Ick.

That’s how I would describe Naples, Italy, or Napoli.  We had heard from everyone that it was not really a very pretty city, and they were right.  Graffiti, trash, trash, and more trash was everywhere.  Decay, disrepair, heavy traffic, madness.  It was quite the busy place.  After being assaulted by tour salesman upon disembarkation and subsequently discarding my usual calm demeanor in response to their, ahem, forwardness, we made our way to the train station.

And made our way.  And made our way.  And maaaaaade our way.  It was a long ways.  Apparently the rule in Italy to crossing traffic at crosswalks it just to GO and don’t make eye contact with drivers and hope you stay alive.  That we did.  And we stayed alive.  Tiny cars zoomed and criss-crossed everywhere.  Parked in the tiniest places imaginable.  I missed the orderliness of the States, for sure.  I was much happier aboard the train.

Finally, after spending a only few Euros on a train ticket, we were Pompeii-bound.

Heading up the long steep hill into Pompeii. Would you believe people walked around there in their high heels? It was hard enough in our flip-flops and those weren't by choice!

Ah, Pompeii.  I have always loved studying Pompeii, as long as I remember.  Every time it came up in history class I was fascinated.  Basically, Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. and buried this Roman city under approximately 22 meters of ash.  It wasn’t rediscovered until the late 1500s and that was by accident.  Can you imagine?

My favorite spot in Pompeii. Just huge. I have no idea what it is, we didn't take a formal tour.

What surprised me the most about Pompeii was how incredible huge it was.  In all of our walking, I don’t think we even covered maybe 25-30% of it.  It was really huge.  I thought it was much, much smaller.  I was also surprised at the detailed architecture, the surprising bursts of color, and the detailed art and really how much of it just survived!  Not only did it survive almost 2,000 years but a volvanic eruption, excavation, and according to Wikipedia, almost 2.5 million visitors a year. Pretty amazing.

These columns were so TALL!! Amazing! It was a gorgeous day, too.

Walking down the streets was interesting all by itself.  There were sidewalks, I think, and crosswalks, and you could see wagon ruts, all deeply engraved in the giant cobble stones.  Fairly challenging to walk on – you had to be careful not to turn your ankle.  We all greatly missed our sneakers, we were dreaming of them arriving and actually being in our staterooms when we returned to the ship.  But back to Pompeii, I digress…

There were temples here and there, big houses, little houses, stores, pools, wall-ovens (we think).  Floor designs still intact.  We dodged giant tour groups as we went.

Oh this one really got to me...

There was a large covered barn-type building with urns and artifacts uncovered during excavation.  There were people found, but any in this building are just casts of the people, including a dog.  This man…well, this man just broke my heart.  The utter desperation in his pose as he prays…imagining him huddled in a corner as hell is raining down on him…  That was hard to process.

Did the people of Pompeii have the same flowers? Why not!

Again, the weather was just incredible there.  Beautiful flowers, too.  We could not have asked for better.

It's a king of the mountain thing, I think. Girls just don't do that stuff.

Mt. Vesuvius

Can you see the vivid blue back there? Isn't that remarkable?

They recently opened up one of the Roman baths there.  It was quite crowded with tour guides getting their groups in.  You had to be, ahem, bold to get in.  But Chris did and got some good pictures.  Here is one:

Roman bath

From here, we could look out over the more modern town and over into the Mediterranean.

From there, we caught the train back to Napoli and trekked back to our ship and quite a long trek it was.  Chris just googled the other night and found out there was a closer train station.  Thank you very much, RC, for an incorrect map.  *Sigh*  Ah, well.  Now we know!  We also later found out that we should have taken the train further out to Sorrento, seen that beautiful town, then taken the hydrofoil (boat?) back to the ship.  Apparently the ride up the coast was incredible and it would’ve taken us right to our ship.  Hindsight is 20/15.  :D

We arrived to our to no bags yet but they did arrive shortly after and we nearly had a party in our room at seeing them.  I ceremoniously threw my underwear I had been friendly with for so long into the trash can.  The upside?  I now had THREE outfits to choose from every day left of our vacation!  We headed to dinner and this was our view from our table.  Our assigned table was next to a wall of windows where every night we got to watch our ship pull out.  This night featured Mt. Vesuvius:

Mt. Vesuvius from our dinner table aboard the ship.

Tomorrow?  Roma!  Yea!!!

Day 4 – Day at Sea

Ahhhhhhhhh.  It’s amazing how much you appreciate clean clothes when they are actually clean. We quickly took up RC on their laundry voucher and got our clothes washed.  (Can I mention how weird it is to have someone else, a stranger, wash your under garments??)  After a brief mix-up of receiving someone else’s undergarments (presumably they lost their luggage as well), we received all our clothing and set out to make the best of it and enjoy the gorgeous day on the water.

And I mean gorgeous.

