Win a HP TouchSmart!

Hi Everyone! I have been a long time reader of MckMamas's blog and she is doing a giveway of a new HP TouchSmart! She has just recently gotten a new one herself and it looks AWESOME!!

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Also I was delighted to get another mention in one of her name the photo contests. The first one I talked about in this post and here is the new one!

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14 days + 10 countries + 10 flights = the trip of a lifetime (conclusion – FINALLY!)

Ok so have you ever been so busy in real life that you have little time for internet life? That has been my reality for the last 3 weeks. It has been very hectic in my world and I am just getting around to finishing blogging about my trip of a lifetime. So here goes! We left the ship after a seriously rough night. I puked – I admit it – and Susan, who gets no kind of motion sickness, was even feeling it. We headed back to Barcelona and did some shopping in the airport. It sounds cheesy but we really did enjoy ourselves. Unique stuff and cheap!

When we arrived in Copenhagen we just caught the train back to the town where Susan lives. Odense. We pretty much just hung out for a few days in Odense. We got to have a wonderful dinner with Susan’s family and I got to meet her adorable grandparents.

me and Susan’s cutie little sister Majbrit

The last thing we did before I headed back home was to visit Hamlet’s Castle in Helsingør. This is something I really wanted to do and the trip up to the northern tip on Zealand was worth it. Hamlet’s Castle – known as Kronborg Castle in Denmark – was immortalized by Shakespeare in his play Hamlet. Shakespeare visited Kronborg and decided to set his play there, at ‘Elsinore’. Hamlet is even done there almost every summer.





you can see Sweden across the bay

We also visited the Maritime Museum, which is housed in the castle, as well as doing one of the most exciting and scary things of the whole trip.


The tunnels under the castle are open for visitors to go thru and it was quite an experience! It was so dark and scary and so so fun! The second time we went thru we bought a flashlight and it was cool that way too. There was reflective paint on the walls with history and clues about the castle. Also down there was Ogier the Dane, who, according to legend, slumbers there until the day Denmark is in grave danger, at which time he will arise and save the nation!

Ogier


It was very cold and dark down there! If you look close you can see Susan’s breath!




So this was my trip of a lifetime! As you can, hopefully, tell I had an amazing time and cannot wait to plan my next trip!


Oh and my last two countries – a layover in London and then back in the grand ole USA!

14 days + 10 countries + 10 flights = the trip of a lifetime (our favorite and least favorite day)

This post encompasses our favorite and least favorite days. And they happened to be back to back. But first I would like to throw in a picture of our room.



It really was so roomy and we never felt closed in or crowded. Having a picture window was a total plus.

So our next port was Livorno, Italy. We had originally chosen to go to Pisa to see the leaning tower, but heard that maybe that was not the best choice. We decided to change and had quite a time deliberating over tours to Florence, Pisa and a little known town called Lucca. So after much deliberation we decided to try our luck in Lucca. The tour was called ‘Lucca on your own’ and basically they took us there, dropped us off with a map and told us to ‘get lost’. Well, let me tell you, Lucca was our favorite day of the whole trip. And who would have thought that a crazy decision would be our best day?

So here is Lucca!


After two hectic days in Italy, Lucca brought back our faith in Italy. Lucca was to me, what I always thought Italy would be!




Susan and I walked thru the streets of Lucca, saw many churches, learned so much history, and even walked around the wall that closes the city in.



Lucca was magical, we loved eating authentic Italian food at a restaurant that spoke no English and shopping for Italian made clothes – IN ITALY!



Happy after a great day in Lucca!

Country 7 & 8 – France and Monaco

So from our favorite day on the trip to our least favorite day. Now I am not saying that our day in France was a bad day, per se, but we just did not enjoy it like previous days. We started out in Nice at an outdoor market. It was so nice to sit outside here and have hot chocolate at a small café.




The flowers were beautiful and CHEAP!

The next stop on the tour was Monaco. It was very neat to see the palace there, all the yachts, and learn about their history. Did you know that Monaco has been ruled by the House of Grimaldi since 1297, when Francesco Grimaldi dressed up as a monk, gained access to the palace and killed everyone inside?




One highlight was seeing where Grace Kelly is buried and where she was killed. She was such a beautiful and classy lady, and it was an honor to see these places.


The last stop was our least favorite of the whole trip. Monte Carlo. Now, don’t get me wrong – it was very cool to actually be in Monte Carlo and say that we had been there. But it was just way too expensive. The richest people in the world live here.

If you look in the glass in this picture, you can see the famed casino.


Susan and I finally found some ice cream – and it was 10 euros – which is like 15 dollars. Needless to say – we split it and ate it ALL!!

Some very nice Chinese tourists took this picture for me after they ask me to take theirs. I really think they just wanted to hold my very expensive camera!

And one of the Gem!


this wraps up the actual cruise – a little more on that next time as well as my days in Denmark!

14 days + 10 countries + 10 flights = the trip of a lifetime (part two – when in Rome)

Rome & Country 6 – Vatican

So the next day of the vacation of a lifetime took place in Rome and the Vatican. I think this day needs its own post because Susan and I saw so many things! We got up very early and met our tour group at 7:00 am, if I remember correctly. We boarded the bus and started our 2-hour drive into Rome – this would start our 10-hour whirlwind tour! The port city here was Civitavecchia, which is really fun to say! Our tour guides this day were great and spoke fantastic English!

Once in Rome we started driving around the city and learning so much history. We learned that anytime something new is being built and they find ruins everything has to stop to excavate. We passed so many things that were interesting on our way to the coliseum, one being Mussolini’s balcony. Did you know Mussolini was a very short man, so they made his balcony very small so he would look taller to the crowd!

