Way back in 2015, I wrote about this world-traveling family’s 20 Most Memorable Moments of 2014. But our journey had only just started — we continued hopping across the globe for a good portion of 2015. Here are the 35 things we experienced in 2015 that we regularly talk about.
› This summer we're packing up and hitting the road to experience that great tradition—the Epic American Road Trip. We'll be traveling the highways and byways of the United States, journeying through 17 states in three weeks. Join us, won't you?
After leaving England, we had a three-day layover in Iceland, a small island country the locals call a land of ice and fire. On our first day, we got the lay of the land in Reykjavik, along with a history lesson or two, and some delicious hot dogs.
Way back around the year 120, Roman Emperor Hadrian built a giant wall too keep the wildmen out of the northern border of the Roman Empire. Parts of that wall still stand today.
During our 333-day trip around the world, I filmed one second of video for each day we were traveling. Well, kind of. When it was all over, all that footage was turned into a six-minute video that nicely chronicles our journey. And you can see that video right here.
Our four days in Athens went by pretty quickly, but we got to see some amazing things in the birthplace of democracy.
Barcelona, Spain is home to only one UNESCO World Heritage site, but it's a big one that encompasses many sites throughout the city—the Works of Antoni Gaudí. We visited just a few of the man's creations, but his influence (not to mention his name) can be seen and felt throughout the entire city.
After our whirlwind driving tour of Spain, we were happy to settle down in Barcelona for a week, where my mom came to join up on our travels for a few days. We didn't do a lot each day, but over the course of the week we packed in quite a few activities.
Our days in Granada were over and we were on our way to Valencia. But first we had to get our car and get out of Granada. Then, after a too-short stay in Valencia, we were off to Barcelona.
Now that the big parades of Semana Santa were over, we had two more days to relax in Granada,
Our hotel managed to secure a pair of adult admission tickets to the Alhambra (a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed as Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzín, Granada), a fortress that stands on a hill high above the city of Granada. It dates back to the 12th century when the area was ruled by Moorish emirs.
We were going to arrive in Granada by 6:00 p.m. After our experience with Seville during Semana Santa parades, we were ready for anything ... or so we thought. But as it turns out, arriving in Granada was even crazier than our experience in Seville the night before.
Before we got on the road to Granada, we visited the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See, more commonly known as the Seville Cathedral. It's the largest cathedral in the world (as well as the third largest church) and it is, of course, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Our Toledo host had told us about the time he went to Seville for Semana Santa and saw all the fantastic parades that were held in the city. As we approached the borders of Seville and the traffic became thicker, we started thinking that we might run into one of these legendary parades. Boy, did we ever.
On the way to Seville, we stop off at Mérida where we accidentally stumble onto the ruins of a Roman gladiatorial arena, amphitheater, and aqueduct.
On the way to Seville, we stop off at Mérida where we accidentally stumble onto the ruins of a Roman gladiatorial arena, amphitheater, and aqueduct.
