Never Dull, Never Dumb: Riga, Kennedy Stylez

I am no joke, when our family does something, it is NEVER dull and NEVER dumb(:

Right when plans were finalized for me to come to Riga, Latvia for my 6 week internship (4 weeks are already done…), Mama said she would definitely come to visit me while I was there. I mean, thinking back on, my family visiting me here makes all the kinds of sense a Kennedy trip usually does. If nothing else, none of us (besides me) have EVER been this far East, or been to Latvia at all. Number One and Two. Third, with four weeks already here, Mama figured I would know enough about the city to get it set for them to come. Much to my denial of this fact, I actually felt really confident taking them around and showing them things. And probably fourth and finally, it’s a trip with unknown possibilities: of course we’re going to take that and run with it(:

I legitimately thinking about it can’t come up with a favorite day or even maybe a favorite thing we did. Really nothing was ever disappointing. Honestly, the first day I pick them up from the airport, and Im thinking “ugh, we’re going to have to lug their luggage through to the bus and drive forever in a hot bus and get sweaty and blaugh, and then they’re just going to collapse on their ok hotel beds and we’re going to be tired for the rest of the night.”

And it wasn’t like that AT ALL.

First, Mommy and Daddy got a rental car, and not just any rental car but a Nissan Qashqai (apparently they had just had one in Poland before, so it was cool for them. I was just happy to be able to drive places again(: ) So first we’re driving in individual air-conditioned awesomeness through Riga to our hotel. Then the hotel is AMAZING, and Mama and Papa surprise me by saying they paid for me and GLo to have our own hotel room! Woot, the air conditioned heaven continues!

So we head out for dinner, and turns out the restaurant I wanted to take them to (Lido) is LITERALLY (in the literal, correct usage-of-the-word-literally sense) 50meters from their hotel room. And it did not fail to impress! They serve all kinds of different meat entrees, potato sides and desserts (notice the lack of veggies, but that’s ok), or as Mama later called it, “pure comfort food”. Honestly, I was just happy they all liked it so much, cause I LOVE that place.

The Cat House-unfortunately no furry friends inside..

And then what did we do to finish out their first day? Well in the struggle to be the be the very best, we got Latvian SIM cards and went Pokehunting! #familiesthatcatchemtogether #staytogether To be honest, this was one of those things where you’re embarrassed to ask your friends if they want to go do something kind of ridiculous, but then they ask you at that same moment if you want to go do it, and you’re like “Hey that’s a great idea!”. Meanwhile you’re inwardly giving yourself a high five for having awesome friends that suggest things you already wanted to do(:  That’s kind of how this felt.

And that was just the first day.  Seriously though, everyday felt like a dream. Instead of waking up in my rock hard bed with my flat slab of a pillow and eating yogurt and muesli, Im waking up in a plush bed with the best hotel pillows ive ever had, and going down to a fully loaded hotel breakfast. And

once work ends, the fun never stops: I’m either showing everybody around Old Town Riga, or we’re going to a movie (Ghostbusters, the new Bourne movie or Star Trek 3), hunting and catching Pokemon in a park, eating Čili pizza and at Lido and at whatever other kinds of places we can find, going kayaking down the Daugava river (which I’ve been waiting for for this WHOLE TRIP) or going on trips to far away places! Favorite place was definitely Jurmala, with it’s beaches and the Baltic Sea and just the happiness that exudes from every grain of sand. But I can’t forget Sigulda, with all the cool castles and the crossbow we shot, and the cable car that went over the river. Just way to many good times to write in one blog post.

 

Because what picture is complete without dabbing?

So to return to my first point, I don't doing anything with my family could ever be anything but a mixture of unique, interesting, funny and SO FUN. Im so happy I got to spend a week in Riga with my family(: Thanks Mama and Papa and Glo for coming – it was WAY fun!

Oh and Mama, we should come back here sometime(: Maybe when you and Daddy are here as a missionary couple???(: