The Smoly Adventures

After our journeys in Brittany and Normandy, we all were ready for another beach vacation where the water was significantly warmer than the English Channel. We had family scheduled to come and visit us at the end of June/beginning of July, and it was jointly decided that Sicily would be our destination of choice; though getting there would end up being an adventure in and of itself. 

Once again, we flew Ryanair, and for the prices, who wouldn't? Departing Frankfurt was straightforward and we landed in Catania, located south of Mt. Etna, basically on-time. The AirBnB we had reserved was located about an hour south of the airport, so we were eager to get on our way... only to find out that our rental car, reserved many months in advance, wasn't available. The short version was that the van we reserved had been checked out prior to our arrival and the agency allowed the prior renter to extend their reservation--putting our 7-person group in a quandry. Two hours later, we had two vehicles (the second one at no-cost to us), and were finally on our way south to Lido di Noto. 

During this entire episode, I had been in communication with our AirBnB host regarding our status, who was genuinely shocked and dismayed at our experience. Once we were on the road, our host asked if her in-laws, who lived on a section of property, could prepare some pasta for us once we arrived; we accepted this gracious offer, not realizing what was about to happen.

After the tumult of the rental car agency, we welcomed the easy drive on the Sicilian highway. We arrived at the AirBnB parked the cars inside the gated yard and were shown the residence. Then our host's in-laws provided some food. Fresh bruschetta was laid out before us on the table, as was a small meat and cheese tray. Being well past 10 pm, we figured we'd call this dinner and retire for the evening--then the pasta came. A huge bowl of piping hot pasta, sauce and fresh basil. Never before had we had such a meal or hospitality! We went to bed with full stomachs looking forward to the next day.

Daybreak came, everyone slept in, some arose; then a knock at the door. It was our host bearing a tray of fresh garlic bread.  A short while later, another knock and a fresh pizza was presented. To this day, I am blown away by the Sicilian hospitality we experienced. If you go to southeast Sicily, definitely considering this AirBnB!

We selected our AirBnB for its proximity to one of the island's family friendly beaches. The Italian government rates beaches using a color system, and Lido di Noto owns the highest rating. An easy 10 minute walk from the house, the beach was perfect for our boys. We spent three long mornings on the sand and in the water. The boys enjoyed the sandbar and Sam taught himself to swim with his float vest! We ate dinner twice at the Alta Marea restaurant right on the beach. The food, the wine and gelato were great and we'd recommend it to you all.

About 30 minutes inland from Lido di Noto is the city of Noto, a UNESCO world heritage site. Known for its three cathedrals, it was amazing to see not one, but three Sicilian weddings taking place in their finest suits and dresses. We walked the main thoroughfare, pausing for dinner at a small restaurant near the central cathedral and watched in amusement as the photographer attempted to wrangle the wedding party for photos before the happy couple departed in their Maserati.




Our departure day came and it was hot. Sweltering. An area of high pressure came up from the Sahara Desert and began settling itself over Europe delivering above 100 degree temperatures. As we drove north toward Catania, we stopped in Syracusa to visit the Neapolis Archeological Park, which was one of the larger settlements of Magna Grecia. The highlight is the Greek amphitheater that could seat several thousand. Have I mentioned that it was hot?  After walking to the amphitheater, we took refuge in a dug-out cave before making our way to the Ear of Dionysius. The Ear is a man-made cave carved into the solid rock and extends for some 65 meters. The boys enjoyed hearing their voices echo throughout the chamber.




We wrapped up our time at Neapolis with cold drinks and ice cream, and then fled to the air conditioned confines of a mall near the airport. Yes, we hid out in a mall for a few hours--the heat was downright unbearable--especially with Janet being just past 20 weeks pregnant at the time. We grabbed lunch, and another ice cream before heading to the airport and our flight back to Frankfurt.

We loved Sicily and only scratched the surface of all there is to see. Sicily is a place that we'd definitely go back to with Palermo and the Valley of the Temples at the top of our list to visit. 

Our long-anticipated week-long trip to Brittany and Normandy took place this past June. This was a trip that had been in various stages of planning for well over a year and it was exciting to finally get under way. This trip would include some of the iconic sights of the two regions, and would include taking part in the 75th Anniversary commemorations of Operation Overlord, better known as D-Day.

There are several schools of thought regarding how to structure a travel itinerary. For this trip, it was decided that a farthest-to-closest approach would work best. What this choice meant was an incredibly long drive out to Saint-Malo.  In total, this leg of the trip took over nine hours (when accounting for stoppage time), and we were able to get checked into our AirBnB right on the beach in short order.

