European On Me!

33 Days To Go!

Things are continuing to come along! All of my clothes arrived for the cruise. I'll not be modeling them for you; you really don't need to be subjected to that. I'm sure I'll be in at least one picture from our trip, though! Everything fits, more or less, and is going to be comfortable and suitable for our activities.

I booked the transfer to get us from the airport to the ship in Barcelona, but we're on our own to get back to the airport in Venice. Hopefully we'll be able to do our morning excursion, disembark, get a taxi, and get to the airport in plenty of time that day! I think I'll have to give up hoping for our romantic gondola ride through the Grand Canal, but it'll just have to be a reason to go back!

Renting gowns and a tuxedo is out; the place didn't even know what I was talking about, and they have no gowns! So there's no need for a tux for him if I'm not wearing a gown, don't you think?

And this morning, I booked a special treat for us: it's a couples package called "Romantic Voyage" that's offered by Holland America. The sheet says it includes these: Bon Voyage bouquet, 1 bottle of champagne, 10X7 activity photo sheet, 6 chocolate-covered strawberries, dinner for 2 in the Pinnacle Grill (the ship's exclusive reservation-only restaurant), a card lesson including $25 in free chips, and two 25-minute massages! It was a little pricey, but we definitely wanted a Pinnacle Grill dinner and a couples massage, and buying them separately would have been $5 more than this whole package! So I think it's a good deal, and we certainly are going to be making the most of this trip.

More to come!

Fin.

Countdown: 36 Days

Well, the end of the wait is near! It's almost just a month away from our sailing date, and things are really starting to come together.

I've bought a bunch of clothes for the trip, and they should be arriving shortly. Rob just wants to get some deck shoes, and then he'll be all set.

We can make global phone calls with our worldwide mobile service, and we can also make ship-to-shore calls to anywhere in the world from our stateroom. I'm feeling so relieved about that, knowing my babies are just a phone call away and I can check on them anytime I damn well please.

There are three formal nights during the cruise, and of course we have no gowns that fit me or tuxedos for Rob. But wait! Such things can be ordered and waiting for us in our stateroom when we arrive onboard! There's only a phone number to call, so I've yet to see if they have anything in my size - or Rob's, for that matter, but what a great idea!

I'm going to go fake for the trip - nails, that is.  I already have an appointment for a mani-pedi, but now I know where my friend Tabitha goes and might just scoot in there to get nails done just like hers, which I like. I also have an appointment for a cut and color, but I have yet to decide how I'm going to get my hair done, or what color.... hmm.

We've decided not to convert so much cash to Euros, only a small portion, since the ship is US$ only, and lots of places in ports take US$ and/or credit cards. So we'll only need Euros for any smaller shops we might duck into. I'm hoping I can find some cool yarns to bring home with me!

I still have to buy our transfers to get us from the airport to the ship in Barcelona, and the ship to the airport in Venice. I'm a little nervous about the return transfer and whether we can get one, since we'll be leaving a day early. Guess there's only one way to find out, and that's by making the phone call!

Like I said, things are coming together. I'm really getting excited now. SQUEEEEEE!

Fin.

So Pissed Off

Right now, I don't even know if we are going or not. I just paid a grand to switch our flights so that we can get there the day of the cruise and leave the day it ends, cutting short our visits on either end in Barcelona and Venice. And I canceled the B & V hotels, crying a bit in the process. Now I'm trying to switch the one small flight from Venice to Barcelona at the end, so we can get home again, but I find out it has been canceled on me with no warning. What the heck?!! 

It  is such a mess!! Two months away and I won't believe we are going until we are actually there.

I'm sitting here bawling and so frustrated and pissed and annoyed and upset and every other like emotion. I want to go to Europe! I want to go on my trip! I want to take our cruise! It sucks we have to cut it short, but whatever. There's still lots of fun to be had in there.

The only upside, if you can call it that, is that the Cheap Tickets operator calls Norfolk "Norfuck" every time she says it. Norfuck, Norfuck, Norfuck.

Whatever. It's 3 Am and I just want this all to be fixed.

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The Excitement Mounts

Right now, my friend Sarri and her family are in Europe for five weeks! She posts about their adventures in Rome and Tuscany - so far - almost every day, and I love reading about them. Not only is it fun to hear about in its own right, but I am going to be in some of those places in three short months!!!!!

