Sea Legs and Airplane Arms

Here's the trip as best i can remember.... (i took a journal, but of course, didn't write in it past the 1st or 2nd day)

(who went): Me, Mom, Dad, Sister (Ellen), Brother-in-law (Mike), Nieces (Ashley (11 - turned 12 on our last day), Sydney (10), Mackenzie (9)) ... The Clayton's (Jim, Nancye, their Daughter and husband (Lisa and David), Daughter and Boyfriend - after the trip: Fiance - (Carole and Matt) her daughter (Kayleigh), his mom (Barbara)

Sunday, Oct. 10: Flew out of Nash. around 11:am to Charlotte, NC. (this was the worst flight i have ever been on. I am seriously stunned that i didn't 'puke' as Kayleigh later, very loudly and proudly professed. Sweating profusely, clammy, shaking, pale and literally choking back the strong urge to 'puke'. Both myself and the guy next to me are glad that didn't happen) Then we flew to Rome. Arrived in Rome on Monday morning around 9:30? i think. We were picked up by 2 drivers (for the 16 of us) we got the non-english speaking driver. Which was a bit of a bummer entering Rome (he couldn't tell us anything) but he tried very hard and even drew pictures trying to explain things ..... The traffic and driving in Rome is BEYOND CRAZY! (I had forgotten that)

Monday, Oct. 11: We got to our hotel, settled our things and wandered around. EXHAUSTED. but stayed awake . we looked at the squares around, and shops and a few INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL churches. we were really close to the Spanish Steps but, unfortunately didn't know that at the time. We went for our first pizzas :) haa haa.... and our first experience of what they think is a small, one-person pizza ....

(we later found out that both my parents had had the stomach bug right before the trip. My mom all Friday night and my Dad all Saturday night before we left on Sunday - they were really worn out and exhausted - we didn't find this out until later Tuesday - my dad had been real stressed about the trip - trying to straighten out or flights (we were all scattered throughout the plane not sitting together - and you can't have little kids sitting alone) .. and he had been worried and felt responsible taking his whole family on the trip (anyone wonder where i get my worrying and responsibility from?) i felt really bad for them, it made tired travels even worse.

We went to sleep early but not too early ..... i think we wandered until we found a grocery and just had cheese, crackers and cookies for dinner.... hee hee yum.

Tuesday, Oct. 12: We got up, got ready and i burned up my flat iron. first day of the trip. and when i say burned up. i mean, i plugged it in, went to the other room to get something and when i came back there was dark grey smoke billowing out of it, i quickly unplugged it, picked it up and watched the ceramic plates literally melt and hang off of it (well, the glue-type backing on them) and ran it under the water. The fumes, i am sure, were toxic and unhealthy to breathe in, so i quickly woke my 2 nieces and hurried them to get clothes on and get out and over to my parents room to get ready. (not a great way to start the day).

So, we then went down for a good breakfast (blood red orange juice = DELISH!) and off on a private tour of Rome. Today our driver was Ricardo. A young Italian (stallion ;)) who could speak english pretty well. We went to the Coliseum and walked inside and out. The Forum (Roman ruins) - i am not going to remember all the places here, my sister wrote them down - we went to the Vatican but ran out of time to get into St. Peter and see Michelangelo's Pieta (BIG BUMMER - maybe I'll get to see it on my next trip to Rome)- had my 2nd pizza in Rome for lunch . the waiter was very funny and flirty (older man) - we went to where they ran chariot races (like in Ben Hurr), we went to the Trevi Fountain - Ricardo told us that legend says 'Throw ONE coin in to come back to Rome, TWO coins in to get Married, and THREE coins in for a Divorce'.... So, when we got down there (and it was PACKED!) everyone threw their coins in and i said loudly, while throwing mine in, THIS ONE IS TO COME BACK TO ROME.... AND THIS ONE IS TO GET MARRIED!!!!! and we laughed and then this woman holding a 6-8 mo. old baby say, 'OH NO!! Don't say it loud!! Start over, you have to throw in more coins!!" ... and we were laughing (as was she) and I said 'I can't then there will be a divorce' and we all laughed .... her baby was not overly cute (i know that is mean to say - he looked a bit like the Shoney's big boy, but with blond hair) HOWEVER, when we all laughed, HE LAUGHED and he had the CUTEST, CHEESIEST BIG LAUGH-Y GRIN across his face and my heart melted - HE WAS BEAUTIFUL!!! It was GREAT! we went to the Vatican (said above - before St. peter - which we missed) and we saw the Sistine Chapel...... BEAUTIFUL and incredible..... awesome to see, in person, something i have seen in books for years ... The Pantheon, at the end of out day we caught the Spanish steps (but only a drive by)

Wednesday, Oct. 13: We got up and had a quick breakfast and went out to a few shops my nieces wanted to hit and get souviners.(sp)we were then picked up by a different driver (i can't remember his name) who took us to the port in Civitavecchia (Italy)... he was nice, spoke english but not a whole lot so, there was some confusion, but we worked things out. He drove past St. Peters Square and WE SAW THE POPE!!!!!! he was conducting a Mass and we saw him. Our driver stopped (even though he wasn't supposed to) and my dad got a photo of him .. (the pope) ... of course he was about the size of 2 corn nibblets stacked on top of each other, but still cool)... then off to the boat... we hung out on the boat, wandered around. had dinner during the late dinner (8pm) and found it was going to be WAY too late for us (we finished after 10... too late for the girls ... and us, too :)..)

