It has been a little over a week since we arrived at home. It took our bags SIX days to find us at home! I meant to check to see if the flight last night ever DID take off at 3:00am, but my guess was that it did not and we were much better off spending a couple of hundred bucks on hotel rooms and a good night’s sleep. They were very accommodating in giving us a 12:00pm flight on Friday, so we were happy to sleep until 9:00 and slowly make our way to the airport. We found a Burger King and feasted on American food for the first time in 21 days! My arteries never felt better!

It felt GREAT to be home again. As predicted, within minutes of getting home, I was changed into riding clothes and off to see my horse, Sydney. It was WONDERFUL riding again after SO long!


HIGHS:

Monte Carlo – I don’t know what it was about Monte Carlo that was just so awesome. Every square inch was beautiful and screamed MONEY. It is definitely a place I would love to see again.

Sardinia – Here is a place I never heard of and turned out to be a highlight of our trip. It is BEAUTIFUL there. The water is a little cold – for a Florida girl. However, it is great to see your toes when you are walking in waist deep water. I just had a great day there with my family and I think that is my best memory from the entire trip.

Florence – I don’t know if Luca was just a great guide, or if this city was just that amazing. You just fell in love with the city and the architecture.

Quiet Cove Pool – I just LOVED coming back to the ship and lounging in the Quiet Cove pool. They kept the water nice and warm, so it felt great to have a frosty drink and relax in the pool. Patrick and I also enjoyed the hot tubs. In the evening, it was great to watch a movie on the Aerial screen while relaxing in the hot tub.

Palos – Awesome! Brunch and dinner were both excellent!

Having the whole family on the trip – My husband does not come on vacation with us too often, so it was really nice having him there. He was always game for anything – except Bingo. For the most part, Peyton was great. He had one night where leaving the camp was just not his plan, but I think that was more due to being hungry and tired. He definitely discovered that his Dad knew all about Pokemon and wanted to play with him constantly.


LOWS:

Having our luggage lost in Paris – Thank goodness at least we had a washing machine in the villa and could at least wash our clothes every night. I felt SO bad for all of the families that lost their luggage on the ship and had NOTHING to wear!

Having our luggage lost in Miami – It would have been nice to be able to get everything put away the first weekend we were home. It was also a bummer not to have any of the souvenirs I got for friends.

Pisa – Totally unimpressed. Just a bell tower with an architectural problem.

Getting on a dang BUS every morning for SIX days! – I don’t know how the 10-day Med people will stand it. By Monte Carlo, I did not even want to LOOK at a bus. Granted, I get nauseated being cramped in a bus full of people with little air conditioning, so my only recourse would be to try to sleep the entire time. This may not bother other people and they may enjoy the views.

Not a lot of time to shop – Not that I am a ‘shop-a-holic’, but it would have been nice to have more time to go into some of the stores we passed. The only tour where we had time to ‘walk around’ was in Cassis and there is not much there.

Speaking of Cassis… - I would not recommend this tour. The boat ride was not that long and the bus ride was WAY too long! If you do go on this tour, make sure you get a crepe from GRAND MARNIER Crepes. They were the BEST crepes we had the entire trip. The Calanques were pretty, but I am sure there are better excursions out there.

Thanks for reading our adventure and please let us know if you are going on the Disney Cruise in the Med this summer. We would love to hear about your adventures!

I HATE to fly!

