Prague – March 5th
Sorry for this rambling blog – it really is meant for those of you who are truly hanging on our every word (hi, Mom – I love you)!

We are now almost one month into our travels and last night at dinner, as a family, we were reflecting on some of the experiences we’ve had along the way. We all agreed that we laughed the most in Quebec City – we had silly fun at the Winterfest Park and Madeline kept us in stitches with her good humor and excellent timing. We talked about some of our favorite meals and realized that the” best meals” we’ve had are not necessarily the “finest meals” we’ve had. The bread/salami/cheese sandwiches, apples, animal cookies and cheap little bottles of red wine that we had on the night train to Krakow was absolutely our favorite meal so far. We were famished, tired and a little giddy, and by the time we got on the train, in our little sleeper car, we were just happy to be there – together. Our fondue meal in Quebec City was memorable because it was a bit of an inside joke as a family. When we were in Paris a few years ago, we walked up and down several streets on the Left Bank and tried to convince a restaurant to serve us one serving of fondue that we could all share. We weren’t really that hungry, but we really wanted fondue! We walked into at least five, completely empty, restaurants and every one of them told us they would only serve us fondue if we ordered four! After a while it became comical and we gave up – hence the greatly appreciated fondue dinner we had in Quebec City. In Amsterdam we were having a late lunch at a fabulous little find, Café Sevini, and we asked the girls what their favorite and least favorite aspect of the trip was so far. Alex said “My favorite thing is getting to spend every day with you guys – especially you, Dad.” (honestly!) and her least favorite thing was “missing Tatiana.” Madeline said “My favorite thing is just getting to a new city and walking around and looking at all the new things and people and taking it all in,” and her least favorite was “having to share a bathroom with her sister,” (which we think is funny, since she shares one with her at home – although they do each have their own sinks!) Our favorite moments: toboggan ride in Quebec City; falafels in Amsterdam; gourmet food section in KaDeWe, Berlin; Picasso Museum in Berlin; Daddy tripping over a little black dog in Berlin; antique Czech puppets in Bric a Brac in Prague; Beaver Tails in Quebec City; trying to buy our train ticket to Auschwitz with Euros, when they only take Polish dollars – and we were already on the train; the cute Golden Retriever in Berlin; Guinness and fish-and-chips in Ireland; Sheridan’s Cheese Monger in Dublin; the Butterfly Garden at Amsterdam Zoo; Spamalot; tube rides in London; chocolate shops in Brussels and clean clothes on laundry days.

We’ve been incredibly lucky with the places we’ve stayed so far, except for one. Matt has been using the New York Times Travel Section as a basic guide and the recommendations have been right on. Of course Loews Quebec City was just crazy nice, thanks to John Thacker. We adored our hotel in Kilarney, the Kilarney Royal – so cozy, friendly and beautiful. The Thistle in London was a big hotel, but our family room was huge and nice and in the Marble Arch area of London which is a great place to be. Brussels was the only hotel that was less then perfect. It was big, but really sparse and just a little funky – not dirty, just a weird vibe. Luckily we were only there for one night. Amsterdam was another great surprise. The A-Train Hotel was right across from the main train station and it was small, incredibly charming and with a great attention to décor and detail (old train theme). We loved our stay there and would absolutely go back. In Berlin we had two nice, large rooms at Hotel Arco which was situated in the west side of Berlin in an older neighborhood with lots of character. Now we’re in Prague and we have an apartment on a quiet street in the Flathotel Orion. It’s nice to have so much space to spread out and a kitchen to make breakfast and snacks. Again, all recommendations from NY Times. No complaints.