The weather was fantastic.  I think it was low 70s the entire time.  Disappointingly, the shipboard shops only had men’s swim trunks and not women’s swimsuits (figure that one out) so we were left with entertaining ourselves in other ways.  So, putt-putt anyone?

Putt-putt golf on the deck of the Voyager of the Seas. Islands in the background.

Chris aims for a hole in one.

Chris and Tara, on the Mediterranean

Dinner time in the Magic Flute dining room came around again.  So do we attend in our 4-day old clothing or not?  Why, yes, we did!  Was it formal night for the rest of the ship?  Why, yes, it was!  :D  We waltzed right in and sat down.  Everyone looked fabulous and we were mightily comfortable in our comfy clothes and stretchy waist lines.  We were even asked how one could attain the RC t-shirts we were wearing at Formal Night – the complimentary ones received when you lose your luggage.  Our response?

“You don’t want one of these t-shirts.”  There were several on-board with these shirts.  It was a special camaraderie that we shared.  All hoping and encouraging that we each received our missing luggage upon arrival in Naples/Napoli.   Chris is sporting his in the picture above.

The remainder of Formal Night was spent in The Pig and the Whistle Irish Pub with Christine leading Irish drinking songs.  And there were plenty of Irish folks on board the ship, too.  That makes for a VERY entertaining night!  I think we all miss Shane dearly.  We loved hanging out there.  I toasted with my glass of ice water and had a ball!  I was even drafted to play tambourine a few times, but let’s not talk about that.  :)

Another fun thing we got to do – talk to our family from my cell phone from the middle of the Mediterranean Sea! How cool is that??  They were in Washington D.C. for Thad’s Change of Command ceremony, walking down the Mall towards the Washington Monument, and we were in the middle of the Sea.  Just plain cool.  And it goes without saying that talking to the kids was an absolute highlight.

We have yet to see the phone bill.

Tomorrow – Napoli and Pompeii!  And hopefully….clean underwear!!  Yea!!!!!

Day 1-3, Friday -Sunday

After tearfully dropping off G&S with my brother and Kara and their fabulous kids, I made my way back home to finish packing in an incredibly silent house.  The next day, Larry and Jenn arrived and picked us up and we were off to the airport!

We only had to turn around and come back to the house once to get my sweatshirt that I would need for the airplane.  I thought that was pretty remarkable that we only had to come back once.

Chris, Tara, Larry and Jenn - Day 1, Jacksonville Airport!

Our excitement gradually turned to dismay, however, as our plane sat longer and longer and longer at the gate.  Atlanta banned all flights from even coming in because of a storm in their area.  We were instructed to get back off the plane and wait.  Riot conditions were imminent.  Finally, we were allowed to reboard, elbowing our way through angry passengers wanting their turn to get to Atlanta, too.

The chaos of the Atlanta did nothing for our moods.  We had missed our flight to Spain.  We tried every which way and sideways to get any flight to Europe (thinking we could get a train to Barcelona once we got there) but there was nothing going out.  We were left with a plan to fly out in the morning to NYC and from there flying to Barcelona and we were told NOT to get our luggage.

Not a good plan, we would later learn.

We arranged for a hotel near the airport and joined other displaced passengers in a quest for a meal.  We sought out free toiletries as well.  No, we were not clever enough to pack an extra outfit and toiletries with us.  We would come to regret this in the days to come.

At o’dark’thirty the next morning, we took the shuttle back to the airport to take a flight to La Guardia airport in New York City.  (Am I the only one who still hears the old Pace Salsa commercial tag line “New York City?!”)  We then took a cab (Jenn’s first cab ride in NYC!) to JFK airport to await our flight to Barcelona many hours later.  Our excitement went through the ceiling when we realized we were bumped to first class for our troubles.

Can we say “Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet?!”

It was like flying overseas with our very own recliner and 5-course meal.  Oh my stars!!  We also met lots of people in our situation who missed the flight in Atlanta and on the way to the same cruise.  We later learned we all had also lost our luggage together.

Flying over Spain the next morning was gorgeous – the terrain was beautiful.  Flying over the Mediterranean was surreal!  I love seeing new things I have only seen in pictures before.  Fascinating!!  The Barcelona airport is a stunning piece of architecture.  All marble floors and glass walls, incredibly clean.  Just gorgeous.

And then we learned where our luggage was.  We were set to board the Voyager of the Seas in a few hours.  And our luggage?

It was still in Atlanta.  Half a world away.

I was ready to cry.  Well, actually, I did cry.  I’m a girl after all.  Wearing 3-day old underwear.  Even our clothes were tired of US.  What could we do?  Nothing at all.  Shopping you say?  Oh no.  Stores in Barcelona are mostly closed on Sundays.  Oh yes.  So what could we do?  Head for the port with the clothes on our back smelling powder fresh (the only flavor of deoderant the hotel in Atlanta had offered.)