Oh my goodness, did I mention that I HATE to fly? Not only does it make me a nervous wreck, but I just can’t stand bouncing around in a huge metal container that temporarily defies the laws of gravity. Debarkation in Barcelona was a breeze, we said goodbye to Stephanie (our wonderful steward), Ancel and Mariano (our waiters) and then our car service to the airport was waiting outside the port terminal for our bags. We got a brief tour of the city and arrived at the airport with plenty of time to make our flight. The lines for Iberia were VERY long and it took about a couple of hours to check in to our flight to London. We got the brilliant idea to check 5 of the bags right to Miami and 2 of the bags just to London so we would not have to carry all of the bags with us to the London hotel. My Mom even made friends with the guy next to her on the plane that gave her the name of a cheap car service to take us to Canary Wharf. Everything was going great. Then, Heathrow airport closed due to a gas leak in London – all heck broke loose. We were diverted to Paris! I already SAW Paris! The next problem came when we landed at Charles de Gaulle, they said that Heathrow was now open and as soon as the plane re-fueled, we could now go to London. Sooo, SEVEN hours later we landed in London to a mad house. Many planes were circling in the sky waiting for their turn to land. By the time we got our bags, the traffic was so bad, it took over 2 hours to get to the hotel. We were SO exhausted that we just decided to get room service and go to bed. The funny thing about London is that everything is CRAZY expensive. A small bowl of soup on the room service menu was over $15. It was good, but not THAT good. We were all so tired, that none of us really cared what the bill was, we just wanted to go to bed.

We woke up around 8:00am and got ready to catch our flight to Miami. Forgoing the $30 per person breakfast buffet, we decided to wait until we got to the British Airways club lounge in order to eat. We were able to get a small tour of London. We saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, the Tower of London, Tower bridge and even MI-6 (which I thought was REALLY cool). We got checked in at British Airways with no problem and I was able to purchase Internet access via T-Mobile for $20 for 24 hours. At least the connection was decent.

After landing in Miami, our bags never made it on the plane. Our plane was scheduled to leave Miami at 10:50pm, so we had a nice 4 hour layover waiting on the flight. At 10:45pm, they announced that our plane was there, they had a captain, but the flight attendants were stuck in Philly on the tarmac since 8:00pm. If they took off immediately, they would land and be ready to leave Miami at 3:00am! Now having flown for years, I knew EXACTLY what was going to happen. At 3:00am when the Philly plane landed, they would say that the flight crew had been awake for too long and they would be now able to leave at 6:00am with a different flight crew. Instead of "sleeping" in the airport waiting for them to cancel the flight, we opted to find a hotel and go on a later flight on Friday. Poor Peyton passed out cold in my arms and I had to carry him to the hotel. Oh well, I guess this is just one more day we get to spend on vacation!

Last Day at Sea!

We woke up to a VERY rocky ship. The Mistrals had arrived. The captain came on the intercom to explain that the Mistrals were winds that would go from a light 5 knots to gale force winds in under 5 minutes. According to the cruise director – Rachel, the weather has been HORRIBLE at every port we have docked the day BEFORE we landed. She said the Villefranche was SO bad two days ago, a different cruise ship could not even dock there and had to skip the port. The day before we landed in Marseille, it was very cold with high winds and we got a beautiful day!

It was a good excuse to stay in bed until 9:00am, then Patrick and I were off to find a nice sit-down breakfast together that did not involve a buffet line! After breakfast? Nap time of course! I finally got a great nap and when I woke up around noon, the sun was trying to come out! Peyton was in the camp and could not be dissuaded to come out. Patrick and Mom went to high tea at Paolo’s while I went to go look at the pictures Disney took of us while we were in the different ports and wandered around the boat. The sun was out by now, but the winds were still VERY heavy.

Mom and I went to the early show and enjoyed the illusionist and ventriloquist (Taylor Mayson). By the time we got out of the show, the seas were calm again and the sun was shining! Patrick and I went back to the room to pack everything up and then we down to our last dinner – depressing.

We ended the night at the hot tub watching Zorro on the Aerial screen. You can’t quite hear what they were saying with the bubbles from the hot tub, but it was even more fun making up the plot! We DRAGGED Peyton out of the club around 11:00pm and went to bed. We dock in Barcelona in the morning and head to London.

Villefranche, Monte Carlo and Monaco

Karen on the tender in Villefranche

The town of Villefranche

We missed the Monaco International Horse Show by only THREE days!!

