Last Day

Hard to believe it is just about over. All that anticipation and planning and it is time to go home. We spent the morning in Madame Tusssud's wax museum where Alex met Einstein. Then we boarded an open topped double-decker bus for a tour around London. We saw many interesting things including Harrods and the Globe theater, pictured here as well as driving through Nottinghill, Kennsington and many other posh neighborhoods. One interesting thing we saw was the Holy Trinity Brompton Church it is directly across the street from Harrods, we wanted to stop in and say
hello to Nicky Gumbel. We are back in the hotel for a short rest and then we are heading out for a nice dinner for Bob's Birthday. We wanted to see a few other things in London like the British Museum and inside St Paul's and the Westminster Abbey but we ran out of time and steam. We have seen enough museums and churches this trip. We will leave those for our next trip through London. We are all starting to get a bit crabby and it is getting time to be home. We have done fairly well until now so I would say we have done very well. Our flight is early tomorrow morning and we should be home around supper.

London

Yesterday we took the train from Paris to London. Our last stop on our trip. We got into London in the afternoon and rested alittle then we took in a show. We went out to dinner followed by Wicked. It was truly amazing. One of the best shows I have ever seen. Really great story line too. This morning we did a tour that showed us the parliment building and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral and of course Buckingham Palace. We took a ride on the London Eye the largest ferris wheel in the world. Great veiws. Very smooth ride. We also saw the Millenium Bridge that was used in the begining of the latest Harry Potter Cassie was very excited about that. We got back to the hotel just as it started to pour buckets. So we came to the room to regroup and as I look out now the sun is shinning YEAH and we are heading off to the tower of London.

Paris day 2

This morning we drove the 12 miles to the Palace of Versailles. It was orginally a hunting lodge but is quite the place now. Very fancy. The gardens are amazing and I could have spent hours just wandering the pathways and mazes. This afternoon Bob and I are going to go to the museum that houses that more modern art like Monet. These are not in the Louvre. Tonight we have an included meal in a French restaraunt. Then tomarrow it is off to London. The picture of the Eiffel tower also has the statue of liberty in it. This is an exact copy of the one in NY only 7 times smaller this one would fit in the head of ours in NY. It is facing her sister across the Atlantic.

Paris

The TGV train from Switzerland to Paris was quiet, smooth and fast. The french country side was beautiful. When we got to Paris we went all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The veiw was wonderful. That evening we took a boat tour on the river Seine and then drove around looking at the lights. The Eiffel tower was beautiful as you can see. Today we took a city tour and saw Notre Dame and then spent the afternoon in the Louvre. The kids headed back to the hotel and Bob and I walked along the Champs Elysees. The picture in the upper left shows the arch at the Louvre museam and if you look carefully down the middle it lines up perfectly with the oblisque, then the Arch d'Triomphe and finally a very modern arch where the new city begins. This very straight road is the Champs Elysees. It starts out as parks and then turns into a very busy street with all the "right shops and restaraunts". Last night we had snails and french onion soup at one of the bistros.

Matterhorn

Yesterday we left Venice behind and drove through the beautiful lakes region of northern italy. We stopped for lunch by the shores of this beautiful lake. Then we crossed into Switzerland and drove around winding twisting roads with veiws that were out of this world. We arrived in the town of tasch where we took the train up into the alps to the town of Zermatt. We stayed in this quaint little town of chalets and had a traditional swiss fondue supper. This morning we took the cog railway up to over 10,000 feet to an amazing veiw of the matterhorn. It was in the 30's but with no real wind so it wasn't bad. Alex does a great job with souveniers he waits till he sees something that means alot and then buys so he is now a proud owner of a special swiss watch and a swiss army knife called the "supertinker". Isn't that just perfect for him. Soon we will be heading off to the train to return to our bus. We spend tonight in Lake Geneva in Luseanne and tomorrow thanks to the" tgv" we will be in Paris.

Venice

Yesterday we spent the day in Florence. We saw the statue of David- what a fine specimen of a man! The country side as we were driving was magnificent. This is a field of sunflowers.
We saw lots of old castles on hills and could really imagine what it was like in the lord of the manor days with the lords and the serfs. This morning we left Florence and drove through the Appian mountains to Venice. What a facinating city Venice is. With it's 180 islands connected with 450 bridges. We got to take a gondola ride through the canals. We had an opportunity to make our own venician masks. It was really fun. Now we just have to fiqure out how to get them home. After a yummy pasta dinner at a nice restaraunt we are now back in our hotel. Tomorrow we board the bus and after a lunch in Stresa the northern lakes region we arrive at the base of the Matterhorn for a night in Zermatt. The next night we spend in Lucerne before boarding the high speed train to Paris.