Brittany


St-Malo is an awesome French beach town. The historic walled old city dominates the north-facing seawall and was completely rebuilt following World War II--and before anyone else asks, no, Janet and I have not read All the Light We Cannot See, which is set in St-Malo. Like many walled cities throughout Europe, the St-Malo walls are pedestrian friendly and allow you to see the city and the surrounding areas from unique vantage points. Most of the old city is pedestrian only, and while walking one only has to dodge the occasional vehicle. Our boys thoroughly loved being able to play on the beach, and were amazed at the daily changing of the tides. One of the primary draws of St-Malo was the ferry terminal which allowed for a day-trip excursion to the Isle of Jersey, which warranted its own blog entry.







Following our time in St. Malo, we drove about an hour East and visited the Brittany American Cemetery, continuing our unofficial goal of visiting as many as we can. This was one of our favorite cemeteries. The setting was amazing, and the designers achieved their intention to honor our fallen servicemen. From the cemetery, it was a short 35 minute drive back to the coast proper, and to Mont-St-Michel.


Mont-St-Michel is something that we've wanted to visit long before we moved to Europe. The abbey, constructed at the pinnacle of an offshore island, is visible from various points throughout the region and we first sighted it as we drove on the highway to the American Cemetery. Even then, ten-plus miles away from the Mont, you could tell it was a massive structure.

Among the most popular tourist sights in France, there is a massive parking lot and shuttle buses available to take you across the 2 kilometer bridge connecting the Mont to the mainland. Like many other sights, it is recommended that you purchase your tickets ahead of time to streamline your experience. Whenever you go, just expect large crowds, a huge amount of stairs and vertical climbing to reach the Abbey. We opted for the self-guided tour of the Abbey, which granted full access. The French tourism authority has ensured that the signage conveys you through the massive complex.




After getting back to our car, we opted to drive a short distance to the east and the only German military cemetery outside of Germany, housing the remains of thousands of German soldiers were located.



Normandy

After an overnight at the Le Beauvoir hotel just south of the Mont-St-Michel visitor center, we set off for Bayeux, which is your quintessential Norman town. Anchored around the impressive Bayeux cathedral, the town is home to the Bayeux Tapestry, the British Normandy Cemetery as well as one of the many dedicated to the American perspective of the Battle of Normandy that started on D-Day--more on that in a moment. The Tapestry is what drew us to Bayeux, and it was worth the visit. The tapestry stretches 70 meters end to end, and depicts the epic history of the life of William the Conqueror and the invasion of England in 1066. Unlike some of the more popular sites throughout France, we bought entry tickets on-site.

After the tapestry museum, we briefly checked out the cathedral before setting off for the Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy. Seeing this museum and any of the D-Day sites is special, seeing them during the 75th Anniversary celebrations is something we'll always remember. The museum was superb, with many infographics, and an amazing array of equipment and vehicles.


From the museum we set off for Point du Hoc, where a fly-by was scheduled to commence. While we loved the celebrations that were taking place, the entire area was packed with people, be they veterans, tourists, re-enactors, or distinguished visitors. We made it to Pointe du Hoc, and the area still shows the scars of the naval bombardment that took place, the entire area is cratered much like Verdun was. Once we were done exploring, we drove back to Vierville-sur-Mer and Camping Omaha Beach to set up camp.

Now in full transparency, while I like the idea of camping, I have yet to successfully execute. The  location was amazing, overlooking Omaha Beach, but everything else was an abysmal failure. Insufficiently warm sleeping bags, Janet being pregnant, crowds everywhere due to the anniversary... yeah, not my best example of planning.

Daybreak on 6 June 2019, we awoke, ate breakfast, and then walked down to the beach. As I said above, the location was phenomenal--once we got to the beach, it was time for some powerful emotions. Among all the things we saw and did during this trip, my favorite was explaining to Will how his great-grandfather, my grandpa, served as a Combat Engineer in the 29th Infantry Division, and came ashore as part of the first wave at this very section of beach. The remainder of the trip and well into the rest of the summer, Will was asking more about his great-grandpa.

The boys thoroughly enjoyed playing on the beach, and were treated to a military vehicle parade, we then walked up into Vierville proper to the local museum, grabbed an excellent lunch, then enjoyed the big band music concert taking place in a nearby open field. Late in the day, rain showed up in the overnight forecast, and Janet and I decided to depart the campsite early and head home to Germany.





There is still much for us to see and do in Normandy, so we'll have to see if we can get back to the coast.