The Casino in Monte Carlo

Cafe de Paris and the Casino in Monte Carlo














The BEST banana split at Cafe de Paris
















Patrick in Monte Carlo by Princess Grace Theater













View of the Disney Magic from the train in Villefranche








We slept until about 8:00am today and awoke to Rachel (the cruise director) announcing our arrival into Villefranche. This cove is simply beautiful. When you think of the Med, this is the kind of place you picture in your head. There are several million dollar yachts anchored around, villas dotting the landscape and purple bougainvillea growing on every wall. Mom had another tour late in the afternoon, but Patrick and I could NOT face getting on a bus again! We decided to hop on the train into Monte Carlo. This was quite easy and after 6 tour buses in a row, it was SO nice to be on our own. It could not have been an easier walk up to the train station (maybe a 10 minute walk along the harbor). The shore excursion desk had a list of train departure times, so we arrived in time to buy two round-trip tickets (4.80 each – you need exact change too) and catch the train to Monaco. The train was very nice and it was only a 15 minute ride to Monaco. We even passed Bono’s (from the band U2) house on the way. Needless to say, it was incredible!

When we arrived at the train station, we followed the crowd of people heading up the escalators to get to the ‘street’. Keep in mind that Monaco is built on a mountainside, so what you think is the ‘ground’ in one place, may still have another shop underneath! One of the first things we saw while walking to the Grand Casino was a red convertible Ferrari. We knew we were not in Naples anymore! It was about a 10 minute walk to the Casino (when you get out of the train station, turn left and follow the signs – the locals are also quite helpful, but speaking some French will go far). We saw posters for an International Horse Show all over the streets – I missed it by 3 days! Patrick lucked out!

The Casino was incredible! Out front, they had every kind of Mercedes, Rolls Royce, Jaguar and Ferrari you can imagine. I heard that the property values were 10,000 EURO per square meter – wow! The Casino was closed until 2:00, so we walked around and took a bunch of pictures of the gardens and shops. By this time, I was parched and asked one of the locals where a good place to eat would be. He recommended Café de Paris right in front of the Casino. If you are ANYWHERE near Monte Carlo, you HAVE to try this place. Patrick and I split a mixed greens salad which came topped with REAL, fresh blue cheese, pine nuts and a light oil dressing. For something so simple, it was just delicious! Afterwards, we shared a banana split. It was the BEST I ever had in my entire life. I cannot recommend this place highly enough!

We then walked into the Casino to take a look around, but we decided not to gamble. If you want to go IN the Casino, make sure you have your passport (NOT a copy) or your driver’s license. I also heard that if you won more than 800 Euros, you needed your passport as well.

We decided to be adventurous and stroll by SEVERAL multi-million dollar yachts in the harbor. Our waiter on the Disney Magic told us that it was possible to rent one of these boats for only 150,000 EUROS a week – per PERSON! Many of them were well over 100 feet in length and just beautiful!

A local showed us the path to the train station and we hopped on at the last minute. The tricky part about catching the train back was that the monitors did not show the destination as being ‘Villefranche’. It had a different town. The train time did match the guide from the Shore Excursion desk, so we figured it was the right train. We did have a little luck on our side. When we got on the train, the conductor spoke quite rapidly (in French) to Patrick. I was not paying attention, so I told the conductor (in French) that Patrick did not speak French, but we were heading to Villefranche and were we on the correct train. He asked for our tickets and then looked at them as if he had no idea what they were. I guess he was more used to people having yearly passes on the train rather than just one round trip ticket. He then asked me if I was ‘Italian’ – I guess I speak French with an Italian accent! I told him we were American and I asked if the tickets were good. He said he wasn’t sure, but he stood in the way of the policeman checking the tickets so ours were not checked. Oh well, we got off at the next stop anyway and I thanked him for his help.

Once we got on the ship, we tried to pick up Peyton from the camp – failed again. We headed up to the Quite Cove pool for a relaxing time in the hot tub. Afterwards, we saw the “When Mickey Dreams” show. It was kind of a Cirque show crossed with Mickey Mouse. I was off to bed by this time, while Patrick stayed up to see the chocolate dessert buffet.

