(see what I did there 馃槀 )
I figured I would start by getting some things out of the way.
So, because this is a travel blog type thing, here's the first entry.
We went on a European Cruise 馃洺, roughly 2 weeks long. It was really nice and went to a lot of places we both wanted to see.
We flew 鉁堬笍 in to Barcelona a day before the ship 馃洺 left port. Partly because I love Barcelona, having been there previously. (I'll link that here when I have that trip put together). But also because it allowed for errors in travel due to weather, or one of us losing something terribly important.
So my wife and I are in the lounge at the airport, starting to get ethanol-induced joy 馃. I asked her if she wanted me to hold her passport and ticket (this was before phone-tickets were a thing). Her exact response was "No, thanks dad!". We laughed, she went to the toilet as we were leaving the lounge and we get to the gate. As we are getting in line to board, she says "Shit, where's my ticket?". I grinned and said "Your dad would know." Thankfully, she knew I was giving her guff for her smart comment, previously. It all worked out though, the nice lady at the boarding door printed her a new ticket and we were off.
So we get to Barcelona and here's the highlights:
1锔忊儯A street-market restaurant that reminded me of ramen stands in Japan馃帉 & street food stalls in Brazil馃嚙馃嚪, simultaneously:
2锔忊儯Don Quixote rides again:
3锔忊儯Gaudi's last work, La Sagrada Familia, which is still being worked on since started in the 1880's:
4锔忊儯Maybe inside? (I forget)
As mentioned above, this was supposed to be Monaco, but there was some kind of issue at the port (my bad memory says the docks were under maintenance, but I really don't remember.) I was really bummed about this because, at the time, I loved Formula 1 馃弾, and would have given anything to stand in the port to see the road used for the track.
My tastes have changed since then, so I'm less upset about it now. But if given the chance to go to a Monaco Grand Prix 馃弾, I would still attend.
Anyway, we made the best of the little notice we had.
1锔忊儯Ronin reincarnated:
For those that don't know me, I love to remember movies with real life experiences. I took this picture because I was reminded of the scene in the movie Ronin (great movie, by the way), where Robert DeNiro's character finds another agent to help him locate someone.
Next on the list, we're moving to Italia for several days. Starting with Florence via Livorno.
What a neat old city. And by old, I mean OLD. Not like the place I live, where 30 years is considered old.
I was so happy to be able to eat things other than creamy, spinach laced foods.
I must have been really in the zone, because I am struggling to find decent pictures. If I find any, I'll push them up here later. Sorry.
Next, the center of Italy, and the home of my favorite tomatoes ... Roma! We took it hip-to-hip, walking through the wilderness. Basically rushed off the boat to the train station, got on a train for an hour, and got off in Rome. There was a woman on this train, who did not have a ticket, and would go around with a stack of business-card sized papers. Those papers said something to the effect of how poor she was and that she needed money, in maybe 12 different languages. I felt bad for her, and if there had been a food car on this train, I'd have bought her food.
So we get to Rome, after the large woman picked her papers back up, and start roaming around, enjoying the aromas of the city. Pasta, Gelato, Open-sewers, oh my! It wasn't that bad really, probably because the ambient temperature was low. But dang the gelato was awesome. And it did not ruin my dinner, as my mother warned me of as a child.
Lets get to the pictures then.
1锔忊儯The Coliseum, of course:
2锔忊儯Chariots looming over Rome:
3锔忊儯As close as was humanly possible to get to Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain):
4锔忊儯As close as I was willing to get to the V-place:
This was an interesting stop for us. We expected more from Naples, and were let down pretty much. So we made a last minute call and jumped on a fast-ferry 馃殼 to Sorrento. And wow, was it worth it!
I love lemons馃崑, and Sorrento is the home of limoncello, one of the most delicious adult beverages on the face of the Earth.
We had an amazing lunch in a little alley-way restaurant, after climbing up the stairs to the town, from the docks. It was a major hike up.
After lunch, we walked around the alleys, bought a bunch of trinkets to take home to my father-in-law (whose family is from Sorrento), and then caught the train 馃殏 back to Naples.
On the way to the train station, we walked past seemingly endless groves of lemons馃崑. The smell was amazing, and the colors. And for some reason, I cannot find a picture to prove it. 馃槪
Anyway, the train 馃殏 back to Naples followed the coast, and took us right past Mt. Vesuvius馃殲, where a lot of unfortunate people became mummified by a pyroclastic blast in the city of Pompeii. We didn't stop though.
We spent a fair amount of time in Venice because of the tides and the size of the ship. Actually got to sleep on the boat in port, so we could wander on and off as much as we wanted. It was a really unique stop for a cruise, and I wish they would do that more.
But as you might expect, we did all the things that nobody does in Venice. Went to a random restaurant run by the most lovely Italian woman, who was doing it all. Cooking, serving, cashing out. But wow, what a meal.
Mostly we were just walking around seeing what was down this canal, and that canal, and oh, a creepy noise behind us, run!!!
Venice is known for being a nexus of glass arts. So we saw a fair bit of that also. And of course, we went to Harry's Bar and had a beverage, as so many famous books have in their storylines. On to the pictures.
1锔忊儯The famous Campanile di San Marco (St. Mark's Campanile):
2锔忊儯I told you this joint was famous for glass artwork:
3锔忊儯This statue spoke to me. Proof that Ron isn't real because there was no blood on the sword!
4锔忊儯Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs), rumored to be named because prisons expressed their last breath on this bridge before being executed in the building across the canal:
5锔忊儯Obligatory gondola pictures. We didn't ride in one, though. It was cold outside!
6锔忊儯I think we were happy:
7锔忊儯Formula 1 馃弾 in Venice:
Last stop before the return to Barcelona was Dubrovnik. I didn't know what to expect here, but wow, it was awesome. I would love to go back and spend more time there. Maybe after I get a few more places checked off my list.
It just felt different here. Very old world feeling, and slower pace. It may have been because of the weather, though. I was so entranced by the city that I have very few memories. But I do have these pictures.
1锔忊儯The walls of the fjord, sailing in to the anchorage:
2锔忊儯I think the person who owns this house is who Stevie Wonder was singing about in "Bad Mama Jamma":
3锔忊儯The modern part of Dubrovnik still looks ancient. Sehr kuhl:
And then we went back to Barcelona and straight on a flight back home.
Hope you enjoyed this journey as I relived it. It was fun and I hope my blogging is enjoyable.
I'd appreciate any feedback, also.
These won't be in any chronological order. Just as I find big groups of pictures on random old hard drives of my computers.
(But if you have a preference for North America, Europe, Asia or maybe South America, let me know in the comments below)
