van Essenburgh. No, we did not get to stay in the charming Castle shown below. We were in the poor man's annex building, but we still got to check it all out. 

We spent all day Saturday at the spa. Lots of cute outdoor saunas on the nice grounds. And lots of time for girl talk, including in the Pratensauna (the talking sauna). While the girls who arrived later went off for lunch, I took to a cozy sofa indoors to read. Who was I kidding. Nearly 2 hours later, I awoke from the glorious afternoon nap, ready to relax the rest of the day away!

Refreshed, we returned to the hotel to get ready for dinner at Kleine Parijs in Harderwijk.

The evening's wine pairings (plus bottle of Prosecco at the spa), day light savings, 7am ringing church bells and screams from a chid in the hallway foiled my big plans for sleeping in. We enjoyed a lazy morning over breakfast and a short walk around the grounds before taking off.

Two of us had time to check out Harderwijk by day. Yet another cute Dutch town. This one along the water with a beachside cafe reminiscent of Margaritaville. It was next door to the Dolfinarium so I hope we can return with the kids some day. Speaking of kids, those sweeties were napping when I returned home and I was so happy to snuggle them when they woke up!

Guys' Trip to Prague

We celebrated Pete's big 35 a few weeks ago. The celebrations at home were tame as Pete was resting up for his celebratory weekend guys' trip to Prague. Two of Pete's friends from ISA used to work at the International School in Prague and Pete kept saying how fun it would be to go with them and to get to explore more of the beer scene that we missed out on while traveling there with Jude while I was pregnant. He invited just a few buds to keep the group manageable. From what I've been told, they had a great time and saw the inside of nearly every bar in Prague :) They did do one cultural thing- crossing the Charles Bridge.... to go to a bar on the other side :)

I had hoped he would have spring weather as we had already experienced Prague in winter, but with a dusting of snow on the ground and freezing temps, they needed all of that beer to keep them warm!

I had a great time home alone with the kids. We made morning and afternoon play dates at friends' houses both days and had a lot of fun socializing. I also knew that at the end of the week, I would get my rest on my mamas' spa weekend and that definitely helped keep me going!

When the Canals Freeze Over (and we miss it)

What we missed while we were gone in Spain was sub zero temps most of the week in Amsterdam accompanied by fierce winds. It was described as the "Siberian Bear." Everyone was anticipating if and when the canals would freeze. And they did! Saturday was the big day for people risking it out on the ice. We only heard a few stories of people falling in (no one we know). I was loving all of the pictures and videos filling my feeds. If we had gotten on our original flight home, it still would have been too late in the day to go into the city with the kids to see it, but I had imagined we'd get up first thing Sunday morning and drive in. The weather was warming quickly throughout the day Sunday. So by the time we got there around 3pm, the canals were in thaw mode. A few solid icy areas in shade, but lots of ice bergs. Maybe next year!

Here's what we missed:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/03/03/amsterdam-canals-freeze-over-providing-perfect-opportunity-ice-skaters/391783002/

Previous Post all about the Canals Freezing Over

.... Or Do They? (Unexpected Stay in Lisbon)

Considering how much travel we do, it has always amazed me how few mishaps we have had. This trip really put us to the test!

Our flight home on Saturday had a layover in Lisbon... you can see where this is going.

Our flight from Seville was close to 2 hours delayed, meaning we would be missing our connecting flight home. I knew there was a later flight out of Lisbon so I spent an hour on hold with the airline hoping to get us rebooked on that flight. This was all in an attempt to avoid the situation where one of us would be standing in a never ending service line in Lisbon while the other wrangled the kids in the airport. It was all in vain as I was told that the airline would sort things out for us once we arrived in Lisbon. When we arrived in Lisbon and I confirmed that our connecting flight had departed, I was filled with such dread for the rest of the day ahead of us. 5 hour wait in the airport to (hopefully) get on the next flight out, arriving home after 11pm with two exhausted children (and parents).

So we head through the Lisbon airport looking for the TAP Portugal desks. We find them and the anticipated mile long line. Wanting to make sure we are in the correct line, I approach a worker who is finishing a conversation with another travelr. "Excuse me," I say, "We missed our connecting flight to Amsterdam. Is this the right line to be in." "Oh, you were scheduled on the Amsterdam flight? I was looking for you. Anyone else here headed to Amsterdam?" She then proceeded to explain that the next flight with availability was at 8am the next morning and handed out pre-filled in vouchers for hotel, taxi, meals and our boarding passes for the next day.

