30 March 2007

We're home

Well, we've made it home and we're pooped! The trip went by so quickly we're just now processing what actually happened. We took over 400 pictures while we were gone and I'm slowly going through them, but here's a link to some that give an overview of most of the ports.

Here's an overview of the trip: We left and the eight hour flight was by far the longest I've ever taken, but also the first time I had flown without the kids, but it wasn't too bad. We got in and didn't have great directions to our hotel in Rome, so we wandered up and down the streets trying to find it lugging around two 50 lb. suitcases after no sleep and long flights. When we found the hotel we realized we'd been so close the entire time! At that point, it wouldn't have mattered what the hotel looked like as long as I could take a shower an sleep. Thankfully, it was a very nice hotel. The next morning we did most of our sightseeing in Rome, while taking a few scenic routes along the way. Then we took the train out to the port. On the way from train to port about 400 meters or so, the handle broke off one of our rolling suitcases and there was a bike race that we almost couldn't get around since it weaved through the entire town. We had a nice balcony stateroom which again provided a place to rest our feet. We didn't actually get a chance to explore the ship until our first sea day. After Rome we went to Naples, Pompeii, and Capri. We only have pictures of Pompeii, though, because I forgot to charge our battery on the camera and it died. Pompeii was wonderful and we're glad we went. Capri was beautiful and our favorite part was relaxing on the beach trying to skip rocks.

Then it was on to Rhodes Greece where we shopped. That was fun. The next day was Ephesus and the house of the virgin Mary. Ephesus was so much more than we had ever thought! It was beautiful and so well preserved! The next day was Istanbul where we went to the Blue Mosque, saw a carpet demonstration, went to the Topkapi, visited a Turkish Bath, and shopped in the Grand Bazaar for a new suitcase.

After Istanbul we went to Athens where it was raining and windy. Which wasn't bad because the Parthenon is much more beautiful after the rain. However, we did have to leave Chris' backpack at the bag check and it had our jackets and umbrella. After retrieving Chris bag and our jackets we went to the changing of the guard in Syntagma Square. That was neat. The next day was Katakalon, a small fishing village outside of Olympia. We took that day to browse in the shops and eat lunch at one of the restaurants there. You know, get a taste for local food? Well, we ordered the special, Fish, potatoes and tomatoes. Sounds good. I'm expecting some kind of filet of fish, skinned, something along the lines of catfish with mashed potatoes. That's not how they serve fish here! They just deep fry the fish and cut off their heads and put it in a bowl with a cut up potato, and a cut up tomato. And it's not a big fillet of fish, it's a bunch of little tiny guys that look like minnows. After a few minutes I took off the tail of one and ate it and it wasn't bad. I was full after about two of them anyway.

Florence was our next port of call and we went to the leaning tower of Pisa. Not much to report. It really does lean. Florence, however, was fantastic! The Duomo and how much detail it has all around is very impressive and the baptistery is beautiful! Florence is such a great city. We didn't get to see the real David, but saw the replica. If we go back to Florence I'll want to see the original.

Next up was our last day in Rome and it was free Sunday at the Vatican Museum! Woohoo! Hundreds of people standing in line about a mile long sign me up! Actually, when we first got to the Vatican we went into the basilica first and that was overwhelming. It's so large and there's so much to see. Then we did stand in line for two hours to get into the Vatican Museum and got in just a few minutes before they close off the line. We went to the Sistine Chapel and it was beautiful! Well worth waiting in line for. After that we found the Spanish Steps and rested on those for a while, then were off to the Trevi Fountain to toss in our coins. After that I felt like we had done enough and we were ready to go.

After two weeks of not making my bed or doing any laundry or cooking, it's a little tough to readjust. We're still working on trying to stay up past 9:00pm because we're so tired. Speaking of. . it's bedtime for me.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, sounds like you two had an amazing time. I'm glad that it was all that you had hoped it would be. Wish I could have been there to enjoy it with you, Ali.

Rebekah said...

Thanks Ali - we had a great time. We appreciate you putting up with the kids while we were gone!

Kristen said...

Wow! Sounds like a totally amazing trip, and I'm jealous!! So glad y'all got to go and glad you made it home safely.