What the cruise holds in store for us - 1st Port of Call

We are booked on the Norwegian Gem leaving Barcelona on June 22. We stop in Valletta, Naples, Rome, Florence/Pisa, and Nice. We have shore excursions booked in each location; but I'm not sure they are the best choices. Some of what I wanted to do was no longer available (like the Vatican in Rome).

We've reserved a mini-suite. Remarkably it was only about $300 more than a balcony room. The ship has a rock climbing wall and a bowling alley so it should prove fairly easy to keep my 13 year old son busy during our down time.




Ok, let's talk about the ports of call. The first one - Valletta. Here is the description of the shore excursion we've picked.

"As you head to Mosta, you'll see one of the largest domes in Europe. The church was nearly destroyed during World War II when an Axis Bomb pierced the Dome but failed to explode. The detonator was removed and a replica of the bomb is now displayed as a memorial. Then drive to one of the local vineyards where some of Malta's most delicate wines are produced. A wine tasting session accompanied by local specialties will follow. Afterward, visit a number of local artisans at work producing typical Maltese ware. Here, you'll enjoy some free time for shopping. Visit San Anton Gardens which surround the Palace built in 1623, and today is the residence of the President of the Republic of Malta. The garden as we know today was open to the public in 1882."



This is a picture of the inside of the Dome in Mosta.

What we're planning...

What we're planning for Barcelona...

I've been studying Modern Architecture and Design this semester and one of the most original and memorable architects we learned about was Antonio Gaudi. He exemplified the Art Nouveau movement with extremely asymmetrical buildings, lots of curves and he basically made it so nothing matched in his architecture. He was very prominent in Barcelona with buildings such as the Sagrada Familia (Church of the Holy Family - pictured) and Park Guell. A friend said that his buildings kind of looked like Dr. Seuss decided to become an architect! I'm very excited about being able to see his marvels in person. Other than taking in the rich architecture, we plan on doing a day of the jump on/jump off bus tours and just seeing where we end up. I like those kind of vacations - you know the ones at a very leisurely pace! Does anyone have any other suggestions of "can't miss" items?

We're staying at the Aparthotel Mariano Cubí which according to their website is a 4-star facility. I'm anxious to see how spacious the rooms are - I know when Lindsay and I went to Paris in 2001, the room we had was about the same size as what you get on a cruise ship. Can you say "tiny"? Speaking of cruise ships - that will be my next post.

77 Days to go!

I have 77 days left before I join the ranks of the 'gainfully' unemployed. After more than 24 years with one company, it's a little weird to think about. But with the morale and constant outlook for more layoffs; I actually feel really lucky to be getting out now. Besides the fact that I am going to get a year severance pay and they announced after I got the package that it was getting cut in half. You remember the old commercials they used to do after the superbowl... hey Joe you just won the Super Bowl... what are you going to do? And they would respond with "I'm going to Disneyland". Well, I have my own version - hey Barb, you just got laid off what are you going to do? "I'm going on an almost 3 week European vacation!" Can you think of a better way to celebrate? :-)

My mom, Travis & I (Ed can't go - he has stuff going on at work that he can't get away from ... besides, someone has to stay home to feed the dogs, right?) are leaving June 18th for Barcelona Spain. We are spending 3 nights in Barcelona before we hop on a cruise ship where we stop in places like Rome, Florence/Pisa, and Naples. Next we catch a flight to Paris where we spend 3 glorious nights exploring! The Louve, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame - maybe a quick trip to the French countryside. We will actually be in Paris for Mom's birthday! Next we catch a plane back to the US; but we're not coming home yet. We're going to spend 3 nights in the Big Apple. We have tickets to see Wicked on Broadway on the 3rd of July and are planning to spend the 4th of July watching the fireworks near the Statue of Liberty. Next... surprisingly enough, we're not catching another plane - but a train to Washington, DC. We are going to spend another 3 nights in our nation's capital - exploring the monuments, maybe going to the Smithsonian.

After that, I'm probably going to *have* to go back to work! Oh well, I figure this is a once in a lifetime vacation - when else am I going to get Motorola to pay for it?