Enjoy?

If you enjoyed our blog, check out our tablemates' blog at http://spencersmedcruise.blogspot.com/
and a blog from someone else on the same cruise, http://dclmed2007.blogspot.com/

For Disney cruise tips (including discount tips): http://www.mousesavers.com/dcl.html Unfortunately, I didn't find this site until after we booked our cruise.

Homecoming, 27 June (Wednesday)

Final Day at Sea, 26 June (Tuesday)

Villefranche, 25 June (Monday)

Villefranche was the port that gave us access to Nice and Monte Carlo. As at La Spezia, the ship anchored in the harbor and tender boats ferried people back and forth to the dock. The tender boats began running at 8:00 am and the last one back to the ship was at 11:30 pm. Zman had talked about taking the evening excursion to the Grand Casino in Monaco and I thought, since Zman had been to Nice 7.5 years ago, we'd probably rent a car. A number of the shore excursions featured a village called Eze, which sounded interesting, but nothing in particular seemed to be a "must do". And that was a good thing, as all three of us had a difficult time getting up and getting started. Zman and I had breakfast, then went back to the stateroom and while he dozed, I started reading a book about the 1893 World's Fair; lil Z didn't stir until about 11:30 am and then she went sunning followed by working out.
Around 3:30 pm, we took a tender to Villefranche and walked along the waterfront. Villefranche is a picturesque, seaside French town. It's probably the most pretty port we've been at the entire cruise, and that's probably why it was the cruise's final port. We went into a savonnaire (soap) shop that smelled wonderful. We walked uphill to a fort which is now a museum and houses a part (if not all) of the town's police. We wandered down some streets, headed back to the port, and found a clock tower behind a church. I started to go into the church and saw the inside briefly (it smelled like an old church, too) before Zman reminded me my knees were uncovered (we were all wearing shorts); all the shore excursions we've taken that visited churches said knees and shoulders must be covered out of respect - I'm not sure if that's because it's a European custom. We spent a couple hours in Villefranche before we took the tender back to the ship.

Pirate Party, 24 June (Sunday night)

The theme of the evening (and for the day, in fact) was Pirates IN the Caribbean (not sure why the "in" is capitalized but all the cruise's publications had it capitalized). The suggested attire for dinner was pirate attire or cruise casual, and there were many activities during the day on ship that were pirate themed. All the items on the dinner menu had pirate related names and there were pirate bandanas on the table for those of us who didn't have pirate wear. There was also a big pirate themed deck party at 9:45 pm; it was very windy on deck.

Marseille, 24 June (Sunday)

We originally thought we would rent motor scooters or a car to see Marseille on our own today, but heard a lot of places, including shops, are closed on Sunday; in fact, most shops don't open until 2:00 pm on Mondays. We would have taken the free shuttle from the port into downtown Marseille and visited the tourist information office to find out what to see in Marseille, but figured it would be closed as well on a Sunday. We checked the Shore Excursion desk for afternoon excursions and a Marseille city tour leaving at 1:00 pm had space available, so we booked that. It gave lil Z more time to sleep in and some sunning time.

While we were onboard during the morning, the ship's crew tested the emergency generator system and I got to watch them test some of the lifeboats, including number 11, the one right below our stateroom. They move it out over the water, lower it to the water, then drive it off in a short circle away from the ship and then back to the ship. I watched the number 11 lifeboat miss its hookup attempt five times. They kill the engine as it approaches the ship and then drift in toward the hooks; if they miss their target, I guess, they abort and try again. I think they were teaching someone how to line the lifeboat up to hook it to the winch lines, as there was an officer with the man piloting the lifeboat.

Our Marseille city tour was very good. Our guide was Audrey, who lives with her parents a 15 minute drive outside Marseille; she works during the week in Marseille for a shipping and cruise company and does tours on the weekends. Our driver Patrick was as talented as the drivers of our previous tours; they can sure wheel those buses through narrow streets and negotiate very tight turns. We learned that Marseille is the oldest French town, originally begun by the Greeks. The city has 800,000 residents and is currently undergoing projects to refurbish the old, historical buildings while at the same time creating modern buildings. Their train station is a great example; it has a very modern, glass, bright and airy construction attached to the original 19th century station. We visited Longchamps (?), the port, and the Notre Dame du Garde basilica; the Germans took the basilica during World War II and the French had to regain it - there are marks on the side where the walls took some hits.

