Grotte Del Caglieron 3/13/16

Less than an hour away from our house, we were able to see several grottos/caves with breathe taking views and beautiful natural rock structures. Jace couldn't get to the next grotto fast enough and it didn't help that daddy's photo ops kept slowing him down! ;p It was perfect weather to walk and see all the different caves and walk along the wooden log bridges. Being outdoors is what we Heberts love to do and it was the perfect way for us to spend a Sunday afternoon! Bonus.....all for free! :)

Paris, France 2016

December 23, 2016 Paris, France

Our journey to Paris started of at the Venice airport waiting for what seemed to be forever for our plane to arrive. After 3 hours of waiting, we finally were able to board our plane for our 2 hour plane ride to Paris. I think Daddy, and I were more excited about bringing you boys to Paris than you boys were ;p Once we arrived in Paris, the challenges began. Long story short, mommy made a big mistake in dealing with a discounted car rental company and we were unable to secure our rental car. Fortunately, we made the best of the situation and ate at the nearby restaurant that the rental car was supposed to be picked up and enjoyed our first “French” meal. We took an expensive taxi to the B&B Disney Hotel where we would stay for 4 nights and 5 days J

December 24, 2016 Paris

Our first full day in Paris was dedicated to bringing you boys to Disneyland. We tried our best to build up the anticipation for Jace since you were more familiar with the Disney characters. You and Jordy absolutely loved the Disney parade we saw in the afternoon as well as at night. You both enjoyed seeing Santa Claus, Mickey Mouse, Toy Story characters and Donald Duck. The smiles and excitement in your faces made our Christmas Eve that much better! Despite the struggle of mommy and daddy to ensure our spot during the parade, it wa worth our pushing back other rude people to make sure you boys had a clear view of the parade! ;p We saw other characters during the day and wanted Jace to take pictures with them. Unfortunately, Jace was very nervous and didn’t want to stand next to any of them! We only took pictures with two characters: Hook from Jake and the Neverland pirates and Jafar from Aladdin. Jordy screamed and cried and could not be anywhere near the characters. Despite all this, you both enjoyed the souvenirs we bought you and we couldn’t wait to give you boys the rest of your Christmas gifts from Disney. This night, we returned to the hotel and decided to give your gifts early. Daddy built up the anticipation by first giving you both the classic mickey mouse character as a keepsake and Jace’s response was, “I don’t like mickey mouse.” It was 60 euros not well spent on you both haha Next, daddy gave you both the souvenirs from Jake and the Neverland Pirates store and lastly daddy’s choice for Jace’s gift was the StarWars storm trooper helmet which you absolutely loved! Fortunately, Jordy liked everything given to him so he was happy with even just the eyepatch ;p All in all, it was a great Christmas Eve for all of us!

December 25, 2016 Paris

Christmas day! Daddy and I decided to visit downtown Paris for Christmas and return to Disneyland the next day. We decided to give the metro system a try and take the train from Disneyland to downtown Paris. It was actually very easy and both of you boys loved the train ride! We began our Christmas day by first seeing the Arc de Trimph. As usual, we walked to the other “tourist spots” with daddy leading the way. Next, we ventured on to see the Eiffel Tower. We were able to enjoy the Christmas market right by the Eiffel Tower where we ate very good food from the booths there and you boys enjoyed the kid games and prizes that we saw nearby. We continued the day into the evening by going to see the Louvre and then continued walking around Paris and seeing the big Christmas market there and even stopped to enjoy the nostalgic carousel we randomly stumbled upon in a nearby park. At the Christmas market, Jace saw a zombie ride/haunted house he wanted to go into with Daddy. I was very surprised but reluctantly agreed for Jace to go since he was brave enough to suggest it. Just as I had predicted, when you and Daddy got close to the entrance, you changed your mind and didn’t want to do it anymore! Jordy and I stayed behind and enjoyed more of the food booths while we waited for you and daddy to do (or not do ) the ride.  We ended our night in Paris by eating at a very nice café/restaurant.  We all enjoyed our Christmas in Paris J

