Mediterranean Cruise

We are now back in Barcelona.... This past week was incredible! Nothing compares with the luxury of cruising. In the past 8 days we visited 5 countries and went on some amazing tours. The pictures are far too many to post here. Our favorite destination was a toss up between Pisa and Rome, for different reasons. We will definitely be returning to Italy!

We made a point of getting off the ship at every port-of-call on our journey, which meant we were only on the ship for 1 full day. We went on excursions in Nice & Monaco, Pisa, and Rome. In Nice, we frolicked on the beach and skipped stones until we were got our legs soaked by a huge wave. We also had lunch in a nice cafe there. In Monaco, we took a miniature train tour of the city. We got to drive most of the Formula 1 Grand Prix race-track, which was awesome! Monaco is the 2nd smallest country in Europe, and is just under 1Km square in size.

Our excursion in Pisa took us to the Leaning Tower and the Field of Dreams. It was a beautiful day and we got some wonderful pictures of the Baptistry, the Cathedral, and the Leaning Tower. We even had time for some souvenir shopping. Both of us got shirts of Snoopy and Woodstock holding up the tower, and Chad also bought an Italia shirt.

Our day in Rome involved a 10-hour guided walking tour of many major landmarks. We had a phenomenal tour guide leading us around, who would narrate our journey in a headset which we could all listen to through our portable radios and earbuds. Some of the landmarks we visited include the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, Castale Sant Angelo, and Vatican City. We will definitely have to return to see the Colosseum though!

We really didn't want to get off the ship this morning, and considered asking the Cruise Director if he was in need of more staff.... but decided if we were really going to do something like that, it should be on a World Cruise! More destinations ;) Back to Bergen for now though -- to wash up laundry, then start our train-hopping across the continent!

We'll keep you posted.

~ Ash & Chad