This evening, I watched the harbor pilot boat escort the Disney Magic out of Marseille harbor. On some of the previous days, I had watched the harbor pilots meet the ship and let the pilot aboard to helm the ship into the harbor, but this was the first time I'd seen the process for departure. Other people watching screamed with delight when the pilot returned to his boat, probably because the waves were a bit rough. It was with some sadness that I watched the harbor boat pull away and return to Marseille. Just two more days and then it will be time to return to real life. I thought nothing could top Italy and while Italy still is my favorite, Marseille holds quite a bit of charm. Here we come, Villefranche!

La Spezia port featuring Florence and Pisa, 23 June (Saturday)

I woke early enough again to see the sunrise as we came into La Spezia port and to see the "pilotti" drop off a local port pilot to bring the ship in; that's occurred several times on the cruise. We decided to rent a car and see Florence and Pisa on our own. I wasn't sure what to see in Florence; the thing I wanted to do was go to the Fratelli Piccini store on Ponte Vecchio because its symbol is the seahorse, they design quite a bit of jewelry with seahorses and I wanted to get a seahorse pendant - plain gold or with aquamarine stones. The ship anchored off shore and we were tendered in to the dock. It was a unusual way to go ashore, but it allowed us to view the ship "at sea" and see its grandeur. Once onshore, port police directed us to Hertz and we set off walking to find it and rent a car. When we didn't find the car rental place after about an hour of walking, we returned to the tender dock and someone with the taxis called another rental place called Europcar to see if they were open. They said there was a festival on Friday, Saturday, Sunday so many places were closed. Europcar was open and we took the taxi to their office. Another hour was spent in line to rent a car. It cost 87 euros, which was cheaper (even with 41 euros for gas and about 20 euros in toll fares) than a shore excursion at $79 to $229 US per person. We got a Fiat Corso, which was a four door car, and a highway map of Italy - and around 11:30 am, we were on our way! I was the navigator. We took the A12 to the A11 east; both were four lane (two in each direction) divided highways. Lil Z kept asking "Are we on the right road?" It took us a little over an hour but under an hour and a half to reach Florence, about 12:45 pm. We quickly learned that blue signs with white arrows pointed which way to go, similar to our one-way signs. We reached Ponte Vecchio and scored primo parking just around the corner. Lil Z and I bought a bottle of Coke Zero and used the toilet while Zman exchanged US dollars for more euros; then we had a light lunch. The Fratelli Piccini store was closed for siesta, but that was all right with me, as it saved me some money. We took pictures on Ponte Vecchio, then headed out of Florence (which is called Firenze on the map and road signs); I took lots and lots of pictures out the car window as we drove down streets with such beautiful and old architecture. On the way out of Florence, we passed an accident with a car overturned on its roof; Zman said it looked like the car may have turned a corner too fast and rolled over.

I was trying to get Zman to a different road than we came into Florence on; it seemed to be more direct to Pisa and we'd see more of Italy. We ended back on the A11 and then instead of going north on A12 back to La Spezia, we went south to Pisa via the SS1, which reminded me very much of California's Highway 1 through Malibu. We passed a McDonald's, a Holiday Inn, and a Best Western. Again, we just followed the blue signs with white arrows. I had told Zman I just wanted to take pictures of the Leaning Tower, didn't need to go up inside it to the top since we had to back on the ship by 7:30 pm, even with returning the car and taking the tender back to the ship. I don't know how he did it, but again he scored primo parking about a block away from the "Field of Miracles" where the Tower is located. We had our picture moments, bought some souvenirs, and then had a gelato (ice cream), Coke, and toilet stop. On the way back to La Spezia, I didn't want Zman to get back on the A12 because signs said to Livorno and Genova; Livorno I knew was south and we didn't want to go that direction, I wasn't sure where Genova was, but I thought it was south too. We just stayed on the SS1 and had to use many turnabouts, the circles used instead of stop signs or traffic lights. After a time, I discovered Genova was north and we would be going the right direction if we got on the A12 headed toward Genova. We transitioned to the A15 and reached La Spezia, which was where the A15 ended, approximately 5:40 pm. And we passed another accident! As directed by the car rental agent, we parked the car at the port and left the keys with a port officer.