Rome day 3

How to tell you about all the wonderful things we saw today? I have no idea. We went to the Vatican museaum, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. I filled 4 pages of a notebook with things I don't want to forget. The beauty just can't be captured by photo. We also went to the ruins of the Roman Forum and to the Colleseum. To think that all the marble in St. Peters came from the collesum is amazing. I keep using the word amazing in this blog I just can't thnk of a better word except maybe spectacular. Tonight
Bob and I are going to go out and wander around to see the Parthenon and look around at night. Tomorrow we are boarding the bus to Florence where we will see the statue of David and stay the night. The day after is Venice and hopefully I will get a chance to blog along the way.

Rome

Everything went well yesterday. We got off the ship without trouble, got checked into the hotel and went out to explore. We saw the spanish steps the Trevi fountain and wandered the Bourghese Park and the Bourghese Gallaria. All was amazing. Today we walked and walked and walked. Cassie thinks we killed her but she is still annoying me so she must be alive. We saw the Roman Bath ruins and the remnants of the aquaducts. We have met up with our tour group and had a 4 course Italian meal. Now I am off to bed because we have a 6 am wake up call in the morning.

Last day of part 1

The cruise is coming to an end. We have to have our luggage out the door by 11 pm tonight and are scheduled to depart 8:15-8:30 tommorrow. We have a car picking us up to take us to our hotel in Rome and then out to explore. We have tickets to the Gallaria Bourgese for tommorrow night and a list of several great restraunts to try from Dr. Loverro. It is nice that today is another day at sea to rest up and sleep in. We all have pink shoulders to nurse from yesterday. I will try to post daily but Part 2 of the trip might not be as easy as on the ship but we will see. Can't believe that it is half over where does the time go?

Corfu

We went to a hotel for a beach day on the Greek Island of Corfu today. The weather was warm so we spent most of the time in the water. Bob liked the shade. The water was warm and the sun hot, it was a perfect day. Cassie and I got to go parasailing. It was SPECTACULAR! I have always wanted to try it and now I have. Alex isn't fond of heights so he got to ride in the boat. This is a picture Bob took from the dock it is Cassie and I in tandom. I would definitly do it again. Yesterday the morning seas were a bit rough but they got better in the afternoon and everyone was fine.

Day at Sea

After our long day yesterday it feels nice to relax today. No real plans other than Cassie wants to go get a facial and I am trying to get the kids to go in the pool. It is alittle rough today and the pool is a great wave pool. I may not get them in it as Alex just headed back to the room looking a little green. Guess I best go get him some dramamine then he can have a little nap and hopefully will feel better.

Egypt

Yesterday was a long day so I didn't get on the computer last night so I am posting now. We drove on a bus 3 hours from Alexandria to Cairo and to Giza we saw the pyramids which are quite amazing but one of those things you can say you saw and be done with it. You can't tell from the pictures but right behind the pyramids is the city, they are right on the edge of the city and yet look like they are in the middle of the desert. We also had a buffet lunch, a papyrus making center and the Egyptian museum which has all the artifacts found in King Tut's tomb. That was interesting but the museum was hot, stuffy and crowded so at the end of a long day it was hard to concentrate. We got back on board at 9pm had quick supper and couldn't wait to go to bed.

Day at sea

Another glorious day of rest and relaxation and a good book. We are cruising our way to Egypt today. Tommorrow will be a long day touring to the pyramids. But today we are just sitting back and enjoying this beautiful world God has made. Cassie slept till lunch and Alex is getting ready to drag me to Bingo. Once years ago we won alittle money during bingo and now he is hooked.

Ephesus

These are images from Ephesus. We toured here this morning. What a great feeling of history. This large theater is where the Apostle Paul preached and these streets are streets he walked. The excevating of the houses is facinating. We had a roman feast for lunch and then toured at weaving center to see how they make the turkish rugs. It was really neat to see. These rugs could take a year or more to make and were soft and beautiful. Cassie found one she wanted for her room but we had to say no because it cost 2,ooo dollars but was probably a great deal oh well. I found one for my living room but it cost more than our whole trip for the whole month costs. They certainly were pretty though. When we got back to the ship we all had a nice nap and just finished our dinner.

pictures of Rhodes

The walled city of Rhodes and the Castle of the Knights of St. John


And my 2 handsome knights all decked out in their tuxes

Today we wandered around the amazing city of Rhodes. The old city is still enclosed in the ancient wall. We also toured through the Grand Masters Palace and headquarters of the Knights of St. John. It was a spectacular place. Sorry I don't have pictures but Alex has gone to bed and I am hopeless on computers without him. Hopefully I can post some tomorrow. We were in the harbor that was once said to be guarded by the Collosus of Rhodes, A giant statue at the entrance. Also got in a little souvenier shopping today in the markets at Rhodes. I am now wearing my new Greek gold hoop earrings Yeah!

