I know this is a long overdue post, but better late than never. :) Dan and I have been wanting to go on a big trip for some time now. We decided that our 10 year wedding anniversary was a good excuse to finally do it. We decided that we wanted to go on a Mediterranean cruise. We would be able to see a few countries, plus relax on a boat. Sounded like the perfect and easiest trip to plan. Then, we had to figure out who would watch the kiddies. Lucky for us, my mom and dad offered to stay with the kids. I was so excited and releived that they offered to do so. My four little ones are sweet, but it is an exhausting job. Plus, leaving my kids with my parents left me feeling at ease because I knew they would be well taken care of.
We left on September 24 and flew first class to Venice, Italy. It was so awesome and I felt totally spoiled. It didn't even feel like I was on an airplane. We also got to hang out in the red carpet lounges in the airports which was a bonus!
After arriving in Venice, we forgot about being jet lagged and checked out the city. So amazing with all of the waterways and architecture. Oh, and Dan surprised me with a box from:
That night we slept in the smallest hotel room ever. Sooo expensive too.
Saturday we boarded the Splendour of the Seas. Gotta love cruising and all the food it involves. :) I loved that we were traveling country to country while I was sleeping.
Sunday, we spent the day in Dubrovnik, Croatia. We took a bus to the old walled city from mideval times and roamed around the whole day.
We walked the walls around the perimeter.
We took a boat out and around the city.
I loved just checking out all the little nooks and crannies inbetween.
Monday was a day spent at sea. I slept a lot, ate a lot, and loved it!!
Tuesday, we pulled into Kusadasi, Turkey.
From there, we had prebooked a private tour. Our tour guide picked us up at the dock and we drove to Ephesus, Turkey. What an amazing place. This is an old city where the ephesians lived in biblical times. It is crazy to think how long these structures have been there. I loved hearing about how the city used to function. So interesting.
We also went to the house that John built for Mary where she supposedly spent her last days.
After our tour we walked around the bazaar in Kusadasi and ate turkish delight.
Wednesday, we pulled into Santorini, Greece. The city looks like snow on top of the island. Our boat had to tender out in the water and we took little boats to the shore. From there we took the tram up to the top. Then, we rented a 4 wheeler and drove it around the island all day. It was absolutley beautiful. I loved it!!!
Check out the stairs that we took back down to the shore. The line for the tram was too long.
Thursday, we spent the day in Corfu, Greece. It had a totally different look than Santorini. In fact it looked more like Venice. We then learned that this area had a heavy Venetian influence. It was pretty and we enjoyed a day of beauty and shopping.
Friday was another day at sea. We were pretty lazy and we just hung out in our room and at the pool. It was also the second formal night on the ship.
It was so fun getting dressed up and going to a fancy dinner and to a show every night. We were able to spend our days exploring, evenings on a date, and sleeping while we traveled at night. You can't get much better than that.
Saturday morning it was time to say goodbye to our ship and we were back in Venice. Our airplane didn't leave until the next morning, so we had 1 more day to hang out. We checked into the Marriott by the airport so we could get rid of our luggage. Then we headed to the train station to see where we could go for a quick day trip. We decided on Verona. I loved the experience of riding the train and Verona was beautiful.
Oh, and my favorite thing. Each day we were in Italy, I ate gelato at least 3 times a day. :)
Sunday morning, it was time to board our plane and head back home(on first class :) ). We had a great time and it was so weird being away from the kids for so long. It was almost a little too long. I missed them so much and I was so excited to get back home and see them. Of course, they had a fabulous time and every day since we returned I have heard stories about "when grandma and grandpa were here..."