When we left La Spezia, it seemed we were going at a clip. The swells were the biggest I've seen all cruise long, and I definitely felt the motion of the ship. All three of us were tired and didn't have any trouble going to sleep. We had a great time driving on our own in Italy! It was one of the best things we've done!

At sea, 22 June (Friday)

Our second day at sea started rather early. I had some laundry to do, but every time I checked the laundry room, all the washers and dryers in use; in fact, once, I carried a whole load of clothes to the laundry room and had to carry it back to our stateroom. Anyway, while I was sleeping, Zman (bless the dear man) got up around 2:00 am and put the laundry in the wash. He said shortly after he did so, other people came in and used the last of the washers. While he was waiting for the laundry, he took his camera and wandered all over the ship to take pictures; he said it was a good time because no one (except a few crew members) were up and about. We slept in (after Zman finished the laundry and came back to bed) til about 9:00 am. Our "Personal Navigator" (a ship publication we receive every night to alert us to the next day's activities) said we would pass the island of Monte Cristo (4 nautical miles away) on the port side at 10:00 am and the island of Elba (1.5 nautical miles away) on the starboard side at 1:00 pm; I looked, but it was too hazy to see anything. Also, about 1:00 pm, the captain shut down the engines and let us drift until sometime at night; we were 60 miles from our next port, La Spezia, and we would have arrived too soon. I "fried" the laptop by letting the battery run down as I was trying to post blog entries (Zman has obviously recovered it). Zman napped in the afternoon while I watched "Roman Holiday" (for the first time) and recognized some of the sights we had seen the day before; I also saw a part of "Under the Tuscan Sun" and I believe Diane Lane's character, Frances, traveled to Positano, so I enjoyed seeing and recognizing the Amalfi Coast. And I watched "The Making of the Disney Magic", which was fascinating to see how the ship was built and how the design was developed.

I had hoped lil Z would hang out in The Stack, the teen only area, and make some new friends. She has checked it out but wouldn't go to any activities. After meeting Brendan on the Rome tour yesterday and hearing what he does at the Stack (meet friends he's made, then they go somewhere else because it's too noisy to talk), lil Z has went to the Stack a few times. She's seen Brendan there and also met and played chess with another Brendan, this one from Lancaster, California.

In the evening, Zman and I had reservations for dinner at Palo, the adult fine-dining restaurant aboard ship. But, before dinner, we did a little on board shopping. Tara, the cruise shopping and port expert, purchased a number of Chantecler bells from the island of Capri (one of the sights when we were ported in Napoli/Naples) to sell to cruise guests who weren't able to go to Capri. There are a couple of stories surrounding Chantecler bells. The first is a legend about a shepherd boy in the 1600's who lost his sheep; as he searched for her and night began to fall, he heard the tinkling of a bell and followed the sound to find his sheep in St. Michael's light with the bell around its neck. It is said the bell was St. Michael's gift to the shepherd boy and the island, and the bell is considered a gift from Heaven, a symbol of the Saint and his blessings, and a token of good fortune. A Chantecler bell was given to a Colonel Woodward as a gift for President Roosevelt at the end of World War II; the islanders like to think that the magic ringing of St. Michael's bell that guided the Americans to liberate Italy during the war. I purchased a bell and wore it to dinner at Palo. Zman had forgotten to pack neckties from home (and he had the perfect gray one with Mickey Mouse on it, too!), so he wanted to buy a tie from one of the onboard shops; he had bought one on Father's Day but was still looking for a dark tie and their selection on Sunday seemed to be only pink and odd red shades. Their selection was still limited to the reds and pinks, but he did find a nice tie that would go with his dark gray dress shirt.

