I'm On A Boat

“Trust those who seek the truth. Doubt those who claim they’ve found it.” That was written on one of the cobble stone roads in Temple Bar as we ran back to the shuttle bus near Trinity College. We have gotten into the horrible habit of taking the entire day, up to the last second to absorb and experience the numerous cultures we have encountered. And there was no exception here in Dublin today. But, I’ll start at the beginning. I just wanted to get those wise words out of my head. I’m surprised I remembered them this long…

We woke up extra early because there is a lot to see in Dublin. St. Patrick’s, Dublin Castle, the Guinness Brewery at St. James’ Gate, the Book of Kells, Trinity College, Grafton Street. But, I digress. Or progress too quickly, rather. As we were leaving the ship, we ran into a large headed leprechaun in the art gallery, who had just finished taking pictures with passengers on the gangway. I knew our day was off to a good start. We jumped onto the shuttle as it made its way up the River Liffey to the City Center. I was so excited to be back in a place I had once visited (I think the last time I could say this during the cruise was Rome). We ran to a Starbucks across from Trinity College for some warm drinks (it was right around 60 this morning. And cloudy. And spitting rain) before heading up to Dublin Castle. Luckily, we ran into a free walking tour group that had just started, and decided to join quietly without being noticed since there were a lot of people. Unfortunately, the guide called us out (in a good way) before she started talking about where Dublin got its name. It got its name by the way, from the Irish words that mean “black pool,” because the water was dark and muddy. Fiona, our tour guide, showed us all sorts of things like the birthplace of Jonathan Swift, who wrote “Gulliver’s Travels” and “A Modest Proposal,” old Viking settlements, Christchurch, and the area known as Temple Bar. We learned interesting little tidbits about each place, such as the organ that was found in Christchurch was out of tune because they found a very well preserved dead cat in the pipe who had leaped in centuries earlier to chase after a mouse, which was also there. Dublin city council decided to mummify them and put them in the crypt of the church. We also crossed to the north side of the city, over Ha’penny Bridge, which was built by the same company who built the Titanic and when it was first constructed was a private bridge. The toll to cross was a half penny (ha’penny), and enough people crossed it that in today’s currency, the bridge would make over €200,000 a day. That’s a lot of Euros. We also learned some crazy old laws that still exist at Trinity College that were implemented when it was a Protestant institute. For example, if you were a Protestant and you were on the 4th floor of any of the buildings near the Front Gate, and you spotted a Catholic in the courtyard (Catholics were not allowed to attend Trinity until the 70’s), you were not only allowed to, but you were also obliged to shoot the Catholic with a crossbow. That is still a law at the university. Fiona, who just happens to be a student at Trinity, informed us that most students there, even the Catholic ones, would be upset if this law was ever overruled.

After the tour ended, we made our way back to Trinity to see the Book of Kells. It was a little pricey, so I went in alone, since I had wanted to see it since we knew we were going to Ireland and since I hadn’t seen it the first time I was there. Another interesting fact about the book, other than the fact that it was most likely written in the 9th century, was that it was colored with pigments that can not only not be found in Ireland, but that aren’t even available anywhere in Europe. The rich red color seen throughout much of the text, comes from a beetle that is found only in Afghanistan. But it’s not just this specific beetle, it is a pregnant beetle. Only pregnant beetles of this particular species produce the deep orangey-red color. Basically, the monks who wrote this out went through a lot of trouble to make sure they had the necessary pigments to glorify the Word of God. The Book of Kells is kept in a glass case in a very dark room, under very low lights, and the page is turned every day. The page with illustration that I saw was the Temptation of Christ, and it was absolutely beautiful. So many intricate details and colors, it’s unbelievable. From there, you go up these stairs and into the Long Hall, which is just what it sound like – a long hall that is filled to the rooftops with books. Lots and lots of books. I felt like I was in the library from “Beauty and the Beast.” I was in nerdy heaven. Of course, you don’t really check those books out, but hey. And you may know this room from “Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark” where the X is on the ground and Indy hammers into the floor to find the map (Author’s note: Brooke and I sat here for about 10 minutes deciding whether or not we had the right Indiana Jones movie. I apologize in advance if I got them mixed up, but I ended up convincing myself this was the right one. I also apologize for the spelling of “Ark.” Debated that too). There was also a lovely collection of old books from India, my favorite being a sultan’s copy the Qu’ran.

Anyway, I can hear you all screaming at your screens, “Alright already! Enough with the useless, yet interesting facts!” So I will move on. Brooke and I decided that in order to honor Chris and Jack, we would go to a pub and drink a pint of Guinness. In every port they visited, the guys would go to a bar or pub or whatever, and order a local beer. So, we made our way back to Temple Bar with only about 45 minutes to make the last shuttle and chose to drink a pint in The Temple Bar. So, we went to the bar, ordered two pints of “the good stuff” and handed over €5 each. We sat right in front of a man playing guitar and singing great Irish tunes, and drank our pints. Well, I drank our pints. Brooke sipped hers and then looked as if her pint was going to cost her her happiness, so I took over from there. There is nothing better than a pint of Guinness in Dublin, unless of course its two pints. Needless to say, I felt truly Irish – being semi-drunk in the middle of the day. We ran through the streets, and Brooke stumbled upon the aforementioned “wise brick” and said we had to remember it because we didn’t have time to stop and write it down. And I did. I’m awesome. Go me!

Dinner tonight was fairly successful. We sat with a family from L.A. with two boys around our age, one a junior at University of Pennsylvania and the other a senior in high school, hoping to attend Princeton. They were a really enjoyable family, especially since the mother said that she liked me and thought I was funny, after I admitted to drinking lots of wine when I studied in Rome, rather than lying about it. Plus, they knew where Kokomo was! I wasn’t there for this part of the conversation, but Brooke had asked what the parents did, and the father was like, “Well I used to work in this little town in Indiana, I’m sure you haven’t heard of it.” Brooke said, “Well, try me. Anna is from Indiana.” And he used Kokomo as the reference point. He worked on the Air Force base, and was then amazed that we knew what he was talking about. No one ever uses Kokomo as a reference point in Indiana. When we talked to our friends after dinner, they said they planned the whole thing and they were glad we enjoyed dinner. Of course, that was after Johann scared the life out of me and told Paul I needed CPR. They literally make my day every night.

Well, it’s time for bed. We have to meet for our tour tomorrow morning at 7:30. Gross. Let’s hope Scotland is just as amazing as Ireland!

I couldn’t sleep in at all today. I think it was because I spent all day in bed yesterday, but I’ve been up since around 7, maybe even earlier. I couldn’t stand to watch another movie, mostly because we’ve seen them all a hundred times since boarding. So, I forced myself back to sleep for a bit until someone else woke up, but ended up just laying in bed with my eyes shut for 2 hours. The waters have calmed only slightly, so it’s still awkward to walk around. From our breakfast table, we noticed that it was sunny out, so we ventured up to the top to snatch some beach chairs. Despite the sunshine, it couldn’t have been more than 60, which is far too cold to sit out in. But, I was getting antsy in the room, so I went back out in jeans and a tank top and sweater and set up camp in front of the big screen. I caught the end of “Alice in Wonderland,” but then turned my full attention to my book, The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. I started feeling my arms burn as the sun shone down with all its might, so I ran back to the room and put on my swimsuit and grabbed my crazy beach hat. The girls were lying in their beds watching “Bright Star,” which was very tempting, but the sunshine was more inviting to me. I read about half my book while the Stevie Wonder concert played in front of me and then changed to “How to Train Your Dragon.” I watched it and read, while also partaking in some of the best people watching known to mankind after Wal-Mart. Cruisers are the most ridiculous people to watch, especially considering that I myself was in a swimsuit with sun glasses that cover half of my face while under a large brim sunhat and covered up with a towel and sweater. I’m sure someone found me just as entertaining as I found the man with a blonde ponytail and tiny red Speedo. It was disturbing, to say the least.

When it was time for dinner, we decided that we missed Zanina, Johann and Paul too much not to visit them in Michelangelo, so we gave it one more chance. And as soon as we got to the door, we were interrogated like criminals. They were asking, “Why have you betrayed us and gone to Da Vinci? We know that you have been eating there. Are you avoiding us? Do you not like us anymore? What is going on??” We tried to explain to them that we needed better dinner company or we would permanently move upstairs to Da Vinci. Johann, the headwaiter, promised us he would do his best, and put us at a table for 6. However, no one showed up to our table. We ate alone. Which I guess is better than eating with demon children or stuffy older people, but it was still sort of sad.