I just can't believe the trip is so close, now. It seemed like ages away when we first planned it.

The only thing that sucks is I won't be starting the skinnification beforehand. That stinks, but I'm fairly confident I won't sink the ship.

You can read about Sarri's adventures here in blogland and drool along with me, if you like!

Okay, back to my scrapping...

Fin.

Our Itinerary

This will be great for keeping our information together at a glance. Especially for those days - which used to be every single one but are now spread out a little more - when I want to jump up and squeal, "I'm going to Europe!!" I can just click and remind myself of all the fun we're going to have.

So without further ado, our itinerary thus far:

Monday, June 23:  Fly to JFK, then fly to Barcelona, arriving early Tuesday morning

Tuesday, June 24: Stay one night at Hotel Canton in Barcelona, Spain

Wednesday, June 25: Board Holland America's ms Zuiderdam in Barcelona for Mediterranean Tapestry cruise!

Cabin 6126 on Upper Verandah Deck

Thursday, June 26:

0930 Excursion - Barcelona Sights & Flamenco Show

1600 Depart from Barcelona

Friday, June 27:

1200 Arrive in Monte Carlo, Monaco

1345 Excursion - Nice & Eze, France

2300 Depart Monaco

Saturday, June 28:

0700 Arrive in Livorno (Florence), Italy

0815 Excursion - Lucca & Pisa

2000 Depart Livorno

Sunday, June 29: 0700

Arrive in Civitavecchia, Rome

Explore Roma!

2000 Depart Rome

Monday, June 30:

1300 Arrive in Messina, Sicily

Explore Sicilia! 2300

Depart Sicily

Tuesday, July 1:

Spend day at sea aboard ms Zuiderdam

Wednesday, July 2:

0800 Arrive in Navplion, Greece

Explore Navplion!

1600 Depart Navplion

Thursday, July 3:

0800 Arrive in Katakolon, Greece

Explore Katakolon!

1700 Depart Katakolon

Friday, July 4:

0800 Arrive in Corfu, Greece

0800 Excursion - Kickin' Corfu Four-Wheel Drive Adventure

1700 Depart Corfu

Saturday, July 5:

0700 Arrive in Dubrovnik, Croatia

0915 Excursion - Kolorina Sea Kayaking

1600 Depart Dubrovnik

Sunday, July 6:

1000 Arrive in Venice, Italy

1030 Excursion - A Taste of Veneto: Tasty Treviso 1500 Explore Venezia!

Monday, July 7:

Debark Holland America's ms Zuiderdam

Stay 2 nights at A Tribute to Music Residenza in Venice, double room on the

Superior Canal

Wednesday, July 9:

Fly to Milan for 8-hour layover, go suit shopping for Rob

Fly to Barcelona

Stay one night at Hotel Canton in Barcelona, Spain

Thursday, July 10:  Fly to JFK, fly to Norfolk arriving in early evening

Ohh, it all sounds so glorious and romantic and wonderful and adventurous, and I still can't believe it's happening to me! To us! Lovely, lovely, lovely.

Fin.

[I don't know what happened to the font sizes up there, but I've messed with it a bunch already. Sorry!]

In The Beginning

This trip came about from a daydream of mine that I'd been having recently of just hopping on a plane and going to Europe. But, I love to take cruises. I've been on three, and Rob's been on one (one for pleasure, anyway), and we enjoy it immensely. Why not combine the two? Could we swing it? It took some figgerin', but we pulled it together, and here we are, 4.5 months away from our sailing date.

What about the kids?

Stephanie and Tim are going to keep the babies for us. We're taking a honeymoon, finally.

But what about the Disney trip and Bahamas cruise you took last year? Wasn't that supposed to be your make-up honeymoon?

Um, yeah. But we had the kids with us. We still consider ourselves newlyweds, and happily-marrieds need time to themselves, right? But no more excuses. We want to see the world together, and off we go!

What about the pets?

Uh... AFAIK, Stephanie and Tim are going to keep the dog for us, and we'll leave the kitty at home for them to check in on from time to time. She'll be all right, with enough food and litter to keep her happy. We've done it before. She's an independent lassie.

Plans to follow. I have to finish baking cookies and then look them up!

Oh, and suggestions for a new name for this blog would be wonderful. And help with the banner. I know they stink.

Fin.