Riviera Maya Mexico 2025

24 November 2025 - For our family vacation this year, Iris (13) requested a place with teal water where she could snorkel. We decided to go the all-inclusive route and picked one halfway between Cancun and Playa del Carmen, Mexico: the Iberostar Paraiso del Mar. This morning (a Monday), we all woke around 4 am and were on the road to CWA by 4:30 am. Hardly any wait going through security so early. Our 7 am flight from CWA to MSP was uneventful. We found our connecting flight gate and waited for our 10 am flight to Cancun. I listed to a podcast about owls while we waited. On our flight to Cancun, Nick and Felix (16) sat on one side of the plane, while Iris and I were on the other. No one sat with us, so we could spread out. Iris and I watched Wicked, and rested the remainder of the 4-hour flight. Once we landed, we quickly made our way through customs (no long waits!), used the bathroom (long wait!), and found our shuttle pick-up. It was gloriously warm and sunny. Our hotel was about a ½ hour from the airport. We checked in to the resort and got settled in our first-floor connecting rooms before we went to the beach. It was around 5:30 pm when we all took a dip in the ocean. The kids really enjoyed the waves while Nick and I enjoyed some tropical cocktails. There was a lovely sky. When they had their fill (and I had enough bashing my feet and shins on underwater rocks), we went back to the rooms to get cleaned up and headed to the sister resort (Paraiso Beach) next door for dinner. We ate at the Mexican restaurant and tried many different offerings. After dinner, we headed back to the room. Iris and I stopped at the gift shop on the way. I ended up getting her flip-flops and goggles for Felix (for $47 total. Ouch). We relaxed in the room watching Monday Night Football in Spanish. 

¡Hola!

25 November - We headed to breakfast around 8:30 am. Our first-floor rooms have basically jungle on the other side of the balcony. (A peacock walked past last night.) 

Coati by our balcony

Our unit is the 2nd closest to the beach, so it's a long walk back to the lobby area, but past a lot of interesting flora and fauna. There are coati(mundi), pigs, and iguanas that we've seen so far. The breakfast buffet was nice and large. We headed to the beach and found some chairs that hadn't been claimed. The sky's mostly cloudy and it's windy as I sit here listening to the waves and throbbing pop music nearby. It's 10:20 am now, and Nick just brought me a margarita. :D Iris and I joined other gusts in a game of beach volleyball before we got tired. We joined Nick and Felix at the swim-up bar in the nearest pool area. We had a couple beverages while the kids swam and we people-watched. At 11:45 am, we headed back to the room to shower and change. When everyone was ready, we went to the buffet for lunch. In addition to the usual offerings, they made an enormous seafood paella, which was a sight. Felix stayed in the room after lunch, while the rest of us went back to the beach. It's mostly sunny and slightly less windy now. 

I headed back to the room to chill after I started to get a headache. Iris texted me to bring some things back to the beach, so I walked back there. Then I grabbed Felix to go to the shop, because we were low on sunscreen. $47(!) later, we have a new bottle. Nick and Iris were back in the rooms when we returned. We all chilled for a while watching '80s music videos until it was time to get ready for dinner. We had reservations for the Japanese restaurant at 6 pm. Iris was very excited for hibachi. We were treated to a nice performance by our chef ("no more tequila for him/her/me!") and a delicious dinner. I talked a bit with the Canadian woman there with her grandson. Stuffed, we headed back to the room around 7:30 pm. We got prepared for our excursion and relaxed before bed.

26 November - Despite Felix's concerns that we wouldn't be ready in time, we were up, fed, and waiting in the lobby for our excursion by 7:25 am. Carlos from Aventuras Mayas picked us up around 7:35 am. We were the first group and he picked up two more groups in the Iberostar complex. He drove us to the tour group headquarters, where we got off to switch to a different guide. Our new guide, Luis Garcia, was late getting there due to the same heavy traffic entering Playa del Carmen that we also endured. We waited in the hammock chairs and used the bathroom. Once we were set, it was a 20-30 minute drive south to Yal-Kú lagoon. (Nick and Felix were annoyed by the number of speed bumps off the highway.) We got a quick run-down of the area, the lagoon, and what we might see. We got lockers, fins, masks, and life jackets, then made our way down the path to the lagoon. The water was chilly, but there were some fish *right there* by the stairs. (When Felix got in the water, he started screaming, "Dory! Dory! Dory!" which was both unexpected from him and also hilarious.) We started by going to the left from the pier, toward the fresh water. There were lots of fish, especially sergeant majors, blue tangs, and flounder. We swam for about 40 minutes, going from the fresh water through the brackish intermixing area into the saltwater. I got some nice pictures underwater. 

Once we finished, we turned in our gear and headed back to the bus. It was another 30-minute ride to our destination with its remaining activities. Our first stop was the cenote and cave. Iris was cold and tired already, and resisted the idea of getting colder in the underground water, but she went in anyway. We had to rinse off in cold shower to get the salt off us, get new goggles and life jackets before we headed down the stairs into the cenote. The air was much cooler down there. Luis pointed out the bats and small catfish near the cave entrance. 

We took some pictures, then we were led into an area with countless stalactites. It was beautiful! 

(I thought so. Nick was busy dealing with some claustrophobia.) We swam around for a bit before heading back up. We got changed and ate lunch, which was chicken, black beans, rice, tortilla chips, and salad stuff. Once everyone was done, we got our climbing gear (complete with hair net) and waited. We got pictures taken and a safety briefing before we were allowed to climb the rickety, wooden, 4-story tower to do our zip lining route (choice of 3, 5 or 7 rides). I should mention that our tour group included a mom/grandma/aunt (?) with a girl about Iris's age and one a bit younger, and a family with mom, dad, 7-year-old and 5-year-old sons, and grandma. We went first - Iris, Felix (who was nervous as it was his first time zip lining), Nick and then me. 