We also saw a show in the Walt Disney Theater prior to our shopping. The show was a musical called Twice Charmed: An Original Twist on the Cinderella Story. It takes place right after the ball, when the Prince is searching the kingdom for the mysterious girl he fell in love with. In this twist, the Wicked Stepmother gets help from a new character, the Wicked Fairy Godfather Franco. She and her two daughters manage to break both glass slippers and Franco miniaturizes Cinderella to mouse size. Of course, the Fairy Godmother shows up to return Cinderella to her original size and counsels her that the Prince fell in love with what was in Cinderella's heart, not her outward appearance. Cinderella shows up to the second ball, where the Prince must choose his bride since the girl he fell in love with cannot be found. She is about to be thrown out but just then the Prince wants to hear what she has to say. He sees past the peasant clothes, recognizes his love, and the Fairy Godmother changes everyone at the ball from their black and white apparel to colorful versions and Cinderella into her beautiful, white, sparkly wedding dress. The Wicked Stepmother, Anastasia and Drusilla become Franco's servants because Cinderella, despite their attempts, still won the heart of her Prince.

Dinner at Palo was fabulous. I ordered calimari for the appetizer and Zman had a smaller portion of a pasta entree for his appetizer; I think the pasta appetizer was just the right amount for an entire meal. We both had filet mignon and our server, Annie-Marie, had said we would be able to cut it with a butter knife. It was so tender, it melted in the mouth. Annie-Marie, who is from South Africa, also taught us how to say "thank you very much" in her native language, Afrikaans; it sounds like "buy a donkey"; she said her language is very close to Dutch. Dessert was chocolate souffle, which Susan from our regular dinner table had recommended, and it was excellent! The chef came to our table to make sure we enjoyed dinner.

Civitaveccia, 6-21-07, or Rome Wasn't Built in a Day... (Thursday)

... nor can you see it all in one day. Our tour led by our guide Erica and driver Franco left at 7:15 am and it was an hour and a half drive to Rome. Their call boxes on the highways have red signs that read "S O S". Lil Z commented that the gently rolling hills reminded her of agricultural Oxnard. In Rome, we picked up another guide, Fabrizio, who narrated the entire tour. Our first stop was the Trevi Fountain; we had our picture taken, just like Grandma had requested, and each of us tossed an U.S. penny into the water and made a wish. Our guide gave us 50 minutes free time for souvenir shopping, getting a gelato (ice cream), or whatever. Lil Z waited until nearly the last minute to take a toilet break. Then we walked through old Rome ruins - I'm not sure exactly what they were, the Forum or Circus Maximus or what. It was a very hot walk through the ruins and to the Colosseum. We were given a block of time, 20 minutes I think, and lil Z and I sparred against Zman; it was over in an instant, it seemed. We had lunch at the best restaurant in the neighborhood, according to Erica, and it was good. We had a salad with sliced eggs and vinegar and oil for dressing; the lasagna was delicious and was made with very thin noodles, unlike the thick noodles lasagna we get in California. At lunch, we got to know fellow cruisers, Brenda and her son Brandon from Pennsylvania and David from Texas; David's wife's luggage was lost (one of their flights to Barcelona was late and they were re-routed, but some of the luggage didn't make it) and she and their 10 year old and 7 year old daughters didn't want to see "old ruins", so he was on his own for the tour. Back to the bus after lunch for a ride to St. Peter's Basilica. We waited in line only ten minutes or so, but it seemed longer with the heat. Again, we had about 20 minutes - not long enough to see it sufficiently. After the long day, I was ready to go back to the bus and "home" to the ship. Dinner was at Animator's Palate again, but I was so tired I couldn't finish dinner, nor did I have dessert. It was a good thing that the next day was a day at sea, because days at sea are wonderful opportunities to just relax.