We went away feeling only slightly sad, but knew we would find solace in Crooner’s. And we did. Earlier today, Brooke and I were trying to come up with songs to request, but couldn’t think of anything that wasn’t sad. Don’t know why, but oh well. We wondered out loud if he could play Jimmy Buffett, but doubted it because we weren’t sure British people know who he is. We were mistaken. He did. He even knew “Margaritaville.” We were definitely put into a good mood. And then it got sort of better. Alex, a Russian bartender in Crooner’s, asked us if we would like to try to figure out a trick, and if we did, he would give us free drinks for the rest of the night, and then even call his friends in Skywalkers and tell them what we did and the same free drinks would be offered there. We had nothing to lose, so we accepted the challenge. Without going into too much detail about it and giving away the answer (I want to see who can get it when we get home), I will just say that we got it, but not exactly. There was one minor detail, about what could and could not touch the apparatus that we missed. But Alex was unyielding and simply told us we were the smartest girls he’s ever met and did not share with us free martinis. Needless to say, we were not that happy with Alex, and left after Martin’s version of Alicia Key’s “If I Ain’t Got You.” Its okay, we thought. We have to be up early for Dublin in the morning anyways…

I woke up this morning and told Brooke and Jess that I dreamt that the waves were so bad, I could feel myself being lifted off the bed. However, they informed me that that was not a dream, and that I most likely had. Jessica got up earlier than us and got coffee, informing us that the waves were about 12 feet high. And you could tell. Everyone walking through the ship looked drunk, which I admit has been very amusing to watch. But, we spent the entire day in bed, watching movies because none of us could get out of bed without feeling like we were dying. Plus, it is freezing outside. Not literally, but comparatively. And plus, no one is allowed on the upper decks because the water is so rough. We watched Ice Age 3, G-Force, Dear John, The Boys Are Back, An Affair to Remember, and The Notebook. Talk about being movied out. Whew.

We forced ourselves to get ready for dinner, seeing as it was a formal night. And since we’d had such a great dinner in Da Vinci last night, we tried it again. And we got an even better couple – Vikki and Bill. They were from Atlanta, and just had the best accents. Vikki even made fun of Southern accents because she thought one of her cousins was over exaggerating when she exclaimed at a party once – “Mutha, this peacan pai is ta dai fao!” (Translation: “Mom, this pecan pie is to die for.”) And ever since then, we’ve been saying it randomly, with passersby giving us death stares occasionally. But back to their story. They offered it up without us even asking, therefore they were awarded bonus points in our minds! Well actually, they told us how Bill proposed first, so here is that story. Anyways, Bill admitted to being a complete romantic before they told us the story, so we knew it had to be good. They are an older couple who got married later in life, and you need to know that for this story to make sense. They had been dating a while, and Bill had never brought up marriage. Vikki wanted to know if she was just wasting her time, because after all, she was “no spring chicken.” So, she asked him and he said to her, “I don’t want to talk about it unless I plan on doing it.” And that did not please Vikki. It actually was a “splash of cold water” to her, but she stayed with him none the less. A month or so went by, and they had planned a trip to NYC to visit Bill’s brother and friend and their girlfriends. They planned a triple date type thing in the restaurant at the top of one of the Twin Towers. Vikki was distracted and looking around at the beautiful skyline of the city, when Bill stood up and started offering a toast to the group. Vikki admitted that she wasn’t paying attention, until all of a sudden Bill said something to the effect of “And I wanted you all to witness my proposing marriage to my beautiful girlfriend, Vikki.” She snapped out of her daydreams and immediately said yes.

Now, back to how they met. They both worked at a bank and Vikki was higher up in the ranks, in charge of the hiring department. Bill wanted to hire a man who didn’t meet all of the qualifications, but thought he deserved the job nonetheless. He went to Vikki who said quite frankly that there was nothing she could do and that company policies were policies for a reason. Bill told her she was wrong, and Vikki said she went home and realized that Bill had opened her eyes to the cruelty of the situation and then she couldn’t stop thinking about him. She stepped down from her position and immediately called Bill, who then simply asked her if she liked the Atlanta Braves. The very next day, he took her to their game against the Reds, and they have been together ever since. Bill actually still has the tickets to the game framed, and that was about the cutest thing ever. They completely made my night.
But then we went to see Martin Kaye’s tribute to Elton John, and that made my night a little more. And we sat on the side of the piano where we could actually see him playing. I am still amazed at how gifted he is. Plus, he played with no music in front of him, like he does every night. We changed into jeans and sweatshirts, Jessica went to bed, and Brooke and I went to the back of the ship to sit outside and chat. However, we also discovered the late night buffet. Which is a good thing, because otherwise, I would have been there every night. Since boarding, we have only had dessert after dinner maybe 4 times, and it has been hard. And this buffet had all sorts of desserts. Since Jessica was in bed, we decided to indulge just a tiny bit with chocolate cheesecake, brownies, and some other chocolatey goodness. Sadly, it was not as delicious as it sounds. It was almost regrettable, but we decided it was a good decision none the less and that Jessica wouldn’t find out. Well, at least until she reads this or someone rats us out to her…

After we looked out into the black abyss of the night on the Atlantic, we headed back up to Skywalkers. You can imagine our disappointment in ourselves when we got out of the elevator to the Cupid Shuffle. I’m starting to think that the DJ can just sense when we come in and plays it immediately. But, since we were in comfy shoes and clothes, we sat it out and enjoyed the insanity of the couples busting some moves on the dance floor. Brent and Alex joined us for a bit, and we just chatted about all sorts of nothing before heading back down to our room. And that’s where we are now. About to pass out…

What to say about Lisbon… I have not a clue. There was not a whole lot to do, but then again we weren’t expecting much. The architecture there is interesting and eclectic. It seems to have several influences but nothing really that it can call its own. There is a strange mini Eiffel Tower type thing in the narrow street between buildings that was designed by a student of Eiffel. The longest suspension bridge in Europe (a mile-and-a-half-long) is also located in Lisbon; however, it was designed to be very similar to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. There are also many Spanish and Italian looking buildings, with a little bit of French thrown in too. They do, however, cover their buildings in tiles called Azulejos. They are usually blue (obviously) and white, but can sometimes be all sorts of colors, and is the main art form of Portugal.

The shuttle dropped us off in the center of town, and it looked busier than I expected it to be. It turns out that Portugal was playing in the World Cup, and there were screens and stands set up all over the city center to allow its citizens to gather together and watch. And did they watch. They sat on top of bus shelters, on each other’s shoulders, on trash cans, and anywhere else that even slightly resembled a seat. Any where you were in the city, you could hear the celebration when something good happened, and the disappointment of an error. All of the bars and restaurants were also showing the game, and there was no places to sit anywhere near a TV. We wandered around, taking a few pictures and avoiding the crowds as much as possible. We found an internet café and spent a while there just because we could. And because it only cost €2 for an hour, whereas on the ship an hour would cost $45. Makes me sick to think of that. Anyways, we got back on the last bus (we almost missed it because we didn’t pay attention to the time of the last shuttle… anyone else noticing a pattern here??) and got back to the ship.

Tonight, we ventured up the Da Vinci dining room because of the incident last night and in hopes of better company. And we found it, in the form of a couple from L.A. Their names were Ken and Sherri, and they were just about the cutest couple yet. We decided to start up our earlier tradition of asking couples how they met, and this one may be one of my favorites. We asked them, and Ken simply said, “I picked her up a bar.” Sherri decided to go into more detail, as did Ken (he admitted he just liked to say that line to see people’s reactions) and their story goes like this. Ken was out with his friends, and was checking out all of the women, but all of them were the same until he got to Sherri. Sherri was forced out of her house that night because her girlfriends wanted to go out and she was already ready for bed. Ken had to make three trips to the bathroom in order to make sure Sherri didn’t have a ring, and when he was sure she didn’t, he asked her to dance. And they did. And three weeks later, he proposed. She didn’t say yes immediately, but 6 months later they were married. And they bought a house a few years later that they have been redecorating and renovating for the past 15 years or so. From their description of the state of the house when they bought it, it seemed like it belonged to a crazy cat woman who loved all the colors of the rainbow. Anyways, they’ve been together for 25 years and are just as in love now as they were in 1985 at the cowboy bar they met in.