Thursday, Oct 14: Sorrento, Italy. We had another private driver, His name was Rodolpho (sp). We liked him. He took us through Sorrento (we just drove through (another BUMMER, i SO LOVED Sorrento the last time i was there, but we didn't have a lot of time and we had a lot we wanted to squeeze in)... we drove along the coast to Positano, Amalfi, Ravello (stopping along the way for photos, and 30 min here and there)we had lunch in Ravello, then off to Pompeii Where he set us up with a guide. Giovanni. Giovanni was fully dressed in a 3 piece suit with an over coat and an 'extra-extra' hat. He had on his italian leather dress shoes and BIG glasses. Giovanni, later we would find out, was 80 years old. He kept trying to get us up in front of the line (we would find this trend throughout our trip - alter to be called - 'Italian-style') .... we had to walk up a BIG hill and there was a big group of people. we thought we lost Giovanni and were trying to keep up. When we got to the top, we hear someone yell out - HEY! I'm here .. that is when he told us he was 80 years old and not as young as he used to be . haa haa . he was VERY dramatic and cute and that was a great experience ....we only had and hour or so there and he apologized for not doing a better job, but he was great and it was fun .... then back on our way to Sorrento. our driver took my back up the hill so i could wander the streets a little more. i took pictures but didn't stay long at all (BUMMER) i could tell my dad was worried i would miss getting back on the boat (we had to take a boat to get onto the boat) . so i hurried. (next time I am in italy, i will spend more time in Sorrento) - we saw olive trees, lemon trees, persimmon trees, and chessnut trees -Back on the boat, earlier dinner, etc.

Friday, Oct. 15: La Goulette, Tunisia. (north Africa) Well, first, we got off the boat, toured and made it back. (hee hee) We took a bus tour (and then walked) of the Souks. The Souks are the shops/markets of Tunisia. The area was described as Arab Islamic culture meets African Spice.I would say it was heavy on the Arab Islamic side of that statement. we all stuck together like glue. there were MANY many shops... and all selling the same things, strange how anyone can make any money . like we were in the 'gold' district.. all shop selling similar gold jewely . shop after shop after shop..... we went to a run shop, too. that was really cool, there they told us how they made the rugs by hand, some loomed, some set to a loom but each strand individually attached and trimmed... how long it took to make them, etc. as the man talked he would roll out rug after rug. one on top of the other . he rolled out one and i thought 'THAT is the most beautiful rug, by far' ... (later i found out my dad and sister thought so too).. my dad asked how much it was. and the negotiations started from there, my brother-in-law helped negotiate it further and we walked out with a heavy, beautiful rug. and the 'gave' my nieces each a bracelet (which my dad then ha to pay for - stinkers) ... haa haa but the experience was fun ..... we then walked through more markets and saw a belly dance show ..... 2 different women . it was cool, but hot in there .. they gave us treats : green tea and dates din honey and with a pastry around them. then back on the bus and to the boat. Over all i would say i am glad we saw it, but Tunisia would not be a travel destination of choice. The men, within, the Souks were very 'leer-y' and some vocal - we had a tight hold of the girls. the area was pretty run down - kind of like parts of Mexico. homes would be built up until they ran out of money and then just stopped. where as Rome etc. was somewhat dirty because it was old and a bigger city, Tunisia was dirty in a trashy way.... (p.s. I called 'dibs' on the rug at dinner ;)..)

Saturday, Oct 16: ALL DAY AT SEA. We were at sea for the day and the seas were rough. We visited the Clayton's, in their room up front (which was really rocky hitting the waves) by the time we left, my youngest niece got sick (or 'puked' as Kayleigh announced) and my sister got motion sick . they were down for the rest of the day. the rest of us had lunch, some played shuffle board on top deck (that was a mistake) i went up there for a bit but when the boat was rocking front to back an i could keep seeing the back of the boat coming way up, i went downstairs)We made it to dinner, to find out that many on the boat didn't. and when i say 'we', out of the 8 at our table only 3 had a full meal... the others dropped like flies. Kayleigh came to our table and announced that she had 'puked' earlier . haa haa (that was all the puking talk) and it was BLACK (she has had a dark chocolate gelatto -- haa haa) Ended up, through the night, we were hitting swells (waves) that were 8-12 feet - many in the 10-12 range. I felt like i was going to be thrown from my bed some of the time. the chairs and tables on our balcony were being thrown around and it tore one of the balcony dividers off it's hinges. ROUGH night.