Olbia on the island of Sardegna, 20 June

We slept in this morning and woke up at 8:08 am, slowly moving into position at the dock; the ship was late docking but Zman surmised that it was due to a Tirrenia ferry having to move out of the slip so that we could take its place. During the morning, we saw two or three "Moby" ships (not sure if they were also cruise or some other type of ships) with Warners Bros. cartoon characters painted on the side.
We had no excursions planned; all the excursions seemed to going to beaches or seeing natural things, all outside of Olbia. I just wanted to walk through town. Lil Z slept in, so Zman and I had breakfast just the two of us and then we took a shuttle from the dock to the port entrance. We spent about two hours walking and window shopping. We returned to the port about 12 noon before the shuttle drivers took their lunch break; we were told the shops would close from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm for their siesta, or the Italian version of it.
We visited the spa to see if Zman and I could do a couples massage; they took our stateroom number to call if one this afternoon were possible and we booked one for next Tuesday, just to be sure we got one while on the cruise. I tried to do a load of laundry because lil Z dropped most of a cup of coffee on her lap during Tuesday's breakfast and a bird left its calling card on Zman's shoulder after lunch in Amalfi. But the laundry room was busy; evidently, I'll have to do laundry at an off time.
We received a call that the spa could do a couples massage at 2:30. It was one of the most wonderful things I've done. Add it to my list of firsts. We got our feet rubbed with an exfoliating scrub, then we had twenty minutes in the jacuzzi. When I got up after the massage, it was 4:40 pm and I was amazed that I had lost two hours! We were given tea (Zman had lemonade since he's not a tea drinker) and fruit for refreshment. I feel all loose and relaxed.
We left port about 6:10 pm (it's now 7:40 pm, 10:40 am Pacific time). Tonight we are back in Lumiere's with a French menu and casual dress. Tomorrow, we port in Civitaveccia (pronounced "chi - vet - uh - veck - ee - uh") and we'll visit Rome. It will be a long day; our excursion leaves at 7:15 am (that's 10:15 pm tonight for those of you on the West Coast) and is scheduled to be 11 to 11 1/2 hours (I understand it's a two hour trip into Rome from Civitaveccia). The temperature is supposed to be about 85 degrees, but the Cruise Director said there is no sea breeze in Rome (not that we felt one in Palermo or Napoli) so it will feel hotter.
I'm overdue at sharing my impressions as a first time cruiser being aboard a ship. When underway, I can feel the gentle sway of the ship. Sometimes, it's noticeable, sometimes it's not. It's a real trip to be in one of the theaters during a show or like last night, during Pirates of the Caribbean, and feel the side to side sway. I'll have to admit, it added to the ambiance of Pirates. None of us have gotten seasick. At night when we go to bed and when we wake up in the morning, I can hear gentle creaking. I really like it. The picture of the stateroom that I posted earlier is what our stateroom looks like; I can't imagine not having the verandah to step outside.

Naples, 19 June

On Tuesday, our port was Napoli and I again woke up on my own, this time about 5:30 am, on our way to port. When we were back home, looking at the choice of excursions and trying to plan what excursions, if any, we would take, lil Z said she wanted to hike Mt. Vesuvius and all three of us definitely wanted to see Pompei; we never did book the excursion - a good thing. With the Mediterranean heat and higher humidity than we're used to, Zman and I didn't think we could make the hike and lil Z admitted she didn't want to do a hike either. Monday night we decided on the Amalfi Coast and Pompei tour. We drove past Mt. Vesuvius on the A3 to the Amalfi Drive (which our guide Gino said had been called the "163" before its name was changed to Amalfi Drive). The Amalfi Coast was beautiful but not for the faint of heart; imagine a large tour bus which occasionally must take up the entire road with dropping cliffs on one side and add a few tight turns to that. We drove through Sorrento, stopped at an inlaid wood factory, drove through Positano, stopped and had lunch in Amalfi, and then drove to Pompei, where we stopped at a coral and cameo factory which was right outside Pompei. I was surprised to see that Pompei is within Napoli and surrounded by modern construction; I had pictured it in a rural area, outside city limits.
Dinner was at Parrot Cay again. There were only five of us, since Jeff and Susan had dinner reservations at Palo (the adults only restaurant) and Katie apparently had dinner on her own. The rest of us wanted to see the second presentation of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which began at 9:30; since our dinner is at 8:30 pm each night, we had to get through dinner. We did it! However, on the way to the theater, we saw the characters of Alice in Wonderland and the White Rabbit on their way to the Atrium and I wanted to have my picture taken with Alice in Wonderland - how could I not since we share the same name? So, that made Zman and I a few minutes late for Pirates. Without spoiling the ending for those of you who haven't seen it yet, I will only say that I wasn't pleased with the ending.