As we travel on, each city seems more beautiful then the last, with one exception. The scenery on our train ride through Poland down to Krakow and then out to Auschwitz was oppressive and depressing. I realize its winter and generally the scenery along the train tracks in any city may not be its finest, but it just seemed sad. I’m sure there are incredible places to visit in Poland; it just didn’t happen for us on this trip. I have to say, after the day we spent yesterday in Prague – I am convinced that this city will be my favorite. Aesthetically, Prague takes the top prize. We are all captivated with its magnificence. We’re so happy we have time to take it all in.
More Later…

Auschwitz - March 2nd
It’s was an appropriately wet, cold, dreary day at Auschwitz and from the moment we stepped onto the site it was hard to imagine that the sun and warm ever make an appearance there. We are truly speechless. There are no words, there is no description and there’s no explanation. At the end of the day, the only way to comprehend is to open our hearts and minds, honor each and every spirit, and embrace tolerance as if it were part of our genetic make-up and not simply a conscious decision. We are eternally moved, we are grateful for our human rights and freedom and we are blessed to have family and friends that we love, laugh with and get to wrap our arms around at the end of the day.

Berlin

We were a little reluctant to hop on the double decker bus tour of Berlin yesterday, but considering the amount of time we have here, we were really happy we did! The tour was a great way to really see this beautiful, changing city, and to learn a little bit more about it's history. Berlin has changed so much since so much of it was destroyed during WWII. Berliner's say there is no need to travel to other cities for change because there is constantly so much of it within their own city. The juxtaposition of modern architecture with older, classic German structures is really exciting to see. The contemporary buildings have that Bauhaus flair that I really love. Often times there are buildings literally encased within glass buildings and the effect is stunning - especially at night.

We stopped and walked around the new Jewish Memorial site which consists of 2,711 gravestone-like pillars that form a never-ending maze you can easily get lost in. It was a remarkable site and very powerful. We walked through the Brandenburg Gate, which has so much historical significance to the city, and then back to our section of the city, Charlottenburg, for a little walk around. Today we're off to the Picasso Museum and The Photography Museum before we board our night train to Poland for our Auschwitz tour.

Our next stop is in Praugue for four days. We'll post again from there.
There are a few new photos below and someday I may figure out how to link people into our Picasa site to view all our photos (any tips Jacob?)
Love for now-
Toledo Family

Amsterdam!
February 27th
Just a quick post because we're off to breakfast and the Zoo. I was trying to send some new photos from Brussels and Amsterdam, but seems the Blogspot we're hooked into in Amsterdam is in Dutch and doesn't want to communicate with our computer. I'll try again from Berlin on Friday.

We are all enjoying Amsterdam immensly. Everything is accessible (and I mean EVERYTHING) by foot and it is one of the most picturesque cities I've ever seen. We love the bike culture of this city. The city vibe is urban, but laid back at the same time. The architecture is whimsical, slightly askew and dramatic all in one description. People are friendly and seem to come from all over the planet. We went to the Anne Frank House, which was a very moving experience. There are so many important museums in this city, but we chose to spend time at the Van Gogh Museum yesterday (it was that or the History of Hemp and Marijuana Museum- hmmm tough choice). It was great for the girls to see many of the Van Gogh's they had studied in school or art class, in real life. What a treat for all of us.

We had really yummy falafals at MAOZ - thanks Jacob - you're right, they were delicious! Today we're taking the kids to the Amsterdam Zoo which has a Butterfly Garden, Planetarium, and Geological Museum. Should be fun. We had a bit of rain yesterday, but today is sunny and beautiful. I can't stress enough how enjoyable it is to travel in Europe in the off season. We walked right into the Anne Frank House and leisurely took our time, and the Van Gogh Museum was only moderately busy. We are navigating ourselves around new places with a surprising amount of good luck. We seem to have excellent family radar! See you in Berlin!
Love and Peace
Lisa, Matt, Alex and Madeline

On The Move!