We docked in Gibraltar earlier than we thought we were supposed to today, but we didn’t leave the ship until around 11, so we sort of got to sleep in! It makes me happy to be able to do that! Anyways, we got off the ship and walked down the one street towards the cable cars that would take us to the top of The Rock. I guess here is where I should talk a little bit about Gibraltar. It is a dependent of Great Britain, and is located on a small tip of the southernmost tip of Spain. Gibraltar is 2.75 miles long, three-quarters of a mile wide and 1,396 feet in height. There is quite a lot of history to the area, like wars over control of the land and whatnot, but what is most important is that there are wild monkeys all over The Rock. Now, most of you may know that I am anti-monkeys-for-pets, but I could hardly resist the native Barbary Apes and I wanted to take them home with me. But, I’ll get to that later. Back to some historical significance. There were some extensive tunnels (about 30 miles worth) built at the north end of The Rock during World War II, but they were not really needed so they are just there to look at now.
We got to the queue for the cable cars, but we a taxi driver came up offer us a lot more for our money, so we loaded up with two other families and made our way to the top of The Rock. We started off the tour at the Pillars of Hercules, just below the highest point. We could see Africa, or more specifically Morocco, from this point since it is only 8 miles away. We climbed back into the van and made our way to St. Michael’s Cave. I was super excited for the caves because I like caves, but Brooke and Jessica seemed a little less enthused by them. However, they quickly changed their minds when we entered. The cave is large and filled with beautiful stalactites, illuminated with all colors. The Romans named the cave after St. Michael when they had control of the land because he was the patron saint of the area, or something like that, but it was also said that the ancient Greeks believed this cave to be one of two entrances to the underworld and Hades. There is an amphitheatre that hosts all sorts of things from concerts to weddings in the cave, and that was also amazing to see. Almost makes me want to get married there… but it’s too wet, so scratch that. We piled back into the van to go to the highest point on the Upper Rock and to visit the apes!

The view was phenomenal from a spot at the top of a staircase that seemingly went nowhere. The highest peak can easily be viewed from there, as well as Africa again. The Rock itself was almost white-washed and covered in green. Add in all of different shades of blue for as far as you can see, and you have one breathe taking scene. After I took about a thousand pictures worthy of the cover of National Geographic, I rejoined Brooke and Jessica at the bottom of the staircase, where they had been distracted with the apes. There was a momma ape with a baby, which our cab driver called an apelette, several small teenaged apes, and then giant, mean daddy apes. They didn’t like that all of the small ones got attention, so just as the teens almost jumped on you, the huge ones would come and try to take over. We avoided the big ones at all costs. After about 15 minutes of this, we headed towards the WWII tunnels at the north end. Out in front of the tunnels, a ledge offers views of Spain and the Gibraltar airport, which consists of one landing strip that separates the two countries. We watched a plane take off down below us, and then noticed something curious. As soon as the plane was safely on its way to some far off destination, cars and pedestrians started crossing over the airstrip. One of the craziest things I’ve ever seen. We then wandered into the tunnels, but there wasn’t much to see, so we waited for the other families to finish up and loaded into the van one last time. Oh, I forgot to mention how scary the roads were. They were the narrowest things I’ve ever seen and there was hardly a guardrail to protect us from plummeting to untimely deaths. The roads were also very steep, so sometimes it felt like we were in a plane that was taking off. I tried not to look out the windows, but it was sort of hard because it was just beautiful.

We got back down to earth, and wandered a little more, in search of more monkeys, but it didn’t happen and we were running late, as usual, so we ran back to the ship. And nothing more has happened tonight. Oh, except that we had the worst dinner company yet. Usually, one of us isn’t amused with our dinner companions, but tonight all three of us strongly disliked the guests, so we are going to boycott the Michelangelo dining room for a bit. The only thing I can really think of that they did was yell at our friend Paul for a wine mix up that was completely their fault. We tried to defend his honor, but the woman would not have it. Anyways, we took it easy tonight because the water has gotten significantly rougher and we all know how that goes for me. Yup, I’ve taken Dramamine and I am now waiting for it to kick in. We get an extra hour of sleep because of a time zone change AND we don’t get into Lisbon until noon tomorrow. Great night of sleep for me…

As Brooke and Jessica just pointed out to me, it’s sort of pointless to blog about these days because literally nothing exciting happens. However, I feel sort of wrong if I don’t fill you in on nearly every detail of my fabulous trip, therefore, I’m going to fill this space with a whole lot of nothing. You have been warned.
Today, we slept in until noon (again) and went to lunch. Brooke and I completely forgot that we had signed up for a wine tasting at 3, so we showered so that we looked somewhat presentable and made it to the wine tasting just in time. We sat with a random group of people who were traveling together (a man, his mother, and the man’s wife’s best friend), and they were fabulous. They had excellent Southern accents, the best friend sounding a bit like Blanche from “Golden Girls” and looking like a younger version of Liza Minelli. Anyways, we tried a Sauvignon Blanc, a Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and then a dessert Sauvignon Blanc. I liked them all, but what do I know. The man leading the tasting had the most ridiculous Italian accent on earth, and no one could understand him. I learned nothing. Oh well, we got a free shot glass out of it.

Then, Brooke and I headed up to the Sun Deck while Jessica hit the gym. It was freezing, but that didn’t stop us from drinking frozen Patron margaritas, provided by the one and only, Manu. He told us to come by where he works at night, Club Fusion (which by the way is nothing like what you would think it is from the name), and watch the Princess Pop Star competition. Brooke wanted me to sing in it, and I said I would, but I’m sure glad I didn’t. It was much more entertaining to watch…
The first contestant, Denise, sang some crazy long song that I had never heard, and did it beautifully, but no one could have guessed what was up next. Vlad, from Boston (or Russia, more like it), got up and sang the best rendition of “Livin’ La Vida Loca” anyone has ever sang. And of course, I can’t do it justice on here, but basically it sounded like The Count from Sesame Street singing Ricky Martin completely off beat. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my life.

We headed up to Crooner’s after Vlad’s performance and listened to the crazy Martin Kaye, again. He has a different show every night, so I never feel bored. We saw our new acquaintances, Alex and Brent, along with some of their friends, and decided to go up to Skywalkers with them. It was going to be weird without Chris and Jack, but we had to give them a chance as well. We got up there just in time for the Electric Slide and the Cupid Shuffle, again, so perfect timing. We danced with them, and then I sat and talked with Brent for a bit because neither of us felt like dancing anymore. He’s a pretty interesting guy, but I won’t bore you with all that. We don’t really have to be awake early tomorrow, but Brooke and I are watching “When in Rome,” so ciao!

We woke up extra early this morning so that we would have as much time as possible in this fantastic city. Brooke and Jessica had been here about 4 years ago, and were talking it up as much as I do Rome. And they were right. I immediately fell in love with the city. It’s such a beautiful place with amazing architecture and a very rich history and culture. Since the city is quite large and we had a very limited time, we decided to do one of those hop on – hop off bus tours. I didn’t really pay attention to the commentary because the buildings and the people were far more interesting to me. The buildings were all different colors and all different styles. We got off around Las Ramblas, the main shopping area in the Gothic Quarter. We grabbed some Starbucks (yeah, I know, I have a problem, but you should see Jessica) and did some shopping. Maybe too much shopping, considering we already had overweight luggage on the way over.

We switched bus lines and headed towards the Sagrada Familia, a landmark of Barcelona. It was designed by Antoni Guadi, a very gifted architect who was not well known or liked during his lifetime. He began working on it in 1883, and worked on it until his untimely death in 1926, when he was hit by a car. The Sagrada Familia remains unfinished; however, work continues very true to Guadi’s plans and should be complete by 2030. And let me tell you, it is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. I was in complete awe when we first arrived to when we boarded the bus again an hour later. The inside, even though it is not complete (but should be by the end of this year) is just as wonderful as the three faҫades of the outside. I could only imagine what it will look like when all of the richly colored stained-glass windows are installed and the two cranes are out of the nave. Every intricate detail of the place has meaning behind it that I will learn about when I get home and have money to buy more books. I spent half of my time spent at the church in the gift shop debating whether or not to buy a book, and then which one I should buy. It reminded me of the way my dad shops, and so I just put everything back and walked out.

By this time, we had about 2 hours to get back to the ship, but had so much more to see. We got back on the bus and headed toward Park Guell, another unfinished project of Guadi. We wandered around, saw Hansel and Gretel houses, which he apparently designed because his friend supposedly wrote it, but we have no idea if that is true, so I apologize in advance if I truly offend anyone. Anyways, we walked around there for a bit before racing back to the bus. We boarded and rode a ways out of our way before we realized we literally had no time and that we could possibly miss this ship…

We left the bus around the soccer stadium and watched as Jessica hailed a taxi. We hopped in and told him where we needed to go. And I will preface this story with the fact that this was the second best foreign taxi ride I’ve ever taken. The driver was insane. Literally. He talked to himself, got overly angry at bad drivers, and listened to the strangest remixes of Queen I have ever heard. When we got in, a rap remix of “Another One Bites the Dust” was playing very loudly, followed by an even stranger version of “Under Pressure.” Then, trying to make us feel more at home and at ease (we had about 20 minutes to get to the ship and his route had changed due to unforeseen road blockage), he put on some American oldies that we sang along to with him, before he changed it to the strangest song any of us had ever heard. The only word we could make out in the whole thing was “Barcelona.” It was operatic and dramatic, and we could hardly hold in the laughter. It was as if he had timed the ride perfectly, because as the song reached its climactic ending, we reached the pier and arrived to the entrance right on time. Some of our dinner friends laughed as we dizzily got out of the taxi that had just done a spin stop right at the door. It was outrageous.