Some people, thankfully, chose to only do 3 rides. Nick, Iris and I did the complete circuit of 7. Felix was content to do 5. Tower 3 was a loooooong wait. That's were people decided to go back to the beginning or continue on, but Tower 7 was getting people one at a time from two towers. That created a bottleneck that took about an hour to get through. There was a couple in front of us; the wife did not like any of it and only moved up the tower when there was a landing open. I didn't blame her; I wasn't a fan of the wind up there, but I tried to focus on everything but my fears. And it worked! The rest of the rides went pretty quickly because there were only a few people on any tower. I turned myself upside down on one ride just because I could. Iris, Nick and I took the opportunity to ride like Superman, face-down. 

That was cool; the worst of it was climbing two towers with the heavy extra gear. Felix waited for us so we could all continue on together. The three of us also did the last ride in hammocks, which was nice. 

Iris had one more thing she wanted to do - the 3-story bungee jump. She was brave about that. We all headed our shortly after that. It was just a matter of dropping people off after that. (The other dad on our bus was complaining about so much. At least the '70s/'80s/'90s music on the radio was good.) We left ~3:50 pm and got to our resort at 5:25 pm. Back at the hotel, we took the tram to our room to save time. We quickly got ready for dinner. Iris really wanted to go to the French restaurant. We made it a little before opening, and got a table right away. Nick and I splurged on a $60 bottle of Mexican sparkling wine. We each got an appetizer, entree and dessert. I got asparagus Provençal, Niçoise salmon loin, and a big berry macaron. Nick let everyone try some of his Burgundy escargot appetizer. Iris loved her beef tenderloin. Lovely dinner. 

We walked back to the room after (though I ran back to the theater for more drinks and met a ginger kitty on the path), and played several hands of sheepshead together before bed.

27 November - We slept in a bit, all worn out from yesterday's adventures. We went to breakfast around 9:30 am. (I was up by 8 and spent a long time writing about yesterday.) A guy in a turkey costume was going around to the Americans' tables because Thanksgiving. We headed to the beach and all swam for a while, then Iris and I joined in on volleyball. We played a couple games before having enough, and went back in the water. 

Stormy skies inland... 

We spent some time at the pool bar before heading to lunch. It started raining while we ate, but passed after a little bit. Nick and I headed to the lobby to find any other Packers fans. The game was on a lobby bar TV, but no big gathering. Nevertheless, we made ourselves comfortable and chatted with newly arrived Canadians Andre and his three brothers. (Chatting despite the pounding noise as workers repaired the dome roofs over the lobby.) Tom from Marshfield joined us for a bit before he invited us into the club room where his crew was gathered. I drank way more than I thought... After the game, we went back to the beach for a bit. I was not feeling well by this tie, so Nick to the kids to get dinner and I rested. 

28 November - I drank lots of water overnight, so I didn't feel too bad in the morning. We went to breakfast around 8:30 am, then Iris and I walked to the complex's shopping center. 

The stuff there was basically the same as sold in our lobby, but Iris found some bracelets she liked, and I got a fridge magnet. We joined Nick and Felix at the beach - they were in the water. Iris and I didn't feel like swimming yet, so we played in three games of volleyball instead. That was fun. :D We got our swimsuits on after that (the clouds cleared and it warmed up). The waves were pretty big today. One smashed into me and knocked me underwater. I nearly lost my sunglasses like Felix. We stayed on the beach until noon, when we headed back to the room to shower and change for lunch. We took a siesta after eating. (My arm muscles ache and make it difficult to write [as evidenced by my shaky handwriting in the travel journal].) It was nice to have some down time. We got ourselves ready for dinner and headed to the other lobby to relax and play cards before dinner. That was nice as it wasn't so busy or loud there. We went to the Mediterranean restaurant for dinner. That was pretty tasty overall, though it took a while to get our main courses. No biggie. We spent some of the wait discussing potential scenarios as we were flying home tomorrow into a winter storm. Basically prepping the kids to deal and go with the flow. We went back to the room, and I did some packing. Nick put on more '80s MTV, and we got yet another Madonna song. [We heard Madonna daily on this trip.]

Felix's hat matched the decor

29-30 November - Today could have gone better, but it also could have gone much, much worse. We got up at 7:30 am, got ready and went to breakfast. The kids (all of us, really) made sure to get at least one more "malla praline" pastry before we left. We went back to the room to pack and relax. At 10:30 am, we took the tram to the lobby to check out and wait for our airport shuttle. That was pretty quick, and we were on our way around 11 am. The interior of our shuttle was already festively decorated for Christmas. We made it through security reasonably quickly, though Iris had her metal hair pick confiscated (oops). The airport was already very busy, and our flight wasn't until 3 pm, so we had three hours to kill. Iris wasn't feeling well, so we let the kids sit while Nick and I went to see if we could get on an earlier flight with the winter storm back home. Not only was that a NO, but our flight was also delayed one hour. We decided to get some food and spent an hour and $200 at the Guy Fieri restaurant there (it was fine, but expensive, because why wouldn't it be?). We spent the remaining time chilling, though Iris and I did look at souvenirs and got proper coffee at Starbucks. We were "lucky" to be chosen for pre-flight interviews. I was happy to get on the plane, frankly. Iris didn't bring her earbuds for her phone and was cranky not being able to listen to the show she was watching. I gave her mine to use, even thought I wanted to use them myself. (A bit of drama between us...) I watched Encanto and finished my podcast I stared at the Cancun airport when she was done using my earbuds. As we approached the MSP airport around 7:30 pm CST, I was notified our flight to CWA (scheduled for 7:55 pm) was also delayed, so we'd actually be able to make the connection. Getting in late, it was fast going through customs and security again. We found our next gate and got some food for the kids (but no drinks for us because they stopped serving alcohol at 9 pm, 7 minutes after we got to the bar). We waited and played some sheepshead as our estimated boarding time kept pushing back. 

We had to change gates and finally boarded at 10:45 pm. And then we sat on the plan until midnight while getting deiced and waiting our turn to take off. Not a bad flight, despite the wind and snow. The final descent was unsettling, but we safely made it to the gate. Cold and blowing snow greeted us. We had to clear the 3-4" of snow off my car before we could get going. Nearly empty highways, and Nick drove ~55 mph the whole way. We pulled in at 1:50 am to two surprised and happy kitties.