December 26, 2016 Paris

We decided to split this day to go back one last time to Disneyland in the morning/afternoon then spend the rest of the day at a nearby outlet/mall to eat dinner and light shopping J We wanted to see how you boys would like doing the rides so we waited to ride the dumbo ride. We waited 45 minutes for a 3 minute ride! Fortunately, both of you were able to wait and Jace enjoyed being Mommy’s riding partner. We also rode the Aladdin ride even though it started RAINING as we actually got on the ride! What an adventure that was haha Since the lines were too long on all the rides we decided to focus the rest of the time on shows. The magic show was the show that we all truly enjoyed watching. You boys couldn’t stop making comments on all the familiar characters you saw and smiling and gasping in awe as you saw some of the characters come down from the stage and onto the audience area. It was definitely worth the 1 hour wait to get in the show!!!!  The last show we saw was a car stunt show that surprisingly Jace really really enjoyed! He wanted to ride in a race car and couldn’t stop talking about it for a week! We were so happy to see you both enjoy your last day in Disneyland! Of course when we got to the outlet mall this was not something you boys wanted to do. Fortunately, we ate at a great restaurant first and bribed you both with desserts in order to continue strolling through the mall.

December 27, 2016 Paris

This was our last full day in Paris. Daddy was sest on going to the catacombs with Jace. We read online that little kids were not allowed to go in so I took Jordy on a 45 minute walk to a nearby mall. FOUR hours later, daddy was close to the front of the line. Daddy was so proud at how well behaved Jace was the entire time and never complained. Daddy made friends while standing in line for this long and they all said what a well behaved boy Jace was as well J Daddy encouraged me to get a cab and see if we could cut in line and join them before they got into the catacombs just in case Jordy could get in anyways. Right as daddy was about to leave the ticket counter inside, I saw him as I got out of the cab. We made it! Daddy’s new friends helped us carry our huge hiking backpack and stroller down the many many many steps to the underground area where the catacombs were located. As we walked up to the beginning of the wall of skulls, both of you boys ran up to the first skulls you saw and immediately started touching it. Little did we know there was a sign nearby that said no touching J It’s okay, daddy actually took a skull out of the wall that was loose and took a picture with it! It was a very cool experience to go through an underground catacomb filled with millions and millions of skulls! Was it worth the 4 hour wait for daddy.....he said no! Regardless, it was a great memory to look back on! We spent our last night in Paris going downtown once again to enjoy the sights one last time. Paris gave us a Christmas we will never forget J

Prague, Czech Republic 11/24/16-11/27/16

Since Prague was an 8.5 hour drive from Sacile, we decided to stop over in Salzburg, Austria to break up the long drive for you boys. After a last minute room change, we discovered Jace's love for bunkbeds in Salzburg. Naturally, Jordy loved it too and you boys were constantly climbing to the top bunk and playing on it as much as possible before bed time. It made our short over night stay in Salzburg more enjoyable because of how happy both of you were simply over a bunkbed :)

Driving into Prague automatically reminded us of Budapest. The streets were lined with different colored buildings with beautiful architecture behind it all, historical statues and monuments were seen throughout the city, and all the roads were still covered in cobblestone. It was impossible for us to find parking in the center the first day we got into Prague, so we decided to check into the hotel and quickly learn about the train system. Fortunately, the tram line was very close by and easy to understand once we figured out the stops going through the center. Thankfully, daddy is great at figuring out maps and using it to maneuver through a city where the language is once again very very foreign to us! Our first night in Prague was spent walking around the center a little bit but due to lack of daylight even at 5pm, we had to spend the rest of the evening indoors at their biggest mall in the city.