One of the great benefits of living in Europe is the ability to maximize your time. When one travels from the US to Europe, time is your largest constraint and visitors are forced to blitz through the major cities in order to squeeze in the most possible. A little less than 2.5 years into our grand European adventure, we have now spent seven days in the Netherlands.

We once again took advantage of accrued hotel points and stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott, Amsterdam Airport. The hotel was in the midst of a large expansion, adding over 100 additional rooms, but was fully accessible during our stay. While this trip was scheduled around a return visit to the Keukenhof Gardens, we were able to visit multiple museums, as well as a couple of additional fun activities.

Our first stop was the Clara Maria Cheese Farm and Clog Factory, located southeast of the airport in Amstelveen. Founded in 1859, this working farm is open for tours of their traditional methods of producing cheese and clogs, and has a gift shop with dozens of flavors of cheese available for purchase. They'll send the cheese home with you in a traditional cheese bag, or they'll throw it in plastic wrap, that enables it to be shipped.  We sent several cheese wheels (small ones mind you!) back to family in the US.

Museum Hopping

Unlike our trip last year, we purposely stayed a few extra days so that we could visit some of Amsterdam's museums. First up on Friday was the Rijksmuseum. Located in museum square, it is a Dutch national museum focused on art and history--this was by far my favorite of all that we've been to thus far (Official Tip: Purchase your tickets ahead of time!). Our combo ticket got us into the museum as well as the special Rembrandt exhibit that was then on display. What we most appreciated about the Rijksmuseum was not only did they have the audioguides (all the major European museums do), but they had a specially developed kids-guide that takes you to the highlights of the museum. Will had a blast being the official leader that morning! Seeing Rembrandt's The Nightwatch ranked up with seeing the School of Athens in the Vatican. Janet and I's favorite, the museum gift shop. We're both always on the lookout for a good book, and the Rijksmuseum had them, and in English to boot!

A ten minute walk from the Rijksmuseum is the Van Gogh Museum. Substantially smaller than the Rijksmuseum, it was none-the-less an amazing museum, and moved a visitor through Van Gogh's life. Unfortunately, photography was not permitted so I'm unable to share any. With the proximity of the museums, it is easy to see both in the same day.

After our fill of museums, we set off for the city of Haarlem. Haarlem is most known for having the Corrie Ten Boom house. For those unfamiliar, Corrie Ten Boom's family were Christians, part of the Dutch resistance, and housed Jewish people in a hidden room in their residence. For more information, you can read her autobiography, The Hiding Place. We also were able to visit the cathedral prior to its daily closing. Before returning to our hotel, we stopped for dinner at a great burger place, the Thrill Grill. The food was superb, prices were reasonable, and even had locally-brewed beer available.

Keukenhof

Saturday morning was spent at the Keukenhof Gardens. Having been disappointed by the lack of flowers in bloom last year, we were determined to have a different experience this time and were not disappointed. What a difference a year and four weeks makes; though in hindsight, we should have gone the week prior. Many of the blooms were at, or past their peaks, however, the weather was mostly warm which made the experience more enjoyable, even if we dodged some passing rain showers.

Following the Keukenhof, we decided to travel about 40 minutes south to The Hague. Naturally, the many international institutions that call The Hague home were closed for the weekend. We traveled a short distance to the coastal town of Scheveningen. Though it was incredibly windy, we all enjoyed being on the coast and strolling the expansive boardwalk. Once we were all sufficiently cold--which took about 15 minutes--we ducked into an open restaurant for a plate of Dutch pancakes. 

Rotterdam

Sunday morning we set off back to Germany, by way of Rotterdam. We surprised the boys with a 1.25 hour harbor tour. This was incredibly informative and the boys thoroughly loved being on a boat! Setting off from the Erasmus bridge, the tour worked toward the North Sea, and after about half an hour, turned around and started back, detouring into several of the channels where cargo ships of all sizes were moored. The tour culminated by taking us past the SS Rotterdam, the former ocean liner that is now a high end hotel and restaurant.

The harbor tour complete, we made the 15 minute walk to the Maritime Museum Rotterdam. The Maritime Museum had both indoor and exterior components, with the exterior being preserved boats and ships that are able to be explored, some with interactive demonstrations. We grabbed lunch at the museum cafe, and then toured the facility. Overall good displays throughout, and they even had a children's play area on the 3rd floor.









As with our first trip, we enjoyed our time in The Netherlands. The sights, the people and the easy use of English throughout the country always makes for a great trip.