Athens

For half term break, I took Liana and Colin to Athens for three days. I found a last minute deal at Athens Tower Hotel with an Acropolis view and breakfast with a view. Located at Monastiraki Square, it is convenient to many sites and transit. We got to our hotel around 8 and went immediately for dinner nearby. Bairaktaris is in a bit of a touristy area, but the staff are nice and the food is good. I remember eating take-away gyros here in 2019! I introduced the kids to tirokafteri (spicy whipped feta dip) and Liana was an immediate fan. We also got some kebabs and croquettes. During dinner, the kids spotted friends from school walking by! After dinner we spotted Venetis on the square and looked in. It was good and we ended up here every night for ice cream and pastries.

The next morning we slept in a bit as our first activity was cooking class at 11. I planned it for the first day as it was the only time with a chance of rain (and it apparently poured during class) and it would introduce some foods to the kids. There were 4 other people in the class and that was a good size. We made phyllo from scratch and formed our own pastries with our own fillings. While those were baking we each made our own main. The kids had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Dionysia at Eat With Your Greek Cousin did a great job. We stopped by the hotel for a small rest and then headed to the Panathenaic Stadium, the site of the original modern Olympic games. We did a small race, visited the museum, and sat and took in the scenery for a while. When leaving, we walked by the Temple of Olympian Zeus (mostly ruins, grounds were closed) and Hadrian's Arch. We stopped by Kayak for ice cream and a rest. We took the subway back to the hotel area and decided to walk the shops of Monastiraki.

The next day we started off by visiting the Acropolis. We walked up the north slope via Areopagus Hill and took in the sites from the hill, as I was planning on coming down the south slope when done. There was a line that would have been ok to wait but I just went online and bought an instant ticket. We started off viewing the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, which is still used for some concerts and performances. We then headed up and did a anti clockwise loop around the Parthenon. We went out for the views at the famous eastern viewpoint. We walked by a few ruined sites on the way down the south slope. After stopping to pet some cats, we went to the Acropolis Museum to use the restrooms, and decided to not visit the museum. We started walking back toward the hotel. Liana spotted a sweatshirt she liked. We found some random lunch spot and had an enjoyable lunch. After a rest at the hotel we took the subway half way to Mount Lycabettus. We walked up the steep hill to the funicular and rode that up (which has gotten pretty expensive, €13 round trip). We took in the views and peeked in the little church. We went back to the hotel for a bit of a rest before meeting our friends for dinner at MS Rooftop, across the street from our hotel. The kids had fun sharing a meal in Athens and talking about the different things they had done.

Our final day we slept in a bit as we would be doing a decent amount of walking and had time to take things slow and enjoy the day. After some breakfast we first went to the Ancient Agora around 11. The main entrance was closed for remodel so we walked around the park and finally found the ticket booth. The line was starting to get long and I was able to buy instant tickets online (and the line was huge by time we left!) We first saw the Temple of Hephaestus with nice views of the acropolis and the entire agora from there. We saw our first tortoise on our walk down the hill toward the Stoa of Attalos. This building was reconstructed around 1950 and now houses a museum and offices. The entire day we were stopping and counting and naming cats, the kids had fun with it. We walked around the loop of the agora and read a little about what each area was used for 2500 years ago. We headed to Adrianou (street with several restaurants facing the ancient agora). We ordered several starters to try a few things we still had not been able to enjoy. After lunch the kids wanted to do the Illusion museum, not far from lunch. We spent a little over an hour checking out all the exhibits. After some ice cream we were going to check out the roman forum but it had closed at 3 for off-season hours. Most of it can be seen from the street, I was hoping to take them in the octagonal tower that was a weather station and clock (although it is just empty now). So we decided to take a walk and check out the national gardens more. We saw a few animals and birds and then found the playground. After playing for a while, our school friends showed up there! So the kids had lots more fun running around and playing. Around 5pm we all started heading back toward Monastiraki for dinner and rest. We were up early the next morning to get to the airport by 7am.

Dingle Peninsula

 We visited Dingle peninsula in June of 2013 and really enjoyed the area. We have been wanting to return and finally made it happen over St Brigid's weekend. We arrived first in to Inch Beach around 12:45. We had the sun peaking out and went out toward the water for a bit. On our short drive in to Dingle from there, we drove through a rainbow that seemed to start on the road just in front of us! We parked and found Paul Geaney's pub open and serving food. Quite a few places were not yet open for the year. After this we checked in to our apartment (and met the local cat Cocoa). We headed back in to town for a Murphy's ice cream and to charge the car. Next we drove out to Holden Leathergoods, just 10 minutes from town (with a view of town across the water). We went back to the apartment for a rest and walked in to town for dinner at Lord Bakers. 