Trip cost: $9,323.52

Northern Italy 2024

12 August 2024 - We found a week amid the craziness of summer baseball and softball to take a family trip before school started. We decided to take our first family trip to Europe, and zeroed in on Italy. I suggested Verona and Venice, because I had been to both and through they would be good for the kids. We booked our flights and Airbnbs in February, then sat back to wait and learn Italian. 

Today was a Monday. We slept in, had breakfast and finished packing. After we were ready, we headed toward Chicago around lunchtime. Felix, with his temps, drove us from home to the Interstate (he didn't feel comfortable driving on it himself yet). We had an uneventful ride to Madison, where we stopped at Target and got lunch at Hy-Vee while we charged. Then we got to our parking garage near O'Hare at 4:45 pm. Once at the airport, we got through security without waiting too long. We found our gate and got some food. They moved our gate a few times. We passed time playing sheepshead in the food court. Just when we were about to begin boarding, they moved the gate and pushed back the flight time from 8:50 pm to 9:30 pm. Then they pushed it again to 10:00 pm. It was at this point I decided to start this journal entry. The kids are annoyed (and bottomless pits, eating just about all of our "airport snacks"), but they're handling it overall. (Mostly. Iris was getting increasingly worked up about getting to sleep late. I gave her the mantra "we will get in, we will take off!" to repeat to herself.) We finally got on the plane and finally got in the air around 10:34 pm.

At the airport

13 August - The flight was direct to Venice and fairly uneventful. There was more juddering turbulence than I would have liked... But no matter. Iris and I didn't get much sleep. She would poke me to get my attention just about every time I was about to fall asleep. They served us dinner at 11:30 pm and breakfast at 5:30 am (home time), though it was 1:30 pm when we landed. We were near the front of the plan, and had no checked bags, so we got to customs soonish. An expectedly long wait followed. (Why do people go on break just as we get into line?) We just missed the next available shuttle to the train station and had to wait 15 minutes in the ~99°F heat outside. The kids got a little cranky (Felix also skipped taking his ADHD medicine because of the time change). Anyway, we got on the shuttle, got to the station, and bought tickets for the next train to Verona. We didn't have to wait very long. The train ride took about 2½ hours. There was no WiFi, but there was air conditioning and nice views, and I was okay with that. Iris wilted and rebounded. We got to Verona @ 5:45 pm, caught the bus to Voscova by the skin of our ignorant-to-pickup-location teeth, and completed our slog to the Airbnb at Via XX Settembre 3 around 6:30 pm. We got in to the apartment, got our keys, and all took much-needed showers. After we were ready, we walked to Pizzikotto for dinner. Perfect for us - pizzas and wine. We ate all three pizzas of varying crust thicknesses, got dessert, then headed back to play four hands of sheepshead before bed.

Pizza in Italy? Check!

14 August - After a nice night of sleep, I woke around 7 am and got up at 7:30. After getting ready, I made coffee and sat on the kitchen balcony listening to the church bells. Iris joined me, but she made her tea undrinkable by using salt instead of sugar. 

Once everyone was up and ready, we headed out to find breakfast. There was a little cafe just down the street (Caffé Columbia) where we tried out our Italian ordering cappuccinos and cornettos. We ate inside the tiny cafe as it was already warm and there was a market in the adjacent square. After finishing, we walked along Via Venti Settembre (a bit gritty...) to the Ponte delle Navi across the Adige River. We stuck to the shady sides of the streets as we made our way to the Arena. The kids were impressed, but already overheating. We got our first gelato of the trip, which we ate sitting in the shade in Piazza Bra. From there, we meant to go to Castelvecchio, but ended up at Porta Nuova. We walked along the city walls to Porta Palio, then along Stradone Porta Palio. Everyone was hot and thirsty, so we stopped at Buon Gusto for lunch. Nick and Felix got calzones, Iris got a giant kids pizza, and I got a ham, mushroom and cheese piadina. We walked past Castevecchio, stopping for a few souvenirs (fans for Iris and me, a magnet, and Italian leather sandals for me). We then walked to Piazza delle Erbe. We walked past the market stalls, and stopped for beverages at Osteria Sottocosta at the base of the Torre dei Lamberti. 

Piazza delle Erbe

Once refreshed, we walked to nearby Piazza dei Signori. We then walked back to the Airbnb via Ponte Nuovo. Everyone was pretty hot and cranky (it was 95°F) by the time we stopped at iN's Mercato for snacks and beverages (and cheap wine). We had a family talk because I think the rest of this trip is going to be not worthwhile if everyone can't handle the heat. We took a breather for a bit, during which Nick and I made train reservations for tomorrow and Friday. At about 5:30, we set out to take in the view of Verona from Castel San Pietro. It took about a half hour to walk towards and up for the vista. Meanwhile, storm clouds loomed and thunder rumbled (and it was blessedly cooler). We stayed up there a little while, taking in the various aspects. Just as we were done, it started to rain. And then hail (penny-sized, but not a lot). We scurried to a restaurant that caught Nick's eye called Alma. We enjoyed (mostly...) some beverages and sandwiches. I say "mostly" because Iris didn't appreciate her myrtle-leaved-orange-flavored soda (chinotto). Nick and I thought it tasted like red vermouth with a hint of Campari. The rain let up while we were eating, only to renew with a vengeance as we headed out. We promised more gelato, and dashed (Felix being chased down by a restaurant employee because he left his backpack behind) to Gelateria Ballini. We each got a scoop which we ate heading back to the Airbnb. We arrived, soaking wet, around 8 pm. We warmed up and showered. I watched the lightning before setting down to write with wine. :) After this evening, I have higher hopes for the rest of this trip.

