Prague, Czech Republic

Munich, Germany :: Third Reich Tour & the Hofbrauhaus

Earlier this month we took the train down to Munich. Highlights of the trip? 

Third Reich Tour led by an Irish man. Dinner at the famous Hofbrauhaus. 

Stumbling upon Taco Libre- where we ended up eating TWICE in less than 24 hrs. 

 Don't judge. Good Mexican food is hard to come by in Germany. 

Boleslawiec, Poland:: Polish Pottery

I'd already been to Poland for pottery once, but when a friend told me about the MWR trip that was coming up- I knew I had to go again. Poland is kind of a tricky trip. It's a far enough drive where you wouldn't want to do it all in one day, but there's not much else around Boleslaweic to validate staying the night. So when I was told that I would be driven on a chartered bus in the company of some of my favorite girls and not have to worry about a thing I was sold. The only down side was the time schedule. It was a little crazy. We left at midnight on Friday night and arrived in Poland at 5:45 am. Believe it or not, the owners of multiple shops were ready for us and the shopping officially began. We continued shopping until about 11 when we stopped for lunch. Just a few short hours later and we were  at it again. After touring 14 different pottery shops we finally called it a day. When I finally made it home I was exhuasted and proceeded to fall asleep before 9 pm. I slept for about 12 hours straight. :)

At our second stop I found a limited edition collection that I just had to get my hands on. It was perfect for so many reasons.

1. I was actually able to find complete set- which can be really hard to do. 
2. The set had everything I had on my list: pitcher, ice cream bowls, and a coffee cup for Ross. 
3. It was the perfect mixture of modern and classic Polish pottery. If you've ever seen Polish pottery you know it's customary for a lot of floral patterns and blues. Neither of which I have in our house. So when I found this fun polka dot pattern I was so excited. 

Pisa Shenanigans

jumping   //   throwing   //   handstands   //   drinking

(Plus a little photobombing from an almost 2 yr. old)

All necessary for a day of fun in Pisa. 

first glimpse:: Leaning Tower of Pisa

Bagno Mary:: Seafood Spaghetti Buffet

It took us a couple days, but on our last night we finally did dinner right- Italian style! We waited until 7:30-8:00 to go to dinner. The unusual stares and modified dinner menus the first two nights were our hint that dinner at 6:00 was way too early for the Italians. We went next door to Bagno Mary and made a reservation for their 25 EURO All You Can Eat Seafood Spaghetti buffet. We weren't really sure what was in store, but it was recommended as having some of the best fresh seafood and, lets be serious, as Americans we were all over a 'buffet'. For 25 EURO we were given 1 bottle of wine per couple, an appetizer, three different types of seafood spaghetti, and dessert. A ridiculously good deal. The food was amazing! And there was so. much. food. We were told we could order as many plates as we wanted, but after "sampling" (i.e. an entire serving) each type of spaghetti we were barely able to muster up enough room for one more platter of spaghetti for the table. Bagno Mary was the perfect way to end our adventures in Tuscany.  

Tirrenia, Italy:: Sun & Sand

RECAP:: Pisa & Tirrenia, Italy

FLIGHT: RyanAir

With our upcoming move, most likely the last time we'll be flying out of Frankfurt-Hahn.

Quick flight direct to Pisa in under 2 hours!

TRANSPORTATION 

We were in a group of 4 couples, 2 of which had kids so we did a mix & often went with whatever was most convenient at the time. Sometimes we took a taxi, sometimes we took a bus. When we did pay to ride the bus it was very cheap. (Italy seemed pretty lax- we rarely saw anyone pay.) It was less than 3 EURO per couple for a 70 minute ticket.

HOTEL: Grand Hotel Continental 

One of the pricier hotels we've stayed at but perfect for our beach front desires. Breakfast was included and they had a convenient lunch buffet by the pool. AC worked great and the hotel was conveniently located. Gelato stands and restaurants just around the corner. Short taxi ride or 25 minute bus ride to Pisa. Perfect mix for relaxing on the beach and sightseeing in the city. 

Park Guell

Park Guell is located on the El Carmel hill. We found the closest metro stop to the park, but obviously it was at the BOTTOM of the hill. We didn't have exact directions to the park and honestly just started walking in the general direction of the other tourists in front of us. They took an immediate left at the first block and so we followed. There we faced with some of the steepest steps I've ever seen. Those steps successfully led us to Park Guell, but we soon found out it was not the most efficient way. When we finally reached the gate to the park we looked over to our right and saw an escalator that would have taken us up the entire way. If we had just walked one more block further than we did we would have seen signs for the escalator and had a much easier time. We had a good laugh about it and eventually admitted that wandering on our own path definitely made for a memorable experience. 

Incredible views of the city. 

In the background you can faintly see La Sagrada Familia.