We ate dinner with horrible people tonight, and we feel as though our friends in charge of the seating did that on purpose, so we are going to try the other dining room very soon. They like to play jokes on us, but they usually make our day. The staff that is – Zanina, Johann, and Paul. They are just wonderful. We watched Martin for a bit, and then headed up to Skywalkers, just in time for the “Cupid Shuffle.” We danced to a few songs and called it a night. We have a day at sea tomorrow, but we’re still very exhausted.

Cannes is a lovely town on the French Riviera, and the fact that it is on the Riviera is blatantly obvious, even from the boat. There are yachts all over the place. One that sticks out in my mind at the moment is a very large teal one with a matching helicopter on the upper deck of the boat. There was also a purple/pink one docked near where the tender dropped us off. We were greeted by a red carpet and cameras, just like the movie stars. We really weren’t sure what to do, since Monaco and Monte Carlo were a little ways away and we didn’t want to gamble here either, so we just walked around the town. We walked up to the Old Town area, which is at the top of a large hill. There was a church at the very top, Notre Dame de L’Esperance, that provided magnificent views of the town and the mountains surrounding the area. There is a an island that is visable from this hill, and that is called Saint Marguerite, which is most famous for a royal prison that was built by Cardinal Richelieu in the 17th century and housed the Man in the Iron Mask, who later inspired Dumas’ novel.

We walked down the hill and decided to wander through the shops and botiques that lined the streets. Everything was far too expensive, of course, but it was nice to have such a slow paced day. We picked up some postcards to write later and headed towards the Palais des Festivals, where the International Film Festival is held every year. It’s a peaceful park area with cut outs of movies that you can put your face in and take pictures with. Of course, I had to pose as Hans Solo, so we did that and wrote out some postcards. After a hectic trip to a post office, we headed back to the boat to relax in the sun for a bit.

We decided not to visit Mr. Martin Kaye in Crooner’s tonight because “Avatar” was playing at Movies Under the Stars. And I think we all loved it. It made me want to go to Pandora and have a giant blue avatar of myself. But, that is not really relevant to the cruise, so I’ll just move on… We decided to call it a night, seeing as its about 1 in the morning, and tomorrow is Barcelona!

The port today is Genoa, which is Italy’s largest port and a very industrial city as well. We woke up around 9, as usual, thinking we would go into Milan, but we soon discovered that it was about a 2 hour train ride one way. After the day of traveling to and from Rome, we realized we did not want to repeat 4 hours of traveling for 3 hours in a city we knew little about. They offered a bus tour of Genoa for €10, so we decided to do that since we knew less about it than Milan. I have still been feeling a little sick, so a lot of the information that was given to us is a little blurry to me. Basically, there are a lot of palazzos in Genoa and they are beautiful. Christopher Columbus was from Genoa and there are streets and parks named after him all over the city. We drove by his childhood home once or twice on the bus, and I’m not even sure now that I got a photo, so we’ll just see when I get home. Another interesting part of the city to me was the Piazza de Ferrari. It’s a busy circle with an elegant fountain in the middle, and it’s surrounded by several buildings, including the Doge’s palace and an old bank building. After the bus tour was over, we walked back to interesting parts of the city to shop and take proper photos. My view on the bus was obstructed by a family that is actual from Mason, Ohio (aka King’s Island area). It was crazy that we even met them, but Jessica had run into them yesterday when I was sick and told them we’d hang out sometime. There was Alex, an Ohio University bound 18 year old; his sister, whose name I don’t know; and Brent, the 26 year old cousin from Jacksonville. They all seem really great and hopefully we will make friends with them sometime soon.

Tonight, we wanted to do something besides going to Skywalkers, so we wandered around the ship looking for something to do. We were walking around Deck 7, when all of a sudden, we heard this crazy voice, along with claps and happy cheers. It was coming from Crooner’s Bar, at the top of the Piazza area. It’s a bar that specializes in martinis and has a loungey atmosphere. The voice was coming from a seemingly insane British man, who was playing the piano. We decided to sit down and see what all the comotion was about, and it didn’t take long. The pianist, Martin Kaye, specializes in taking requests from the crowd and then dancing around while playing. But that’s not all. Sometimes he has the background music for Sinatra songs, and dances on the tables, couches, and even the people. It is probably the most entertaining thing I’ve ever seen. And he is a very talented pianist. He plays everything from Alicia Keys to the Beatles. We decided immediately to make this a nightly ritual.

Well, tomorrow we are in Cannes, France so it’s time for bed!

So, I’m sitting here in my bed in the middle of the afternoon. I wish I could be outside running around Pisa or Florence with Brooke and Jessica, but I’m stuck here in bed, hardly able to breathe and having to blow my nose every 5 minutes or so. It’s awful. Yesterday, the doctor said I should rest, so I figured that since I’d been to both Pisa and Florence, I’d rest today so that I could see everything else from here on out. I’ve watched “Up” about three times already and “Bedtime Stories” is coming on for the 2nd time this afternoon. I want to go out into the rest of the ship and maybe meet some new people, but I have a feeling that everyone will run away from me like I have the swine flu, so I’ll just stay in.

It feels a little weird that the guys are gone and that there are all new people on board. Only about 300 people from the first cruise are also on this one, and we hardly met any of them so it feels like we are the only ones who have been on since Venice. I’m beginning to feel like Becky and I did when second semester at the JFRC started. We felt like we knew everything there was to know about the JFRC and we couldn’t imagine it without Joe or Jenny or Katie, let alone with an entire new class. We were almost bitter and laughed when the new kids couldn’t figure out the warm water in the showers and you could hear them screaming when cold water came out. It’s funny how similar the situation is now. We feel like we can’t make any more friends, and as we pass Chris and Jack’s door, we almost knock out of habit. We laugh as the new cruisers can’t figure out how to check back into the ship properly or at how confused they are when Zanina greets them at the dining room entrance. It’s going to be a long second half…

Today was the day. It was the day I had been waiting for since we booked this trip in January. June 8. I have had a countdown to this day for a few months, and it finally arrived. While this also marked the day that Jack and Chris were leaving us, it was the day I finally returned to Roma after a year of absence. We said our “see you later” to the boys (we planned to meet them at the Trevi fountain at noon), and made our way to the train station in Civitavecchia, the port city of Rome. We started walking around the port, only to discover the safest way was to take the shuttle to the gate. We got on the shuttle and walked a little less than half a mile to the train station and missed the 9:57 train by about 2 seconds, so we had to wait for about an hour for the next one. Only while we were waiting did we realize how hot it was, and how much hotter it was going to get.

As we sat on the train for over an hour, I was like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting Santa. Brooke and Jessica passed out, so I had some time to myself to think about everything. The ride in was gorgeous with the rolling hills you only see outside of Rome and the coast just out of my reach through the train window. As we went through the tunnels that lead to Roma Termini, I woke the girls up and was just as happy as could be. I knew exactly how we would get to the Trevi fountain and laughed at the idea of a map. As we emerged from the Metro stop at Piazza Barberini into the hot Italian sunlight, I felt as though I had never left. I crossed the streets like a Roman, I took back streets that I had learned about last year, and I strategically avoided the dog doo-doo that lines the streets. We were sweating so much because it was about 100°F outside, but I didn’t care. As we turned the corner and the Trevi fountain came into view, huge tears poured out of my eyes. I can’t really explain it, other than the fact that I was so happy to be home. It honestly just felt like a dream. I wanted to jump in and hug every figure of the fountain and say, “Honey, I’m home!” to them. But I didn’t. The Carabineri were watching very closely, and I did not feel like spending the day in Rome arrested. So we scanned the busy area for the boys, who shouldn’t have been very difficult to miss seeing as Jack is over 6’ tall and was wearing purple. We were late and worried that they gave up on us, but there they were. We took a while to find them because we had told them to meet us on the left side and they were on the right.

After we took some photos and threw our coins in to wish for our return to Rome, we wandered right down the street to L’Archetto, that splendid restaurant I spent so many hours and Euros in last year. And wow. It was more than I could have hoped for and better than I remembered or dreamed of. The boys even loved it! As I ate my entire plate of Quattro Formaggi Spaghetti, I kept telling Brooke that if I was dreaming and woke up as I was eating, I would punch the first person I saw when I woke up. Luckily, that did not happen and I was not dreaming. After finishing a liter of vino bianco di casa and a bottle of champagne, we made our way through the street vendors that line the roads leading to the Trevi. But then I got pooped on by a bird and ran to the McDonalds for some napkins. It was gross. We wandered to Blue Ice for some Nutella and Strachiatella (Chocolate Chip) gelato. I don’t think I’ve ever been more full than that afternoon.

