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My Italian Cruise
August 8, 2006
I had a great vacation to Europe and returned just prior the airline security buckle-down.
Our flight left out of Cincinnati around 7pm on Friday, the 28th. We got there in plenty of time. It was me, my nephew A and mom. DH called to tell me he got a call from Norwegian telling me of an air strike in Barcelona – our final destination. It was too late to do anything about it now. My sister, her son and Joe (my nephew's friend) showed up just minutes before we had to go to the gate. They had to drive 4-5 hours and got stuck in traffic. Either way everything was fine and we boarded the long 7 ½ hour flight to Paris.
The flight details may sound unimportant but much of the trip revolves around Air Frances's flight screw-ups. It was strange when we checked in. Mom and Aaron's ticket only showed up for the first leg of the trip, but the agent said, no big deal, just get their Barcelona boarding pass in Paris for the Barcelona flight.
We arrived in Paris tired since most of us didn't sleep much. The movie choices were crap but the food was decent. In Paris we had to get mom and A's boarding pass so we found the Air France desk and explained to the woman (in English) that we needed boarding passes. She said there was a problem and said she'd be right back. 30 minutes later she showed back up with their boarding passes. We never really understood what the problem was. But, all was fine – or so we thought. We waited for quite a long time 5 hours in Paris for our flight, exhausted and desperately wanting showers. Finally we boarded and it was a quick hour or so flight to Barcelona. We arrived to chaos in the airport. Because of the strike all Iberia flights were cancelled and/or delayed and the airport was filled with people and bags and it was hot and miserable for them, I'm sure. We were lucky to not have any problems. So, in one way, I'm glad we flew Air France. Let me say, that will all the Air France problems; they could not have been nicer. But, that's no excuse. We pulled our bags through the airport through the maze of people and bags and found the way to the train which took us directly to Barcelona Central Station. I had arranged for a stay at the hotel on site which was actually quite nice and convenient. We took showers and went out to find dinner. We ate and sent mom back to the hotel while the rest of us walked to the main drag downtown and shopped a bit. I loved the walking and exploring. I just love other cultures. Around 10pm we were exhausted and jumped on the metro which took us back to the hotel. I slept on the floor but was so tired I didn't care much.
The next morning (Sunday) we walked around a bit more. We found a pastry shop and I decided to get something. I took Spanish in school but it didn't help me at this moment. I picked something next to the chocolate sprinkled croissant that looked like a calzone. It was tuna but didn't know it. It wasn't too bad, and I was hungry. I think my mom was going to gag at the thought of eating tuna for breakfast. And to clarify, I don't' like seafood much. It was edible, amazingly! My sister and I laughed about it. Around noon we got back to the hotel and got a cab to the port where the ship was docked. It was a very hot and humid day.
Mom worried about everything...the airline tickets, walking, the heat, getting robbed, getting to the hotel/boat/cab/buses on time, money, eating on time...blah blah blah. Mom always says dad was the negative one, but to me and other family members, mom is the one who is always negative and critical. She has only become a worrier in the last couple years. It's not simple worrying, but excessive worry and feelings of not being safe. When we initially had heard about the strike in Barcelona, she said "I knew this trip was doomed." She actually used the word doomed. Doomed to me means death and serious events.
The Norwegian Jewel was beautiful. We got on the boat smoothly and with no problems (mom worried about where the boys were while walking to the boat – they weren't paying attention and took a wrong turn – My sister and I just laughed and knew they'd figure it out. There weren't too many places they could go). My nephews are 19 and as far as I'm concerned somewhat responsible – at least for themselves. Anyway, we got on board and got our unlimited soft drink passes for about $40 – assuming I'd get mixed drinks or that I'd have options of diet soda). We went to eat, toured the spa, and my sister and I went for a walk on deck 7. 4 times around was 1.3 miles or something. We did that several times during the week. And since mom is lazy, we enjoyed our mom-less moments. We left port late due to problems with passengers and their flight arrangements. It caused no problem getting to Sicily two days later. We arranged to eat dinner at Tangos, the tex-mex place. Dinner was great. I got a margarita and we all (don't know about the boys) went back and crashed in the room. We were very tired still.
Day 1 – at sea. Monday was a nice relaxing day at sea. I went to aerobics (only this one time) while my sister did the tread mill. We went to the trivia game and won. I don't really remember much about the rest of the day. We ate dinner in the regular dining room that night. I ordered the Caesar salad and beef Wellington. Mom (and Joe) got sick. Mom had the runs all night and felt miserable the next day. I just hoped the rest of us wouldn't get sick. No one knows what they had or what made them sick.
Day 2 – Messina, Sicily. We opted to leave mom on the boat and A took mom's place on the tour. So, my sister, A and I took the godfather tour. I really don't know much about the Godfather but it was different so we decided to do it. We took a bus through tiny streets and up hairpin turns to the top of a hill where there was a tiny town that was in the movie. It was nice, I guess. The views were great. You could see Mount Etna in the distance and I got my first taste of Gelato on the trip. I wanted it from the moment I stepped in Europe. We then drove to another town where the Bar Vitelli was and the church was that was in one of the movies. While on the tour, we met a super nice guy who was from LA and worked on The Price is Right. He went by Doug. My sister and I are naturally nosey so we asked him all sorts of questions. We ran into him that night and invited him to join us (mom, my sister and I) for dinner and that's when we learned what he did etc. We actually had a really good time chatting with him and hearing stories about the show.
