Med Cruise Wrap Up

Our first stop before embarking on our cruise was to Lake Como, Italy.  It was so beautiful!  This gorgeous lake is surrounded by little Italian villages along the shore and steep mountain peeks in the near distance.  It was so lovely I cannot begin to describe it.  I loved it so much, I tried desperately to convince Matt that we needed to stop there on our way back from the cruise as well.  I failed.  He said 'no'.  As soon as we got home I started searching for a hotel down there for a weekend getaway in a few weeks, but alas, it is all booked up or way too pricey and my little Lake Como dreams are crushed...for now.

Most of the drive from Como to Genoa was beautiful.  There was an ugly highway stretch in there but once we were about an hour outside of Genoa we found ourselves in these gorgeous Italian hills that forced me to look left, look right, look left, for the entire journey down into Genoa.  Every turn was filled with lush green hills and small Italian villages.  Love.

Genoa was surprisingly pretty for a port city.  We walked around a bit before boarding the ship.  Once on board we found our room and we were all completely thrilled to have a balcony room for the first time.  We sat out on our balcony to watch the ship depart and sail along the Ligurian coast.  

Our first stop was Barcelona.  We only had 5 hours in port.  Since we have already been to Barcelona and spent a full 4 days there, we were able to take a relaxing approach to the city.  We walked along the Ramblas (main tourist road), witnessed a man get robbed, drank a full litre of Sangria (each..well I didn't finish mine) and then headed up to Park Guell.  A very weird park I must say, but it provided great views of the city and we got to see Gaudi's crazy art up there.

The next day we were at sea..... ah so relaxing.  I spent the entire day 10am-6pm on the pool deck enjoying the sun, the pool, reading a book and watching the world go by.  The kids met some friends on the ship and were off swimming and playing at the kids' club the entire day.

Our next port was Tunis, Tunisia.  There are amazing pictures of beaches in Tunisia...they are not in Tunis.  There are also guidebooks that tell of the wonder and amazement of the Souk shops and Carthage ruins....they lie.  It was a horrible place.  I don't regret going, I'm just disappointed in the place and hope that cruise lines eliminate it from its port calls.  Yuck.

Malta...or "melt-ya" was our next stop.  So pretty.  Who would have thought that brown sandstone could be so pretty?  It was a million degrees in Malta.  Thankfully, we had a rental car with a/c and could move around the cities at our own pace.  We visited Mdina, an absolutely beautiful old fortified city, went to the beach so Matt could go diving and the boys and I could snorkel, and then hit up Valletta before getting back on the ship.  When we left Malta I thought it would be the place I wanted to return to, however, our next stop was Messina and I really fell in love there.  Taormina is my favorite stop on this trip.  It is on the Messina straight and it is truly breathtaking.  I loved it.  We walked around the city and then drove down to a beach for an incredibly refreshing swim.

Last stop, Rome.  The boys and I had been to Rome a few years ago and since there is so much to see in such little time and it was blazing hot, we decided to let Matt go discover Rome on his own without us weighing him down and insisting on Gelato stops every hour.  Matt loved loved Rome.  He had a great time, he saw most of the sights and got to enjoy a lovely lunch with an old woman who owned the restaurant.  The boys and I did what we do best....we played in the pool, I layed on the deck, we got off the boat and walked around town...and in the 4 hours we were off the ship we did in fact stop twice for gelato.  Once back on board we swam some more.

Loved this vacation.  The last cruise was more about the ports.  They were all amazing and provided a lot to see and do.  This cruise was a repeat of two destinations for me, had one sea day, and we are not talking about Tunisia... so for me this cruise was really more about just having a great relaxing vacation, with the little gem of a visit to Malta and Taormina along the way.

As long as the kids are little....I think we'll try to keep on cruisin'.  It is such a perfect way for us to have a good time together where everyone gets a little of something that they love.

And now.... the pre-inspection for our move is tomorrow and I have a lot to do.