So the best word I can use to explain my time on the cruise is RELAXING. Everything about it was relaxing, the boat, the water, the food, the entertainment and my plans for the trip. I went with 2 girls from college that also taught here in Germany at different schools.
We sailed out of Venice on a rainy day, but it was beautiful none the less.
The next day we spent all day at sea. I used it to read
Redeeming Love, (I highly recommend it to everyone), lying out by the pool catching some much needed sun on my then pale body, and taking dance classes. :) So much fun, it was a good way to get to know the cruise staff. The salsa teacher was so cute, he had us dance to the Dirty Dancing song.
Monday we got to Dubrovnik, Croatia which ended up being my favorite port. I really liked being by the water and just enjoying the beauty of the walled city. Every alley brought a new feast of sights to our eyes. That night we had a nice sit down dinner and went to a show.
Tuesday we went to Athens, Greece, which ended up being my least favorite port. The town was very dirty, and aside from the Acropolis it didn't really seem like there was anything to see (well aside from the very attractive local men). But the Acropolis was fascinating. I also found some neat suvioners (finally).
Wednesday we went to Izmir, Turkey, my second favorite port. We went to the Great Bazaar and shopped in this large market. The other girls hated it, but I really liked it because I felt like I was actually seeing what life was like for people there. After being at the bazaar we ate kebabs at a little stand (the people there are so hospitable) and then walked along the water back to the boat.
Thursday we went to Naflion, Greece. It was a beautiful town that reminded me of San Diego. We hiked part way up to a castle before being chased down the mountain by a snake and we all confessed that we had no interest in seeing yet another castle. We found the beach and were in our swimsuits, so our time was well spent there in the crystal clear water :)
Friday was our last day at sea. It rained in the morning and was a bit cooler during the day. I went to a few dance classes spent a lot of time reading and waiting for the sun to come out, which it did finally. The rest of the night we went to the closing show, a fantastic dinner, and danced the night away.
It should be noted that every day we had wonderful food that was included with the cruise. Every night I had some sort of seafood and 3 course meal at a fancy sit down restraunt and it was all scrumptious. We also took advantage of all the cruise shows. Some were really fabulous and some were cheesy as expected. Every night also had some sort of reality game show that we were able to watch people make fools of themselves. Dancing until we were almost too tired to get ourselves to bed was a good way to end each night.
Saturday we got into port in Venice and got off the boat at about 9:30am. We took the long way to find our hostel, and got quite familiar with the water bus. After checking into the waterfront hostel we went to St. Mark's square and wandered around there.
Sunday we went to Lido Beach and were adorable beach bums for the day. When we got tired of that we went to Murano Island where they do the glass blowing and I got to watch a guy make a horse! So neat. Some of the shops we went into had such beautiful things that I was almost moved to tears. I bought myself a pair of earrings and a beautiful necklace. Venice was so stunningly beautiful, I enjoyed every minute of it, except maybe our food bills :(
Monday morning we headed out of Venice on the train and to Verona. We walked to our hotel and then set out to explore Verona. I was a little disappointed because it just felt like Venice without the water. Everything in town was SO expensive.
Tuesday we went to the Roman Theatre which was beautiful and had amazing views. We then walked a few miles to find some gardens, which ended up being just okay. We headed back into town to visit Juliet (as in Romeo and Juliet) and her house. We all wrote letters and left them on the walls with thousands of others.
Wednesday we woke up and went to the train station. I got on a few trains and ultimately ended up in Garmisch just in time for bible study :)
It was a wonderful trip, the perfect way to end a five month Europe tour.
