Genoa

 Genoa, Italy was our first stop.  The city boasted of the largest Aquarium in Europe so we went to check it out.  The walk was lovely.  They say that Genoa has recently worked to improve their look from their old port town appearance.  It was bright and beautiful. 

 I doubt this was Europe's largest Aquarium but it was nice all the same.  We had a pleasant day exploring Genoa and the Aquarium.

Barcelona

 Barcelona was a grand and beautiful city.  We jumped off the boat and explored the city on foot.  It was clean and friendly. 

 I love all of the tiny streets of Europe.  They are filled with shops, people, and life.  We loved exploring the city and seeing where each street would lead.

 Barcelona's great cathedral.  It was beautiful.  The amount of work that went into these old buildings is amazing. 

Casablanca

 Our most anticipated stop was in Casablanca, Morocco.  We were all excited to go to Africa.  Caleb wants to let everyone know that he was the first one off the gangway to touch Africa!  He is very proud to be the first Brown child to be in Africa.

We hired a tour guide to take us all around the area.  We stopped at the beach to collect some shells and touch the "African waters."

 He are the kids with our tour guide, Muhamed.

  The largest graveyard in the country.  It was huge!

 We went to the old town part of Rabat, a city about an hour away from Casablanca.  This part of town dates back many centuries.  It was a mixture of Spanish and Arabic architecture. 

 A famous mosque that was never completed because the king died.  It was going to be grand.  While we were there, we heard them calling for their prayer time.  It was like something out of a movie!

 We stopped in at a rug maker business.  The women sat and made rugs for 8 hours a day.  It would take between 3-6 months to make a rug by hand, depending on the size of the rug. Wow!

 The tomb of some of the kings and princes of Morocco.  It was beautiful inside.

 More tombs.  They like to honor their kings!

 Another great mosque.  It is the third largest in the world and the western most one.  It was incredible.  Our tour guide shared all about his muslim faith.  It was fascinating.

Here is the last French building made while still under the French control. It is now the French Embassy.

 It was a long and tiring day.  It was a great experience and no, we didn't trade Megan for any camels... even though we thought about it!

Canary Islands

 *Note* Nick was in charge of the camera, and these were the pictures that he took in the Canary Islands. 

 The Canary Island just might have been my favorite stop.  It was warm and lovely.  Hot beach weather always makes me happy.  After getting off the boat we jumped on a city bus to a beach in another town.  The drive was scenic and beautiful.

 We spent a lovely day lounging and playing at thebeach.  Afterwards we found a little restaurant to have lunch.  It was a good day.  I am definitely hoping to come back to the Canary Islands again!

Madeira

 We stopped at the island of Madeira, which belongs to Portugal.  It was somewhat comforting to be back to an island of Portugal.  The island was beautiful and had a lot of comforts that we are missing on our little island.  Maybe they should move the Air Base to Madeira!

 We took a tram ride up the mountain to a village at the top.  It was a spectacular view.  Portuguese architecture is unique, and I am going to miss it when we leave. 

 At the top of the mountain they have an old church.  It was quite fancy for this little island.  Sorry about the pictures.  We forgot the cameras and had to rely on kid's taking pictures on ipods.

 Caleb took this picture.  He thought it was important to document the cute little cats at the old lighthouse.

The weather started out warm and beautiful but by afternoon it was cloudy and chilly.  This island is just like ours.  Weather changes quickly when you are in the middle of the ocean.

Malaga, Spain

We went to Malaga, Spain on Nick's birthday.  He got to pick what we did for the day.  We first took a horse-pulled carriage on a tour through the highlights of the city.  Malaga is a beautiful, unknown gem.  It was so clean and beautiful.  It was a delightful last stop on our cruise.

 We climbed up to a castle and overlooked the city.  Here is their bull-fighting ring.  Too bad there were no fights going on.

 The castle we walked around was the Castle of Gibralfaro.  It was huge.  It was also quite a hike to get up there.  We took a rest break for an opportunity for a photo.

Malaga was a beautiful city.  I would definitely revisit it if I were given the opportunity.



Football Game

Curtis rounded up some Military Branch members and missionaries to play in a football game over Christmas break.  It may have been a rematch from Thanksgiving, but they may not admit that!! The weather wasn't fabulous but that didn't stop them.  It looks fun except guess who had to do the laundry!!