Our second day in Prague consisted of a full itinerary put together by our amazing tour guide, daddy! Before we headed out into the city, we took full advantage of the FIRST European breakfast that we ALL thoroughly enjoyed! We had so many different options to choose from and this time including fried rice, eggs and bacon! As always, Jace ate bowl after bowl of strawberry yogurt despite his "forced" efforts to try the other types of breakfast food available. And as always, Jordy followed after his older brother but also had the fried rice ;p You boys GREATLY enjoyed the tram ride to the center and were always so excited to sit in your own seats and look out the window. Our first Prague "tourist" stop was the Charles Bridge aka Karluv most. It is known to the the oldest bridge in Prague. It was adorned with very old statues and the _______river running below it. You both love seeing the water and love it more when you see ducks and here on the ______river there were so many swans as well. It was a beautiful walk along the bridge! From the Charles Bridge we were able to see the Prague Castle. We didn't know exactly how to get there, but daddy and I decided to just walk in the direction we thought was best.

Lago Di Braies 9/3/16

Sept 3, 2016

Lago Di Braies

As we were looking for the lake, we found an antique market that also acted as our parking for the lake. We quickly walked through and mommy was able to buy a copper bucket as part of her Italian antique collection. Jace was very excited to swim in the lake as soon as it was within our sight. Unfortunately, we didn’t see anyone swimming in the lake so we had to walk a little to find our own spot away from other people so you boys could enjoy being in the lake. Even though the lake was ice cold, you boys did not hesitate to get your feet wet and throw rocks over and over into the lake. We also rented a row boat and took turns rowing the boat! The dolomites surrounding the lake was magnificent to see! Jace and mommy were definitely challenged learning to work the oars to row the boat but we had fun trying! It was definitely a great trip to take before Jace started school that following week! 

Lichtenstein Castle (Germany) 8/2/16

August 2, 2016

Lichtenstein castle in Germany

This castle was crazy gorgeous. It's a relatively unknown castle and wasn't overrun with tourists. It was pretty far off the beaten path and away from the crowds. We had to drive a couple hours out of the way to get there, but it was well worth it. There is a guided tour to go inside the castle but only done in German. However, we were able to see this amazing castle that is located right at the edge of the cliff. We walked the castle grounds and of course found another hidden treasure for Jace there! It wasn’t very big but big enough for you boys to run around and have some fun looking for “treasure.” 

Strasbourg France 8/1/16

August 1, 2016

Strasbourg France

Daddy picked Strasbourg since it was only a few hours away from where we were in Germany recently.  We have always wanted to take you boys to France so we took this opportunity to do a quick day trip there.  Such a beautiful city! The Roman gothic architecture made us feel like time travelers. We started our day by eating at a very cute pizza place. By daddy’s standards, it was the best pizza he’s had since we arrived in Europe!  You boys enjoyed it as well J We visited the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg, which contains a crypt that is over a thousand years old. We also visited the archaeological museum in the basement of the Rohan Palace, which is one of the richest National Antiquities Museums in France. Since we have been to quite a number of museums since we arrived last year, it was very comforting to know that you boys would enjoy walking through another awesome museum.  You both liked looking for “bad guys” (any type of armored statue exhibits) and of course skeleton remains! We all enjoyed learning more about the past together! It was an incredibly fun day in France! We plan to go back to France in the winter to bring you boys to Paris!

Heidelberg Germany 7/31/16

July 31, 2016

Heidelberg Germany

Daddy found another AMAZING castle for us to visit here in Germany.  We are getting use to not taking a stroller for Jace and Jace was getting use to walking quite a bit up to the castle grounds now. Although we needed to bribe him with treasure, as usual, once we arrived in the castle the fun began! You boys were running around the entire castle grounds and enjoyed looking into all the “dark” corners of the castle. It was one of the most beautifully kept castles we have seen so far without too much renovation to it. Of course, the ghost had a message for daddy for Jace to find another hidden treasure here! Walking through the town of Heidelberg was just as nice as well. It was a very cute town and we enjoyed our visit here!