Tunis, Tunisia

For some reason, when I have been thinking about Tunisia, the lyrics from an old Brooks and Dunn song pop into my mind... "It's kinda like lost and found in a border town- lookin for a diamond ring..." We weren't looking for diamond rings- but they would have tried to sell them to us if they thought we were interested. (Many men tried to sell us lots of things even though we weren't interested at all...)

My father in law summed up Tunis really well when he remarked that it reminded him of Tijuana. (Think of it as a fascinating place to visit, but maybe you won't want to stay there a real long time.)

Tunisia is a predominately Muslim country in North Africa. It reminded me a lot of our little day trip to Morocco. We enjoyed shopping at the Souk (the market) in the medina (the old city).

The entrance of one of the stores.


This is typical of what the streets look like in the souk.

We went into one store and the little girls found little belly dancer outfits that they needed.

Madi had to put hers on and wouldn't take it off. We quickly found out that Shakira made a music video in an outfit similar to this one. As we walked along the street- all these men would point to Madi and call her, "Little Shakira!"


Cheri is perusing the merchandise...


Outside of the souk where there is actually a little open space! (Little Shakira was exhausted from her shopping adventure.)


Dan looks he is having a marvelous time. (You see very few women along the streets and in the market- so it is nice that I have a picture of one. Most women wear the traditional muslim clothing- long dresses, long sleeves, hair covered.)


This was a very nice section of town. Look how pretty the white buildings are!


We were in a home that would have been owned by rich people. (It's now a boutique.) You can see that they are thrilled! (Listening to our guide...)


Papa and Grandma with the grand kids. (Tunis really was pretty- you just can't compare it to Malta.)

Shelby in front of one of the Government buildings.


Grandma and Kailey


The photographers decided that they favorite views were each other.

Malta the Magnificent

Malta was our first port of call. We had no idea it was so gorgeous.

Malta has a very strategic position in the Mediterranean so it has been occupied by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, etc. The most famous time in Maltese history was in the 1500s when the Knights of St. John controlled it. They were attacked by the Ottoman Turks in 1565 and amazingly the Knights and Maltese beat the Turks. The Knights ruled Malta until Napoleon came and tricked them in 1798. The French only controlled Malta for a couple of years as the Maltese hated them and other countries were only too happy to help them. Malta became part of the British empire in 1814. Malta is half way between Gibraltar and the Suez Canal so it was very helpful to the Brits. Malta was important to the Allies during WWII. It was heavily bombed for two years and the Maltese were so brave that they were awarded the "George Cross" from the King of England the highest civilian award for gallantry. It is usually given to individuals- but King George VI said, "to honour her brave people, I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history."


Look how calm and beautiful the water is.


At the Upper Barracca Garden- overlooking the port.


Emery- you can see Fort St. Angelo in the background. This is the fort where the Maltese and the Knights defeated the Turks.


Dan, Danny and Cheri


So beautiful.


Our ship. The city of Valletta all started out as a fortress.


Emery was whispering something in my ear...


Upper Barracca Gardens. I think the arches look great.


Clearly, Jake did NOT want his sisters encroaching his space. We started out exploring Malta on a Disney Tour- but it was dumb and we weren't learning anything. SO- we left and explored on our own.

We found the St. John's Co-Cathedral. It doesn't look like much on the outside- but look at the inside!

Wow! It's the home of the Knights (Grand Masters) of Malta. On their website they describe it as "a gem of Baroque art and architecture." I would totally agree. It's incredible! They also have a painting by Caravaggio of the beheading of John the Baptist. (It was also amazing.)


The Carrells on a street in Valletta Malta.


Every day at 12:00 they fire a cannon. Very cool and very loud.


Four cute girls.


The Carrell Men


We loved Malta. (Too bad Madi had to stay on the boat. She was too young to go on our tour.)

Disney, Disney, Disney...

Day 1- Day at Sea...

We had a character breakfast and saw...

Minnie Mouse


Dale (and Chip too- just no photo with him)


Jake (Peter Pan or Robin Hood?) and Kailey (Maid Marian perhaps?)


Claire (Minnie), Pirate Pete (Danny) and Madi who wants to head for the hills


Madi thought Goofy was fun


and Mickey made all the kids smile.

Later in the day, a few of the girls saw...

Alice in Wonderland with Madi and Emery


Alice and Kailey- Alice commented that Kailey was rather tall- but since she was a year older than Alice's 12 years- it was okay...


The girls with Princess Tiana


I love that even Cinderella sometimes blinks at the wrong moment.


Snow White is teeny!


Luckily we found Sleeping Beauty awake.

In the evening, Danny thought a little family karaoke would be fun. Grandma, Kailey, Shelby, Em, and Madi sang a Hannah Montana song.

Kailey was mortified, Grandma didn't know the words- but Shelby, Em and Madi enjoyed themselves.


In fact, Madi felt very at home on the stage and knew all the words.

The Cliffs of Moher

Actual post date April 18, 2010.

Danny's parents were supposed to get to Ireland on April 15th and we planned to go to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher for an overnight getaway. (Since we have seen loads of Europe but little of Ireland...) Sadly, their flight from Philadelphia only made it halfway across the Atlantic before they turned around and went back. So- we decided to go without them.

We picked the kids up at lunchtime and headed west.

If you are a geologist- you will be thrilled with this picture.

It's a bit hazy but that hill is made of limestone that was formed thousand of years ago. It doesn't look that amazing (here) but it is part of a national park so that it can't be destroyed. Kailey had all of her geography notes so we read up on it and this is an important part of Ireland.


The Cliffs of Moher- you might remember them as the Cliffs of Insanity from the Princess Bride.


O'Brien's Tower was built in 1835 and overlooks the cliffs (the original owner felt like tourism was important to Ireland- even then. I also read something that said the he also used this tower to impress women...)


Kailey the gymnast.


Shelby by the tower.


Cute Claire


Emery climbing the gate!


Madi on the fence (I promise I was just outside the camera- ready to grab her!)


The boys who love to live on the edge.


What can I say?


6 cute kids hiding in the grass.





I love these people.

Quotes from our trip...

The roads were windy and our shocks are bad... "Dad, can Mom please drive? You're driving gives me a headache." (K)

"I can't hear anything. The computer's not working." (They didn't have the headphones in the right hole.)

"Do we have anything to eat?" Jake (I showed him what we had...) "I don't want the squished up crackers." (10 minutes later...) "Can you pass the crackers please?" J

"NO WAY!!!" "Hold me NOW!" Madi- (She was bold the whole trip. I guess this is what you get with a two year old.)

"Can you please turn up the air?" "Is the air conditioner on?" "I'm feeling sick." Shelby- "Are any vents pointing your way?" Us... "No." Shelby (Well point them your direction!)

"DAD! Please!!!!"

"How much longer does the sat-nav(GPS) say?"

Our kids are great little travelers- just not in a car.