Gran Canaria, Spain - Part 2

On Friday, after returning back to the hotel it took awhile to figure out exactly what to do.  After reading some news we realized we weren't getting out that day, so we re-booked our room for another day and waited for news from our travel agent.  The next day (Saturday) we found out our travel agent was handling everything (although very slowly!).  After another 4 hours of "Are we staying, or going?" we found out that our agent had re-booked us from Saturday until Monday.  So we were actually able to relax and know that we would at least be there through the weekend. 

Waiting to see where we were going to be sleeping that night...

I love Abbey's face in this picture:

Laundry!  I always pack at least one extra outfit for Abbey and myself on a trip... this time I had 2.  Not quite enough!

We finally got her to "swim."  She loved it!

A little blueberry and apple snack...

Because the travel forecast was looking dim, we decided to move to a hotel-apartment that had a kitchen so we could enjoy some home cooked meals.  On Monday they told us to have our bags packed because we could leave at any minute.  They called us at 5:45 pm with an offer to fly that night, departing at 7:30 pm and arriving at midnight.  The major problem was that the flights were into 2 cities that are at least a 4 hour drive and we had no idea if we would be able to get a hotel room or even how we would get home the next day.  So we declined their offer to save Abbey some major strife.  On Tuesday we were almost certain we would be going home.  There was a flight scheduled for home and since we were the first flight canceled, we figured that we should logically be on it.  That flight left and we never got a call.  I ended the day pretty disappointed because there were forecasts of more ash clouds.  We found out later that the flight on Tuesday didn't even land in Nuremberg and the flights on Monday evening didn't land in the cities they were supposed to.  We are so thankful that we weren't on those flights!  The next morning our agent called us at 7 am and said, "We have a flight to your destination for you and the bus will pick you up at 8."  Yay!  We got on a bus with many many other people and headed to the airport.  I was very dubious that we would get on the flight.  I was also dubious that if we did get on the flight that we would actually land where we wanted to!  We had a wonderful agent at the airport who was so patient with a lot of frustrated and impatient travellers.  Finally, at 7:30 pm we made it home!  It was a long 6 days, but those days were filled with insanely gorgeous weather, fun and adventure. 

Gran Canaria, Spain - Part 1

A few weeks ago we decided we wanted to take a nice trip somewhere sunny and warm to celebrate our 5th anniversary.  We did a bit of research and thought the Canary Islands sounded fun and it's a pretty popular destination for European holidays.  The Islands are part of Spain, but they are located off of the coast of Morocco.  We booked a trip through a travel agent and off we went on April 10!  The hotel we picked was the Villa del Conde in Costa Meloneras, Cran Canaria which is at the southern tip of the island.  The Canary Islands aren't overly conducive to beach swimming because the water is super cold!  I stepped in the sea and marvelled at all of the little kiddos running around braving the frigid temperatures.  The hotel we were in had wonderful swimming pools, though.  One of them even had a sandy beach!  The walk along the sea shore was so lovely, and ocean was such a deep blue and endless!

Daddy's sunglasses were a huge hit during the trip. 

There is an area on the island with large sand dunes near to where we stayed.  It was like a mini-desert!  Gran Canaria has mountains, rainforests and a desert... with Abbey it was easier to just stay closer to the hotel so we just saw the dunes.  

She finally warmed up to playing in the sand...

We had breakfast included with our stay.  It was super tasty and they had champagne every morning.  I love champagne. 

She looks so proud of getting strawberry all over the nice white linens.  I think she stained more than one tablecloth during our stay.

This was our "last" breakfast... we headed up to check out and found out we weren't going to be going home that day!

  

Stuck in Gran Canaria...

Today is the 5th day that we have been stuck in Gran Canaria, Spain and it is the 11th day we have been gone.  Gran Canaria is part of the Canary Islands off of the coast of Morocco.  We were supposed to head home on Friday, April 16.  When we went to check out of our room the cashier said, "Germany is closed."  Since we were on vacation we didn't bother looking at the TV or the news even once so we had no idea what was going on!  She called our airline and they said that our airport was open so we headed to the airport and partway there the bus turned around and they drove us back to our hotel.  We have been making the most of it, but it would be nice to back where our kitchen is, Abbey's crib is and probably the most important: where our washing machine is! 

We are still enjoying the sunshine and the sound of the ocean crashing along the shore, but for now I have a certain "Beach Boys" song running through my mind... and it's not "Kokomo!"  Although I would hasten to say that it has been a great trip and is not "the worst trip I've ever been on."

Feiertag with Daddy...

A "Feiertag" is a bank holiday in Germany.  We are at the end of the Easter weekend... I have to post the majority of this series because it was so sweet.  Stu was resting on the couch when I got Abbey up from her nap.  They had a little snuggle session together and I couldn't help but try to capture some of it...

Ty's visit

My brother came to town!  We had a great visit and enjoyed hanging out together.  We went to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Nürnberg and took a trip down to Munich and of course relaxed at home.  The weather was typical Spring... cool mixed with warm mixed with sun and some sprinkles! 

Our first trip was to Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  On a trip there last year we had an injury and on another trip I got a speeding ticket (yikes!).  I was very glad that this trip was less eventful!  I don't know what's going on with my very khaki outfit, though!

We found a fantastic cafe that had a play area. 

Abigail really does smile a lot... she's just camera shy!!

We went to Nürnberg on Good Friday.  We ate at our favorite restaurant and Ty treated us.  Sneaky!

To keep Abbey occupied in the car, Ty gave her his watch one time.  She probably would have kept it the rest of the time he was there.  She loved it!

Munich was packed!  It was the Saturday on Easter weekend, meaning it is the only day from Thursday until the next Tuesday that shops are open!  Plus the weather was insanely gorgeous.

Waiting for noon at the Glockenspiel...

Playing with Uncle Ty...

She was so content sitting and playing with him!  So adorable!

Thanks for visiting, Uncle Ty!