I lead the way through the winding Roman alleys and roads to the Pantheon, my favorite spot in Rome, only to find it covered in scaffolding! I was not very happy, but I was still able to enjoy the other half of the façade. We ran over to Piazza Navona and wandered through the back streets, as I pointed out places that I used to frequent or that place I got thrown up on once. No one was really paying attention, but I didn’t really care. We made to the Vittore Emanule II monument and walked by the Forum, up to the Colosseum. We were running so late, so we took a few snapshots with our new found best friends, took the Metro to Termini and helped them get to their hotel, and made it to our train at the last minute.

The ride back was much longer than before, and we all passed out. We sat with this Italian girl around our age, but we didn’t really speak with her because we were so exhausted. The only reason I mention her is because Jessica was falling asleep like you do in class when your head bobs up and down and you keep catching yourself. But instead of catching herself, she smacked her head on a metal bar and all 4 of us started laughing uncontrollably, the Italian included. Brooke and I were actually asleep and didn’t even see it happen, but both woke up with the “clunk” Jessica’s head made laughing. It was such a great way to end a long, yet very short day in Rome. We had to have a taxi drive us right to the boat because we almost missed the boat. We had 15 minutes to spare by the time we got on.

This is where my blog is going to get boring. There was a time earlier in the day when I felt like I couldn’t breathe and I thought I was going to suffocate. It only got worse as the day went on, but I tried to ignore it so that I could enjoy my 3 short hours in Rome. By the time we got back, I forced myself to go straight to the medical center to figure out what was wrong with me. Turns out, it was just a sinus infection that traveled into my chest, but the lovely South African doctor Mark gave me some medicine and told me to take it easy for a few days, so that’s just what I did.

I’ll update some more soon, but just know that for two days I practically laid in bed. Miss you all and love you very much!! Thanks for reading, and keep checking back in the next few days! :)

We docked this morning in the lovely port city of Naples, Italy. I had never ventured south of Rome when I was in Italy, so this was new and exciting for me as well. In all of my classes we learned that the south of Italy was much poorer than the north, and that was evident as soon as we got off the ship. Naples looks sort of like a run down version of Rome, but it was still quite charming in its own way. The people were always yelling “PRONTO PRONTO!!” or other Italian words that mean “Hurry!” I liked it there and I wish I could have spent some time enjoying more of the city, but that’s for another journey.

Today, we found ourselves drawn towards Pompeii, the site of an ancient city that was buried by the ash and lava of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Now, the Pompeii I imagined was much like any other site with ruins I had seen – flat ground, a few buildings here and there, and maybe some of those bodies everyone had talked about. But the real Pompeii was quite the opposite. It was literally an entire town with hilly roads and entire buildings. It blew my mind. There was even an entire amphitheater. The walls were covered in ancient graffiti and frescos depicting the bustling city before the volcano erupted. I could have spent all day roaming around through the ruins of temples and basilicas. Except that it was about a thousand degrees. I don’t think I’ve ever been so hot. We took in as much as we could (I’ve been quoting my dad/National Lampoon’s Vacation the entire trip, saying, “Take it in! Take it all in!”) before we got back on the train to Naples.
I’ve been reading “Eat Pray Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert since we took off from CVG, and in this book, she describes a pizza place in Naples near the train station that sounds like it has the best pizza in the world. I wanted to try it ever since I read her description of it, and to which she says her and her friend felt like they were having an affair or metaphysical crisis over the pizza. Sadly, no one wanted to venture off the path more to find this holy of holies and so I will just have to save that for another day.

It was our last night with Chris and Jack, and so we wanted to spend it the right way – with a movie and then dancing. We went to see “Everybody’s Fine,” which may have been the worst movie choice for this sort of night. We were all sad to be leaving each other, and if you have not seen “Everybody’s Fine,” just know that it is a good movie, but it is one that is very sad and nearly had all five of us in tears, which obviously was not the way we wanted to remember our last night together. We tried to leave early even, but we were so drawn into the movie that there was no way that was happening. After an hour and a half of the saddest moments on film, we dragged ourselves to Skywalkers for one last night together. We danced to the same songs we had been dancing to for the past week, which will forever bring back memories of our times here together on the Crown Princess.

Nothing of great significance happened today. It went a little like this – slept in until noon, laid out with everyone until 4, got ready for the formal night, ate dinner at 8, went to Skywalkers until who knows when, and then fell asleep. So, to make this a more interesting entry, I’m going to take you through a typical day, but with a twist. Ever since we boarded the lovely Crown Princess, I have learned about a new part of “girl world” that I was only ever slightly aware of, and that is the number of wardrobe changes in a typical day. I’m obviously the kind of girl who picks out an outfit to be worn throughout the entire day, but that is not how other girls operate, especially Byington girls. I guess Katie does this too, but since it has been a few years since I’ve spent a great deal of time with her, it seemed very new to me. Anyway, here we go…

Outfit #1 – Breakfast: Cotton dress & sweater
For the first part of the cruise, we were under the impression that the dress code applied to all meals in the dining rooms. For women, this consists of a blouse and slacks or a dress. No shorts, no tank-tops, nothing really casual. We have learned now that dress code only applies to dinner, but we still do this. We wake up to my horrible rooster alarm and freshen up as quickly as possible so we don’t have to go to the buffet breakfast. It’s just so much easier to be waited on in the mornings. We eat omelets, fruits, toast, and other such things while we wait for the handsome Romanian waiter to bring by the jam. This particular waiter, by the way, is a vampire. Brooke and I looked at each other the first time we saw him and had one of our telepathic conversations about his crystal clear blue eyes and fairly large K-9 teeth. We decided he was a vampire. Anyways, after breakfast we go and change into…

Outfit #2 – Into the City: Various outfits
The three of us race back to P220 and battle over the shower, hairdryer, and mirror space. After about an hour and half of this and about 12 different outfit choices, we are out the door. And when I say 12 different outfits, I’m not exaggerating, at least for Jessica. For me, maybe 2 or 3 and Brooke usually tries on about the same, but Jessica is a different breed all together. And it still amazes me that it takes that long to figure out what to wear to places like Pompeii. But anyways, we wander around and then…

Outfit #3 – Naptime/Pool Side
Depending on our level of exhaustion, we either change into pj’s for naptime, or swim suits for lounging by the pool. While this seems like an easy task for most, it is not. It’s easy for me because I only brought one suit, but for the Byington girls, it’s an entire fashion show. “I’ve already worn this one” and “This will give me weird tan lines” are the two most common statements during this time. Then comes the time for picking out a cover up, which takes another 10 minutes. Who knew there was so much to laying out? After an hour or more, its time for…

Outfit #4 – Dinner
We always look our best for dinner. And tonight was a formal night, so we took extra time. We knew what we were going to wear yesterday, but normal there are several different wardrobe changes per person, and then the unfit garments are carelessly discarded throughout our tiny room. Our makeup is done to the tune of “Baby” by Justin Bieber, while we sing and dance around the room like crazy 13 year olds. We make our way to the dining room where we apparently have a reputation, according the zany Romanian hostess Zanna. We have no idea what this reputation is, but we’ll just say it’s a good one because we are three beautiful young women on a 27 day long cruise by ourselves. After a very filling 3 course meal, we head back for…

Outfit #5 – Movie Clothes
We usually go to the later showing of the movie of the night, so we change into comfy warm clothes, which are again chosen with great care. Tonight we skipped the movie and went straight into…

Outfit #6 – Club
Our second to last outfit of the night (that’s right, there’s still more) has to be perfect. While only about 20 people regularly go to Skywalkers, we still feel the need to look better than everyone else. This process isn’t as long as the dinner process, but it still requires about 5 outfit changes to get it just right. We dance the night away, sometimes with some long islands in hand, provided by the ever entertaining Manu. He is the bartender in Skywalkers from India, and he knows Brooke and I by name, but Brooke thinks he has a crush on me. This could be possible, because tonight I said something to him that made him giggle nonstop. He asked me if I wanted anything to drink after Brooke ordered one, and I said, “Oh, just surprise me.” Apparently, that means something completely different to someone who’s first language is not English. Anyways, after that he’s made my drinks a little stronger. ;)

Finally, Outfit #7 – PJs
This usually takes no time at all because we are just sleeping in them, but I’m still counting it because that’s 7 outfit changes in a day. Seven. Different. Outfits. I still can’t believe it, or the fact that I’ve started changing six times a day.

Ok, so when you think of Greece, you actually think of Santorini, not Mykonos as I previously thought. The island of Santorini provides breathtaking views from everywhere. It is shaped like a fishhook now, but it used to be a complete circular island, but before 1600 BC the volcano called Thera erupted and completely destroyed most of the island and its inhabitants, and even destroyed the northern coast of Crete. Some archeologists even believe that there was a land mass between Thera and Crete that sunk into the sea after the eruption, inspiring the myth of Atlantis. After the eruption, Egyptians, Romans, Venetians, and Turks populated it and influenced much of the architecture and culture of today. The name Santorini comes from the patron saint, Saint Irene of Thessalonika, who died on the island in 304. In Italian, her name is Sant’Irini and it stuck as the name. Since the Italians had such an influence on the island, there are more Catholic Churches in Santorini than in the rest of Greece. The capital city Thera is surrounded by cliffs that show different levels of volcanic debris laid down after each eruption.

