I tried to keep this post short, but it was too difficult. Read at your own risk.
After a full day of traveling through the day and night, we finally spot our first glimpse of Spain. Europe here we come!
Day 1 - Barcelona, Spain:
To start things off, we successfully met up with my brother Jason and his wife Lori, who would be our travel companions for the next week and a half. So far so good.
Off we go. Here we are starting out our first day in Barcelona as we try our best to speak spanish and navigate our way around town.
First stop up, the Temple Expiatori de La Sagrada Familia designed by Antonio Gaudi. This was the most impressive church we saw on our entire trip.
Let the touring begin. The church has so much detail that I am glad we got the headsets; otherwise, we would have missed out on all the symbolism that was exhibited in every detail.
Besides the food not being quite up to par as we would have liked and it rained slightly, we were sure enjoying ourselves as we walked Las Ramblas, the narrow streets of the gothic quarter, watched locals do a native Catalonian dance in the streets, explored the meat/fresh foods market, visited Olympic Park, and took time to relax in the hot tub located on the rooftop of our hotel.
Robert enjoyed himself so much that he feel asleep in the hotel lobby.
Day 2 - Barcelona, Spain:
The next day we had some time before our cruise left, so we took a cable car ride and headed up to Mt. Montjuic where we got to see the entire city of Barcelona. While we were at it, we visited an old fort and walked what I would like to call the Barcelona "Central Park."
Next up, all aboard!
So, we played some mini golf,
got all dolled up for dinner,
tried out our luck with a few free pulls,
Lori was our big winner on the slot machine winning a grand total of $0.06!
Nice work Lori! She was the only one to win anything on our free pulls.
Day 3 - Toulon, France:
First stop on the itinerary, Toulon, France. Who's ready for a ride around town? We are!
We took some time to soak up some sun and get a rest from all the walking around town we were doing. Oh, and I guess we had some time to strike a few poses.
My favorite part about Toulon was going to the beach where we could sit and take in all the beauty of the Mediterranean and its landscape.
This was by far one of my favorite moments of the trip.
I can say I have been in the Mediterranean Sea now. It was a bit chilly, so only my feet were lucky enough to grace the water.
To cap off the day, we came back, hopped in the hot tub, and sat on deck in our bathrobes as we watched the ship sail away. Life is great!
Day 4 - Florence, Italy:
We took a bus into Florence.
One of the best parts of Florence is experiencing the Duomo. The pictures do not do it justice, but this was a colorful and unique cathedral that sits in the heart of Florence.
So, what did we do? Well, naturally we had to climb to the top (all 400 or so steps).
It was an interesting climb that I didn't quite expect because the stairway got really narrow in parts and really steep as we climbed up through these little passage ways. It wasn't like descending the steps in the La Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Spain with it's spiral staircase.
It was a really steep climb, but we made it to the top!
The top of the Duomo in all it's glory.
I loved the rolling countryside of Italy.
Of course, I had to make some time to squeeze in some shopping. Florence had a neat market that lined an entire street, where I was able to find a couple of beautiful scarfs and a tie for Robert.
We even had time to grab our first Italian meal.
Jason and Lori each had a large pizza, Robert had a calzone that was the size of a football, and I had stuffed crepes. It was delicious!
Robert's calzone before and after:
In the meantime, back on the ship, we had time to win ourselves a gold medal in the volleyball tournament.
Day 5 - Rome, Italy:
Rome started off early. We were schedule to arrive in port around 7:00 am, so we got up early and made sure we had a bite to eat. As we made our way to the gangway, we found out that we were going to be arriving 30 minutes late into the port. Normally, that wouldn't be so bad of a delay, but the trains from the port to Rome only leave every hour or so. Thus, we were going to be barely arriving in time to catch the early train. If we missed it, it would put us behind another hour when we already tight on time. We waited anxiously in front of the line for the ship to dock. Once they started letting people off the ship, we knew we had only one option if we were going to make that train: run! We either ran or lost an hour, so we scurried off the gangway and ran our hearts out through the port city streets. People must have thought we were crazy. Luckily, we were not the only ones running to the train stop. It's a good thing we got up and going that morning because we made it to the train station ahead of the pack, rushed to buy our tickets, and then ran to our train platform just in time to jump on board our 7:57 am train. WE MADE IT!
We decided to head straight to Vatican City because we heard with the crowds can get really busy as the day goes on. Well, the day kept getting more exciting at every turn. Apparently, on Wednesdays the Pope delivers a blessing in St. Peter's Square. So, for an added bonus we got to see the Pope in person. Here's the frenzy below of everyone trying to get a shot of the Pope. Can you spy Robert?
Here is Pope Benedict XVI in all his glory. It was an experience getting to see the Pope in person and hear him deliver his blessing to the crowd.
The only downside to seeing the Pope was that it delayed our entrance into the Vatican Museum so our schedule of plans for that day were altered slightly. But, we eventually made it in to the museum where we got to see lots of old artifacts and the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel was well worth seeing.
After rushing through the Vatican Museum, we headed over via taxi to the other major highlight of our tour of Rome: the Coliseum.
Rome was another one of our favorite ports of call. We loved seeing all of the old Roman ruins as we reflected on the events of history that took place here.
After the Coliseum, we walked along all the streets checking out old monuments, statues, etc. as we made our way to the Trevi Fountain where we stopped for a rest and bought some delicious gelato.
Oh, and of course we threw a coin in guaranteeing our return.
Rome rocks! We will be back.
Day 6 - Sicily:
Back on the bus. We rode a lot of buses and trains this trip.
However, the scenery was different this time. We decided to switch things up from our city tours of old ancient cities to explore a bit of nature. We made the steep climb up to Mount Etna, one of the world's most active volcanoes. I was surprised these large tourist buses could even make the climb.