The next day was our day to drive the Dingle Loop. We followed Rick Steve's guide once again. We started at Ventry Beach around 10:45. We had lovely sun on us all day. I don't think it tried to rain on us at all! We stopped at Fairy Ringfort but the gate was closed. And, there is really only earth mounds left, so it wasn't a big deal as we could see most of it from the road. Next was the Dunbeg Fort. This has a small cafe that was closed, but the ticket booth was manned so we walked down to the fort. It was a really beautiful view and remnants of the fort and the beehive are there to see. We then drove a few minutes to the first beehives. We walked through and explored them a bit. These few had no remaining tops, but were still impressive. Further down the road we stopped at Cashel Murphy. This is a collection of five beehives (without roofs) with an outer wall. Another couple minutes down the road was two more beehives, complete with roofs. At each stop we also take in a view of the sea, which is constantly changing.

Next we came to Slea Head, the westernmost point of Ireland. There is a cross along this road, and the road narrows to single lane (but is still 2-way traffic). We parked at the trail head for the Dunmore Head walk. While it looks quite high and steep, you can make it up in 15 minutes to the westernmost point of Ireland! There is an old WW2 lookout bunker at the top and a great view of the Blasket Islands. Next we needed to stop for lunch. Krugers Bar in Dun Chaoin is the most westerly pub in Europe! We got some food and even sat outside for a few minutes in the sunny weather. After lunch we drove down the road toward the Blasket Heritage Museum. We continued on another minute to the sea. Kacey and I sat and enjoyed the waves crashing on the rocks for a while. Next we drove on to Clogher Head. We didn't walk up to the head but we stayed down for views of the strand below. We also had a nice view here of the Three Sisters, mountains filmed as part of Star Wars.

Next we headed to Reask Monastic site. There isn't much to see here but it shows a larger area and how it would have been arranged, including grave stones. We moved on to Gallarus Oratory next. We still had beautiful sunny skies, but it was getting late in the day and we were starting to lose the sun. We recreated a picture of Kacey and Liana from 13 years ago. We moved on to Kilmalkedar Church next. The site dates to 600AD but the church was built around the 12th century. We decided to add a couple stops to our loop and drove up to Dooneen Pier on a whim. We had an awesome view of the setting sun and waves crashing on a small pier that we sat and enjoyed for a while. Finally we drove by Brandon Creek, next to Brandon Mountain. This was also just a small pier and the waves were crashing in to a small cave, causing explosive spray every 10-15 seconds. It was pretty cool! We drove back in to Dingle town for some Murphys ice cream (before dinner). I ended up taking the kids to Adams pub for dinner. Nothing special, but we had fun.

The next morning we checked out and walked around town for just a few more minutes. We found the creek that runs under buildings, which is a neat site to see. On our way back home, we took the road through Connors Pass. This provided amazing views of both sides of the peninsula, as well as Brandon Mountain.

Brussels

For our 2025 fall break, I took Colin and Liana (Nolan did not have a break) to Brussels. We stayed only 4 minutes walk from the Grand Place. The plan was to eat chocolate, waffles, and fries for two days (and beer for me). We got to the Craves Hotel around 7pm and walked to see the Grand Place lit up at night in purple. I found The Brothers Brasserie for dinner next to Grand Place. It was good, with fish chips, meatballs, Flemish stew, and the Karmeliet beer was good. We stopped at the Carrefour next to the hotel to grab a few things for breakfast.

The next morning we just walked around the city a bit and saw some sites. We got some frites (fries) with andalouse. Then we bought some chocolate to snack on. Then we spotted "The Goose" at the Grand Place. Then we visited Rose de Damas, a place we had visited years ago with delicious treats. We walked to Le Pre Sale for lunch on a recommendation. It felt very authentic. We ordered mussels, frog legs, and a salad. The frog legs were really good. After lunch we stopped at the hotel for a little relaxation. Then we headed out to stop in more sweet shops on our way to the Illusion Museum. The kids picked this place out and we had fun during our visit with a lot of silly pictures. After our visit we went for waffles at Gaufre de Bruxelles. After some more walking we got more frites at Frituur Tabora, which had over 50 sauces. We did some more shopping before dinner to buy some things for mom and get some souvenirs. For dinner we found some Belgian food at Le Coin de l'Ecailer; rabbit and snails. It was tasty. After dinner we walked around some more, found some mulled wine, and got more waffles.

The next morning we decided to visit Atomium. We enjoyed our visit walking around and doing a bit of reading. We booked an afternoon chocolate making class so we traveled nearby to find some lunch. We found Tonton Garby from reading reviews online. We were very lucky that the line was not very long (waited maybe 20 minutes). All the reviews online are correct, they even have signs up on the street that say if you are in a hurry, you should go elsewhere. The guy here hand makes each sandwich with either fruit or meat. He handcuts and slices everything for you. Goes through your options, makes suggestions, and has a nice chat with you the whole time. At the end, you end up with a delicious masterpiece. We even bought some of his amazing farmers cheese for a takeaway snack. The gentleman is Turkish and speaks eight or so languages. We had fun talking with him and eating our food. After lunch was chocolate making class! The kids enjoyed tasting and learning methods for molding. And eating some too! After the class we decided to walk and visit the Lego store. It wasn't that special, reminded me of Dublin (sorry). While walking back toward Grand Place we walked by a 2 story Flying Tiger, so of course Liana had to go in. Dinner we ended up at the Blue Restaurant. While Greek, it had many Belgian specialties. After dinner we had one last go of frites, and then some waffles, and then some hot chocolate.