Sunday, Oct. 17. Barcelona, Spain. (they speak Catalan, they are in the region of Catalonia) we got off the boat and went in for a bus tour. we weren't in this port for real long, during the day (BUMMER) Barcelona is a BIG city, there were many sail boats in the marina, very artistic city (sculptures, etc. all over town - way cool. We drove past Las Ramblas (a long road of art/market/merchandise booths - i was hoping we would get to walk it, but we did not)we drove past other areas .... we went to La Familia de Segradia. (The Holy Family Church started by famous artist/Architect Gaudi)IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!!! we were able to go inside this time. BEAUTIFUL. The pope will be there next month to bless it. The church is 65% done ...Gaudi was 70-something when he was hit by a bus and killed while working on it. People didn't recognize him when he was hit because he looked like a poor man. He had given ALL the money he made into building the church, It is a privately funded church, built through donations.Barcelona id 99% Catholic (not all practicing, as our guide said) - back to the boat.

Monday, Oct. 18: Nice, France (Monaco and Monte Carlo). We took a tour bus here. this tour was longer and nice. we drove throughout the city (along the coast and up into Nice) stopping at points for photos. We went to Monaco, walked around, saw their homes (from the outside) saw the Jaques Cousteau (sp) aquarium (didn't go inside :(.you all KNOW how much i like aquariums!....) saw the changing of the guards at the palace. grabbed a sandwich (tomato, basil, mozzarella YUM)when into the church where Grace Kelly was buried .... the church was beautiful . the prince will marry there in june (or july) .. went to the beautiful, fancy Casino and shops and saw how the other side lives (fancy fancy) :)..... you could really tell which ones of us were the tourists (and i am not just talking about the 'group #2' stickers we were wearing)Drove back on towards the ship and stopped at Fragonard (perfumery - went there on my last trip, too - too bad we couldn't stop at that little village nearby) - back to the boat.

Tuesday, Oct. 19: Livorno, Italy (Pisa and Florence)We had a private tour of Florence and Pisa. Our driver this day was Francesco ... he was great .. he took us through the countryside (instead of interstate) to get to Florence. Once there we stopped at several places to take photos. we stopped at one area and i ran up to see what was in michelangelo's square . there were artists, but i couldn't find the one selling the watercolors and we ran out of time (REAL BUMMER - i would have liked to have bought one),Found out that Leonardo de Vinci was 'Leonardo OF Vinci' .. his mother was lower class and, at the time, he took on the name of the city he was from (something like that) we drove through the Chianti region (chianti grapes) and found out that italians go buy their wine and live oil from the farmers to get it cheaper. (a bottle of Chianti for 1.50 euro)and they get pure extra virgin olive oil, where-as when you buy it at the store,you get a percentage of extra virgin olive oil in your bottle mixed with, i don't know. the extra virgin part of the oil is the first squeeze of the olive, and is more bitter.While in Florence we went to the Academy Museum and saw David (which my nieces still thought was disgusting, since he was naked) that said - it really was incredible.... beautiful statue.fortunate to see it in person .... strange after seeing it in books for years. We also went to the Uffizi museum and saw Botocelli's the Birth of Venus and many other pieces i have studied. Incredible and truly overwhelming seeing SO many beautiful paintings that are SO incredibly old and survived through the years. AMAZING. The on to the leaning tower of Pisa. and it was leaning. and YES i had my picture taken of me holding it up . though i actually look like i was waiting to catch it .... i also took pictures of all the bozos, like me, standing there with my arms out trying to catch it . funny .... back to the boat.

Wednesday, Oct. 20: ASHLEY'S 12TH BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! we got up at 5 am for breakfast and to get off the boat. 6 of us got into a private van set for the airport (my parents stayed for 5 more days) I cried when leaving them (because i am sensitive - read way back in the blogs and you can learn about that).. there was much confusion, we had to go back to get the rest of the Clayton's (there were 2 vans, one for 6 one for 8 and then a car for my parents . luckily the did get picked up) Anywho, we made it to the airport, got checked in, etc. once on our plane from Rome, it was delayed 2 hours because of the French strike. they rerouted us 4 times and we finally took off (2 hours sitting in the plane and being fussed at by the flight attendants if we were standing - nice). we got to Philly with VERY little time to spare . running through customs, running through security, running to get our luggage, running to recheck our luggage, running to catch the flight AT THE OTHER END OF THE TERMINAL .. only to have the lady tell us we missed it. (By the way it was sitting there at the gate) .. we said 'you're kidding' and a little more . and she then went down and told us to come on.... so WE MADE IT on our flight . then sat on that plane another 15 min or so ...... finally we arrived in Nashville and found that 2 of our suitcases did not ..... they did arrive later yesterday (whewie).....

that might be about it. the boat was nice (except for that rough seas day and nights) ... it was all an experience.. the places, the people .... it was a great family trip ..... i am grateful, glad to be home and look forward to my parents return soon :)

I'll post photos later, maybe on FB