Barcelona 11/29/09

We set our alarm to wake up at 6:30am. We cleaned up a bit, then went to the dining car for our breakfast. It was included with the price of our ticket!
We arrived at the Barcelona Franca Station at 8:30am.
We took a taxi from the station to the port. The first glimpse of Barcelona and then of our ship at port was VERY exciting! We dropped our bags off at the terminal, and then got a cab back into Barcelona. We had the taxi driver let us out at the Christopher Columbus monument. There was a marathon in Barcelona that morning, and we got stuck for a while waiting for the runners to pass while we were trying to cross the street!
We had so much planned for Barcelona, but we were exhausted from hitting Paris so hard, that we only saw three things from our list. First, we took the metro to see Casa Mila.
I really wanted to see Casa Batllo, but we overshot it on the metro, and I was too tired to turn around and go back! Then, we walked to La Sagrada Familia. It was pretty incredible! It has been under construction for over 100 years, and still has a lot more work to be done.

Next, we took the metro over to Placa Espanyol. We walked up to Palau Nacional on Montjuic. The marathon was ending here, so it was packed with people and music. I was sad that the big "Magic Fountain" was not on, but the palace was pretty, and we could see Mount Tibidabo in the distance.

We were pretty much wiped by then, so made our way back to the ship via taxi. We stood in line to check in, and then we were on our way on board the Norwegian Gem!
We were given a celebratory glass of champagne as we got on board. Then, we had lunch in the Grand Pacific Dining Room.
After lunch, we were allowed to go to our stateroom. We had intentions of unpacking and getting settled in, but once we got into our room, we both fell asleep for about an hour!
We woke up at 4:00pm, walked around the ship a bit, went to the muster drill at 5:00pm, and then went to have dinner at the Garden Cafe. After dinner, we caught up with some of our new friends from Cruise Critic out on the patio. We stayed and chatted for a little bit, and then Suzanne and Barbara took everyone up to see their suite and the private courtyard that all the suites share. After a bit, we went back to our room to unpack and get organized, take hot showers, and hit the hay.

See more pictures from "Barcelona 11/29/09" HERE

Paris Day Two 11/28/09

We had our wake-up call set for 6:00am, but when it rang, we chose to ignore it and sleep for three and a half more hours! When we finally got up and got ready, we ventured out to grab a bite for breakfast, and then took the metro over to the Latin Quater. Our first stop was the Church of the Miraculous Medal. It was the site of Mary's apparition to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830. The incorrupt body of St. Catherine Laboure lies in the sanctuary of the church.
After our stop there, we walked through the streets, stopped to get a taste of french chocolate, and wound up at St. Sulpice.
Our next stop was Notre Dame.

We crossed over to the Ile Saint Louis where I got a crepe with Nutella, made fresh before my very eyes!
After that, we hopped back on the metro and rode up to the Montmartre area. Our first stop was the Moulin Rouge!
We walked from the Moulin Rouge down a very racy street, and headed up the hill to the Sacre Couer Basilica. It was starting to drizzle and was very cold, but we made it up all 350+ steps to go inside the church. We could not take pictures inside, but it was gorgeous! We sat for a minute to rest and get warmed up. There was a group of nuns decorating the altar while we there, so we got to watch them for a little while.





(I "borrowed" this picture of the interior of the Basilica from Google Images since it was so pretty!)
We left Sacre Couer, and by that time, the rain had started to pick up. We went back to our hotel, picked up our bags, and took the metro to Paris Austerlitz train station. We got some dinner and waited in the terminal to board our train to Barcelona. I had to use the restroom, and was desperate enough to pay the fees required to do so! At least it was very clean!!
While we were sitting in the train station, Jonathan and Maureen, a couple about our age overheard us and we struck up a conversation with them. It just so happened that we were all traveling to Barcelona and would be on the same cruise together! Small world, eh? :-) Jonathan and Maureen were so sweet, and we were very glad that we met them! Finally, a little after 8:00pm, we boarded our train. We were in a different car than Jonathan and Maureen, so we said goodbye and see you on the cruise! Natashia and I found our cabin, and had a good laugh at how tiny it was!

The conductor, who was very nice, came around at about 10:00pm to bring our beds down from the wall. Even though I was exhausted, sleeping was not particularly easy, just because of the motion of the train. We were traveling through the Massif Central Mountains and the Pyrenees Mountains overnight, which caused some ear popping and a bumpy ride. I'm not sure what time I finally fell asleep.

