David and Sharon and Alexi and Mateo's Adventures

Denmark this year was named the world's happiest country, and we totally found this to be true during our vacation in Copenhagen.	A restaurant in Copenhagen with outdoor seating and blankets to stay warm totally brought a smile to Sharon's face.
Alexi's happiness comes from reading books.	Mateo's happiness comes from going to restaurants.
The best way to go sightseeing in Copenhagen is by going on a canal tour.	This is the boat we took on our canal cruise.
Mateo served as our very own tour guide on our boat cruise.	Alexi is wondering what to expect on our tour.
Swans are such a beautiful sight - and we enjoyed seeing this family of swans on our canal cruise.	The Little Mermaid is Copenhagen's most famous landmark. She is based on a character in a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen.
One of the reason we chose Copenhagen as this summer's travel destination was to go to Bakken, the oldest amusement park in the entire world. Its origins can be traced back to 1583 as the site of natural springs that attracted crowds due to the poor quality of water at the time.	On the walk through the forest to Bakken, Mateo and Sharon loved seeing the horses and carriages. It felt like we were going back in time.
At Bakken Mateo and Sharon rode on a carousel horse.	Alexi and Sharon loved riding the flume and getting wet(!)
Mateo's favorite ride at amusement parks are always vehicles he can drive (here it is the #5 train).	One of Alexi's favorite rides at Bakken was the bumper cars.
The absolute best ride at Bakken were the Swan Ride. They are 100% human powered; you pedal with your feet to move along the track.	Wish they had cool human-powered rides like this at American amusement parks. The best part of Bakken??? Absolutely FREE!!!
After our afternoon at Bakken we headed to My Fro Yo Cup. This is novel for us since sadly there are no Fro Yo Places by our NYC apartment.	Alexi had so much fun choosing his toppings (can you tell which one belongs to Alexi???!!!).
Alexi is sooooo excited to eat his fro yo!	My boyz love their fro yo desserts Denmark style!
Pictured here is the Nyhavn River. Those are some REALLY big swans in the river.	Mateo enjoyed seeing and making "quacking" sounds with the ducks in the Nyhavn River.
We rented bikes in Copenhagen and got to see the city by bike. Mateo and Alexi enjoyed their front row seat in David's bike (bike seats for kids in the USA are in the back of bikes).	Seeing Copenhagen by bike opened our eyes to the city on a whole different level. We noticed details we would otherwise miss. It was wonderful to bike on the cobblestone streets of Denmark.
Kids enjoy free stuff the best. We biked by this fountain and the kids wanted to join in the fun when they saw other children wading in the fountain.	Exploration in new places is the best part of childhood.
Alexi enjoyed standing around and splashing in the fountain.	Playing in a fountain was a new experience for Mateo with so much to discover.
Whenever we travel abroad we seek out the changing of the guard.	Pictured here is guards exchanging places.
Next stop on our self-guided bike tour was the Round Tower, built in the 17th century as an astronomical tower.	Alexi is framed by this little door inside the Round Tower.
Where did all the people go?! Where is Sharon?!	There she is...hiding from Alexi and Mateo.
The view from the top of Round Tower of Copenhagen is really incredible.	Alexi enjoyed checking out the view of Copenhagen.
Tivoli is an amusement park that is the second oldest amusement park in the world, opening in 1843. It is said to have been the inspiration to Walt Disney when he created his Disneyworld and Disneyland theme parks.	Alexi standing in front of a beautiful pleasure garden in Tivoli. He was beside himself with excitement when he heard we would be spending the day at an amusement part with so many rides for him to go on.
David and Alexi have a blast flying a plane in Tivoli.	Alexi and Sharon enjoy a boat ride in real water.
Alexi LOVES driving ANYTHING at amusement parks...this was a super classy antique car at Tivoli.	Our family really loved how the rides in Tivoli and Bakken were totally hands-on and human-powered.
Mateo enjoyed riding his very own horsie at Tivoli.	This carousel had a variety of animals, including elephants and giraffes! Mateo and Alexi had fun riding together on the carousel on this camel.
One of the coolest parts of Tivoli was the little parks within the amusement park. This one had a musical instrument theme. Alexi enjoyed making his own tunes.	Mateo really enjoyed banging on the glockenspiel and creating music.
We spent a morning together as a family at the Copenhagen Zoo.	Alexi may be tall, though not as tall as this polar bear(!)
We got to see real polar bears at the Copenhagen Zoo playing with their toys.	Mateo LOVES animals, and he had so many things to point to at the Copenhagen Zoo.
We got to see unusual animals you do not normally see at American zoos at the Copenhagen Zoo, including this reindeer.	Another unusual sighting...is it an anteater or an aardvark???
One of our favorite animals at the Copenhagen Zoo was this elephant and her baby.	First Alexi and Mateo got to RIDE a camel on the carousel yesterday, and today they got to see real live camels.
We always go to see the penguins first at the Central Park Zoo...look who greeted us in Copenhagen!	Cows are Mateo and Sharon's FAVORITE animal, so we were happy to see these cows keeping cool together.
Alexi and Mateo's favorite part of the zoo was visiting the children's playground.	Mateo takes on a green glow in this tunnel...watch out!
A highlight for our kids was going to the Lego Store. It is way more than a store - it has a cool play & design area for kids in the back.	Mateo enjoyed building this tall Lego tower with David.
At the age of one Mateo has traveled to more countries combined than Sharon had by the time she was a teenager.	Mateo's #1 travel companion is his yellow blankie, hand croqueted for him by his grandmother.
Our trip to Copenhagen was filled with lots of new experiences and also lots of happiness.	People in Copenhagen truly are the happiest in the world...including these native New Yorkers.

We once again this summer vacationed on the Costa Brava in Catalunya, Spain.

On our arrival day Alexi and Sharon headed straight to the beach and were greeted by unusually gigantic Mediterranean waves.

Sunday mornings we head to el mercado to do some vegetable and fruit shopping, and we spend the afternoons at the pool.

The weather was unseasonably cool and rainy this year. No problem...we headed to Girona for lunch at our FAVORITE vegan restaurant, B*12.

Absolutely phenomenal vegan food...probably best we've had inside or outside the United States.

This FC Barcelona futbol hooded towel used to be worn by another toddler...who has also spent every summer at Cap Ducal!

Cyclist and future cyclist!

Alexi's favorite activities in Spain are the pool waterslide, swimming laps, playing futbol with his friends and riding his boogie board in the Mediterranean.

Seeing daily sunrises and sunsets are Sharon's favorite parts of Spain.

Mateo's favorite activities at Spanish beaches are building moats and sandcastles with Papi and going in the Mediterranean with Mami.

David's favorite parts of Spain (besides everything) are having time to relax and play piano and harpsichord and visiting with our good friends the Pallares family.