Above the city

15 August - We managed to get up, caffeinated, and out by 8:45 am. We figured out the bus routes and caught one to the train station. We had enough time to get a few sandwiches at a cafe for breakfast. We found our train to Bolzano/Bozen and got four seats together. The train left at 9:53 am and took us north along the Adige River valley. Very pretty scenery as we rode toward the high hills and low mountains. We arrived in Bolzano around 11:30 am. We immediately joined the queue for the cable car to Soprabolzano/Oberbozen. I bought tickets as we waited in line, a half hour before we were four of the approximately 20 people to fit in the gondola. The ride was longer than expected and very lovely. We decided to have lunch at Bar Cafe Fink near the cable car station. The kids tried interesting drinks (banana shake, "sportwasser") while Nick and I had our first house wine in Italy. We each tried a different lunch item (Bauerntoast for me, pizzette for Nick, piadina for Iris, lasagna for Felix). After we shared an ice cream sundae, we set off to find a place to take family pictures with some of the Dolomites in the background. We found the perfect spot for our pictures, then walked back. 

We noticed a lot of people in traditional German dress, then realized there was a parade assembling. We tried to get ahead of it and found ourselves battling paradegoers for space. We walked past the parade route onto a hiking path. I was met with resistance at walking farther because it was yet again hot (even over a half mile above sea level) in the Ritten/Renon area. We stopped for a drink at Tutti Patschenggle. (Nick and I tried the Bolzen-brewed Dunkel, Iris got lemonade with herbs, and Felix got sparkling apple juice.) While there, we found out the parade was because of the Assumption of Mary festival. We headed down the cable car shortly after, which a much shorter wait. We had some time to kill before our 4:31 train back to Verona. We walked to Piazza Walther/Waltherplatz, saw the church adjacent to the square, and got another drink (spritzes for Nick and me). We got on the train and found seats together (Iris and I let Nick and Felix face forward this time). Uneventful ride back. Felix didn't take his ADHD meds today, so he was scattered at times and his typical argumentative self at other times. We got off the train and found the bus we wanted. Nick found an Asian dumpling restaurant the kids wanted to try on the the Airbnb side of the river. Unfortunately, like many other places, it was closed "the holidays." We walked back to Pizzikotto instead. There, we had another nice meal (sharing a couple of pizzas and an order of carbonara). It was 8 pm when we left (and not pouring), so we decided to walk near our apartment. We found some stray cats, which the kids liked. We headed back shortly after that and settled in to start packing up and wind down.

Like being in Germany but still in Italy

16 August - We took it easy this morning, getting ready, packing up, and having one last cup of coffee on the kitchen balcony. We took a bus to the Porta Nuova station at 10 am. We ate some breakfast at the 12 oz near the bus stops. We caught our 11:40 am train to Venice, which was crowded. Uneventful journey - I mostly listened to an audiobook. We arrived to similarly sweltering Venice Mestre at 2. Hungry, we walked to the Antica Focacceria Fiorentina for enormous sandwiches (I split one with Iris). Fortified, we trudged 15 minutes with our backpacks to our next Airbnb. On the 14th floor. With no air conditioning. We immediately turned on all available fans and opened all the windows for airflow. My belly wasn't feeling great, so I took a cold shower after starting laundry. That helped. We all took time to rest and chill (as much as we could, anyway). We decided to make our own dinner tonight. We tried the Pam Local across the street, but decided to walk a few blocks to the big Pam for dinner and snack supplies. We also bought bus tickets on the way (awkward... the tobacco shop worker spoke much better English than my hesitant Italian). We bought fagotti (also awkward), sauce, Felix's choice of Fontanel cheese, some fruit, gelato, and several bottles of beverages and water. We went back and made our dinner, at it at ~ 8 pm, then (while Iris was talking to friends back home) watched a couple Archer episodes with Felix on Netflix. It's nearly 11 pm and still quite warm in this apartment. 

Sunset from the 14th floor

17 August - It was a hot night. I woke around 5:30 am and got a picture of the sunrise. Got out of bed around 7:30 am and made myself an Americano. Once we were all up and ready to go (around 9:00 am), we went out to find breakfast. We walked to Wine Not for our repast (Iris and Felix got cream puffs, Nick and I shared a panini). We caught the next bus to Venezia. Unfortunately, we just missed the hop-on/hop-off boat. We walked past the train station and bought fans from a souvenir kiosk, and popped into a few other shops to get an idea of what souvenirs were being sold. We got on the 11:30  am departure and made our hot, sticky, and in Iris's case, nauseated way to Murano. We got off around 12:30 pm and immediately were shepherded to a glass blowing demonstration at Ellegi. (I've been watching a glass art competition show on Netflix so I had some idea of what was going on and the capabilities.) Nick and the kids were suitably appreciative, especially when the artist sculpted a horse in 90 seconds. We left at the conclusion of the demonstration. 

Glass making demonstration

We stayed on Murano and had a fancy lunch at Trattoria Busa alle Torre. We ate (each getting different types of pasta - Felix got ravioli, Nick - pasta with squid ink, Iris - spaghetti Bolognese, me - tagliatelle), drank (prosecco for us, cokes for the kids), relaxed. When finished, we walked over the bridge and looked for glass souvenirs (not difficult to find - every store had them in varying levels of quality). We stopped in a few stores before getting gelato at Bar/Gelateria Fornace Murano (again, it was very hot!). After finishing our gelato (and Nick and I finished our prosecco), we walked along the Fondamenta da Mula looking in various shops. Iris found necklaced she liked. I was looking for something special, so we walked across the next bridge, intending to catch the 3:10 pm boat back to the station. Instead, we went into B59, which caught our eye as selling more than just touristy stuff. I initially picked out a small bird (€29) and a small hourglass (€42). Then I impulsively added a vase that kind of looked like an owl or a fish for €180. At that point, Stefano, the shop keeper, said we could get into the Ellegi gallery if we presented his card. That sounded interesting and we weren't in a rush, so we headed back to the glassblowing store by the boat stop. A man (Fabrizio, we would learn) was looking for a man in a red shirt from "Wisconsis". We figured that was Nick and identified ourselves. Fabrizio took us upstairs of the factory shop behind the rope, offered beverages (more prosecco and cokes) and allowed to look at one-of-a-kind art pieces and chandeliers. It was an "everything is beautiful/oh, $#!%, they want us to buy it" moment. We sipped and looked around. I found a couple pieces I adored (solo bird - €2,500, iridescent bird bath - €4,000). Fabrizio recommended the one-of-a-kind solo bird, made by the maestro who gave the demonstration we saw earlier (Fabio). We decided to buy that and a set of six stemless Venetian wine glasses for a total of €2,700. After we paid, Fabrizio (company executive manager) allowed the kids to pick out souvenirs for "free." Iris got a small glass cat and an anklet with a several glass beads. Felix got a set of three small blown glasses about the size of a shot glass). 