From where the ship was anchored, the only way to reach Thera was to take cable cars up the cliffs or ride a donkey. We decided to take the cable cars, but almost immediately regretted it because the donkeys were just too darn cute! At least we saved them the work. Anyways, the shopping was far too expensive so we walked around and tried to find out if we could get to a beach easily. The night before, while we were at Skywalkers, I talked with one of the musicians on the ship who told me that we should rent 4 wheelers and drive to the beach. So I was hooked on that idea, but everyone else wanted to just take a taxi. We found a nice shop and asked the owner the name of a good beach to go to, and then we found a taxi that would take us there. We ended up near the city of Parissa, on the complete opposite end of the island, on a black sand beach. It was incredible since I had never seen anything like it, but everyone else seemed to have already experienced a black sand beach in Hawaii. We laid out on the warm sand, weary of the black clouds starting to form above us, but nonetheless, happy that we had a beach day. It started pouring down rain and we ran into a bar called Paradise to wait out the rain. It didn’t last too long, but we caught up on some sleeping and reading before hitting the beach again.

After another hour or so, we all got hungry and went to the restaurant next to Paradise and got some pretty authentic Greek food, which was amazing. I wish I could remember the name of some of the things we ate, but I guess its not that important. We ate this fried cheese thing that was to die for and my main meal was chicken (go figure) marinated in olive oil. Chris got swordfish and Jessica and Jack got the same meat dish. We were all satisfied and ready to lay out some more, but it was time to head back to the ship. We got a taxi called there about 20 minutes later and made the last cable cars and the last tender ship back to the big ship.
After we got settled in again and woke up from our daily nap time, we ate dinner and changed for the 12th time for the Movie Under the Stars, which was Leap Year. The boys complained, but they ended up liking the movie. We were once again completely exhausted and decided to call it an early night, even though the next day was the day at sea…

So today, I decided to do my own thing. The rest of The Team wanted to go to the beach, and well, I’m a lobster and felt that was not in my best interest. So while they wandered around the island for a beach, I wondered around the Old Town. Rhodes was said to have been created by the sun god and a sea nymph because it truly is the best of both worlds. The water is crystal clear blue and surrounds the fortified Old Town while the sun shines down on both. And that is sort of where my title for today comes from. I started to tell everyone the story of Rhodes this morning at breakfast, and that's how I started the story... :)

It was very warm today, but not too hot. Not much of a breeze either, but it was just right. I started wandering around the touristy shops, headed toward the mosque in the center. As I reached it, however, I learned that I was unable to go into the mosque for some unknown reason. I was a little disappointed because I think some mosques are just as, if not more, beautiful than many of the churches I’ve seen. Anyways, like I said before, the Old Town is surrounded by a medieval wall that was built originally to protect the inhabitants from the constant fighting, but was restored by the Knights of St. John (later known as the Knights of Malta) and finally by Mussolini in 1930s. And the city is a sight. There are winding alleys full of old lady Greeks selling lace and other knick-knacks. There are also a lot of medieval timey arches throughout the alleys and lots of colorful flowers. I tried to capture as much as I could with my wonderful camera, but I could do it no justice.

After walking for an hour or so, I started heading back to the ship, but then the marina/waterfront caught my eye, and I knew I’d be mad at myself if I didn’t explore a bit. So I walked along the water and looked at all of the pretty boats and yachts. There was an area called St. Paul’s Gate that I climbed all over and took a lot of pictures of the water and the wall, but upon returning to the boat and looking again, the water was just not as pristine and blue as it was in person.
I got back to the boat 2 hours before I was supposed to meet the others, so I headed up to the Sun Deck to watch whatever movie was showing and catch some real rays. Turns out that “New Moon” was on, so I tried watching it and ended up falling asleep, after enjoying a delightful margarita. When I woke back up, “The Proposal” was on, and I was supposed to have met The Team. They were nowhere to be found, but their names hadn’t been called on the intercom to be sure they were on the ship, so I waited until Brooke emerged from the gym and exclaimed that she was so happy we all actually made it back on board! She told me they had found a crowded beach and enjoyed the day, but that they had had trouble navigating without me.

Tonight I think we are wanting to either watch “The Hurt Locker” in the indoor theatre, or “Have You Heard About the Morgans?” outside. There is a clear choice here, but sitting outside at night, literally under the stars, is just so relaxing. Last night we changed up our tradition of dancing the night away with off duty crew members and watched “The Blind Side.” I was nearly in tears the entire time, but it was good none the less. Anyways, hope all is well State side and I’ll be updating more regularly from now on.

Also, I would just like to add that the piano player in the Piazza just started play “My Heart Will Go On.” Hope that’s not a sign of what is to come…

Today, Thursday that is, we were in Kusadasi, Turkey. We had a late start this morning and no one even wanted to do our workout. We ate breakfast with The Team, and headed ashore. This city is a lot different than Istanbul, but in a good way. I loved Istanbul and all of the craziness there, but here, it seems a lot less hustle and bustle. All of the buildings are white or tan and there are nowhere near as many mosques here. The people are the same – they will say anything to get your attention and to look in the stores. Some of my favorites of today were Barbie girls, Jennifer Lopez, California girls, Spice Girls, and the guys even got called Spice Boys.

Anyways, we found a taxi that would take the five of us to Ephesus for €50, so 10 each. The site was about a 20 minute drive through some really beautiful countryside. The taxi driver shared a little about himself and seemed very nice. He dropped us off at the front gate and told us he would wait at the exit. We wandered through the old sexy rubble, as I imagined Dr. Evers would say, and took some nice pictures. Ephesus is a fairly significant part of Christian history, but I will get to that later. The Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, but I’m not certain that that was part of what we saw today.

Excavations of the ruins at Ephesus started about a century ago, and restorations are still going on to keep it beautiful. St. Paul lived around Ephesus and often preached against the worship of idols by the pagans, and was compelled to leave the city because of this. Later on, St. Paul would write his Letter to the Ephesians. Ephesus is also believed to be the place where St. John wrote his Gospel, and he mentions Ephesus in the Book of Revelations. Mary and John the Evangelist were both thought to have lived the last days of their lives in Ephesus. Basically, what I’m saying is that Ephesus is a pretty awesome place with so much history. I loved it, and I think everyone else enjoyed it to some extent. We got back to the taxi and spent the last few hours walking around bazaars and eating doner kababs.

We’re back on the ship now, and I’m just sitting on the upper deck, looking out over the city. The sky is blue and the sun is shining, but there is a nice breeze that is keeping me cool. Although, I’m avoiding the sun as much as possible at the moment because of how burnt I got in Mykonos. I’m surrounded by elderly women playing all sorts of card games and crew members in green jungle print shirts tempting me with their sinful milk and cookies. This has been one of the best vacations I’ve ever had and I keep asking myself if this is real life (like the kid from “David After Dentist”. Look it up on YouTube if you don’t know about it). I can’t believe it’s already/only been a week, and I can’t wait for the rest of the port stops. Our room has been a disaster lately, and Gaetano has complained, mostly in Italian to himself, that we have too many clothes and are very messy. We spend a lot of our time with Chris and Jack, who I could honestly listen to for hours and be completely entertained. They have a banter that reminds me of how Katie and I act when we are together, and I can’t help but love it.

Alright, well I’m sure you have had enough of me for a few days, so I’m going to have a nap and then wake up for some dinner and hot tubing. Ciao!

Alright. So. Where was I? Oh, Right. Croatia. Well, now we are in Greece, and I LOVE it. Sunday, we were in Corfu, which is an island on the west coast of Greece. We decided to go into the city with Chris and Jack, the two boys from the other night. Anyways, we walked into the town (about 25 minutes) and everything was closed, as it isa ll over Europe, since it was Sunday. The city in general was fairly dirty, but I tried not tol et that bother me, which for the most part, it didn’t. There was not a lot to see here, and we just walked through the Old Town, which is mostly touristy shops now, but the boys were running through and us girls hardly had time to realize there were things to be bought. We went into the Old Fortress, overlooking the sea and walked around for a bit. Sadly, I know no historical significance of this place, and until I have free, unlimited, lightening fast internet, I will know nothing. I’m not sure how long we were in town, but we came back and took our ritual afternoon naps before heading down to dinner. It was the first night we sat with an American couple, and it was not enjoyable, so we did not get a story about how they met. I believe we sat with another couple too, probably from New Zealand, but I don’t remember. I should have written all of this down, but we’ve been having far too much fun to think about scribbling down random things like that. We ended the evening as a “team (the five of us neighbors),” in the hot tub, with a bottle of wine. There is a night club here called Nightwalkers, which we visited after the hot tub, but we were the only ones in there and decided to visit another night. We also added another memeber to the team, Jamie, a 19 year old Canadian who is just insane. Very friendly, but insane.

