Lund Family Reunion in August

 Right after we got back from our cruise we packed up our things from the Hale's house and drove to Kiersty's house for some Lund family time. Everyone else had been together for a few days and luckily Steve and I were able to make it and hang out with everyone for a few days. We spent a day at Thanksgiving Point gardens. It was the first time I had ever been there and was quite impressed with the quality of the gardens there. There was some awesome features and a little splash park to play in with Andrew. Steve also finally fulfilled his dream to ride a segway.  He has seriously been wanting to do this for as long as I can remember- so when he finally had a chance he rented one! He shared it with me for about thirty seconds but wasn't very happy about it :)

We had so much fun hanging out with the whole family. Steve and I didn't get to be with everyone for a super long time but were happy we were able to make it for some of it! Unfortunately, I don't have very many pictures of the trip but did manage to get away with the pictures my sisters and I always take and we always end up squinting because the sun is shining wayyyyy to bright in our eyes! Hehe- love you family, can't wait to see you in a few weeks!

Barcelona, Spain

 Our final stop was in Barcelona... or bar-th-elona as the Spaniards say. I guess they lisp the c with the accent mark... I don't know what its called :) 

We took a bus tour to see all of the major sights in the city. Unfortunately, Barcelona is a huge city with a lot to see so we weren't really able to get off of the bus and explore- just look from afar. And we were all very tired!

 This is an old Olympic arena

 

 There were the most beautiful markets in Barcelona. Look at that produce :)

 They had the most interesting crazy architecture in this city... it was all about ultra modern mixed with very old style.. the old style reminded me a little of Boston.

 There were all of these street performers who had the most awesome costumes. They legitimately looked like statues and would jump out and scare people. We've seen some since in Denver and they are seriously lacking!

There is a famous architect from Barcelona- Gaudi. He lived around the turn of the century and was this crazy creative guy that dreamed big! Below are some pictures of his work. The Sagrada Familia, his famous cathedral that is not finished yet, and the Park Guell that is chock full of his creativity.

Our last stop of the day was dinner at a flamico dancer show. This show was one of the coolest things we saw. There was a live band and the dancers really went for it. The food was good but the show as the serious kicker. We were all just in awe of this show.

 Some of us walked back to the apartment we had rented for the night, we really enjoyed our stroll through the city.

The next morning, we woke up and got a delicious tortilla for breakfast. A tortilla in Spain is a potato, egg, and tomato quiche type thing on some delicious crusty bread. After that, it was off the airport and back the USA. We had such a fun, unforgettable vacation!

Monaco, Nice and hanging around on the cruise ship

Our second to last stop was in Monaco. However, there really isn't that much to do in Monaco except go to the casinos and gamble.... so we found out there was a bus to Pebble Beach in Nice, France that took about 45 minutes- so we hopped on and made our first appearance in France! 

We spent the morning at the beach which was beautiful. The name 'pebble beach' was a little deceiving because the pebbles were really large flat rocks... they were really pretty but not so comfortable to sunbathe on :) This part of the Mediterranean was so beautiful, everything was really well kept and modern. Monaco was especially nice. 

On our way back to the ship we stopped for some authentic French pastries like croissants, and pain au chocolate and baguettes. YUMMMM! They were sooo good. There were also a million little shops by the beachfront that we stopped at. This was a really fun stop... and now I really want a pain au chocolate.

We have a million pictures of everyone hanging around the cruise ship. There were 9 of us altogether and I think we shocked people with the size of our group. We got to eat delicious food- there were pizza and ice cream bars, buffets 24 hours a day and then every night there is a 4 course meal... We also worked out every day so we could feel okay about gorging ourselves on really rich food! 

Exhibit A: Steve ran 6-7 miles every day so he could eat as much dessert as he wanted. He had a particular affinity for souffles. In this picture he finished his own and then ate everyone else who ordered a souffle leftovers! What a guy :)

We did a lot of swimming and sunbathing... 

 There were two formal nights so we all got dressed up and enjoyed a fancy dinner

 

Annie had the MOST lux accommodations of all of us... a pull down bunk right above Brent and Sandra's bed... hehehe

 There were also many very competitive games of mini golf

And about a million breathtaking sunsets!

Florence and Pisa

Our final stop in Italy was in Florence/Pisa. We had to take another long train ride to get to these places so we didn't have tons of time in either but saw the major stuff everyone talks about...

This is the Duomo- a church with the craziest facade I have ever seen in my life.... covered in carvings and sculptures

The doors to the baptistry at the duomo picturing famous biblical scenes

The inside of this church was rather austere compared to other churches we saw. However, this was my favorite church that we visited because we had this awesome tour guide who really drew you in to the tour and the history of the church... Look at those arches!

At a sculpture garden in Florence

An unfinished Michelangelo... This was another beautiful sculpture like the Pieta

The famous leaning tower!

We had to take these pictures of course

This was one of my favorite stops in Italy... if you're going there definitely check these cities out!