Palermo at the island of Sicily, 18 June

I woke up Monday morning at 5:14 am to the ship cruising along the island of Sicily to port in Palermo. What a beautiful sight to see first thing in the morning! It seemed incredible to believe that we are living a vacation that began as an idea, then became a plan. Now it is our life for eleven days.
We took the "Mysterious Palermo" tour which featured a visit to the famous catacombs where monks and other people have been mummified and hung on walls. First, we drove through Palermo to see a roofless church in which a couple of trees are growing and which is now used as an open air theater. We had a gelato (ice cream) stop. Then we visited a Norman summer home for Roger I or II, which was built by the Arabs the Normans had conquered; it had a natural air conditioning system - the breeze would pass over a pool in the front, then blow into the front room of the building and into side towers that directed the air flow to the upper floors. We were shown (and felt) the difference in rooms where the windows remained open as they were built and a room where the window was fitted with glass; there was a clear temperature difference. We also learned that the Arabs, Normans, Jewish people and another culture (I can't remember which it was) lived together in Palermo 800 years ago with each group keeping their own culture and language. I hope this means potential for our world today to someday also be able to live in harmony as the Palermo people did. Our driver Filippo was amazing at negotiating narrow streets and heavy traffic. We saw all this in four hours! At the catacombs, we made our first European purchases and they were for lil Z, of course: a leather belt with a large silver star or starfish buckle for 7 euros/approx $10 US and a pair of sunglasses for 5 euros/approx $8 US
Monday afternoon after our room service lunch, lil Z went to lay out on Deck 9 in view of the huge screen in front of *one* of the pools. Later, Zman and lil Z worked out as lil Z had been wanting to do for the last two days. Lil Z was wiped out and was too tired to go to dinner at Animator's Palette; we brought food back (her favorite - salmon) but she didn't stir. Loved Animator's Palette, I knew it would be our favorite. There are pictures of Disney characters on the walls that look like line drawings; as dinner progresses, the pictures become colorized. The wait staff have white vests that match the character pictures on the walls; after dinner and before dessert is served, the wait staff all disappear and return a few minutes later in brightly colored vests in a promenade led by Mickey Mouse in his Fantasia cape and hat.

Father's Day at sea, 17 June

Father's Day on Sunday was a day at sea. We had our first breakfast at the Topsider Buffet; the waffles are shaped like Mickey Mouse heads. Lil Z laid out on Deck 9 after breakfast and and hour later, Zman and I joined her. I was the unofficial sunscreen applier. Unfortunately, I forgot to sunscreen my face and neck and I got a little pink. It seems as if the afternoons are perfect for napping. It must be the sea air or activities. But it's great to be able to relax and nap if we want. Sunday night was a formal night and our dinner rotation took us to Lumiere's. Lil Z wanted to try calimari, so she ordered it as an appetizer; I tried it too - it wasn't bad. It was breaded in rings like onion rings. Lil Z liked it so much she had a second serving.

Arrival in Barcelona, 16 June

We arrived in Barcelona on Saturday about 10:30 am (1:30 am Pacific) after 18 hours of travel and three flights. The movie from SD-NY was Stranger Than Fiction and there were two movies from NY-Madrid, Music and Lyrics and I can't remember the second [it was The Astronaut Farmer-great movie!]. We got two meals on the NY-Madrid flight, dinner and breakfast; breakfast was served only four hours after we had had dinner - much too soon. But I ate breakfast out of boredom. Both Madrid and Barcelona were slightly overcast. At baggage claim, we found the suitcase lil Z packed had been torn open and taped closed. Zman later found a note from the TSA that they had opened the suitcase because they couldn't get into it. Odd, since we bought all four of our luggage locks at the same time, same brand and supposedly TSA accessible; there was no problem with the other three. We were able to board the ship about 12:00 or 12:30 but the staterooms weren't ready so we had lunch; at 1:30 pm, we went to our stateroom and mega-napped. The suitcases were delivered just before 5:00 pm and Zman unpacked for us.
Dinner was at a restaurant called Parrot Cay. Joining us at our table and restaurant rotation are Sarah and Bob, newlyweds from Pittsburgh married in December and honeymooning on the cruise, and Jeff, Susan, and Katie from Alabama.
PS
Got the waist money belt at JFK airport.

