Shoeaholic Alert!
Our overnight hotel in Chicago was right across from a shopping mall and a DSW (for those not savvy, DSW = Designer Shoe Warehouse). It would have been a landmark day on the calendar for Lori to stay the night across the street from a shoe store, but not go in. However, we ended up there anyway.
As we were walking across the street to the mall to pick up some items that were not packed with the carry-on (Joel did not anticipate the canceled flights, etc), Lori's shoe broke! So, we turned around and headed for the shoe store. We could have sold tickets as we walked across Skokie Blvd with Lori only wearing one shoe.
Somehow, our shoe and weather karma has ensured a memorable end to our vacation. We are now waiting for the departure for our flight home. Hopefully we have enough airline karma to get home tonight.
July 19, 2007
Mrs. International 2007
As we were having breakfast on the last day of the cruise, someone had to say "... and we haven't had any weather disasters!" This was in reference to tornadoes in Dallas, hurricanes in Jamaica, an unseasonable heat wave in Paris, and a canceled Mexico trip due to Wilma, etc. It just seems that our last several vacations have included some sort of significant weather event.
Fast forward 15 hours when we were getting ready to land in Chicago (after a very tight connection in London where we ran from one terminal to the other to catch our "closing" flight) and were told by the pilots that there was some heavy rain in Chicago and we were going to "circle" because the airport was backed up. We landed about 50 min. later and found that our final connection to Seattle was delayed 90 min. We grabbed a bit of dinner and settled in at our gate as we watched an amazing thunder and lightning storm hit the airport. About 30 minutes later, our flight was officially canceled.
After getting our flight re-booked for today, we got on the phone to find an hotel room. The cots that were strewn out on the L-Concourse would have constituted "camping," which we were not up for.
Now, what does all this have to do with Mrs. International 2007? Well, when we arrived at the hotel, we found that the majority of the rooms are booked out to contestants for the pageant. Needless to say, the chicken was star struck this morning as breakfast was spent with many tall women in evening gowns and wearing sashes.
Fast forward 15 hours when we were getting ready to land in Chicago (after a very tight connection in London where we ran from one terminal to the other to catch our "closing" flight) and were told by the pilots that there was some heavy rain in Chicago and we were going to "circle" because the airport was backed up. We landed about 50 min. later and found that our final connection to Seattle was delayed 90 min. We grabbed a bit of dinner and settled in at our gate as we watched an amazing thunder and lightning storm hit the airport. About 30 minutes later, our flight was officially canceled.
After getting our flight re-booked for today, we got on the phone to find an hotel room. The cots that were strewn out on the L-Concourse would have constituted "camping," which we were not up for.
Now, what does all this have to do with Mrs. International 2007? Well, when we arrived at the hotel, we found that the majority of the rooms are booked out to contestants for the pageant. Needless to say, the chicken was star struck this morning as breakfast was spent with many tall women in evening gowns and wearing sashes.
July 17, 2007
French Riviera - Monaco, Monte Carlo, Eze & Villefranche
Monaco – Beautiful palace, beautiful location, the prince was home, very expensive
Monte Carlo – Beautiful, lots of rich folks, extremely expensive, the chicken wasn’t allowed into the Casino.
Eze – This was a small 13th century stone village located on a hill along the water. We will come back here sometime.
Villefranche – Beautiful -- The ship anchored in the harbor & basically dwarfed the town.
Monte Carlo – Beautiful, lots of rich folks, extremely expensive, the chicken wasn’t allowed into the Casino.
Eze – This was a small 13th century stone village located on a hill along the water. We will come back here sometime.
Villefranche – Beautiful -- The ship anchored in the harbor & basically dwarfed the town.
July 15, 2007
Marseille – 18 years have gone by so fast
Today did not start off too well. We had a chance to sleep in, and when we woke up, Joel had started developing a bit of a cold. We decided to forgo a trip into the French countryside in favor of a quick trip into town followed by some down time on the ship.
Since this is officially our 18th anniversary, we had a special dinner at the special, adults-only restaurant Palo. The dinner was wonderful, but the chocolate soufflé… It doesn’t get much better than that.
Anyway, it is Pirate night and there is a big bash on the upper deck tonight. Everyone is running around with bandanas, parrots and/or eye-patches. It looks like it is going to be fun.
Since this is officially our 18th anniversary, we had a special dinner at the special, adults-only restaurant Palo. The dinner was wonderful, but the chocolate soufflé… It doesn’t get much better than that.