Our last couple of days in London was spent at the British Museum, the Tate Modern (our favorite), the National Portrait Gallery and my friends Lisa, David and Madeleine’s house. The ancient Egyptian floor of the British Museum was particularly interesting and the girls were really taken with the process of mummification. It’s one thing to learn about it in school, it’s another to stand there and stare at the shriveled, preserved remains of an actual mummy. Wait until they get to Egypt! The Tate Modern is one of the hippest museums I’ve ever been in. (For those of you who were aboard the Cuan Law with us in December, the real version of Kandinsky’s “Swingers” is hanging in this gallery and it is stunning and so vibrant in real life – but the puzzle was fun too!) The following day we Tubed over to St. James Park and walked to Buckingham Palace in hopes of seeing the 11:30 changing of the guards. During the off season, the guide books say that the changing of the guard occurs “on some even days, on some odd days, and sometimes every other day!” We couldn’t find the Queen’s cell phone number, so we took a chance – apparently we were there on one of the “off” days because there was no Pomp, and definitely, no Circumstance. Oh well, their loss. We marched ourselves over to The Palace Theatre where Matt proceeded to score us some fabulous tickets to Spamalot. The Palace is a really fun, old theatre and we had one of two viewing boxes in the entire theatre. It was the perfect spot to enjoy this type of show (we felt like royalty – well, at least like one of the Knights That Go Neeght!) and Madeline was in HEAVEN. (she’s our Monty Python fan). The next morning we headed to The National Portrait Gallery where we fully expected to see the portrait of the famed Duke who was beheaded at the Tower and then sewn back together so he could “sit” for his portrait! Guess what, American tourists - can you say urban legend? Hey, it’s not our fault - we believed everything the Yeoman tour guide told us at the Tower of London! No harm – the Portrait Gallery turned out to be an excellent compilation of contemporary photography and self-portrait paintings and we loved the Vanity Fair photography exhibit (especially Alex, our little photographer). We briskly walked through the portrait halls of English royalty and we all agreed there was one common theme – homeliness! Now and then I would spot some really handsome, interesting looking man with a chiseled face and wild, spiky hair, (like Sting!) and I would pause to read about him. Every one of these portraits was either of a composer, painter, scientist or naturalist! I guess that shows you what kind of life I would have had in the days of the Tudors. I would have been “betrothed” to some horrible Duke, had a lusty affair with a naturalist, and upon discovery of such affair, promptly beheaded! Wait, didn’t someone write a book about that?

We ended our London stay with a visit to my friend’s house where her husband, a wonderful Scot named David, made us a traditional English dinner. We walked to the local pub, talked, laughed and caught up on seventeen years! Lisa’s daughter, Madeleine is beautiful, smart and charming and the girls fell in love with her.

Today, February 25th, we’re in Brussels for a quick stop over to Amsterdam. The old part of this city is an architectural wonder. So very pretty. I’ll post more photos later from Amsterdam.
Lisa, Matt and girls

Leaving Ireland – On To London

February 19th
We’re sitting in the Dublin airport waiting for our flight to London. It’s Alex’s 15th birthday today (she’s spent at least three of them in the air flying somewhere)! This morning Matt and I made her a card that is a collage of all things relating to our travels in Ireland (country map, ticket stubs, photos, flags, etc). She loved it.

A few days ago, we left Dublin and headed to Killarney, driving on the left side of the road. Matt did a stellar job driving us and I, of course, navigated. The girls and I were his cheering section and biggest fans. Every time we arrived somewhere safely and with no car damage, there were praises a-plenty. We did have a little minor run in with the law, (we stayed a little too long in the right lane of the freeway), but with Matt’s sweet charm and his LA County Sheriff’s badge, we were given a friendly warning and a good old Irish handshake. The luck of the Irish was definitely on our side.

Killarney turned out to be a really nice surprise. Such a beautiful little town. Our hotel, the Killarney Royal, was a perfect hotel experience in every way. We drove over to Ross Castle and walked around the lake for a while, then had a great dinner and played a few mean games of Hearts (a family favorite) in the hotel lobby by the fire with a couple pints of Guinness. On Sunday we drove along the north coast up to the Cliffs of Moher, which are truly indescribable. We walked up both sides of the viewing points which are both completely breathtaking. We were so happy we made the time to view the cliffs because they really are amazing and unique.

Monday we headed out of Killarney toward Cork to visit the Blarney Castle and yes, kiss the Blarney Stone! We got to the castle and we were literally the only people there! We had the whole castle to ourselves and we had so much fun exploring every inch of it. When we got to the very top, we again, were the only one’s waiting to kiss the Stone. It was a great moment as a very cute elderly Irishman (I’m a little partial to them) helped us get in position to give the Stone a proper kiss. We jumped in the car and headed back to Dublin.

