Home. It was FANTASTIC, but 2 weeks of traveling is WORK!!!

KathiM
KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
edited August 2011 in Breast Cancer #1
The cruise was great, except the first day and night was high surf and wind...more time for Bingo! *smile* We had first-class service, champagne on boarding and little snacks each afternoon. On my birthday, the servers sang to me and gave me a delicious chocolate cake, part I took back to our cabin. In the elevator, which was full of fellow cruisers, they sang Happy Birthday to me!!! (the fun thing was, most of them were Germans, and sang with a heavy accent...but it was GRAND!!!)

Rome was awesome! Our hotel was near the public transportation, so everything was reachable. We took a tour of the Colloseum, the Forum, Vatican City, and a special night walking tour. The weather was warm and breezy, not too hot. We left by train to Venice.

Venice was, well, Venice! We had a hotel right in the center of town, by the Bridge of Sighs. We traveled everywhere by vaporetto, a special water bus that went up and down the Grand Canal. We ate pizza, and Italian Ice, and I had a popular cocktail called a 'spritz'...Prosecco and an orange-flavored bitters drink. GREAT! We had good weather there, only the last day was hot. We got lost often in the narrow streets, but eventually found our way. We took LOTS of pics! We left by water taxi to the airport and flew to Berlin.

Berlin was inspiring. It was hard for this American to imagine a city split in half, but there were many reminders, and the city tour, that took over 2 hours, was a great explanation! We took the regional train to the station where half was East and half was West Berlin...it was very educational for me to see the loss of freedoms the Berliners had! We ate traditional German food, and I drank dark German beer. We even visited a BierGarten! The weather was off and on...one rainstorm left us trapped in a museum that was passed it's closing time. We were treated very well everywhere. Then flew home, arriving last night. Today is laundry and catching up! All in all, a GRAND trip, but I'm glad to be home!!!!!

I was also very happy to meet face-to-face with my CSN semi-colon friend Pepe from Barcelona!!!! He gave us the 'backstage' tour of his city, including a park at the top of the mountain nearby that gave us FANTASTIC views of the city!!!

I will be posting pics, but thought I'd put this first!

Hugs, Kathi

Comments

  • Gabe N Abby Mom
    Gabe N Abby Mom Member Posts: 2,413
    Thank you for sharing your
    Thank you for sharing your travels with us. It is inspiring to see you living life to the fullest.
  • sea60
    sea60 Member Posts: 2,613
    Ahhhhh,
    I just read your description of such a wonderful vacation and vicariously went there myself...ha!!

    Kathi, it sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing.

    Sylvia
  • fauxma
    fauxma Member Posts: 3,577 Member
    sea60 said:

    Ahhhhh,
    I just read your description of such a wonderful vacation and vicariously went there myself...ha!!

    Kathi, it sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing.

    Sylvia

    Your trip sounds so
    Your trip sounds so absolutely wonderful. And meeting an CSNer is so grand. All the cities came alive with your descriptions. Glad you are home safe and sound and resting. Vacationing can be exhausting but what a great exhaustion. Can't wait to see the pics. Thank you for sharing.
    Stef
  • mamolady
    mamolady Member Posts: 796 Member
    Sounds fabulous!
    It is always nice to live vicariously through others! Thank you for posting.

    Cindy

    I will get to Europe soon!
  • VickiSam
    VickiSam Member Posts: 9,079 Member
    mamolady said:

    Sounds fabulous!
    It is always nice to live vicariously through others! Thank you for posting.

    Cindy

    I will get to Europe soon!

    Sounds like such a wonderful time ... :)
    I can hardly wait to view your photo's. I bet it feels good to be home -- Rest up, enjoy the weather ..

    Where ya going next ?

    Vicki Sam
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    VickiSam said:

    Sounds like such a wonderful time ... :)
    I can hardly wait to view your photo's. I bet it feels good to be home -- Rest up, enjoy the weather ..

    Where ya going next ?

    Vicki Sam

    We are still at our dutch home....
    But this was the big trip for us this time....from now until we head back to America, it will be day trips or hanging out at home...

    We have our next plane tickets already bought, so we will be back in January. Talking of going to North Germany, to the Baltic Sea to gather amber along the beach. Yes, it's cold and nasty then, but a German gal we met on the cruise who lives there says it's the best time of the year to find it because of the storms washing it up to the sand. Also, the Floriada, a special flower show is spring 2012 in the Netherlands...so much to plan for!

    Hugs, Kathi
  • MyTurnNow
    MyTurnNow Member Posts: 2,686 Member
    Kathi, it all sounds so
    Kathi, it all sounds so grand. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to see the pics!