Monday morning, Brooke and I woke up and went to the gym at 7:30, as we have been the past 3 mornings, and worked out for about a half an hour. We begin by walking up to the gym, a mere 10 decks above us, which wears me out before we even get to the gym, and then we do this little routine that Jessica initially started with us, but has now started doing her work outs in the evenings. Anyways, we go to breakfast in the DaVinci dining room, where we discover a vampire who serves jam and marmalade to unsuspecting cruisers. He has the most ridiculous eyes I’ve ever seen and immediately upon seeing him, Brooke and I had a telepathic conversation like we do and both believed he was a vampire. We found this to be very ironic today since the first thing I said to Brooke this morning was “I’ll be ready to get up as soon as I convince myself that vampires are not real.” (I had a vampire dream right before waking up and was certain it was reality.) At around 10, we decided to venture into the city – Athens. I guess I should have mentioned that before, but oh well. It was about a 20 minute walk to the metro stop and another 25 minute ride into the center. We walked, or rather, climbed, up to the Acropolis in about a half an hour. It was very humid, but cloudy, so it was a fairly miserable journey. It was nice to be somewhere familiar again, and I was happy to lead the way and point out stupid things, like the place I bought all the souvenirs or the store I spend 3 hours in deciding which unaffordable dress to buy. At the top, we enjoyed some incredible views of Athens and a nice breeze before actually entering the Acropolis. We ran into Chris and Jack, who were on a tour with Chris’s parents at the entrance and argued about who was stalking whom (they were stalking us) and then went to see the glorious Parthenon. There was a lot more construction going on than the last March, but it was still such an awesome sight. As most of you know, Jessica is Miss Teen International, and as such she was given the opportunity to travel. Every city we’ve gone to, we’ve tried to take a picture of Jessica with her title sash on, and today was a particularly funny attempt. The front of the Parthenon had finally cleared out a little and we decided to take the opportunity to take such a photo. As Jessica posed a woman came out of the woodwork and told us those kinds of pictures (publicity sorts, I suppose) were not allowed. What was particularly funny was Jessica’s explanation as to why she had the right to take that photo - “I’m Miss Teen International 2009. I’m a title winner in a pageant…But I’m a BEAUTY QUEEN!” I almost peed my pants because of the way she said it and have been saying it since then. So Brooke and I became sneaky people, like we are, and found a spot where no one could see and got a picture of Jessica and the Parthenon. We took more photos, which I wish I could upload, but it takes too many precious, expensive minutes, and then wandered back down the ridiculous hill and into the flea market. We shopped around a little bit, but not much else. We were completely exhausted and made our way back to the ship.

Once we were back on the ship, we met up with Chris and Jack and went to the hot tub for about two hours. It’s become a daily tradition that we all like to keep, and I think they have become pretty good friends. We always have the best conversations all of us. We got ready and all went to a nice dinner at Michelangelo’s. It wasn’t as good as it has been, but it was nice to sit as a team. We had some ouzo, which I don’t think I like, and went back to the night club. The music wasn’t that great when we got there, but they changed it to some good dancing tunes and we hit the dance floor. For about 3 hours. It was exhausting. However, it was a lot of fun. We walked around the upper decks for a while too, which may or may not have been the best idea because it was crazy windy and I’m terrified to even walk near the glassed walls at night because I can’t see anything, but hey, it was fun. We went back to our rooms and passed out.

Today (Wednesday), we were in Mykonos. And it was the best day ever. The sun was out, the sky was blue and it was hot. And the town was gorgeous as well. The buildings are the ones that you think of when you think of Greece. White with blue windows and doors, which as I learned in Tunisia, keeps the houses cool in the summer and the blue keeps the bugs away. Anyways, Mykonos is also famous for their windmills, but we’re not sure why. I’ll figure it out later, and let you know. There is an island that you can visit that is very close and the supposed birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. But instead of soaking in all of the history and ruins, we soaked in the rays. We found a beach away from all of the touristy things, but that conveniently had a bar on it. We decided the only thing missing from our picture of paradise was margaritas. So, we got some and hung out on the beach for about 3 hours. Yeah, I got a little fried, but it was completely worth it. Made it back to the ship in one piece and then took some naps. I think we plan on going to the hot tub tonight, as usual, and then get ready for Kusadasi, Turkey tomorrow!

We arrived this morning in Dubrovnik, Croatia, a walled city on the Dalmatian coast with colorful buildings, rooftops and people. We planned on waking up at 8 and leaving the ship as soon as it docked at 9am, but since we have no window in our room and Brooke can’t do the math of the 6 hour time difference for an alarm, I woke up at 9:15 and got ready before I woke up the Byington girls. We ate breakfast at the buffet and then jumped on the shuttle to the Old City, which is a beautiful fortified city on a sort of island. The inside was covered in white marble and orange rooftops of all shades. It must have been amazing when it was less commercialized, however, now it is very touristy. We ran into a nice pirate who had 5 different parrots – a Macaw, a Cockatoo, and 3 others – and just put them on us and took our pictures. They were so funny, and I was very surprised when he just threw two small parrots at me and they grabbed onto my arm very tightly. The one on Jessica’s shoulder took her headband off of her head and she was freaking out, but it was hilarious and we got it back, unbroken. The streets wind around through the city walls, with stairways and lanterns all over the place. We stumbled upon a nice little market with local arts and food and bought a few nice items. After that we just wandered around and explored for a little while. We saw some awesome views of the ocean and rocks, it was so beautiful. We got back on the shuttle to the boat, changed into our suits and hit the sun deck for some sun (or clouds) and views of the cove we were docked in. We didn’t get much sun, so my legs are still white as ghosts and my face and arms that were burnt in Venice are still a nice shade of red.

Last night was the captain’s welcome meal and “party,” so it was a formal night. We are all still jetlagged, so we didn’t want to really get all spruced up, as Brooke put it. They had a champagne fountain and complimentary champagne and mimosas for a bit, and we partook. And we made fools of ourselves on the cruise video giving a toast to the captain. Not in a we had too much to drink way and did something stupid, but in a the camera man was in our face with bright lights and asked us to toast to the captain and we didn’t say the same thing kind of way. Memorable.

We went to dinner and sat with, you guessed it, another couple of newlyweds. They were from outside of Vancouver and were so adorable as well. The woman was Eastern Indian and the man was Canadian, and they had been dating for 10 years, keeping it a secret from her family for 8 years. Crazy, but just adorable.

We made it back to P220 and wanted to pass out, even though it wasn’t even 10pm. However, our night went a little differently. Jessica half changed into her pajamas, but was also half wearing her dress, and was unpacking and organizing, taking over the entry way. I was in my bed with my eyemask as a headband and just looking like a wreck. And Brooke was reading, cuddling with her teddy bear, and wearing her retainer. The picture of contentment on the inside and loserville on the outside. There was a knock at the door and Jessica, being the closest and the only one not in bed, pushed her way through the clothes and shoes blocking the door. She pried the door open and a nice young lad in a tux was on the other side, who invited us to the hot tub to enjoy a nice glass of wine. We accepted, but wondered if he almost regretted it as he looked into the dungeon of girls who had checked in for the night. It was very enjoyable to finally talk to young people who were not married. They were both from Florida and are sophomores at Florida State. And they made me feel far older than I should. Which was not the best feeling the world, but hey, I couldn’t help it.

I bet you all are wondering about the ship I am calling home for the next month, as you should be. I have been on a cruise before, but this Crown Princess is far more than I could have dreamed of.

First, our room. It is about the size of a Kuhlman Hall dorm room, but more boxy than rectangular. Two beds fold out from the walls, but since we are one woman down, the room feels a little more open. We have managed to shove all of the contents of our over-packed suitcases onto every shelf and hanger available to us. Our steward, Gaetano, I believe takes good care of our room, but it is sometimes overwhelming. Brooke refuses to call him anything but Geotechno though. Not sure why, but it’s amusing. To get to the rest of the ship, we have to walk through an art gallery, where we see new things every day. The art gallery opens up to a three story piazza, with shops, cafés, a library and other sorts of things. There is a “Titanic”-esque staircase as well. We feel fancy when we are walking through there. Every night, we have a choice of two restaurants, the Da Vinci and the Michelangelo. They look the exact same, except the art on the walls is that of each artist. We sit with new people every night, which we like a lot because we are making new friends. Most of them are newlyweds or older retired couples, but they are lots of fun. Anyways, back to the ship.