Marseille and Cassis

Chateau d'If off the coast of Marsallies

The fishing village of Cassis













The first Calanques.











A sailboat anchored in one of the coves.















Calanques of Cassis





This morning, we tried to sleep late since our tour did not leave until noon, but no luck. I was wide awake at 7:30, so I got some stuff done on the internet and lounged around the room. We woke Peyton and Mom up so we could go eat at Parrot Cay for breakfast. Afterwards, Peyton, Patrick and I headed back to our room to relax (aka the boys played video games while I worked).

We had a little trouble convincing Peyton to get off the ship, but he eventually acquiesced and we were headed for Cassis – on a bus. It look about an hour of winding through the city of Marseille and over the mountain to Cassis before we finally arrived. There were tons of people waiting for the ‘train’. After about 20 minutes, we were able to board the ‘train’ which was nothing but a glorified tram made to look like an old open air train. The ride could not have been 5 minutes before we were dropped off at a small fishing village. We got on a boat – about 40 feet long, that had an elevated deck on the bow and a covered stern. We opted for the stern in order to keep Peyton and my Mom out of the sun. It was a good thing we did because the waves were quite high and several people got soaked on the upper deck.

After about a 10 minute ride, we went into a narrow cove filled with boats to catch a quick glimpse of the cliffs, the boat then left the cove and quickly went into two more coves before returning to the village. It was very pretty, but we really did not get to see the cliffs for very long and before you knew it, the ride was over! I don’t think we spent 30 minutes on the boat and 20 minutes of that was going back and forth to the village. Although the village and ride were pretty, I would think time could be better spent than a 2 hour bus ride for a 30 minute boat ride.

We were given a voucher to have a drink at a small restaurant by the sea. It was very nice there in the open air café. For the first time in a month, I was served a Coke Light with a glass of ICE. I thought I died and went to heaven. After a quick drink, we wandered through the village. Mom and I stopped at Grand Marnier Crepes and THIS place I HIGHLY recommend. They do not speak English, but they were very accommodating while we ordered white chocolate and Grand Marnier crepes. They made the entire trip worthwhile! I was also able to pick up some postcards and hand made soap for friends back home.

We finally got back to the ship at 6:15 and ran back to the room to change for Disney Dreams. This is Peyton’s favorite show about a girl who meets Peter Pan and tries to learn how to fly. It is a wonderful show and if you ever find yourself on the Disney ship, this show is not to be missed.

We then took Peyton to play at the camp while we grabbed a quick bite and watch Casino Royal in the Buena Vista Theater. Right as the movie ended, Peyton paged us to get picked up. I took him back to the room to change into his PJs while Mom and Patrick went up to the Pirate deck party and grab some food from the late night buffet. I think I fell asleep about 2 minutes after my head hit the pillow.

Florence and Pisa!

The Disney Magic at La Spezia

On the tender into port.

A pretty tower with an architectural problem.

The baptistery in Pisa

Church in Florence

Statue of Neptune in Florence. He has a look of disdain because there is not enough water to run the fountain. This is a picture of the horses below his feet.

Karen on the Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence.

An artist draws on the sidewalk in Florence.

A church, bell tower and baptistery in Florence.

In Florence, Italy

We woke up at the crack of dawn and there was a message light on the phone. The shore excursion desk offered to let 1 person out of their tour, so my Mom volunteered so we could go to Florence and Pisa. Peyton was thrilled, but I had mixed emotions, I was really NOT looking forward to spending 10 hours on a bus, but I did not want Patrick to have to go by himself. Oh well, it worked out for Peyton.

