The Emerald Princess!
The Lobby on the ship
At one of the dinners
2nd Formal Night
St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy
Venice, Italy
The Parthenon in Athens, Greece
A small Church in Mykonos, Greece
The Island of Capri, Italy
Statue of David in Florence, Italy
The Colosseum in Rome
The Colosseum
The Sagrada de Familia in Barcelona, Spain 
The Barcelona Aquarium in Barcelona, SpainYou can click here to see our pictures on Snapfish. Use the following log in info:
Login: gina.stevens@yahoo.com Password: "password" (creative, I know).
Well, we're back from Europe! This trip was even more amazing than we ever could have imagined! The cruise was like living in a dream for two weeks: several food options (we ate breakfast, two lunches, full course, three-entrée meals, dessert twice each night, room service, all-night buffets...I don’t want to cook anymore), 6 different pools – each offering something different (movies, music, water sports, etc), so many lounges that you could pick from each night w/ entertainment all evening, movies under the stars on the top pool deck, a casino, golf, sports, and so much more! We had two days at sea, which were so fun! Margaret & I got messages while the boys were…being boys I guess. We had two formal nights which were so fun! We went to several shows in the theater and had drinks at different lounges. Chuck and Shawn were a part of an event one evening where they had to do different things in front of the audience to win. Hilarious. And all that was just on the boat! The time we spent in each city was priceless. We got to see so many amazing things that we’ve heard about our whole lives! We flew into Venice and spent the day touring St. Mark’s square & Basilica. We ate at a little restaurant got to take boat rides through the Grand Canal. The gondolas and the alleyways were just like you see in the pictures! We spent the night on the boat at spent the next half day touring Venice. Then we had the second half of the day and the next day at sea. The day after that, we were in Athens, Greece and got to see the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum! We ate at a cute little restaurant and had authentic Greek food! Then we walked down and shopped at the little shops near by, before getting back on the ship. The next day we arrived in Kusadasi, Turkey and saw Ephesis. where John walked thousands and thousands of years ago. This was quite impressive. The next day we were in Istanbul, Turkey and saw Topkapi Palace as well as the Blue Mosque. We got to go through the Grand Bazaar and barter w/ the vendors for cheap stuff. I got a few shawls and Shawn got a knife. We then spent an hour finding a way to ship his knife, as well as his dad and brothers’ knives, back to the US…and the only way was by boat. Fun times. We ate at a cute little Turkish restaurant and most of us had pizza. So original. The next day we were in Mykonos, one of the Greek islands. Beautiful! Margaret and I shopped while the boys rented Vespas and drove all over the island. We ate at a cute little restaurant right on the water and attempted to order our food from a waiter who didn’t understand us :o). There were churches every five feet and they were all white with blue roofs. Pretty much every building was white with a blue roof and they were so adorable. It looked so cool with the super blue sea all around it. The next day we were at sea, so we got to spend more time on the boat. I read two books during the cruise because all I wanted to do was sit by the pool on the highest deck, with the sea all around me and read. :o) We went to the movies under the stars several different nights which was so cool. They give you blankets and cover all of the lounge chairs and you watch a different movie every night on the top deck w/ a huge screen and surround sound. I’d take that any day over a theater! So the next day we arrived in Naples, Italy and took a train to Pompeii – that was so weird. You can totally see how people were acting when the ash covered the city and everything was so well preserved. We took the train to Sorrento and ate the best pizza at a restaurant on the water, (I hear that pizza was created in Sorrento) I don’t think we’ll ever find pizza that tastes that good. Then we took a boat to the Capri, an island in Italy. It was SO beautiful. It was basically a big cliff on one side and they had lots of restaurants and shopping (everything from little shops with souvenirs to D&G, Luis Vuitton, Gucci, etc. (People there must have quite a bit of money!) Then we took at hydrofoil back to Naples and got on the boat. The next day was one that we were especially excited about because we got to see the Vatican, The Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica AND the Colosseum in Rome…all in one day! It was SO cool…it all looked just like we’d imagined it would! Those Romans sure knew what they were doing. The next day we docked in Livorno, Italy and took the train to Florence! It is absolutely beautiful there! We would love to spend an entire vacation there! We got to see the Duomo (church) and then the Statue of David!! It’s huge! I didn’t think it was that big! Michelangelo was only 21 when he sculpted that out of a single piece of marble! Crazy! The next day we arrived in Marsielle, France and stayed mostly near the harbor. We shopped and ate crepes at a cute little restaurant on near the water. It’s a very pretty city as well. This was our last night on the boat (tear) and we had a blast. We went gambling at the casino and I won $6. lol. Shawn won some and Matt won like, $70…not bad. Then Shawn and I sat at one of the lounges and listened to the “Piano Man” and had drinks. The next day we arrived in Barcelona, Spain and this was by far our favorite place. It was so clean, there was tons to do, so many places to see, and the architecture is out of this world. We saw the Sagrada de Familia built by Gaudi and it’s still being built to this day. Shawn and I shopped and I got a pair of shoes…my Spanish shoes. :o) We ate at two different restaurants that day and went to the Barcelona Aquarium…very cool. We spent the night there and then flew home! Needless to say, we’ve never walked that much, seen that much or been spoiled as much as we were for those two weeks.