We exited the final stage of customs and there were a few Royal Caribbean staff awaiting passengers.  Not us, mind you, but we decided to see if we could make use of their knowledge and services anyhow.  And they were indeed helpful!  The sweet gal indicated they would be helpful with our luggage, what to tell the taxi driver as to where to go to get to the port and for shopping, and other useful things.

Barcelona, Spain

It’s surreal driving in a foreign country with itty-bitty cars when you are used to America with it’s giant-sized everything, but it sure was fun!  I loved seeing the sites.  One of the most unusual was the cemetary built into the hillside.  Wow.  I’ll have to find a pic of that online for you.  How unusual!  We finally made it to the port were the luggage porter was quite confused as to our lack of luggage for a 7-day cruise but then a nod of understanding a look of pity accompanied our explanation that all four of us had lost our luggage.  Ah, well.  What can you do?  Make do.  That’s what you do.

After checking in and a men’s final quest for any open store, we boarded the ship (lovely ship, btw) where we were blown away by the customer service of Royal Caribbean.  Where Delta failed us on so many levels, RC over-exceeded our expectations.  Larry gave them all of our luggage information and RC proceeded to deal with Delta completely after that.  We would get our luggage two days later, in Naples (Napoli, Italy).  RC gave us complimentary t-shirts, toiletries, laundry and tux vouchers and our stateroom attendant got us robes as well.

Port of Barcelona

So how about dinner and those dress codes?

Oh no.  We paid for it.  We were going to eat it.  Smelling bad, stiff clothes or not.  We explained we’d lost our luggage and the staff really could’ve cared less and waved us through!  Yea!!!  We had a FABULOUS time at dinner and met our tablemates for the rest of the cruise!  More about Donna and Joe later…this post is long enough!

Suffice it to say, wow.  It was a rough start to the vacation for sure, but it could only go up from here, right?  :)

Miss me?

All those blog posts then…nothing!

So sorry!  I try not to broadcast over the internet when we’re traveling.  But golly, do you have a lot of blog posts from me coming up!

Remember the couple that just got married that I posted about last few posts?  We joined them on their honeymoon.

No, no, no…it’s not weird.  It’s so much fun!  I mean, really, it’s not like we’re in the same room with them.  Puh-lease!

We joined them on a Mediterranean cruise and we got to see Spain, Italy and France.  I have so much to tell you and so much to show you that I don’t even know where to begin!  So many blog-able moments.  For now, I’ll start with a random list to whet your appetite.  If you’re a Facebook friend, I’ve uploaded some pics there so hop on over and check ‘em out.

• We visited 12 cities.
• And 6 airports.
• We had 2 unexpected hotel stays.
• Our luggage was lost not once but TWICE.
• We now know who NOT to fly with.
• Coughcoughhiccupdeltaairlinescoughgag.
• We can’t wait to go back someday and bring the kids with us.
• I’m already planning how and when.
• I think I want to learn Italian.
• It was fun to say some Spanish in Spain.
• I never knew I could wear one set of clothing for five days straight.
• Royal Caribbean rocks at dealing with lost luggage situations.  And I mean, ROCKS.
• Gelato is amazing.
• My body clock has no idea what time it is and hasn’t since we left almost two weeks ago.
• Do I have to come back to reality yet?

S before the wedding

We attended our first wedding together as a family, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure how G and S would do.  As it turns out, they had a ball and so did we!  They absolutely made the whole event enjoyable for all of us.  Just wait until you see the pictures of them on the dance floor…  Above is S looking over the ocean before the wedding started while the guys got their pictures taken.

The Ringbearer

G was quite the serious little ringbearer but he had trouble staying with the flower girl.  He was more interested in getting to his goal (standing next to Mr. Mike) and holding onto the shell holding the rings.  He held the rings, delivered as requested, and at the end exited the festivities by holding Mr. Mike’s hand instead of walking with the flower girl.  He must still be in the “she’s got cooties” stage.  I’m not sure.  Regardless, he was the most handsome little ringbearer ever.

S kept busy during the wedding

S worked on sand castles during the wedding.  Well, as much as you can in dry sand.  We then moved into the reception hall to enjoy the meal and the music.  Once the first dance was over for Larry and Jenn, G and S were happy to take over the dance floor.  Take a look.  G was helping S do spins and everything!  S also liked to push us off the dance floor so she could have the whole space to herself.  It was S’s personal stage apparently.  :)

Dancin'

Dancin' with mommy

Both kids had no shortage of dance requests for the dance floor.  They also invited themselves into many couples’ arms to join them in their dances.  Our children?  Shy?  Nope, apparently not.  It must be a recessive gene in mine and Chris’s DNA that became dominant in their DNA.

Another miracle?  Our children actually got Chris and I to dance in public *gasp* for the first time – you know, in front of real people and everything! We only dance by ourselves in the comfort of our own home because my musical skills usually don’t translate to my feet.  In public.  I’m still trying not to hyperventilate over that one, but I think we did manage to keep a good rhythm and look great!  Besides, everyone was watching the cute kids, right?  :)