We got on a BUS, and I promptly fell asleep. We did have a quick stop at a glorified gas station for snacks and a restroom break. I had a nice croissant and Patrick got some cookies. Back on the bus for another hour where we drove through some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. When we finally arrived in Florence (the capital of Tuscany), it was a beautiful crisp sunny day. The guide we had was named Luca – he was wonderful! You could tell he truly loved his city of Florence and gave us a wonderful background of the area. We saw the bell tower, church (Basilica di Saint Maria del Fiore) and baptistery that were made entirely of marble. They had three different colors of marble. The white stands for faith, the green stands for hope and the pink stands for charity. He also showed us a bronze door that was covered in 24 karat gold – very beautiful. We then walked to the Ponte Vecchio bridge and got a beautiful view of the river. On the way, there was a bronze statue of a wild boar in the corner where the ledgend has it if you put a coin in his mouth and it falls to the grate, you will have good luck. We then strolled over to where there was a copy of the David statue as well as a statue of Perseus slaying Medusa in bronze (by Cellini). I must admit that Florence really is a beautiful city. I am SO glad that we did not get out of the tour, it was really such a wonderful city. After the statues, we got to see the church (I think it was Santa Croce Square) where many famous people were buried – Dante, Galileo, the two men who built the gold doors to the church, Cellini and Michelangelo.

There are lots of street vendors around selling pictures. We were told that it was illegal to buy anything off ‘the floor’. The pictures were very pretty, but we quickly learned they were mass produced when we noticed that nearly everyone had the same image! There were some ‘real’ artists that were actually drawing and then displaying their work. It reminded me of New Orleans around the cathedral at Jackson’s Square.

We had lunch at this ultra-modern restaurant (at least it had great air-conditioning). We dined on antipasti, pasta Bolognese, some kind of risotto and the main course was some kind of tender beef in a tomato sauce and fresh vegetables. For dessert, we had a tiramisu cake that Patrick insisted was ice cream cake, but I knew it just had not defrosted properly. :)

After Florence, we got on the bus for the hour trip to Pisa. I must say I am SO glad I did not cancel Florence in favor of just seeing Pisa. It was quite a disappointment. It was cool to see the leaning tower, church and baptistery, but you could not go inside any of them without a reservation and ticket. We just did not have any time to go inside any of the monuments. I can certainly understand why they kept the tower leaning. If it didn’t, I can’t imagine the tourism there surviving. If you are just doing the Pisa tour, I would HIGHLY recommed against it when you compare it to Florence.

Patrick and I left to go get some PHENOMINAL gelato at the local store and headed back to our bus. I slept almost the entire way back – we were over an hour and a half late because there was an accident on the highway back to La Spezia. I am so glad we did not have Peyton in the camp.

Tomorrow, we are taking Peyton to Marseille to see the Calanques of Cassis.

Another beautiful day at Sea!

We had a VERY lazy day at sea today. We still woke up around 8:00, but lounged in bed. My Mom called our cabin because she had an early appointment for a facial and left Peyton in our room. We played around for about an hour and then we decided to go have some breakfast at topsiders.

After breakfast, I went to the Shore Excursion desk to see if I could get out of our trip to Florence and Pisa the next day. They said it was too late to cancel. My Mom and my husband and I had planned all day excursions that would not get back until very late in the day and we felt guilty and worried about leaving Peyton on the boat all by himself in camp for that long. I spoke to a supervisor and begged her to let us out of the tour and she said she would see if the tour sold out and someone wanted to buy our tickets.

After that – nap time for me! Well, at least I tried to take a nap. I think I may have gotten a good 15 minutes, but at least I got to stay in bed for 3 hours! We then went up on deck and found a very nice couple that wanted more information about the Disney Vacation Club. They spent 1300 points on 2 INSIDE cabins! Total waste of points.

Mom and I went to go lose at BINGO – although I did win $170 earlier in the week. We came back to the rooms to find Peyton and Patrick sound asleep – it was 5:30 in the afternoon! Oh well. We told Mom we would take Peyton in our room for the night since her tour was going to leave earlier than ours. It was nice to have him in the room. He and Patrick stayed up late playing video games while I fell asleep.