Anyway, it is Pirate night and there is a big bash on the upper deck tonight. Everyone is running around with bandanas, parrots and/or eye-patches. It looks like it is going to be fun.
La Spezia (somewhere between Firenze and Pisa)
Originally, we had planned to bum around La Spezia in the morning and then head out to Pisa in the afternoon. However, we had been hearing over the past couple of days that there was not much more in Pisa than the tower. Also, it turns out La Spezia is pretty much a port and little else – not a good bumming around option.
Instead we groveled at the Shore Excursion desk and got the last two seats on a Florence/Pisa tour. It was an almost 11 hour tour, but was well worth it. It started out in Florence (a gorgeous city, BTW) and we had a full 2-hour walking tour of the historic center of town.
The time went by very quickly and we found ourselves eating lunch on a patio nestled into a hillside overlooking the heart of the city. The food was good, but the view was amazing. From there we hopped back on the bus and, with a very long ride, we headed for Pisa.
What we had heard was spot-on. There really isn’t much more to Pisa than the tower. The field where the tower sits had a church and some other very nice structures, but the tower is what everyone shows up for. The pedestrian street that runs up to the tower was lined with very “interesting” booths selling everything from leaning tower coffee mugs to t-shirts with Bart Simpson standing next to the tower saying “I didn’t do it.” Everything you could imagine was being sold. Most things were tower related, some not (we still don’t know how dreadlock wigs or fake Prada handbags are representative souvenirs of the tower).
Needless to say, we got some great pictures. However, there is a growing sense of frustration in that we have yet been able to upload much since getting on board.
Instead we groveled at the Shore Excursion desk and got the last two seats on a Florence/Pisa tour. It was an almost 11 hour tour, but was well worth it. It started out in Florence (a gorgeous city, BTW) and we had a full 2-hour walking tour of the historic center of town.
The time went by very quickly and we found ourselves eating lunch on a patio nestled into a hillside overlooking the heart of the city. The food was good, but the view was amazing. From there we hopped back on the bus and, with a very long ride, we headed for Pisa.
What we had heard was spot-on. There really isn’t much more to Pisa than the tower. The field where the tower sits had a church and some other very nice structures, but the tower is what everyone shows up for. The pedestrian street that runs up to the tower was lined with very “interesting” booths selling everything from leaning tower coffee mugs to t-shirts with Bart Simpson standing next to the tower saying “I didn’t do it.” Everything you could imagine was being sold. Most things were tower related, some not (we still don’t know how dreadlock wigs or fake Prada handbags are representative souvenirs of the tower).
Needless to say, we got some great pictures. However, there is a growing sense of frustration in that we have yet been able to upload much since getting on board.
July 13, 2007
Chicken of the Sea
Today was a day at sea – which is always very relaxing. Even the chicken got into the act and did some sunning, swimming, etc. Everything was going fine until the top deck BBQ where the main menu included chicken burgers and chicken tenders. Needless to say, the chicken will not be going topside anytime in the near future.
July 12, 2007
Phonetically, it is Chiv-itah-veck-ee-ah.
Say it with me. “Civitaveccia.” Just about 20 miles south, it is essentially the port for Rome. Since we spent the four days before the cruise in Rome, we decided to go on a tour of the Tuscan countryside.
We visited Tarqania, Marta and Tuscania. All three places were a very nice change of pace. Everything was very casual and everybody was very friendly. Our guide had spent quite a bit of time in these villages while growing up, so we ended up going to very private and out of the way places that had amazing views.
Overall, it was a very nice, but long day. When we got back to the ship, we went and saw Ratatouille – the new Pixar movie. It’s very fun and there is something a bit special about seeing a first-run movie in the big theater on the ship. Too bad Transformers is not a Disney film.
We visited Tarqania, Marta and Tuscania. All three places were a very nice change of pace. Everything was very casual and everybody was very friendly. Our guide had spent quite a bit of time in these villages while growing up, so we ended up going to very private and out of the way places that had amazing views.
Overall, it was a very nice, but long day. When we got back to the ship, we went and saw Ratatouille – the new Pixar movie. It’s very fun and there is something a bit special about seeing a first-run movie in the big theater on the ship. Too bad Transformers is not a Disney film.