So our group arrived at the Coliseum and WOW! It was just like all the pictures and stories. We only had enough time to walk around the outside and take photos, but it was fine. We stood in awe at the ruins and how big everything truly is!

Just arriving


The coliseum


Old and new construction – if you can call anything in Rome ‘new’


We were really there!


Back on the bus we headed to a very nice sit down lunch at a restaurant. The meal started out with a pasta dish, then the main course and finally a desert. It was very good and it was enjoyable to sit and get to know some fellow cruisers.

After lunch we headed off to the Vatican. If you did not know, it is considered its own country – so I added it to the list! There were soooo many people here that it was almost impossible to stop and take pictures. I was afraid that I would loose my tour group, have to become catholic and stay in the Vatican for the rest of my days. But I did not and I managed to snap a few pictures along the way. Here is a scale model of the whole Vatican. It was neat to see where we were standing and where we were headed.


We walked through many museum areas and all were so pretty with the painted ceilings and sculptures.


But the most breathtaking was the Sistine Chapel. We had learned many things about Michelangelo and the meaning behind many of his paintings and why he painted what he did. But to actually be in there and to look up and see this

for real was indescribable. Just so you know, I did not take this picture. Pictures are not allowed.

The next stop on the walking tour was St. Peters Basilica. It’s the largest basilica in the world and let me tell you – it is HUGE! All the art inside is put together with mosaic tiles and it really is beautiful.

The sun streaming in thru the windows was awesome!

Our last stop in the Vatican was St Peter’s square. It was really cool to see in person because I had seen it on TV so many times. We saw where the pope comes out when he is announced as pope as well as where he lives.



I grabbed this picture from the bus – the building in the background is where Michelangelo once lived.


Well this pretty much wraps up our 10-hour day in Rome! I am so glad that we chose the tour that we did and got to see so much. I don’t think I would have changed a thing!

FYI: the Romans are the ultimate recyclers – the marble that was covering the whole coliseum has been removed and reused – that’s why it looks like swiss cheese!

Stay tuned for our favorite day of the cruise!

14 days + 10 flights + 10 countries = the trip of a lifetime (part one)

Hey everyone! I am back from my vacation and am finally getting a blog together about it for you all. I have been quite tired and jetlagged and have been trying to decide just how to present this blog. I took 560 pictures and I think Susan took that many also – so it’s hard to pick just a few to post here. I decided to break up the trip into several posts to make it easier on your eyes and my fingers typing. I promise that I will post many more pictures on facebook for you all to see. If you would like to be my friend on FB, just look for me! Ok soooo to the trip!

Country One – Denmark

I started out traveling to Copenhagen, Denmark to meet my friend Susan. If you all did not know, Susan is my best friend and travel buddy. We do our best to get together at least twice a year if at all possible. We decided to spend a day in Copenhagen as the first leg of our trip – I was so thankful because it was the perfect solution to my jetlag before the cruise. One highlight of the day was riding the Wheel of Copenhagen!



Country Two and Three – Germany and Spain

The next morning we got up and caught a plane to Barcelona, Spain via Munich, Germany. I know it was just a stop but it counts as another country that we were in to me! Barcelona is where we were to catch the ship and everything went very smoothly. We had no problems with flights, transfers or boarding the ship. We sailed on the Norwegian Gem, and I would highly recommend their freestyle cruising. Our first two nights and full day on the ship were at sea so we just took time to sleep in, figure out all the nooks and crannies of the ship, eat, and see shows. One of our very favorite activities was enjoying the piano stylings of Stacy McAdams. He played in the Crystal Atrium and we tried to catch him every night!






Country Four – Malta

Early Tuesday morning we pulled into the port at Valletta, Malta. This was a beautiful little country and we had such a wonderful time enjoying the glorious weather and seeing the sites. This small country speaks Maltese and seems to love life.

These are boats painted in the traditional way in Malta. They paint a pair of eyes on the front to protect them from evil spirits; they call them eyes of Osiris.


The Blue Grotto, a breath taking view!


After the tour Susan and I enjoyed sitting in the sun and taking in the beauty of the Maltese water.

Our ship!


Country Five – Italy

Our next three days took place in the glorious country of Italy! We were greeted with a blast of cold air as soon as we got off the ship and were pretty much cold all day in Naples. Our tour today took us to Pompeii. I had studied Pompeii in Latin for many years and was very excited to actually see it in person. It is pretty much amazing and I really had no clue how huge it is. We learned so much history and information about the residents and city. I was in awe of the progress the people who had lived there had made in building houses and living. It was also eerily quiet even though there were thousands of people visiting.

Our guide was able to talk to us through ear radios

a young boy clutching his nose

The main square in Pompeii with Mt Vesuvius looming in the background. This volcano is still active today and they think they will be able to know two weeks out before the next eruption. Scary!


Even before we stepped off of the ship we were told, “if you are going to eat pizza in Italy, Naples is the place to do it!” So we found a little pizza place and ordered some lunch. The pizza was different, but oh so good! We were also delighted to find Coca Cola!


After lunch we started to look around Naples and walk through the streets. We soon figured out that the two maps that we had were terrible and did not even name the streets correctly! UGH! We ditched the maps and decided to wonder around on our own, seeing as how we could always find the ship in the harbor. In our wonderings we just happened to stumble upon our favorite part of the day. The Church of Santa Chiara! We walked in to find not only an amazing fresco lined courtyard, but a ton of Naples history. Come to find out the Church of Santa Chiara is a monastery with tombs and an archeological museum. It was burned during World War I and was rebuilt soon after.

Fearless explorers


Ok so this wraps up my first leg of the trip of a lifetime, are your eyes bleeding yet? Tune in soon for the next part. I would love for you to comment and please feel free to ask any questions about the places we visited!