Leavin' on a jet plane

Today's the day! In 7 1/2 hours we'll be on our way. As usual, we're burning the midnight oil packing. We just can't seem to get ready for a trip ahead of time. And can you believe I still have to get a waist money belt and return two library books and a rented DVD?!?!? Oy!

Less than a week to "bon voyage"

What a gap between posts! I truly didn't intend to have such a gap. Guess this is an indication that I won't be posting on the trip every day - not that I intended to, just every other day or so, with the highlights of each port (again, hopefully).
Anyway, where are we? I have ordered some polo shirts since t-shirts can't be worn to dinner. I have gotten some "bling" for dress up nights. Zman and I did some shopping at the swap meet last Sunday: athletic socks for both of us (all that city-tripping and Vesuvius hiking, y'know) and I bought a crushable, brimmed hat. Oh, and that after I just had to get my $80+ dollar hat.
I had decided I wanted a California Speedway hat (must spread that NASCAR love in Europe) and Zman had told me that if I wanted to, he would take me to Fontana to get it. So April 28 there was an event (Suzuki motorcycles) and we went up there. They typically have the merchandise trailers outside the gates so you're able to purchase items without having to buy a ticket - nice if you're there just for the shopping. Unbeknownst to me, now they charge a regular even ticket price for the "midway" area. I was about ready to turn around (after we tried at the ticket booth, gate entry and security trailer to see if there was a way we could just go in and out within 5 minutes .. nope, gotta buy a ticket) and leave when Zman said we're here, why don't you just get it. So, yeah, I got it. $20 for the hat, $30 for the ticket, and $30 something for the gas. Yeah, I know, I'm weird, a lunatic. And then, after all that (shhh! don't tell Zman), I was advised by a co-worker not to wear clothing with university logos or American city names because you don't want to be identified on sight as an American. I'm not paranoid but I believe in taking precautions. Which reminds me: gotta take that Airborne.
Today, while tidying up, Zman found a cruise line book we picked up at AAA ... a while ago. The printing says "2002-2004 Vacations", so it must be several years old. Inside is a photo (full page, I might add) of an equivalent stateroom we'll have. There it is, to the left ("to the left, to the left" ... sorry, didn't plan that, but couldn't resist; Beyonce fans, which I'm not especially, will understand the reference).
I spent part of today preparing booklets of info for Grandma to take with her so she can see where we'll be on certain days, for our "emergency" contacts (guess what, A. and I., you two are it!), and for our pet sitter. Next on my task list is to pay all the bills that will be due. My intention is to have little to nothing to do on the day before our flight.

Seven weeks and counting ...

Ok, so I created this blog and I have ambitious plans to update it on the cruise. I've asked Zman and lil Z to participate and enter their thoughts and impressions. Hopefully, they will.

I think I'm over the guilt I was feeling a few weeks ago because of a co-worker. I'm just too open. I was talking about the cruise with another co-worker and this OTHER co-worker, a family man working two jobs, asked how much we were spending for this cruise. He was like, Do you know what I could do with that amount of money? And I started feeling guilty that we were spending too much on a vacation. Yeah, we will owe some money afterwards, especially if we go on shore excursions - but why go on the cruise at all if you're not going to take shore excursions (or at least some) and see some of the world you're cruising? And we deserve it. We've spent the last four and a half years catering to my mother; we thought our happy positive attitudes would rub off on her. Nope, it went the other direction. Why shouldn't we have the opportunity to create some fun, happy memories that we and our daughter will share? We only have two more years until she's eighteen and, if what she says comes to pass, moves out on her own. Our time with her is dwindling ... too fast.

In less than two months, we will be living at sea. And I can add three more countries to my list of countries I've traveled to.

But first, I have to make sure the caregiving of my mom is covered. What do you do when your mother tells you, I want you to go on your cruise, I want you to have a good time ... and then you find out she's telling everyone else (behind your back), They can't afford the cruise, I don't want to go to [where she's supposed to stay while we're gone].

We're definitely going. The last time we planned a cruise, it was a Caribbean cruise and I blew it by telling Zman, We can't afford this, How are we going to pay for this. It completely crushed him. I did the worst thing a person can do to another: stole his dream. It's taken years to recover. This one we're not cancelling, for any reason. If we go into debt up to our eyeballs, so be it. We'll deal with it.