Why we got this special service and all the other people in line didn't, I don't know. I just know that I was elated! No waiting all day in the airport. No arriving home late at night to a house with the heat turned way down. And a day in Lisbon!

Leaving our checked bags at the airport (what's one more night without luggage when we'd already had 2!?), we get shuttled to the nearby Marriott where we joined the displaced masses for a lunch buffet. The dessert section had jello and I was so happy to introduce one of my favorites to the kids :) Once we figured out where the heck we were in Lisbon, we realized we were a 10 minute walk from the zoo and a children's museum. It was getting close to closing time, but we were up for some fresh air so we checked out the children's museum. Really cute. Multiple rooms exploring different professions. A music room where we did some sweet jamming. An indoor fire station with slide and pole. A great diversion for a strange, strange day.

Who knew we'd be back to Lisbon so soon!

This was a really clever activity where there were boxes of pictures with different color frames. You had to put one framed picture with the corresponding colored dot to create a story to act out.  

Getting two kids to sleep who are not used to sharing a room was an interesting experiment that I hope to not repeat for a while. Maeve woke us all up at 4:30am (5:30 am "our time") so our alarm set for 5:30 was pointless. Otherwise, it was a smooth travel day back home to Amsterdam, thank goodness!

All Good Vacations Must Come to an End

Our last day in Seville was another grey, rainy day. So Pete took the kids in the morning to the aquarium...

... while I tracked down our umbrella that we had left at the restaurant the night before. The line for the cathedral was too long out in the rain and wind, so I went to one of the convents where the nuns sell treats from behind a giant lazy Susan.

List of treats for sale. Nuns are behind the lazy susan. 

Feeling a little lost with no plans and time to myself, I wandered the Jewish quarter again and did some souvenir shopping before ducking into the General Archives of the Indies, the former merchant's exchange, which now houses all of the valuable archives regarding the Spanish exploration of the Americas. 

Private residence

I met the family for lunch at our tapas spot. Pete finally got a "cup" of gazpacho, a craving he'd had since we arrived in Spain.

Pete ducked out during nap time to Hospital de la Caridad, a charity hospital, which houses an art filled chapel. First some humor at Starbucks. 

In what language is this "Pete"? 

Then I took my turn touring the majestic Catedral de Sevilla. It was completed in the 16th century and became the largest church in the world, over taking the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul at the time. It is currently the 3rd largest church in the world and the largest Gothic church. St. Peter's Basilica and Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Brazil are 1st and 2nd. Christopher Columbus and his son, Diego, are buried in the church. Columbus' tomb is really cool. There is also the largest alter in the world in the church- intricate wood carvings depicting the life of Jesus. I spent a long time behind the barricade, examining the scenes. Other highlights of the Catedral include a climb up La Giralda bell tower. The tower is the former minaret of the mosque that stood on the site under Muslim rule. When the mosque was converted to a Cathedral, the minaret was spared, though the top was altered. To reach the top, you walk up the ramps that go up and up the 32 floors of the tower. Apparently the ramp was built inside so that a horse could carry the man who led the call to prayer up the tower multiple times a day.

Views from the tower of the orange trees in the Cathedral's courtyard. 

Our apartment, 3 buildings down on the left of the main road. Our roof top terrace had a view of the top of La Giralda, but the weather wasn't nice enough to enjoy it. 

Pete's one complaint about the cathedral was that they closed off the middle section so that you cannot see the length of it from one end or another. Even with that, it still felt massive. 

There were a lot of side rooms that felt like museums with high domed ceilings and lots of art and artifacts.

Christopher Columbus' Tomb

There was an angle mirror so that you could take in the amazing ceiling.

The impressive alter

Jesus' birth, bottom right. The last supper, top right. 

It was close to closing time so I reluctantly exited the church and spent some time in the orange tree grove. Orange trees are every where in Seville and while the oranges themselves are really fragrant, their taste is super bitter (yes, we tried one that we found on the ground). Maeve couldn't understand why we wouldn't let her collect them all!

 

 

Meanwhile, back at the apartment, Pete and Jude were entertaining themselves while packing...

The rain had finally stopped so we brought the kids out to the square again to run off some energy.

 

For our last night, we had another night out. This time to a flamenco show (a must do in Seville) and one final late night tapas dinner. 

Maybe it was because of our travel woes, but this week long trip felt so much longer, in a good way. I'm so glad we finally got to see this corner of the globe! And I really do hope to return to Sevilla on a sunny day!