July 11, 2007
Three things you'll want to know about Olbia, Sardinia
Before getting to the two things... Olbia was not what we were expecting – although we are not sure what we expected, Olbia was not it. The north end of Sardina, where Olbia is located, has only recently been developed -- over the last 40 yrs -- after the US helped eliminate a huge mosquito/Malaria problem.
Anyway, the three things to will want to know about Olbia:
First, when we asked for a Coca-Cola Light™, the person at the bar counter said “No Coca-Cola Light™, just Coke. I can mix some water in!”
Second, sheep outnumber people there 2.3 to 1.
Third, the bathrooms… Er… Well… Maybe you only want to know about two things about Olbia.
Anyway, the three things to will want to know about Olbia:
First, when we asked for a Coca-Cola Light™, the person at the bar counter said “No Coca-Cola Light™, just Coke. I can mix some water in!”
Second, sheep outnumber people there 2.3 to 1.
Third, the bathrooms… Er… Well… Maybe you only want to know about two things about Olbia.
Naples - Pompeii - Sorrento - Capri
Note: The pics for this post will come later as the network connection on the ship is being finicky tonight.
Remember 6th Grade Social Studies? Remember reading about Pomeii and seeing the pictures of the petrified people? Remember thinking "why do I need to know this? I will never get to see it." Well, we got to see it. It was actually pretty amazing and oddly educational. It was interesting to hear Mt. Saint Helens referenced as a comparison of what happened at Pompeii. Also, our guide looked a bit like Luke Wilson. His name was Luca. Hmm...
From Pompeii, we hopped a bus to Sorrento. It was very picturesque and is what I think of when I think of southern Italy. From the terraces of homes and shops, to the steep roads and staircases down to the sea. We loved our time there and were thinking that nothing could top this.
Then we boarded a jet-foil to the island of Capri. This topped Sorrento! We went up the hill and spent most of the time in a village overlooking the port. It was fantastic. Our time there was way too short.
One of the things we love about cruises is that you go a visit all these different places and find places where you will want to go back and spend a full vacation. Sorrento and Capri are places like this. We will go back.
Remember 6th Grade Social Studies? Remember reading about Pomeii and seeing the pictures of the petrified people? Remember thinking "why do I need to know this? I will never get to see it." Well, we got to see it. It was actually pretty amazing and oddly educational. It was interesting to hear Mt. Saint Helens referenced as a comparison of what happened at Pompeii. Also, our guide looked a bit like Luke Wilson. His name was Luca. Hmm...
From Pompeii, we hopped a bus to Sorrento. It was very picturesque and is what I think of when I think of southern Italy. From the terraces of homes and shops, to the steep roads and staircases down to the sea. We loved our time there and were thinking that nothing could top this.
Then we boarded a jet-foil to the island of Capri. This topped Sorrento! We went up the hill and spent most of the time in a village overlooking the port. It was fantastic. Our time there was way too short.
One of the things we love about cruises is that you go a visit all these different places and find places where you will want to go back and spend a full vacation. Sorrento and Capri are places like this. We will go back.
July 9, 2007
Palermo, Sicily
Today we visited Palermo, Sicily. The day kicked off with a guided tour of the town and open-air market. The market was like nothing we had ever seen before. It’s hard to describe, so we will post some pictures soon.
After getting back to the boat, we went to a “drive in” movie. On DCL, they show movies on a huge outdoor screen on one of the main stacks. It was pretty silly, but lying out on a beach chair, watching “Finding Nemo,” and enjoying the sun was pretty fantastic.
Tomorrow is Naples; which will include a trip out to Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri. It is going to be a long day, so we need to cut this short.
After getting back to the boat, we went to a “drive in” movie. On DCL, they show movies on a huge outdoor screen on one of the main stacks. It was pretty silly, but lying out on a beach chair, watching “Finding Nemo,” and enjoying the sun was pretty fantastic.
Tomorrow is Naples; which will include a trip out to Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri. It is going to be a long day, so we need to cut this short.
July 8, 2007
Rome to Barcelona
Okay… Alitalia… We may just have Marci add this to our “never again” list of airlines. First off, they only allowed 20 kg. per passenger. Well, when you pack for 18 days of vacation (cruise included), you are going to have more than 20 kg. After paying an arm and a leg for “extra baggage,” we ended up sitting on the runway for 90 minutes (the flight was only supposed to be 105 minutes) before they could take off because they couldn’t get anyone to sign off on the boarding. Then when we finally landed, we waited almost another 30 minutes for a bus to come and pick us up from the plane. Oh, and that extra baggage cost? Well, we were lucky and got all of our luggage. Many people ended up boarding the ship without any of bags as they were scattered around London, Rome and/or Madrid.