Our treasures

All the money spent, we walked to the south end of Murano, where we found a glass harmonica player, and a place to get a few beverages and a pizza to share. We then walked and got the boat back to the station at 5:20 pm. I made friends with Maria and Marcus from Cypress at the front of the boat. :D Nice folks. Once we disembarked, we caught the next bus to Mestre. At our stop, we got off and went to Pam Local for drinks and dinner, which we made (gnoccetti) in the still-hot apartment. After dinner, we played Labirinto (Labyrinth) and then watched a couple episodes of Archer. 

Murano

18 August - I got a picture of sunrise shortly after 6, then got up at 7:30 am. We had breakfast and Americanos in the apartment before leaving shortly after 8:30 am to make our way back to Venice. The bus was less crowded, likely because it was earlier and Sunday. We caught the 9:30 am Venetiana boat and took it to the San Marco stop. We bought tacky magnets for us and Cassie at at kiosk along the water. The day started cooler than yesterday, but it was already warming up. Nick spent some time looking at the details on the outside of the cathedral. So did many, many other tourists. Iris said she was hungry, so we headed away from the square through the clock tower. We ducked into a shop with similar glass pieces as we saw yesterday. We decided to eat at Bar Al Campanile because they had cicchetti Venezi. We each got our won sample of 3-4 with a beverage in the 1920s-esque bar. Once sated, we walked on. I told the kids to pick paths that looked interesting. We found some very busy ones and some deserted alleys. The kids lost interest in doing this quicker than I hoped (though they got treats at Captain Candy). I directed us to the Rialto Bridge, which was very busy. 

In Piazza San Marco

On the Rialto Bridge

Then we found a public toilet for Iris. Next, we went looking for a place to have a drink in the shade. We ended up making a loop back to Piazza San Marco and went to Ristorante Marciana, just down the way from the Bar Al Campanile on Calle Larga S. Marco. There, which it was noon, we ordered two pizzas to share and a bottle of Lugana wine. We took a nice break then. The kids were not enthusiastic about doing more wandering, so we started to make our way back to the buses. We stopped at a few places to help Iris find a quill and ink, and to let Felix get gelato. Iris complained about sore feet, so we headed straight back. I hadn't been feeling great today, so I didn't mind. Everyone felt they had done enough Venice now. We caught the next crowded bus back to Mestre and got to the apartment around 3:00 pm. We took showers, cleaned some clothes, and relaxed. There was some rain that went west of us, which was interesting to see from this height. We walked to the Mestre old town area around 6:30 pm to get some dinner. We got an assortment of dumplings and bao at Bini Express, which were all tasty. We looked around the piazza with its 12th Century clock tower in the fading daylight, then walked back to the apartment. We played family foosball and four hands of sheepshead before calling the kitties. We also had some gelato and cannoli we picked up today for dessert. Only one more sleep in Italy...

Mestre

19 August - We slept in, got ready and made our way through the rain on a couple buses to the airport, arriving at 11:10 am. It didn't take long to go through security. We had some food in the crowded food court, then went quickly through passport control. We sat and waited for our 2:50 pm flight. The flight was full and left on time. Nothing unexpected during the flight and we even landed 45 minutes earlier. We cleared customs fairly quickly, got the shuttle to our car, and headed home. We got there around 9:30 pm to two very happy kitties. 

Trip cost (excluding below): $8,231.47
Art: $3,068.27

Minneapolis 2024

23 March 2024 - With Felix heading to Europe with his high school German Club, we decided to stick closer to home for our own spring break plans. Iris and I had plans to go to the Mall of America during winter break, but my mom's passing cancelled those. So instead, we decided to take the trip now, one Felix wouldn't miss too much. 

We left home around 9:15 am. We had to make a quick stop in Marshfield for Nick, then we were off. We stopped to charge and eat at Noodles & Co in Eau Claire. The weather was cold (in the 30s) but clear. Once we got near the Twin Cities, Nick dropped Iris and me off at the Trader Joe's in Woodbury while he went to charge the Tesla. We stocked up on food and drinks, then Nick picked us up. We drove to IKEA first, as Iris had never been to one. She was impressed by all the stuff, but we walked out of there an hour later with only a few small things. After that, we checked into our Airbnb in Minnehaha Falls. Iris immediately fell in love with the first floor apartment in the bungalow. It's a quaint 1920s house, and she loves having her own queen-sized bed. After we got settled, we all drove over to see the Falls themselves, because the weather was good today. It wasn't a huge cascade at this time of year, but it was pretty. We then drove up to Surly Brewing Co. for dinner. Despite it being around 4:45 pm on a Saturday, we had to wait a while for a table, much to hungry Iris' chagrin. Once seated, we ordered food and drinks on our phones and had little interaction with waitstaff, which was different. Iris got a burger while Nick and I got grain bowls. We enjoyed our dinner, then headed out. Nick dropped Iris and me off at the Mall of America so Iris could get her first taste of it. We walked about half the mall and just got her a black tank top. She took a look at the rides and made a plan for tomorrow. We took the train back to our rental around 8 pm. My feet were very tired by then, so it was nice to just put on Spaceballs and relax before bed.

Visiting Minnehaha Falls

24 March - Despite my intention of sleeping in, I was awake by 7:30 am. Once everybody was up, we got ourselves breakfast (bagels and cream cheese, with smoked salmon for us). I did some Italian lessons (in preparation for our next trip). We all got ready and walked to the train station around 9:30 am, and then took the next train to the Mall of America. Iris wanted to do the rides right away. We bought some points, then let Iris decide what rides. She chose the Fairly Odd Parents rollercoaster that we could do together. She was nervous, but the line moved pretty quickly and soon we were on. It was a lot of fun, especially because it was just the three of us in the car, which spun on the track. After that, I left them to do a little shopping of my own. Iris rode the Ninja Turtles ride and was in line for another spinny ride when I tracked them down. (I did buy myself a fall/winter coat from Columbia, on sale for $130). Nick and I watched Iris spin around

Iris on the Brainstorm ride

After Iris got off, we were hungry. We went up to the 3rd floor and found a quick ramen place, where we each got different types of ramen and boba tea. Once sated, Iris wanted to see one more time if the high ropes course was finally open. It was, so we walked back across the mall to get in line. She ended up waiting about an hour in a slow moving line (very much testing her patience) to finally get her chance, then spent about 15 minutes actually on the course (there weren't too many elements that made her pause). 