Today we are in Mykonos Greece. We didn't do a formal tour just wandered around the shops and the shore. All the houses are white with blue shutters. I really am missing those NH trees though. We then had a lazy afternoon by the pool. Read another book. My perfect day.

Today we are in Athens Greece. It is a big, busy and HOT city. We went to the Parthenon. It was interesting but so crowded. This other picture is of the olympic stadium where the torch starts out every 4 years.

Today was a day of rest and relaxation. We didn't wake up till we wanted to. Alex was the first one up, so unusual. Read a whole book and lazed in the sun. Tonight was formal night, my boys looked so handsome in their tuxes!

What an awesome day. We got up early and met our tour at 7 am. Yikes! We drove along the Amalfi coast. It looks just like it does in pictures. Our bus driver was fantastic as there were close to 2000 curves alot of them hair pin turns along this road. No one got car sick YEA. We stopped for lunch at a hotel in Maiori and ate on the roof top veranda overlooking the coast. It was beautiful and the authentic Italian pasta (with wine of course) was scrumptous. After the driving for awhile we got to Pompeii. Amazing, It was just perserved under 27 feet of ash waiting to be discovered. You could actually imagine what it was like to live there. They had copper pipes for running water. The most interesting thing to me was the streets that were paved with large stones and then every so often there would be 3 large stones across the street (like a speed bump) These were for the people to cross the street after it rained and the street turned into a river. The stones were placed far enough apart to allow for chariot wheels to go through them and the stones of the street were worn away in the groves of those wheels. I will try to get pictures on this site soon.

AHHHH we have set sail on the Legend of the Seas. We left port at 6 pm. Had our first yummy dinner and unpacked our suitcases. It really makes a difference getting 2 ajoining cabins it makes it feel like a suite. (or 2 rooms the size of our bathroom at home, depends on if you are opptimistic or pessimistic).

Posting Comments

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Then click the comment button it will say something like a number followed by "comments". Then type your comment in the box. under the box it will say "comment as" select google and click the button that says comment. Sing in with your new Google account and your done, Thnaks
-Alex

We made it. We are checked in at our hotel in Civitiveccia this is the port out side Rome where our ship will leave from tomorrow. It was a long night and then again not long enough. It was really hard to sleep on the plane and really hard for Alex who had never flown international and was over-whelemed with the choices of movies, games and tv on the screen infront of him. Of course that makes him a bear today but we just ignore him. We had a nap and then took a walk and found a pizza place for dinner and gelato for dessert. Yummmy.

The trip has officially started!!! We are on our way. We took the Boston Express bus to Logan.It was a comfy bus and someone else got to do the driving. We are sitting in the airport waiting to board our plane, which is on time and will leave Logan at 6pm. We change planes in Dublin, Ireland in the wee hours of the morning and land in Rome at 11 am their time. We will feel like it is 5 am. I still want to pinch myself to see if this is real.

1 more day, Tomorrow is the big day. Just trying to get organized and the house clean. Happy 4th of July to everyone.

2 more days to go!! Getting all those little odds and ends done.

4days left! Went to walmart to buy that last minute stuff!

5 days to go!!! We got the last of our documents in the mail today so we have everything we need.

6 days to go. It is getting real exciting! Got my suitcase packed and it weighs 49.2 pounds, guess I will have to share a few items with Alex he was well under the 50 pound limit.

7 days to go. One week from today we leave. Hurray!!

9 days. We are in the single digits. Cassie is packing herself tonight and keeps giving me lists of things she still wants or thinks she can't live without that I need to buy. HMMMM

10 day left! My lists are growing!

11 days to lift off
packed Alex last night, boys are so easy! The suitcase weighed in at 38 pounds. YEAH it is challenge staying under the 50 pound limit.

New blog

Oh how fun, I have a blog! The picture is from our 2008 cruise can't wait to have some new pictures to download.

12 days to go!!!

The packing, the packing!!