It’s such a nice time to be traveling in this part of the world because there are really very few tourists. It’s so leisurely and easy. The weather has been really mild and even the Irish people keep commenting on how good it’s been. The temp is about 45-50 degrees and we haven’t had an ounce of rain. Lucky so far!

February 20th

We’re in London this evening and we’ve just had a great day with my dear friend, Lisa Chisholm and her daughter Madeleine. We spent the day touring the Tower of London (so chilling to see the very spot where Anne Boleyn was actually beheaded) which was really fascinating – such a rich history of England’s monarchy. We then took a boat ride up the Thames, got off at Big Ben and walked around one of our favorite areas of London, Neal’s Yard. Tomorrow we’ll spend the day at the Tate Modern Art Gallery, the British Museum and the launderette! Yes, it’s time to do some housecleaning!

Last night Matt surprised Alex, and us, to a special birthday dinner at Nobu, London. Matsuhisa, Nobu’s original restaurant in Los Angeles, is Alex’s favorite, so she was really happy when the cab pulled up and she saw the Nobu sign. How many kids can say they had breakfast in Dublin and dinner in London on their 15th birthday? Not too shabby.

More photos below!
Traveling Toledo’s

Dublin, Ireland
Dublin is vibrant, historical, warm and lovely. Last night we walked around for a couple hours just to take in the people and scenery. We walked through an open market, down to the Temple Bar district and poked around in a grocery market (one of our favorite things to do) We ate at a really great local restaurant called Gruel. I had scene a Rachel Ray segment on Dublin and this was one of the restaurants she highly recommended. We happened upon it as we were walking up toward Christchurch Cathedral. The food was excellent, the service was so warm and the atmosphere made you feel like a real Dubliner! Sleep was not ideal for the girls last night because their room looked out over a pub that was filled with Valentine's Day revelers who decided to serenade the entire street until about 4:00am. They were troopers and we let them sleep in a bit, and promised to switch their room to the "less active" side of the hotel!

Today we walked around Trinity College where we were first treated to graduation day. It was so great to see all the graduates and even I felt proud of the young people in caps and gowns. We went to see the "Book of Kells" exhibit at the Trinity Library. It was fascinating to see the old gospels and manuscripts and to read the history of The Book of Kells. We walked out of the exhibit, apparently the wrong way, and lucky for us, a docent asked if we had been upstairs to see the "Long Room". We said "No" and she told us we may want to check it out because it's the best part of the exhibit. Well... we were overwhelmed. The "Long Room" is the most beautiful library you can ever imagine. It was built in 1732 and it houses over 200,000 of Trinity College's oldest, most precious manuscripts and books. When we walked in, I was instantly consumed with the rich, woody, sweet smell of old books. The hall itself is impressive, but nothing compares to the absolute, sheer bliss of being surrounded by so much history, knowledge, stories and information. Stationed in front of each section of the library is a marble statue of a great writer, philospher, historian - as if they were guarding the valuable gifts. I didn't want to leave and we all were equally moved by the experience.

To top off the day, we went to the Guinness Storehouse! I know, a little touristy, but it was actually quite fun and impressive. Matt was really taken by the history of the business of Guinness as a company. It's been such a successful company for so long. The building that houses the exhibit is really modern and well done. On the seventh floor (where you redeem your charm for a pint) is an all-glass room with amazing views of the city. Fun fact - Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease with the city for the property where Guinness is made! Smart man.

We walked around Dublin Castle, ate really greasy and authentic fish and chips in the gatehouse gardens of the castle, and now everyone is taking a nap! We might go see U2 in 3D tonight at a local theatre (for those of you who know me well, you understand how cool it would be for me to get to experience this in Dublin!) Tomorrow were getting a car and driving to Killarney. More photos below and for those of you who really want to see all of the photos, I may have a Picasa 2 link for you soon. Sorry, still a bit of trial and error!
More Later.
Lisa, Matt and girls