There are 16 Decks, and we are on Plaza Deck 5, which I think I may have mentioned before, but I’ve been so out of it, I don’t care if I mention it again. The Lido Deck 15 has 2 pools, 4 hot tubs, a buffet, and an area that shows movies at all times during the day called Movies Under the Stars. Beach chairs are lined up like movie theater seats and you can also be in the pool and hot tubs while enjoying movies like Avatar and Under the Tuscan Sun. I haven’t had a chance to watch one yet, but I’m planning on a few of them. There is also a full gym, theatre, casino, a few clubs and restaurants. Something for everyone and as Jessica put it, “Anna can do her puzzles and I can lay out. It’s great for all of us!” :)

However, we are discovering there is too much that we want to do and not enough time. Tonight, for example, there is a hoe-down, Avatar in the theatre, Nine in Movies Under the Stars, a comedy show, Big Band dancing, trivia, etc, etc. How on earth can we possibly choose what we can do when we want to do all of it?!
Meals have been excellent so far; I even tried duck last night as a starter! Very out of character for me, I know, but it was delicious! I’ve had alfredo, spring rolls, all sorts of soups, Moroccan vegetable surprise (not its real name, but that’s what I called it), and wonderful chocolate desserts. I’m making myself hungry…

Bon Voyage! We have set sail from Venice and our en route to Dubrovnik, Croatia, but I will catch you up on the happenings of the past 50 hours or so...

Packing the night before a month long cruise is one of the worst ideas possible. Packing the day of the flight is possibly worse.

Brooke and I woke up around 9am Wednesday morning and started shoving our clothes, shoes, and unnessecary things into our bags, believing them to be under the 50 pound weight limit. A few errands and very disgruntled US Bank employees later, we were on our way to the airport. We arrived to CVG one hour before our departure time, believing that to be enough time to get through what I thought was a small-ish airport. We could not have been more wrong. After being rushed through check-in, believing our plane was about to take off, we had to weigh our bags. Brooke weighed in at 56 pounds, and mine, The Hercules (a very fitting name), weighed in at 63 pounds! The man was not happy with me and said I must make it 50 pounds or pay $150 of my precious cruise money to get The Herc there. We both started grabbing and stuffing everything from formal dresses to plastic bags of underwear into any nook and/or cranny of our carry ons. Which reminds me that I must write to Vera Bradley and thank them for making such durable and flexible bags, so for all of you who criticize my addiction to them, they are very practical for situations like this and I refuse to give up on them now! :) Anyways, so we get to the security gate and are trying to force our Veras to zip, and its not happening. They somehow fit into the x-ray machine, but we have to stop every few minutes to gather the Disney Princess socks and teddy bears that have fallen out. We made it to our gate in the nick of time, but not in enough time to claim one of the coveted large overhead bins, so the Veras took up all of our leg room. Brooke and I got to sit next to each other after a nice young gent who was next to me agreed to switch with Brooke. We were finally able to relax and stop sweating, hence vaction mode had begun. Brooke and I experienced complimentary, juice box wine and attemped to sleep, but failed miserably.

After the longest 7 and a half hours of my life, we arrived in Paris. And vacation mode was not actually in place yet. We had an hour to get from one side of the airport to the other, to go through customs, and security again. The man at security thought I spoke French because of my near perfect pronunciation of "bonjour," but when he asked if I had a laptop or camera in my bag and I couldn't understand, he just looked at me like the dumb American I am. Anyways, we got to the gate as they were boarding...again...and this time we got overhead storage so we could stretch our legs a bit. I sat next to and chatted with some honeymooning newlyweds from DC - Danielle and Todd - and it turns out they were on our cruise too, but only until we got to Rome. We found out that we somehow booked a double cruise or something like that and most of the people would be getting off after 12 days.

We landed in Venice a short hour later and claimed our bags and walked out into the fresh Italian air. It felt so nice to be back home, and it felt as if I had never left. The air had such a familiar warmth to it and the language actually didn't seem so foreign any more. We got a taxi and I discovered how much I did not miss their insane driving. We swerved in and out of semis and other crazy Italian cars and Vespas, but made it to the port safely. They took our bags right out of the taxi and right on to the ship and we went to explore the bustling, beautiful city of Venice...on foot...for 6 hours. My feet have never hurt so much, but it was nice to see everything when it was sunny and warm and nice, and when I didn't need a sweatshirt and a winter coat on. We wandered through the maze of sidewalks and colorful street vendors shouting anything to get our attention. We ate lunch on the Grand Canal, right by the Rialto and had caprese and quattro formaggi pizza. I forgot how much I love Italian pizza. I swear I will never eat another kind ever again. We dragged our poor feet and sunburnt lobster faces back to the dock and boarded the Crown Princess. We had a few hours before Jessica was supposed to meet us, and since we hadn't slept in over 24 hours and our feet felt as if someone had beaten them with a baseball bat as Brooke put it, we found our room on the Plaza Deck 5 and passed out. We were suddenly awoken four hours later by our hall staff member, a nice Italian man whose name I cannot remember at the moment, when he knocked on our door to check if we were eating and if Jessica had arrived. It turns out she had, but had been wandering aimlessly around the ship trying to find our room. After we got her settled in, it was time for dinner. We sat with an elderly couple from England who had been married for so long the woman forgot how many years they had been married and another newlywed coupld from Montreal. Each couples' story of how they met nearly had all three of us girls in tears, both of laughter (the Canadian man had been asking the woman out for over 5 years before she agreed to go on a date with him) and of happiness, I guess is the word, for the couples. It was just too cute. And the dessert was to die for - flourless chocolate cake. Yummmm.... :)

We tried exploring the ship a bit, but we were so worn out physically and mentally, we ended up in our room, not able to sleep until 3am. To help pass the time, Brooke and I unpacked and organized our combined 119 pounds of, for lack of a better word, crap in our room. We counted outfits, just to see how many weighed so much, and in this competition Brooke came out the winner with 45 outfits, not including formal wear. I had 25 outfits, so needless to say, we will not be repeating outfits this entire month! Oops... ;)

Our alarm went off far too early at 7am, but we showered and ate breakfast and prepared to show Jessica the sights, smells and sounds of Venice in only two hours. We were wise today and used a water taxi shuttle to Piazza San Marco so we wouldn't waste much time. And we wore much more comfortable shoes. After hitting the major sites and walking through the food market, we got back on the taxi and back to the ship for embarkation.

We sat next to a window for lunch and watched Venice go by and then explored the ship. Brooke and Jessica are currently passed out, and we have a champagne waterfall and formal night tonight, so it should be exciting. I'll write some more about the ship tomorrow and post more pictures, but for now, this will have to do! Arrivederci amici! :)

Off to a hectic but memorable start! Got to check in as they were closing it. Both of our bags were overweight so our carry-ons are overflowing. Ran to the gate. Played musical seats until we got seats together. Sweating profusely. Bags won't fit in the overheads.... more when we land in Venice. :)
Oh and the people behind us were cracking up as we tried to get situated.

So, here we are, 14 hours before our flight leaves out of CVG...packing. We've had so much time to get everything together and we wait until the last minute to pack for our month long cruise around Europe. Typical Brooke and Anna. And I'm sure Jessica and Colleen are doing the same thing in Boston and NYC...

So here's our itinerary for the next month... It's going to be intense, but I can hardly wait! :)


THU 05/27/10 VENICE, ITALY
FRI 05/28/10 VENICE, ITALY
SAT 05/29/10 DUBROVNIK, CROATIA
SUN 05/30/10 CORFU, GREECE
MON 05/31/10 OLYMPIA, GREECE
TUE 06/01/10 ATHENS, GREECE
WED 06/02/10 MYKONOS, GREECE
THU 06/03/10 EPHESUS, TURKEY
FRI 06/04/10 RHODES, GREECE
SAT 06/05/10 SANTORINI, GREEK ISLE, GREECE
SUN 06/06/10 AT SEA
MON 06/07/10 CAPRI/NAPLES, ITALY
TUE 06/08/10 ROME, ITALY
WED 06/09/10 FLORENCE/PISA, ITALY
THU 06/10/10 GENOA, ITALY
FRI 06/11/10 CANNES, FRANCE
SAT 06/12/10 BARCELONA, SPAIN
SUN 06/13/10 AT SEA
MON 06/14/10 GIBRALTAR, GREAT BRITAIN
TUE 06/15/10 LISBON, PORTUGAL
WED 06/16/10 AT SEA
THU 06/17/10 AT SEA
FRI 06/18/10 DUBLIN, IRELAND
SAT 06/19/10 GREENOCK, GREAT BRITAIN
SUN 06/20/10 AT SEA
MON 06/21/10 PARIS, FRANCE
TUE 06/22/10 BRUSSELS/BRUGES, BELGIUM
WED 06/23/10 LONDON, ENGLAND

Hopefully, I'll be able to update everyday, but if not, I will be sure to fill you in with all the adventures! :) Next time I post, I'll be in Venice! :) Ciao, ciao!