***European Cruise 2011***

Wherrrrrre to begin.....?

WELL, as most of you probably know...our original cruise to the Baltic Sea out of Amsterdam was canceled less than 24 hrs before we flew out. SO....mission mode set in, and we FINALLY figured out another trip to go on during these exact two weeks. The Mediterranean cruise we ended up going on out of Venice was the ONLY ship that had ONE room left on it. Luckily it was a balcony cabin on the port side so we had the best views. Once we pinpointed this trip down, we had to repack, reschedule flights, reschedule hotels, transfers, etc. Little did we know, the "fun" wasn't over yet....

We jumped on the flight to Newark and of course missed the connection to Frankfurt, Germany because of weather...SO after waiting in line for an hour, we got rescheduled through Paris, and then eventually on to Venice. Did our luggage decide to make the switch with us? Of course not. We arrived in Venice, no luggage, no IDEA of where the luggage was, and jumped on the water taxi to our hotel with the same clothes on our back for the last 24 hours. We weren't exactly smelling all that great. Washing clothes in the sink, and re-wearing them wasn't the best situation....BUT we were in Venice and trying to make the best of it. Pizza and gelato definitely made us feel better.

Two days went by, and still no luggage. We had to get on the ship by a certain time, and hours before we set sail, we found out Air France, or should I say Air Chance, would reimburse us up to 100 euros for clothing. After another conversation with Air France, we found out the Venice airport was on strike, so they said there was no way we would get our luggage. After a very brief breakdown on my part..... we started the two mile walk BACK to Venice to buy clothes and then run back and get on the ship. MUCH to my delight, my bag was delivered right before we set sail. Poor AJ didn't get his until four days into the cruise, six days into our trip, in which it was delivered in Athens, Greece.

BUT.....where there is M U C H darkness, there is light....right? Once on the cruise we won a few games in bingo ($253 dollars to be exact), and had WONDERFUL meals, went to great shows, attended trivia night, danced, and had amazing excursions in Dubrovnik, Croatia, Athens, Greece, Ephesus, Turkey, and Split, Croatia. The cruise was AMAZING!!!! Our flights back were nice and easy and now we're reunited with our hairy son, and all is well in Tampa. (Oh wait, did I forget to mention the day we returned I had a 24 hr stomach bug and spent most of my jet lagged haze on the restroom floor.....so lovely.)

Get your scrolling finger ready....



Here's the hotel we stayed at the first two nights in Venice before our seven night cruise!


















Our first yummy meal in Venice!!!!!!!!!!!




When we purchased our water taxi tickets to get around Venice, there was a tour included that took us around to a few surrounding islands. Here is the first stop in Murano where they make a lot of glass. We had a glass shaping demonstration while we were there.
He took this...

...melted it and turned and shaped it....

...into this, in a matter of minutes!

Our second stop was on the island of Burano where they are known for making lace and having the most beautiful colorful row houses.





I saw a couple of European girls posing like this, so I thought it might be fun.

St. Marks Basilica.

Pigeon time in the square...


We FINALLY got on the boat, and here I am about to throw myself off because we still didn't have luggage at this point!!!!!!!!

Here are a couple of shots as we're pulling out of Venice.








Just a few shots of the amazing food we had aboard the ship!!!







Playing checkers on the ship.

Our first stop was in Dubrovnik, Croatia. We took a guided tour of 'Old Town' and then boarded a bus to visit a famous Croatian winery and had a great wine tasting.







Local Dubrovnik beer.


Wine tasting in the country.





Can you spot our ship?

Waiting to get back on the tender to head to the ship.


Our second stop was in Athens, Greece and we took a tour of the First Olympic stadium in 1896, the Acropolis, and Plaka. Here is the stadium.








The Acropolis.

Greece water model.





This is my face after using the WC after an old asian lady.....ughhhhh.

Greece model.

Strolling the streets of Plaka, Greece.



Tasting 'Ouzo'....and as you can tell, it must be an aquired taste!

Baklava!

Our third stop was in Izmir, Turkey, a part of Asia! We took a guided tour of Ephesus and a carpet making school.

Roman cat. Meow.

The original inspiration for the Nike brand.



Walking on the same marble street that Julius Cesar once walked on.

Yes....use your imagination.

Celsus Library at Ephesus, Turkey.


How the Celsus Library used to look in Roman times.

Can you spot Andrew? He's wearing a black shirt and sunglasses.






A show they put on at Ephesus to reinact old Roman times.


Local Turkish beer.


Stop. Camel time.

A girl working at the local carpet making school. Talk about time consuming!

The carpet demonstration at the school. This carpet was $6,000, handmade of course.

This is outside of the carpet making school near Izmir, Turkey.

Walking back to the boat in Turkey, Asia Minor.

We got second place overall during the week on the boat, these are our partners Leslie and John from London. Go Team Berkley!


Our last stop was in Split, Croatia where we did a great guided tour through the city and to Trogir, Croatia.





Testing the local brew in Split, Croatia.


We took a tour through the palace in Split, Croatia.



Once we got off the boat, we had to spend one last night in Venice before our flight the next morning. Of course we were tired, but we HAD to eat one last gelato...


Overall, the trip was a BIG lesson learned. Don't stress, things will go wrong, go with the flow, and be thankful for what you DO have. AND, everything happens for a reason.

**thanks andrew for being the most patient and awesome travel partner ever. you're the best roommate a girl could ask for.