One of the funniest things about the Alitalia flight, was when an Italian businessman just started in on one of the flight attendants in Italian. He was clearly upset and being very animated in his side of the conversation. When he finished, he felt the need to do it again, in English, so all of the tourists on the plane could hear what he said. We felt sorry for him since he was delayed more than 12 hours from Naples to Barcelona – a flight that is not much different from Seattle to San Francisco.
Anyway, we made it to the ship and got checked in. Once we got a bit settled, we hopped off and grabbed a Taxi to go into Barcelona. We popped by Cathedral to see how it looked with all the scaffolding off – last November it was being restored. It was still being worked on, but we got some good photos anyway.
Before heading back to the ship for our safety drill, we walked over to La Rambla and then down towards the port. This is such a wonderful area, and we were sad to have as little time as we did.
One of the funniest things about the Alitalia flight, was when an Italian businessman just started in on one of the flight attendants in Italian. He was clearly upset and being very animated in his side of the conversation. When he finished, he felt the need to do it again, in English, so all of the tourists on the plane could hear what he said. We felt sorry for him since he was delayed more than 12 hours from Naples to Barcelona – a flight that is not much different from Seattle to San Francisco.
Anyway, we made it to the ship and got checked in. Once we got a bit settled, we hopped off and grabbed a Taxi to go into Barcelona. We popped by Cathedral to see how it looked with all the scaffolding off – last November it was being restored. It was still being worked on, but we got some good photos anyway.
Before heading back to the ship for our safety drill, we walked over to La Rambla and then down towards the port. This is such a wonderful area, and we were sad to have as little time as we did.
Check out our checking out!
When checking out of our hotel, we noticed a large, gold bag with tissues and other decorations. When we looked really close, it was addressed to Donatella Versace. I wonder how many pairs of shoes she packs for a short stay in Rome? Okay, she probably doesn’t pack her own bags. So how many shoes does her assistant Elizabeth pack for Donatella? Was it more than Lori packed? The World will never know.
Rome, Day Four
It was really nice to have a full day of free time in Rome to go back and see things we wanted to go back and see again. We also realized that due to the time changes and our sleep schedule, we hadn’t gotten a chance to see any of the sights of Rome at night – so we booked a nighttime tour that would give us that chance.
We spent a chunk of time down at the Tomb of the Unknown Hero, which is right next to the Forum. The structure is nicknamed “the wedding cake” because of all color (white) and all the many tiers to the building.
We also did some last minute junk/souvenir shopping down in the heart of the more trendy Rome shopping area. They even had a Disney Store! We did not buy anything, but it did remind us that we were hopping on the cruise ship on Saturday.
Rome at night was really quite stunning, but a tour may not have been the best way to do it. We would have loved to spend more time in some areas and much less time in others. San Pietro was absolutely gorgeous, but since we never even stopped long enough to take a picture, we made do with “drive by” photography.
We spent a chunk of time down at the Tomb of the Unknown Hero, which is right next to the Forum. The structure is nicknamed “the wedding cake” because of all color (white) and all the many tiers to the building.
We also did some last minute junk/souvenir shopping down in the heart of the more trendy Rome shopping area. They even had a Disney Store! We did not buy anything, but it did remind us that we were hopping on the cruise ship on Saturday.
Rome at night was really quite stunning, but a tour may not have been the best way to do it. We would have loved to spend more time in some areas and much less time in others. San Pietro was absolutely gorgeous, but since we never even stopped long enough to take a picture, we made do with “drive by” photography.
July 6, 2007
Rome, Day Three: Big Guns, Big Stars & a Big Church
On our 3rd day in Rome we got up quite early & took a tour of Vatican City. Of course, the rest of the tourists in the city decided to do this, too. However, our pickup from the hotel was at 7:15 AM. We went outside to hop into the van and were greeted by two Italian men carrying really big Italian guns. It seems that the President of Afghanistan checked into the hotel overnight. It turns out our hotel is popular with the famous. Apparently, President Bush stayed here the last time he was in Rome.
Anyway, we joined two other couples from the hotel in the van. We discussed with some folks from Texas and Wales the difference between "Y'all" and "All Y'all" -- the latter being plural for the former. Who'd of thunk!