See more pictures from "Pari Day Two 11/28/09" HERE

Paris Day One 11/27/09

Five hours after leaving NYC, we landed in Reykjavik, Iceland. It was 6:00am (1:00am at home). It was still very dark (this time of year, it stays dark in Iceland until about 11:30am...I don't know how people there motivate themselves to get up in the morning!), but we could see through the windows that there was snow on the ground! We made a short trip through customs, and then visited a few gift shops in the airport before returning to our terminal to board our next and final flight. Our flight left at 7:00am and landed in Paris at 12:15pm! We got off the plane, and were surprised that we weren't directed through a customs check. We went to baggage claim and we so relieved when our suitcases were some of the first out of the gate!

(Paris Charles du Gaulle airport)

It took us a few confusing minutes to figure out the RER train system that would take us from the airport to downtown Paris, but once we did, we had a great view coming into the city! The first landmark we saw was The Basilica of Sacre Couer (Sacred Heart). It was so majestic set on top of the only hill in Paris...and then we saw the Eiffel Tower! We made two metro transfers, and after much effort lugging our suitcases up and down countless stairs (although locals were generally very helpful in this matter!), we made it to our Hotel...Best Western Au Trocadero! All the reviews I read of the hotel were nice, but the hotel seemed to always be having trouble with the elevator. Our visit was no exception. Thankfully, the hotel staff was very nice and they were able to put us in a first floor room. It did not have the Eiffel Tower view we were hoping for, but at least we did not have to lug our suitcases up more stairs! The hotel was very clean and comfortable, and the staff was helpful and nice. We showered and changed, and then by 4:00pm, we were back out on the streets of Paris! (The view from the front door of our hotel...just a 5 minute walk to the tower!) We walked through the Trocadero to the Tour de Eiffel...and I fell in love with it! We waited in the short line to go up the tower. The top level was closed off, so we only made it to the 2nd level, but I had heard the view from the 2nd level was the best anyway, so I wasn't too upset.





We stayed up there for about an hour, and in the meantime, the sun was setting and the tower was starting its hourly light show! We made our way back to ground level and then headed across the Champs de Mars. We got a great view of the tower lit up, and then headed past the Eccole Militaire (Military School), Les invalides (site of Napoleon's tomb), crossed Pont Alexandre III, to Concorde Plaza. I was so excited...I had studied maps of Paris so intently that I knew my way around without having to look at a map while we were walking around! I felt like I had been there before! We stopped at a crepe stand for a crepe with jambon et fromage! It was warm and yummy! As we ate, we walked along the river to the Louvre. We purchased our tickets in advance, so we were able to just walk right in. We did not spend much time in the museum since we were so tired and jetlagged, but we did get to see the Mona Lisa, Wedding at Cana, and Venus de Milo, just to name a few. After our brief time in the Louvre (about 7:30pm to 9:45pm), we hopped on the metro and rode to the Arc du Triomphe. The Champs de Elysees was lined with Christmas lights, and the Arc at the end was illuminated. We walked from there back towards our hotel and the Eiffel Tower. We grabbed a snack at a food stand and found a seat to watch the almost 20 minute long Eiffel Tower light show at 11:00pm.





After the show, we walked back to our hotel, called home to let our parents know we made it safely, and finally got into bed around 1:00am.

I would like to add that, although we had always heard that the French, and Parisians in particular are not very nice, we found the exact opposite to be true! The people in Paris could not have been more helpful and happy to speak to us and help us when we asked! It was wonderful!



See more pictures from "Paris Day One 11/27/09" HERE

Flying to Paris 11/26/09

Happy Thanksgiving! Instead of having the traditional celebration, on Thanksgiving day, I flew to Paris! I arrived at the Louisvile airport at approximately 9:30am. I was so proud of myself...I managed to get everything into one suitcase (only 42 lbs!), one carry-on, and a purse. At the time, I thought I had packed pretty lightly, relatively speaking! The first leg of my flight was to Detroit. I had a very brief and uneventful layover before boarding my flight to New York's JFK airport. I arrived at JFK Terminal 4 around 3:30pm. My excitement level crept up as we flew over Manhattan!!
I picked up my luggage and made my way to terminal 6 to meet Natashia. She got her luggage, and then we both trecked to terminal 7. We very early began to regret packing such large suitcases...lugging it all that way was not easy!