Iris on the highest level of the course

After she was finished, we walked back to the train station and barely caught the next train. It had started snowing while we were in the mall, and it was coming down pretty heavily when we got off the train. We got back to our rental around 2:30 pm and relaxed. At 3 pm, we put on the UW Badgers women's hockey National Championship game versus Ohio State. Alas, they lost 0-1. Iris was sullen because she didn't want to watch the game and was bored. Sigh. 

We made a feast of dumplings from Trader Joe's for dinner. Afterward, we taught Iris how to play the card game Dominion, then watched Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

25 March - We again had a quiet few hours in the morning, working on Italian and eating a light breakfast of scones. It was raining, which made the snow we got yesterday even slushier. We drove over to St. Paul to do the Trapped Escape Room I booked the night before. (We did our first this past fall in the Dells and Iris really enjoyed it, so we decided to do another). We had an hour to do the Wizard's Tower room. We finished in 49:15. :D 

We did it! 

It was about 11 am when we finished. We noticed that there were several Middle Eastern restaurants nearby, so we went to one (Shish) for an early lunch. We got falafel/schwarma/fattoush deliciousness, plus gave Iris her first taste of a Turkish coffee (she wasn't a fan). Once finished, we looked for something to do next. I saw on that there was a waterfall nearby. We parked near the Mississippi River, put on our boots, and attempted to find Shadow Falls. We walked to the edge of the gorge and down the path toward the creek. Thankfully, we were following fresh tracks in the snow so we could tell where to go. Once we reached it, the waterfall was little more than a trickle, but out it was still pretty.

Shadow Falls

Nick wanted to get some work done, so we headed back to the rental. Iris and I hopped on the next train heading downtown to do some looking around there. There were some interesting characters on our train car, but we made it without incident. It was raining harder when we got off the train. We made a nearby Target store our destination, five wet blocks away. Iris found some yoga pants and a paint set. From there, we walked a few blocks back towards the train stop, where I found a crepe shop. We warmed up with some crepes and coffee, and got one for Nick, too. Our Metro tickets were still good, so we caught the next train back to the rental and got in around 3. We spent some time relaxing, then went out to get dinner from Poke House in St. Paul. We brought them back to eat at the rental. Iris's stomach wasn't feeling well, so she waited a bit. After dinner, we played another game of Dominion. 

26 March - We woke to snow. We decided to stay in for a while so Nick could get some work done. Iris and I did lots of Italian and put on a recent UW Badgers softball game. We headed out shortly after 11 to Himalayan Restaurant. We were trying to find an Indian buffet, but, alas, those seem to be a thing of the past, at least around Minneapolis. Anyway, we each got a different thing and made our own mini-buffet of appetizers, noodles, and chana masala. It was very tasty. 

Next we drove through the snowy streets to the Midtown Global Market. I was looking for some spices and hoped to find them there (I did not), but we did buy a few treats for that evening. From there, we went to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. We spent a couple hours wandering through the galleries, looking at the various collections. Iris started feeling a food coma after the big lunch, so we didn't see everything, but the Asian exhibits were interesting.

Tired Iris, pretty pottery

Trying to identify the skyline through the snow

From there, we started our drive to Shorewood, stopping on the way to charge. We arrived at 3:30 pm and spent several hours at the home of my friends Kendra and Paul from high school/college, and their daughter Eleanor, who is a year old than Iris. Unfortunately, Paul was off on a trip, but we had a lovely time catching up with the ladies. We got Thai food delivered and played Midnight Party and Forbidden Island together, before we left around 7:30 pm. Once back at the rental, we started to get our stuff packed up and put on some softball to watch.

27 March - After our last night in the Airbnb, we were up, packed and out around 8:30 am. We woke to a clear, sunny morning, which was a novelty for this trip. We did some charging in Oakdale, then more in Eau Claire, but we were home at 1 pm. It was nice to see the kitties in person (we had peeped in on them with our Echo Show a couple times during our trip, which probably freaked them out) and be back home.

Trip cost: $

License plates: 30 of 51

San Francisco 2023

26 March 2023 - It was the first Sunday of the kids' spring break, and we spent the morning getting the house and our stuff ready for our trip to San Francisco tomorrow. We said goodbye to Roary and Robin, then headed for Milwaukee. We charged up in Madison, and had an uneventful ride overall. We met Steve and Vicky at the Best Western by the airport at 3:30 pm. the kids grabbed their swim stuff while Nick parked the car. Felix didn't swim long, because he got a bloody nose that took a while to stop. We ordered some pizzas for delivery, then I joined Iris in the pool area. She was having fun swimming. We had connecting rooms and all ate together once the Toppers arrived. We wound down after that and the lights were out by 8:00 pm.