Day 3 – Naples. Everyone went on the tour of Herculaneum but me. I had already seen it a few years ago with an ex-boyfriend. So, I went alone and went to the island of Capri. It was beautiful. I took a hydrofoil over and back. I met a couple from England and we hung out mostly. I joined a tour and we went to the city of Anacapri as well as then down to Capri. I got some souvenir shopping done. I bought some Limoncello and some glass jewelry. It was a nice day alone. I got back about 20 minutes before the boat left, but I wasn't worried. The official Norwegian tour people were on that ferry too. For dinner that night we ate at the Italian place, Mama's Kitchen. I hung out in the casino later on playing the penny slots. I had played roulette one night and won $40. But, I didn't want to lose too much 9minimum $20 for Roulette to play), just get out of the room.
Day 4 - Civitavecchia/Rome. Mom and my sister went ton the Vatican and Museum tour. But, it was $189. The boys and I opted to take a train (which turned out to be a bus because we were solicited on shore) for 18 Euros (1Euro = 1.4 dollars). We walked Rome on our own and saw everything. I had a good time with the boys. We walked quickly and saw everything we wanted to see...the Vatican, St. Peter's square, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the old Roman Ruins, St.'s Paul and Peter's cell, Coliseum and more. We figure we walked 8-10 miles that day. We arrived back at the boat and had dinner at the Teppanyaki Grill and invited Doug.
Day 5 – Florence/Pisa. I had also seen those places so I decided to go to Cinque Terre where my SIL had recommended and my other sister got married last year. Everyone else opted to join me on the tour. It was so beautiful. I want to go back and take DH and the kids. The names mean "five lands." There are 5 towns in this area of the Italian Riviera. There are very steep hills and cliffs to the ocean. The people have created terraces for their crops of grapes, lemons, olives tomatoes... Each town has a particular feeling to it but very connected. There is a national park there that is a path from one town to the next, like hiking trails. We walked along the side of a cliff (and ocean on the other side) that had built a pathway on. It took us from one town to the next. We also took the train which ran under the mountains. The last town was nice and they had a large beach and more shops. It was a much more commercial area and more flat land by the water. We found a wonderful place to eat and had the best meal of all.
Day 6 – VilleFranche, France. This place is on the French Riviera. It was also nice but a quick stopover. The boat left at 2:30. I was kind of toured out but my sister and mom convinced me to join them on shore. Mom wanted to go to church and I managed to get away alone and walk the streets by myself. I did find a flea market and really wanted to get some homemade olive oil but didn't' have much money left. I got myself a gelato and headed back to the boat. Mom ended up being on the same tender back to the boat and again I was stuck with her. At this point she was driving me crazy. She criticized the boys all the time and made stupid comments to me. I dumped her when I got on the boat and went and had an electro-something-or-other treatment at the spa. I had won $30 off so I decided to try it. It shocked your skin so it tightened your stomach muscles. I felt thinner. But, it didn't stay. I don't know. It was weird and different but I'm glad I did it. Then we all went to dinner in the 2nd main restaurant again. They had several other restaurants but ½ of them had a cover charge of $5 of $10 and mom refused to pay (except for the Teppanyaki Grill).
We saw a couple of shows on board. We saw a magic show, the Cirque Bijou, a variety show, and a comedy show of the Second City out of Chicago. The Second City also did an impromptu show in one of the lounges one night. My sister and I (and Doug – we ran into him and invited him to join us) stayed for that. We danced for a while after that. Jorge, one of the activities staff people, convinced me to dance with him. Overall the cruise was nice. If it had been with Dh I probably would've drank more. But, mom always made me feel like I was drinking too much or I just felt uncomfortable drinking in front of her. I didn't gain any weight so it was worth it, I guess. I bought lots of wine and brought back several bottles – which wouldn't have been possible the next day or two when they stopped letting people bring liquids in the cabin of the plane due to some terrorist plots. I am so tired of this crap. I don't understand why they have it out for us (and Brits...). They started it.
The end of the trip was the worst. The morning we docked we opted to take the tour of Montserrat, Spain which was actually nice. It ended up at the airport which attracted us to it in the first place. That way we didn't have to worry about a cab and it wasn't too expensive. Montserrat is a mountain town where there is a church and monastery. The shops were nice and had great souvenirs. But, when we got to the airport, we were told that Mom and A's tickets were cancelled completely. We were lucky in that they found the old reservations and gave us two tickets for them AND put us on an earlier flight so we could fight in Paris with Air France. When we arrived in Paris, My sister and I went to the Air France desk and the woman there said their tickets were in the computer. So, then we thought great, no problem. We got a shuttle to a crappy hotel - but it was close and cheap. We ordered pizza. It was a GIANT pizza – literally! We could only eat one, but had ordered two not really knowing how big it was. The next morning when we got the airport, the shuttle guy took us to the wrong terminal and we were running late. We finally got to the right counter and had to wait. Then when we got up found out there were still NO tickets for Mom and A. We had to go through that whole process again. We got A a seat and mom went stand-by. I stayed back with mom telling them I wouldn't leave her there alone. She did manage to get the last seat. But, then there was a problem with the plane. We sat on the plane for at least 4 hours, probably 5 – it was a blur. It would get hot and they'd turn the engines on for a while but then shut it off to save on gas. They started giving out water, then wine, then bread and snacks. They had to change the crew out probably for union reasons and work hours. They said it was a break problem. The woman next to me was German (and had the same sentiment for the French as I did) and she had a blackberry and let us call my sister to let her know we'd be late. We also emailed Dh. We finally took off and the return flight was 8 ½ hours. I guess we had a head wind. This plane was nicer and the movie selection and system was nice. You could pick any movie at your convenience... or games or shows or music. But, the food sucked. We finally made it home around 6 or 7 instead of 2. It might have been later but I don't remember. I got home around 10 pm and gave the boys their gifts. It was nice to get back home.
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