Well, we're back from Europe! This trip was even more amazing than we ever could have imagined! The cruise was like living in a dream for two weeks: several food options (we ate breakfast, two lunches, full course, three-entrée meals, dessert twice each night, room service, all-night buffets...I don’t want to cook anymore), 6 different pools – each offering something different (movies, music, water sports, etc), so many lounges that you could pick from each night w/ entertainment all evening, movies under the stars on the top pool deck, a casino, golf, sports, and so much more! We had two days at sea, which were so fun! Margaret & I got messages while the boys were…being boys I guess. We had two formal nights which were so fun! We went to several shows in the theater and had drinks at different lounges. Chuck and Shawn were a part of an event one evening where they had to do different things in front of the audience to win. Hilarious. And all that was just on the boat! The time we spent in each city was priceless. We got to see so many amazing things that we’ve heard about our whole lives! We flew into Venice and spent the day touring St. Mark’s square & Basilica. We ate at a little restaurant got to take boat rides through the Grand Canal. The gondolas and the alleyways were just like you see in the pictures! We spent the night on the boat at spent the next half day touring Venice. Then we had the second half of the day and the next day at sea. The day after that, we were in Athens, Greece and got to see the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum! We ate at a cute little restaurant and had authentic Greek food! Then we walked down and shopped at the little shops near by, before getting back on the ship. The next day we arrived in Kusadasi, Turkey and saw Ephesis. where John walked thousands and thousands of years ago. This was quite impressive. The next day we were in Istanbul, Turkey and saw Topkapi Palace as well as the Blue Mosque. We got to go through the Grand Bazaar and barter w/ the vendors for cheap stuff. I got a few shawls and Shawn got a knife. We then spent an hour finding a way to ship his knife, as well as his dad and brothers’ knives, back to the US…and the only way was by boat. Fun times. We ate at a cute little Turkish restaurant and most of us had pizza. So original. The next day we were in Mykonos, one of the Greek islands. Beautiful! Margaret and I shopped while the boys rented Vespas and drove all over the island. We ate at a cute little restaurant right on the water and attempted to order our food from a waiter who didn’t understand us :o). There were churches every five feet and they were all white with blue roofs. Pretty much every building was white with a blue roof and they were so adorable. It looked so cool with the super blue sea all around it. The next day we were at sea, so we got to spend more time on the boat. I read two books during the cruise because all I wanted to do was sit by the pool on the highest deck, with the sea all around me and read. :o) We went to the movies under the stars several different nights which was so cool. They give you blankets and cover all of the lounge chairs and you watch a different movie every night on the top deck w/ a huge screen and surround sound. I’d take that any day over a theater! So the next day we arrived in Naples, Italy and took a train to Pompeii – that was so weird. You can totally see how people were acting when the ash covered the city and everything was so well preserved. We took the train to Sorrento and ate the best pizza at a restaurant on the water, (I hear that pizza was created in Sorrento) I don’t think we’ll ever find pizza that tastes that good. Then we took a boat to the Capri, an island in Italy. It was SO beautiful. It was basically a big cliff on one side and they had lots of restaurants and shopping (everything from little shops with souvenirs to D&G, Luis Vuitton, Gucci, etc. (People there must have quite a bit of money!) Then we took at hydrofoil back to Naples and got on the boat. The next day was one that we were especially excited about because we got to see the Vatican, The Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica AND the Colosseum in Rome…all in one day! It was SO cool…it all looked just like we’d imagined it would! Those Romans sure knew what they were doing. The next day we docked in Livorno, Italy and took the train to Florence! It is absolutely beautiful there! We would love to spend an entire vacation there! We got to see the Duomo (church) and then the Statue of David!! It’s huge! I didn’t think it was that big! Michelangelo was only 21 when he sculpted that out of a single piece of marble! Crazy! The next day we arrived in Marsielle, France and stayed mostly near the harbor. We shopped and ate crepes at a cute little restaurant on near the water. It’s a very pretty city as well. This was our last night on the boat (tear) and we had a blast. We went gambling at the casino and I won $6. lol. Shawn won some and Matt won like, $70…not bad. Then Shawn and I sat at one of the lounges and listened to the “Piano Man” and had drinks. The next day we arrived in Barcelona, Spain and this was by far our favorite place. It was so clean, there was tons to do, so many places to see, and the architecture is out of this world. We saw the Sagrada de Familia built by Gaudi and it’s still being built to this day. Shawn and I shopped and I got a pair of shoes…my Spanish shoes. :o) We ate at two different restaurants that day and went to the Barcelona Aquarium…very cool. We spent the night there and then flew home! Needless to say, we’ve never walked that much, seen that much or been spoiled as much as we were for those two weeks.
3 comments:
Looks like fun!
Gina I can't believe you guys went to all those places in one summer! That's awesome! I'm so glad you had such a great time and were able to get away with just the 2 of you. :) -Katie
Oops. Should have read what you wrote first. :) You like your in-laws so I'm sure the trip was amazing even though it wasn't just the 2 of you. :)
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