27 March - 3:30 am came way too early, but I got up and got ready. Nick and the kids followed suit, then we were off to catch the airport shuttle at 4:15 am. It was pretty painless to check our bags and go through security. Unfortunately, few places were open, so I paid $27 for waters and breakfast bars for me and the kids (ouch). We got on the plane - sitting near the wing to do two rows of three - Iris, me, Nick / Vicky, Steve, Felix. Our first leg was from Milwaukee to Phoenix on Southwest, which would have had enough time between flights, but we lost a half hour to deicing. Oh well, safety first. Nick and I tried to nap on the 3.5-hour flight. Iris got antsy the last hour. Then we had to do a mad dash from Concourse C to the end of Concourse D to catch our flight to San Francisco. There was our exercise! We made our way ahead so we could let the gate know Steve and Vicky were on their way too. Got on, got seats together again, this time near the back. 1.75-hour flight with interesting scenery. Iris's ears bothered her a lot during the descent. :( We deplaned to a surprisingly clear day. We got our luggage, made our way to the air train to get to the rental car place. Found that we had to take a shuttle from there... We landed around 11 am and finally left in our Pacifica rental around 1 pm. We picked up some McDonald's to ease hunger pains. From there, we headed to the Golden Gate Bridge to see it and drive across it. Busy traffic, as expected, nice clear views. It was about 2 pm when we crossed back, so we decided to head to our Airbnb (923 Florida St) to park, stow our bags and walked the many blocks to KitTea. We reserved an hour in the cat café (on the kids' to-do list since we missed an opportunity in Milwaukee). Most of the cats were sleepy while we were there, but the kids enjoyed it. From there, we walked to an Irish pub (The Napper Tandy) for a drink and an early dinner. Iris was struck by a wave of homesickness that I tried to talk her through. Looking at pictures of our kitties helped. After dinner, we picked up some groceries and headed back. Everyone did their own thing at the house. Iris went on the trampoline in the backyard (joined by Felix later) while I met and visited Ina (who lives downstairs) and the various house pets (dogs Stella & Mango, cats Cupcake & Cookie). The kids were too loud outside, so I sent them in. Everything quieted after that. I'm trying to stay up until 9 pm.

27 March highlights

28 March - I had to wear earplugs to sleep last night because someone's snoring was so loud. I woke around 7 am and got up at 7:30. Nick and I showered, then went to pick up coffees nearby. Felix made everyone omelets with some trial and error on the gas stove. There was a pretty steady rain in the morning that looked to continue all day. Iris wanted to do the California Academy of Sciences. Felix took some convincing. We got there around 10:30 am, bought our (pricy) tickets and spent the next two hours looking at the exhibits. Iris wanted to do (and was subsequently frightened by) the earthquake simulator. (A young schoolboy fainted while we were getting in line, so that was interesting...) We spent most of our collective time looking at all the aquarium exhibits. We were feeling hungry when we got through, but the cafeteria line was long. We got the kids each a chocolate bar to tide them over, then headed out. I wanted to take the family over to the Japanese Tea Garden, but when we walked over, it was closed due to the rain. :( We walked back to the car and headed to 9th St, where we parked and found a place for lunch - Gordo's Taqueria. After a filling lunch, we trudged back across the street. Iris wanted to go in the magic shop there. It was busy, so I left Nick and Felix with her and check out the gift shop next door with Steve and Vicky. We didn't shop long, then we headed back to the house. It felt good to change out of wet socks. I'm writing this from the couch in the alcove adjacent to the kitchen and backyard while listening to the rain fall (and Steve read off menu items to Vicky). We streamed the UW Men's basketball NIT semifinal game. Nick and I left the kids with Steve and Vicky, then took the half-hour walk to Monk's Kettle on 16th, which Nick wanted to try. (Note - walk down Valencia, not Mission...) We got seats at the bar and each ordered a beer new to us (I got Death & Taxes by Moonlight; Nick got Damnation by Russian River) and we ordered dinner (kale salad for me because when in Rome; chicken sandwich for Nick). We had a nice chat, enjoying the bustle of the bar. For our second beers, I got Gallagher's Best Bitter cask ale by Freewheel and Nick got Gouden Carolus Tripel by Het Anker. It was starting to get dark as we finished, so we took that as our cue to go. We bought a couple cans to take with us (Allagash White and Chonk by Ghost Town). We stopped at a market to pick up more breakfast stuff, then headed back to unwind. Called it a night early.

28 March highlights

29 March - We found out that the waste trucks come by this neighborhood three times, starting at 4:30 am. I was done with sleeping by the time the third came at 7 am. We spent a quiet morning eating what was at hand and got coffee brewing. We got ready for what was already shaping up to be another rainy day. We left the house around 10 am and drove up to our Fisherman's Wharf parking garage. We made our way west a bit in the rain. Nick, Felix, Steve and Vicky went to look at the WWII ships moored nearby, while Iris and I went to Museé Méchanique. We found a pinball machine with a free credit (score!), then walked around looking at the old arcade games and antique Wurlitzers and mechanical players. The others joined us, and I gave each kid $1 in quarters. Iris did whack-a-mole and an arm-wrestling game. Felix spent money on a bad pun (quarter pounder with fries) and did pretty well playing an antique baseball game. From there, we used some foul toilets (the building smelled strongly of dead fish and there was no toilet paper). We improved our moods heading across the street for lunch at The Chowder Hut. We enjoyed our bread bowls with chowder (though Felix got a burger) under awnings and heaters, so it wasn't so bad outside. Given that it was about noon, we walked toward Pier 39. We went into a souvenir shop to avoid a downpour, then headed to see the sea lions (stopping at a shop for lefties with Iris & Vicky - the kids got cheap umbrellas). The rain let up a bit while we got to the sea lion viewing area, and we got nice atmospheric pictures of Alcatraz and San Francisco. From there, we headed to Pier 33 to board our ferry to Alcatraz. Iris got progressively crankier with every wet step, to the point where I bribed her with socks afterward to keep her going. Things improved slightly when we were actually on the ferry and out of the rain. We made our way off the ferry once we reached the island and headed up, up, up to the prison block. There, we did the audio tour, which was interesting and informative (even the kids were engaged). It also kept us out of the rain. We took a while getting through the gift shop. Felix wanted a baseball, then a book in German, then a key, then settled on a multi-tool pen. Iris took a (surprising) pass on things. We headed back out to the south part of the island, endured another downpour, then went down to stand in line for the 3:45 pm ferry back. Felix was annoyed by the group of older teens amusing themselves by singing pop and Hebrew songs. We weren't sure we would make it on, but the ferry could hold a lot of passengers. We got a coffee to share and a pretzel to perk up Iris on the ride back. Since I promised socks, Iris and I headed off first to go to Pier 39 where I found a sock store. I got myself some warm ones, some hummingbird socks, and ones that matched my feelings about the rain. I got Iris fuzzy toe socks. We met back up and headed to the car. Nick dropped us off at a nearby Trader Joe's, where we picked up some pasta and sauce to make for dinner. We found ourselves near Lombard Street and decided to make a detour to drive down it. I'm not surprised people live on it, but I think it would be annoying. We continued back to the rental (passing a street with multiple ladder fire trucks at work). I started laundry while Nick made our pasta and garlic bread dinner. Steve and Vicky made their own dinner after us. It finally cleared up as we were driving home, so the kids went out in the twilight to use the trampoline again. I'm catching up on today, waiting for our laundry to be done, and enjoying some California pinot noir we got for $7.