It was a much needed refreshment. The view was breathtaking as we could see the entire island of Sicily from the top.
It was a fun adventure exploring the lava flows and craters and watching the top peak plume. I must say, we were a bit nervous that our vacation might suddenly be interrupted by an explosion, but we tried to keep our imaginations from running away from us.
We even got to see some wild life. These little foxes would come up to the tour buses and cars in hope of getting fed by the tourists.
Speaking of eating, we even got to enjoy a little treat ourselves. When we reached the top, we were stopped at a little restaurant where we had this "crispy thing," otherwise known as a cannoli and red orange juice. Yes, that's what I said red orange juice. Everything was DELICIOUS!
So much so, that Lori kept having cravings for more of them throughout our trip. Luckily, we found her another one in Paris.
After wandering on the top of the volcano, we headed back down the mountain to a seaside town called Taormina.
We roamed old medieval streets and saw lots of beautiful views because the town sits right on a cliff, so the landscaping was really unleveled. You would get a great workout living here. This town reminded me of what Greece would be like.
In Taormina plants grow large and wild. BEWARE, some bite.
I really enjoyed this town a lot with all the charm it offered and the breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea.
Worn out again, after a long day of walking and adventure.
Back on board, we were busy stuffing ourselves with food as we had great dinners night after night. Here we are with our two waiters Romeo and Joseph.
We were the rowdy table that would ask the musicians to play rock songs instead of the classical classics. The musicians were amazing! They could play anything you asked them. Below is a sample from one of our dinners.
Next stop: Venice, Italy.
Day 7 - Venice, Italy:
The city of water. We started the day off exploring the waterways with a ride along the canal on a taxi. Then, we took it a bit slower with a nice relaxing ride on a gondola.
We also explored the town on foot.
Love is in the air.
I loved the gondola ride the most. Venice was definitely a unique town. It was like nothing I had ever seen before.
After we explored Venice 'til we could not explore any more, we hopped on our first overnight train ride with a one way ticket headed to Paris!
It was quite the adventure. To start off, our train was delayed. We had to make sure we kept updated with the terminal signs as they kept changing our departure platform. We for sure did not want to miss our train. Then when it finally arrived, we quickly found out after looking for our cabin that it did not exist. They overbooked the train. For a moment there, it looked like we were going to have to split up and sleep in cabins with complete strangers! I wasn't quite sure about that, and we started to stress out as everyone was boarded but us and we were supposed to be leaving. Luckily, the train attendants got people to move cabins and got the four of us our own cabin. Phew!
We are so happy to be on board and in our own cabin. It was a close call there for a moment.
After all the excitement, we were so tired. Everyone was ready to go to sleep and hoping to get some sleep.
The sleeping arrangements. The girls had the top, while the boys got the bottom.
After all, it turned out to be a decent train ride and was better than we thought it would be, minus the bathrooms that is.
We actually did get some sleep, and when we woke up, we were in Paris!
Day 8 - Paris, France:
After getting off the train, we headed straight to our hotel, checked in, and then made our way back to a train headed to Versailles.
The palace was amazing. We could not get over how big it was. It really was massive, so big that we could not have done it all in one day. We finally just had to call it a day and head back.
The trip would not have been the same without Robert. Here is my blind Robert and sleepy head Robert. We kept taking pictures of Robert when he would fall asleep because he kept falling asleep anytime we were on a bus or train.
Paris was my favorite city. I loved waking up each morning and sitting out on our window ledge before heading out on another long day of walking around.
We walked all over Paris seeing all the sites.
Here are the guys getting in touch with their manly side as they re-enact a statue that can be found at the top of the Arch de Triump.
The view from the top.
After strolling the streets of Paris, we made it to the Louvre where we saw lots of art, statues, and ancient artifacts. But, the highlight was getting to see the Mona Lisa.
There she is.
You can easily get lost in that museum. Phew, it was a long day there and my feet at this point were on the verge of bleeding. I had developed blisters from all the walking we were doing, but I was determined to persevere.
Luckily, I am spoiled rotten and Robert surprised me with a fresh long stemmed rose one evening before we went out to dinner for some more excellent french cuisine.
We loved the french food.
One of the best nights we had was visiting the Eiffel Tower and seeing it all lit up.
Just so excited that we made it to the top! Well, technically we didn't go all the way to the very top, but this was definitely high enough.
Presenting to you the city of Paris (said in a French accent).
Unfortunately, the trip had to end at some point. Jason and Lori left one day before us, so on their last night, we took a ferry boat ride out on the Seine River.
It was a much needed rest for our feet and a great way to see the city life at night.
Although, the trip ended there for Jason and Lori, for Robert and I, it was just kicking off one of our most anticipated events our trip had to offer us:
The French Open at Roland Garros.
Our first major tournament. Now we want to see them all!
We went during the first round of the tournament, so we got to watch lots of tennis. The only downside was that we wish we had bought tickets for more than one day. We were having too much fun!
Ivan Ljubicic
The neat thing about the early rounds is that you get to see lots of great players up close. They even walk through the crowd to get to their next match.
Maria Sharapova
John Isner
Rafael Nadal
We were lucky and excited to see Nadal play on his surface. It was a great first round match between Isner and Nadal that went 5 sets.
I had to add this picture, Nadal is completely OCD. Everytime he drank from his water bottle, he had to make sure it went back in the same exact spot from where he picked it up. His water bottles never changed location or spacing from each other.
Fernando Verdasco
Unfortunately, our dream vacation had to end, but as you can tell, we capped it off in style.
For more complete photos of the entire trip check out my Facebook page. I know what you are thinking, how could there be more? Well, it was a long trip and I am slightly picture happy, okay?
Au Revoir!
