The Graduate

Caitlyn graduated from Pre-K today and she couldn't be more excited. She was even voted "Most Creative" in her class. Her school had a nice party and she got to enjoy the moment with all her classmates. Check out the party here.

Memorial Day

We had a great time enjoying our extended weekend. Check out the pictures from our big party.

Day 10 - Mallorca

Our final cruise day took us to Mallorca. Mallorca de Palma is a small island off the coast of Spain. The island is a great mix of old and new. We took the 100 year old train to Port de Soller to enjoy the sites, grab some Cappucino and even managed to pick up some Mallorcan pearl earings for Laura. The shot above is of the Mallorcan cathedral and was taken as we departed. This was actually the last picture I took on the cruise and one of my favorites. Check out the other sites from our visit.

Day 9 - Day at Sea

We spent day 8 out at sea, sailing from Sardinia towards Mallorca.

Day 8 - Sardinia

Day 8 brought us to Sardinia and its largest city, Cagliari. We spent most of the day wandering around the town and enjoyed the day. Check out all the pictures here.

Swim class

Caitlyn is getting ready for the summer with some swim classes. She's almost got it down and is gaining confidence every day.

Day 7 - Malta

When setting out on this journey, I looked over the itinerary and thought..."HHhhhmmm..Malta. Didn't I learn something about that place in history class?" Well, turns out Malta was the location where the Italians surrendered to the Americans in World War 2. It also happens to be home of Mdina glass, the Maltese Cross, and some of the best scenery we visited. The great weather returned and we had a day that started with a botched cab ride, a step back into medeival times, and a stroll through the streets with a stop for a cup of cappucino. All in all, a great day. See more of Malta and Mdina here.

Day 6 - Sicily

Home of the Mafia. Home of the Godfather. Home to thick crust Italian Pizza. Day 6 took us to the island of Sicily and a visit to Mount Etna, Taormina, and Castelmola. The tour was pretty laid back and the weather did not cooperate at all, it was either foggy or raining. Either way we enjoyed our visit. We stopped into Pizzeria Trattoria in Taormina for a Pizza. We asked the waiter..."Do you have the thick crust Sicilian Pizza?" Our waitor looked at us like the American tourists we were and said in a heavy Italian accent "But of course..." Well...the pizza came out like just about any other pizza. No thick crust, but Sicilian nonetheless. Apparently Pizza Hut has been pulling one over on us for all these years.
View more images here.

Day 5 - Amalfi & Pompeii

Day Five brought us to Naples & a visit to the Amalfi Coast & Pompeii. The weather was a bit overcast but the scenery was breathtaking. We visited Positano, Praino & Ravello. Our guide, Mariano, was great and we even got to have lunch at his cousin's restaurant. Some of the best Pizze and Pasta I've ever had. After a couple of bottles of wine in Ravello, we headed over to Pompeii for a tour. It is really amazing to see how advanced they were at that time (79 AD) and what they were able to accomplish. Check out the full gallery here.

Day 4 - Rome

Day Four was on to Rome. We grabbed a Taxi and headed right to the Colloseum. Last time in Rome in 1999, We didn't make it in, but that was the first thing we did. We spent the next 8 hours walking around the city including Trevi Fountain seen here. When you look at the rest of the gallery, take a look at the picture from behind Travi fountain looking out at the crowd. That's a shot you don't see often and it lets you know how crowded the place is. I swear I threw a Euro coin into the fountain and some guy caught it before it hit the water. We were lucky enough to be there on April 25th, which coincides with the Italian national holiday celebrating Mussolini's assassination. Take a look at the entire gallery.

Singin' in the Rain

Now that We're back in Atlanta, We've left behind the great European springtime and returned to a wet spring in the south. Luckily, the girls are able to make the best of it, no matter what the weather is like.


Chloe still hasn't figure out how to use the umbrella to cover herself.

Caitlyn and Josie enjoy the day. As Caitlyn said "Whoooaaa...that is a big umbrella!"

Day 3 - Cinque Terre & Pisa

On the 2nd stop of our cruise, We docked outside Florence, Italy and made our way to Cinque Terre, literally translated "The five lands." The tour was a combination train and walking tour through 5 small villages along the Italian coastline. After the tour we were able to make a quick stop in Pisa, where we grabbed this shot. For the full gallery click here .

Day 2 - Cannes, Monaco, Eze & Saint-Paul de Vence France

The second day of our vacation and the first cruise stop was Cannes. From what we could tell there wasn't a whole lot going on in Cannes, but We took a tour over to Monaco, over to a medieval village called Eze, past Nice and into a small village named Saint Paul De Vence. The picture above is of the world famous Monte Carlo Casino. We wanted to go in and play the nickel slots, but they didn't open until 2:00. I tried to find Joe, whose Rolls Royce was parked outside, to see if he could let us in, but no luck.
Eze and St Paul de Vence are both small villages built right into the mountaintop to discourage invaders of the past.
To see the entire Cannes gallery click here.

Day 1 - Barcelona

Day 1
We started off the trip in Barcelona and took a hop on-hop off bus tour of the city. The most striking feature of the city is the famous Sagrada Familia church designed by Gaudi. Antoni Gaudi is known for his particular style and the word "gaudy" comes from his name.
For the entire Barcelona gallery click here

Pompeii

Visiting Pompeii was amazing. The ruins are incredibly well preserved and you are able to see an entire town as it was in 79 AD. We saw a bar, a few homes, the courthouse, and even a brothel. In this picture you can see the ruts on the path that were caused by the Roman chariots. For more on Pompeii click here

Sardinia

Most people who visit Sardinia visit for the beaches. Unfortunately, We couldn't make it to the other side of the island during our brief stay. We did, however, sit down at this great little outdoor cafe for a drink.

The Colosseum

When we visited Rome 8 years ago, We were too cheap to spend the 6 Italian Lire (no Euros back then) to go inside the Colosseum. This time it was priority #1. It lived up to all expectations. You really get the feel for what it was like nearly 2000 years ago and what an awesome sight this was then and still is now. For more on the Colloseum, click here.

Amalfi Coast

Part of our tour took us to the Amalfi coast. We visited Praino, Ravello, & Positano. This shot is an early morning picture of the road that winds down through the coast.

Paris

Our flight home connected in Paris and we were able to spend about 18 hours in Paris. We made the most of it and, of course, I got the obligatory Eiffel tower shot.

During the cruise we had our new friends, Justin & Lori available to snap pictures of us, however, they weren't in Paris with us...So....this is proof we were there. I needed to stretch as far as I could to get both us and the tower. Not the strongest pic I've taken, but hey, you get the idea.

Mallorca

Here's a shot of the Parc de la Mar in Palma de Mallorca.

We toured the island on an old wooden train (Ferrocarril de Sóller) that took us from one port to another. More pics from that trip later. I'm still trying to get organized but should have a whole bunch up tomorrow

Back from Europe

We just finished a 10 day Cruise through the Western Mediterranean. I'm a little jet lagged right now, but plan on posting pictures for the next few weeks. Here's a shot of the Spanish steps in rome