29 March highlights

30 March - I woke up around 7 am this morning, made coffee and showered. Natalie asked us to come by her apartment at noon, so we spent a quiet morning kicking around the rental. It was nice and sunny, so the kids spent some time on the trampoline. We left a little before noon and drove to China Basin. After parking and walking to Natalie's building, she let us up to see her apartment. The kids tried to feed treats to her cat, Beaker. Natalie broke out a couple bottles of prosecco (with flavoring cubes) that we used to toast us all being here together. We visited for a bit, then we walked along Mission Bay to the food trucks. There, we all found food (Nick and the kids got food from BaconBacon, I got a poke bowl, and some Boba teas for the kids and me). Joann (Vicky's sister) and Clarence (her husband) joined us. It's been a few years (at the 2020 Rose Bowl) since Nick and I have seen them, and they've never met the kids. The kids chased each other around the green space while we enjoyed some beverages under the sun. It was in the 50s and breezy. Nick, the kids and I decided to play the mini golf course that was nearby. It was a very cleverly designed course, with each hole representing San Franciscan or Californian history/landmarks. We had fun playing while the other chatted. We didn't keep score, but that was fine. The others left to get us a table at Natalie's favorite bar, district. We got the kids dishes of ice cream, then made our way there as well. It was still sunny, but cooler with the wind picking up. The kids were surprisingly good at the bar, and handled lots of adults talking loudly well. I was feeling overly full from lunch and a bit sunburnt, so I stuck to a non-alcoholic beer and water. Nick put back a couple glasses of cava and a couple beers over the course of several hours. We abandoned thoughts of going out for dinner because no one was very hungry. I did take the kids for a walk over to Oracle Park to stretch our legs and see some sights. They liked that. We didn't stay much longer - just long enough for Nick to feel like he had enough time visiting to suggest heading back. The sun was setting as we left, so it was probably a good time. I drove us home uneventfully. The four of us had a light dinner of various leftovers before calling it a night.

30 March highlights

31 March - I had trouble sleeping last night, not getting to sleep until after midnight. Sigh. I still woke up around 7 am. Nick and I got ready, then walked down to pick up some donuts and coffee from Dynamo Donuts on 24th. It felt like being in Europe - just the two of us on a quiet morning walk. Once we got back, we all tried bites of the half-dozen donuts we picked up. We spent a little while relaxing and planning our day before we all headed out at 10. It was another nice, mid-50s day like yesterday. We traveled back to Golden Gate Park, where we found parking and walked to the Japanese Tea Garden. It was beautiful (with the cherry blossoms and azaleas flowering) and very busy (for the same reasons). Iris liked the koi and Felix liked the big cedar trees. Once we meandered around and got our fill, we headed to Japantown to get an early lunch. Iris got a big sushi roll for herself, Felix went for udon, Nick and I had combo lunches (small rolls and rice dishes), while Steve and Vicky stuck with cooked food. Natalie joined us there, and ate with us. Once finished, we headed to Chinatown. Unfortunately, our parking garage as blocked by a minor crash, so we had to find a new lot. That accomplished, we started off toward the Chinatown gate. The kids wanted to go into every kitschy shop. We did get some coffee for energy before embarking on a brief, self-guided walking tour. It was busy and we spent way too much time in junky stores for my tastes, but Felix ended up with chopsticks and a San Francisco snow globe. Iris was resentful that no personalized stuff had her name on it. Once we had had enough, we returned to the van and made our way to the Ferry Building. We parked and walked around in a couple groups. Iris settled on a big piece of amethyst as a keychain (matching her purple hair) and a sticker. It was about 4:30 by then, so we ended up at Gott's Roadside for a much-needed break and an early dinner. My fish tacos were good and Nick got a chili dog. The kids got kid fare. Once sated and rested, we walked back to the van, passing a naked bicyclist on the way, because California. We made a quick detour at a candy store, then took Natalie home. We all got out at her place to say bye, then headed back to our house. I spent some time getting the kids' and our suitcases ready to go.

31 March highlights

1 April - I woke at 5 am to get ready. Nick and the kids got up shortly after. We had everything packed up and left the house at 5:55. We had an easy drive back to the airport area, returned the car quickly, got on the shuttle, got on the air train, and reached our terminal as the sun rose. After checking our bags, we got through security slowly. Our first stop was for breakfast and coffee. Thus provisioned, we hunkered down at the gate for a two-hour wait. I walked with Iris to find a "real" San Francisco souvenir for her, and got her a t-shirt. On the plane, Nick sat with his parents and I sat with the kids, which worked well. The flight was under two hours to Denver, and I watched Barb and Star go to Vista del Mar for the first time. Our descent was pretty bumpy, but we made it. We had about three hours to kill in the airport. I listened to the Brewer game. Nick did some work and the kids played Roblox together on their phones. Iris and I also walked the concourse and got some drinks. Our flight left at 4:05 pm instead of 3:55, which wasn't bad. We sat the same way on this flight as the previous. (It's a good thing I checked in early because all our flights were completely full.) I tried to rest on the flight. We got into Milwaukee as the sun was setting. It didn't take us long to deplane, get our luggage, and say bye to Steve and Vicky. We caught the shuttle to the parking lot right away. We packed up, swung back by the hotel to check if they found Iris's stuffed cat (they had not :( ), then headed home. We stopped in Madison to stretch our legs, get a snack and charge. We pulled into our garage around 10:45 pm. The kitties were very happy to see us and we were glad to be home.

Trip cost for us: $6,890

License plates: 37 of 51 (saw Hawaii twice!)

{Transcribed 6/27/23}