(Me with a Christmas tree at JFK airport)

We checked in, flirted with a cute security guy, and then got some dinner before heading to our terminal to wait for our flight. Around 7:45pm, we began boarding our Iceland Air flight! Each seat on the plane had its own TV monitor. You could watch movies or TV shows, listen to music, or track the progress of the flight.
We tried to sleep a little, but since it was still such an early time at home, we were wide awake for most of the flight. We played cards...Go Fish and War. I think I only managed to get about an hour and a half of restless sleep on the flight.

See more pictures from "Flying to Paris 11/26/09" HERE

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!

I made it home safe and sound! I have almost 4000 pictures to sort through and lots of upacking and laundry to do, but I promise I will start working on a blog as soon as I can!!

Sick!

Eeeeek! I'm sick! Stuffy/runny nose, sore throat...at least there is no fever yet...let's hope it stays that way! I have 4 days to get better!!!!!!!!!!

Just a week away!

Well, it is officially only one week until we take off on our grand adventure! We are very excited and trying to get all of our last minute things together!

In other news, my brother, David, who battled Osteosarcoma two years ago, has just been diagnosed with a lung tumor. He is going through further testing to determine what the plan of attack is going to be, and will have surgery to remove the tumor in the next 2-3 weeks. It is going to be extremely difficult for me to be so far away while this is happening, but my family insists I go and have a great time to keep my mind off it. Please keep my brother and the rest of my family in your prayers.

T minus 13 days!

I can't believe that two weeks from now, Natashia and I will be enjoying the City of Lights!!! Time has simply flown by since we started planning this trip 7 months ago! I can't believe its already time! Even with my suitcases and clothes strewn about my bedroom floor and my euros ordered and all the itineraries on color coded notecards (of course), it all feels very surreal...like we're still just talking about the possibility of going. Even so, I just have two or three more things to purchase and pack and I'll be all set!!! WOOOHOOOOOOO!

Happy October!

Our cruise is officially NEXT MONTH!!!

Slideshow - New York City

Even after our cruise ship docks in NY, the fun still won't be over! We are spending three and a half days in New York City after our cruise! At Christmastime!!!

Slideshow - Norwegian Gem

After all that grand European sightseeing, we will have six days sailing the great blue Atlantic Ocean! Here's a look at our cruise ship, the Norwegian Gem!

Slideshow - Granada

Our ship docks in Malaga, Spain, and we will take a bus about an hour and a half to Granada!

Slideshow - Ajaccio

"ah-YAH-cho"
Beautiful Capital city of the French island of Corsica, and birthplace of Napoleon. :-)

Slideshow - Rome

After our ship docks in Civitavecchia and we hop on a train, we only have about 8 hours in the city of Rome. There is no way to even scratch the surface of all that there is to see...but we are going to do our best!!

Slideshow - Florence and Pisa

Buongiorno! Hello, Italia! After docking in Livorno, most of the day will be spent in Florence, with a quick stop in Pisa to see the famous Leaning Tower!

Slideshow - Cannes, Nice, and Monaco

Our ship docks in Cannes, France. Natashia and I have not yet decided if we are going to venture out to see Nice, Monaco, or both. Here is a little bit of all three locations!

Slideshow - Barcelona

¡Hola!

Here is the slideshow for Barcelona! And a bonus: A video of the "La Fontana Magica" at Monjuic!!!

Slideshow - Paris

Bonjour! I decided that I am going to post a slideshow of pictures from each of the major cities we will be visiting on our trip. I want to share some of the fun things we might get to see! First up...PARIS!

Granada, Spain

One of the gorgeous places we will get to see!

It's in the Bag!

I finally found a bag to use to tote around my camera and other daily necessities while in Europe! I looked for bags for what seemed like forever, and had a lot of trouble finding something I liked. I had been leaning towards Timbuk2 brand for a while, but they are expensive (starting around $105 for a custom bag...$135 by the time I was done with it!). One day, while browsing the net, I happened to find the Timbuk2 messenger bag for a GREAT discounted price PLUS a Labor Day sale (about 60% off!) on ebags.com! I couldn't pass it up! They say this brand lasts forever and there is tons of room without it being too bulky! It is not specifically a camera bag, but it will work perfectly for what I need...I'll just have to add a little bit of my own padding for keeping the camera safe. Yay!