Once we got started, our tour included the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and San Pietro (St. Peter's Basilica). If we had not taken a tour we would probably still be standing in line waiting to get in. Once we were in we were herded like cattle through each part of the museum. However, it was still a very powerful experience & we are now "very best friends" with the 3,000 others who were crowded into the Sistine Chapel (Sardine Chapel?).
We got to see the Sistine Chapel!
After the tour we spent some time shopping next to the Vatican. In one of the stores we ran into the big, hairy guy from the TV show "Lost" (Jorge Garcia, aka "Hurley"). Because we know you are dying to know this, he bought a poster of the Sistine Chapel and a magnet.
We got to see the Sistine Chapel, including the ceiling!
From there, we did some exploring on our own. We stumbled across the Trevi Fountain and from there found our way to The Pantheon.
Anyway, we joined two other couples from the hotel in the van. We discussed with some folks from Texas and Wales the difference between "Y'all" and "All Y'all" -- the latter being plural for the former. Who'd of thunk!
Once we got started, our tour included the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and San Pietro (St. Peter's Basilica). If we had not taken a tour we would probably still be standing in line waiting to get in. Once we were in we were herded like cattle through each part of the museum. However, it was still a very powerful experience & we are now "very best friends" with the 3,000 others who were crowded into the Sistine Chapel (Sardine Chapel?).
We got to see the Sistine Chapel!
After the tour we spent some time shopping next to the Vatican. In one of the stores we ran into the big, hairy guy from the TV show "Lost" (Jorge Garcia, aka "Hurley"). Because we know you are dying to know this, he bought a poster of the Sistine Chapel and a magnet.
We got to see the Sistine Chapel, including the ceiling!
From there, we did some exploring on our own. We stumbled across the Trevi Fountain and from there found our way to The Pantheon.
July 5, 2007
What's Up With the Chicken?
I think we need to explain a bit about the chicken. One of Lori's friends just retired and for his retirement party. The master party planner found a bunch of squeaking rubber chickens for the centerpiece decorations. Well, there were a couple of dozen of these things hanging around and someone got the bright idea for us to bring one with us on our trip.
So with some encouragement (no money changed hands), we brought the chicken and have been carting him/her around for photo ops. Its pretty funny when we whip out the chicken for a photo and other tourists wonder what in the world we are doing. We get odd looks, funny comments, and some down right appreciative responses.
Watch for more of the chicken photos. Also, we are asking for comments to this post with your suggestions for a name for the chicken. Lori has already said no to "McNugget the McTourist."
So with some encouragement (no money changed hands), we brought the chicken and have been carting him/her around for photo ops. Its pretty funny when we whip out the chicken for a photo and other tourists wonder what in the world we are doing. We get odd looks, funny comments, and some down right appreciative responses.
Watch for more of the chicken photos. Also, we are asking for comments to this post with your suggestions for a name for the chicken. Lori has already said no to "McNugget the McTourist."
July 4, 2007
Rome, Day Two
Happy 4th of July!
Here are some pics from our 2nd day in Rome. Hover your mouse over the picture to show the slideshow controls and to view captions.
The 3 most difficult things about today were:
1. The chicken came with us & took some pictures.
2. Learning how to spell Colosseum.
3. The Blogger editing tool only showed up in Italian.
Here are some pics from our 2nd day in Rome. Hover your mouse over the picture to show the slideshow controls and to view captions.
The 3 most difficult things about today were:
1. The chicken came with us & took some pictures.
2. Learning how to spell Colosseum.
3. The Blogger editing tool only showed up in Italian.
July 3, 2007
Rome, Day One
We arrived in Rome around 6am on Tuesday morning (which would have been about 9pm on Monday in Seattle time). Since we were both tired, we didn't do too much exploring today other than to quickly see some of the sights from the taxi and walk to both the local grocery store and through Villa Borghese.
The hotel is beautiful (visit link)
http://www.parcodeiprincipi.com/en/main.php?content=dovesiamo
Here are a few pics from today. Hover over the pictures and click once on the small cartoon "balloon" to view the captions or double-click your mouse to view the pics & captions in a larger size.
The hotel is beautiful (visit link)
http://www.parcodeiprincipi.com/en/main.php?content=dovesiamo
Here are a few pics from today. Hover over the pictures and click once on the small cartoon "balloon" to view the captions or double-click your mouse to view the pics & captions in a larger size.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)