Dec.18th - Jan. 3rd

Winter cold settled in on Prague just before Christmas. We actually had one day with a high of 14 degrees. That's really cold for Prague, but it didn't stop the kids from getting in a little sledding. Max was so envious when he heard about the blizzard in Rochester and the subsequent snow days.


Since this is a really different year for us, we decided to do something very different for Christmas. After talking to people from Prague, we decided that the Canary Islands would be a good place to go for all of us. We could have some warmer weather, see a part of Spain, and the kids could have their first experience at the ocean. The Canaries definitely lived up to our expectations. We stayed on the island of Tenerife. The Canaries are often described as a mini continent because they have so many micro climates. The natives say that no matter where you come from, you will find some part of the Canaries that reminds you of your home. We'll take you on a tour here.


We started in the north which is wet and tropical. We were struck by the beautiful plazas filled with poinsettias of many different colors here in Puerto de la Cruz.







We stayed in the town of Los Gigantes, named for the huge cliffs you see here. We liked the small town atmosphere, although there were high surf warnings almost every day due to storms in the Atlantic and the beaches in the area were all closed to the public.






Lots of bananas are grown here.










The best beaches for us were about a half hour drive to the south. Los Cristianos and Playa de las Americas were the kids' favorites. This area is really built up, but we have to say that the beaches here do live up to their reputation. They are huge and beautiful. The weather here is also quite arid, so it was very sunny and warm.














The island of Tenerife is dominated by a huge volcano. It hasn't erupted in several hundred years, though. We drove up through pine forests to a plateau that looks a little like Utah with lots of interesting volcanic formations and lava fields.





One of our favorite activties was going on a whale and dolphin watching cruise. In spite of the rather high seas, we did get to see a group of pilot whales and some playful dolphins in their natural habitat.






On the way back to Prague we also got to spend a day in Barcelona. The kids enjoyed walking on Las Ramblas and seeing the creative street mimes.














This is La Boqueria market with some of the most beautiful food displays we have ever seen.











And seeing the beautiful Christmas lights in downtown Barcelona was a great way to end our trip.


We are back to work and school tomorrow, but this has really been a very memorable holiday for us. Happy New Year to everyone.