Traveling...

We are currently traveling in Europe and having the time of our lives...
I am so thankful to God for blessing my family and I with this wonderful opportunity to create memories...
So far we have visited Paris and Helsinki, two beautiful cities in France and Finland respectively...

Traveling this far with the kids has been a great experience so far, but I will talk more in detail about it when I get back home and expand on this blog post...

So far, I leave you with this "teaser" photo of us at the Eiffel Tower, one of my favorite spots in Paris, by far!

Last time we were in Paris was in 2010 and I have to say that this city gets more beautiful every time! The girls LOVED it!

Anyways.. will blog more when I get back... I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and enjoyed Holy Week.. I know we did! :)

Happy Blogging! :)

Trip to San Francisco

The city of San Francisco has a special place in my heart; not only is it one of the most beautiful cities in the world (yes, I think so!) but it is also the place where we honeymooned and spent our first few days as a married couple...so many great memories were made in that place back in 2005 and we wanted to make some more in 2014!

This particular trip to San Francisco was extra special because we got to take our kids and show them all the special spots we visited during our honeymoon; in a way we were "re-enacting" a lot of our experiences and transferring our love for that city to them.. and boy did it work.. the girls were instantly IN LOVE with this beautiful place and thoroughly enjoyed visiting all the hot spots in San Fran... they really are pros at this traveling thing! (proud mommy here!)...

During our trip we also visited the Google Headquarters in Mountain View (thank you, daddy!) and met some of daddy's co-workers; it was so cool to visit the famous Googleplex and see some of the Google philosophy in action! I even got to ride a Google bike..that was fun! The girls loved it too! :)

Here are some pictures:

This is Fisherman's Wharf, where we ate some of the most delicious clam chowder ever! yum!

Us with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.. what a beautiful sight!

...and I LOVE this picture.. such a timeless image!

Lombard St aka "the crookedest street in America"

A couple of pictures from the Google campus.. 

During our trip we also got to meet my friend Amanda and her kids Eli and Lexi. 

This was one of my favorite parts of the trip since I have known Amanda for over 7 years; we met on the "What to Expect" pregnancy forum and have been in contact ever since.  It is always so special to see how the online chemistry translates into real life connection; this one was a hit! (Thank you, Amanda and kids for a wonderful afternoon)

This is a picture taken by Olivia.. we were in Sausalito.. (I love that place too!)

I met up with my long time friend Diana, who also lives in San Francisco.  We visited the Bay Area Discovery Museum; definitely a great place for young children!

Here's a couple of pictures at the Levi's Plaza... the day was gorgeous and the pictures definitely show that....

..and of course us hanging from a (non-moving) cable car.. one of my favorite things to do in San Francisco!  

In the end, I was sad to leave the city.; the weather was amazing, people were friendly, food was delicious and everything was fun...I hope to be back very soon! What a great trip that was!

Traveling jetBlue & Virgin America

This past weekend we traveled to San Francisco (post to come) and due to flight schedules, we used two different airlines for our journey. 

On the way to San Francisco, we flew Virgin America and then jetBlue on the way back. 

Even though I rarely review products and services on my blog, I feel compelled to talk about how wonderful these two airlines were during our trip and how special we felt as passengers in this day where most airplanes feel like cheap buses and more often than not, staff members on long flights aren't precisely peachy at all times. 

Virgin America's experience was definitely unique! The check in process was amazing as the staff was very friendly and attentive; they quickly wrapped up my car seats in a durable plastic bags and labeled everything very clearly.  They do charge $25 per bag, but the service is definitely worth it. I was traveling along with both girls (Iggy was already in San Fran) so the staff was particularly considerate and placed us in strategic seats (close to the front).  We were able to board before everyone else so that was definitely a huge plus.  The plane features very comfortable seats, a TV set in every seat and a very entertaining security video (cute jingle and all!).  Perfect experience! Highly recommended. 

On the way back to Florida, we flew jetBlue.  By this time we were all together (Iggy was coming back with us), so the experience was bound to be less traumatic. Again, check in process was prompt and courteous and this time, NO FEE for the bag; each passenger gets their first bag for free, which is awesome since most airlines do charge some. 

Again, the seats were incredibly comfortable and each had a TV set as well.  Service was great and again, the staff was very attentive to our needs as a family with young children. 

I am very pleased with the service that each of this airlines had to offer. 

We're frequent travelers and often end up with a bad taste in our mouths when it comes to airlines. 

This time, I am very happy to say that our traveling experience was that much better because of these two airlines. 

Way to Go Virgin and jetBlue! :)