Firenze, Italia

Florence will always have my heart, in a way. I studied there for 3 months in 1999 and I made some of my best friends there. I was so excited to return here and show Jeff around (pride comes before the fall)...who knew that 9 years would cloud ones memory? With only 5 hours in the city, I'm embarrassed to say I couldn't find my way to Viale Milton and the Villa I lived in. I should have consulted Google Maps before I went. We had a good time nonetheless...but I was bitterly disappointed in myself.

An exact replica of The David- the real one was locked up in a museum that's closed on Mondays.

Looks like we'll be back to Florence- Jeff's touching the boars nose and tradition is tradition.

Il Duomo- this was the best photo I got...it was raining and we ran out of time what with that little field trip to the University we never found.

To stay out of the rain we tried to do some shopping..I was really impressed with how decorated many of the shops were. This one particularly struck me...the changing room whisks you away to Hollywood.

Ponte Vecchio- the oldest bridge in Florence...saved during WWII because Hitler was fond of it.

Santa Croce church- it houses the remains of Michaelangelo and Galileo.

Check out those heels- impressive!

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Jeff's favorite port of the cruise! Monaco is its own country surrounded by France on the French Riviera. He liked that the whole country was walkable and that there were no "boring outskirts". There is no income tax, the Grand Prixe is raced on its streets, fast/flashy cars abound. I found it to be quite nice..but the beach doesn't have sand..only small pebbles, not really lay-out material. Getting a vacation home there may be out of the question though...we found out that real estate costs approximately $30,000 per square meter. Running some quick numbers reveals that a 2,000 sqft property would cost about $20 million!

This is the only port we "tendered" in- meaning we had to take the lifeboats to the pier since there wasn't enough room for the ship to dock.

Jeff really liked this Batman-esque tricycle. He took the photo (happy Bryan?) to research it online later.

Jeff told me he had this Japanese Garden made just for me...I'm not sure if I believe him. Regardless, Jeff needed to get in touch with his inner-spirit after the Batmobile so we spent some tranquil moments by the coy pond.

Wait Jeff, don't sit down....yeouch! Looks like Lamborghini of Monte Carlo doesn't take kindly to loiterers.

Many of the public streets were set up for racing.

Monte Carlo's famous casino

We also took a day trip to Nice and Eze (in France). Above is one of Nice's libraries (better photo here), and below is a typical Eze street. Eze was built up in the hills in response to pirate attacks on the shores- the town is made of stone and the streets are small enough that only 3 people can pass through side by side.

Barcelona (said with a lisp)

The last time I was in Barcelona (9 years ago) I loved it! And I still do! This city is a wonderful blend of old & new. It's clean, safe, and beautiful! Apart from all the incredible works of Gaudi, it's also the home of my cousin, Nathalie and her family. We met them half way through the day and they took us out for some delicious tapas and then back to their house for some homemade cake. They were incredibly gracious hosts and the girls were great entertainment. Justine (14) and Chloe (10) thought Jeff had big muscles (he disagrees) and were constantly chanting "Jeffy! Jeffy! Muscles! Muscles!" so that he would show them off. Aren't I lucky girl to have such a buff husband?

There we are to the left of the M. Amy, Jocelyn, or Alisha...do you remember this place? It's the big mall at the end of the pier. I have a photo of us here 9 years ago.

In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue...looking for India- so that's where this statue is pointing.

We stopped by a local market, it puts Pike Place to shame.

Walking up Las Ramblas you can find all sorts of things for sale..I think my favorite are the animal stands- hedgehogs, ferrets, turtles, roosters, etc.

Escalators- outdoors, I love it!

La Sagrada Familia (seen in the center) was Gaudi's life work. When I was here 9 years ago I was too cheap to pay the entrance fee....things were going to be different this time. But alas, it escaped me again...shortly after taking this photo my camera battery died and we spent an hour going back to the boat for my spare. I did have it in time for photos of the family, so all was well.

Park Guell

Justine and Chloe, they're so cute!

Jerome and Nathalie

Casablanca, Morocco

The internet went down the last time I posted on the ship..so I didn't post the 3rd one as promised. Trust me, you didn't miss much! I think the only good thing to come out of Casablanca was my Dad (he was born there), but maybe I'm being a bit harsh. We did not fall in love with this city and it seemed that many of the passengers had some wild stories to tell of their day spent in port. We have one of our own...but I don't have the energy to share it here- ask me about it in person, if you like.

My favorite part- olives! Our tour guide said that a good portion of the population is poor and that many can only afford to eat olives, bread, and mint tea for each meal.

Morocco is a Kingdom and the King stays in this palace when he is in Casablanca. He normally lives in Rabat, the capital city.

A beautifully ornate courthouse (used by the French until 1956)

Hassan II Mosque, it took 12 years and $800 million to make.

Before entering the Mosque one must go to the basement and wash up- I tried taking a potty break, but I prefer to sit down when I use the restroom- thank you very much!

Jeff and our tour guide.

Moroccan mint tea- sorry, not as good as the Moroccan mint latte I used to get at the Coffee Bean in Santa Monica.

We went here to have a traditional Moroccan lunch- Tagine, which is a way of cooking meat in a ceramic dish with a cone shaped lid- I had lamb and it was great. Jeff had couscous and we were both reminded of some of my Dad's cooking.

The field right next to our boat was filled with tons of dogs- these are a mother and two pups.

The Mosque at night as we pulled away. There is a laser at the top which points towards Mecca and can be seen for 45 kilometers.

Ok, glad I'm done with that..the next ports were fabulous!

Cadiz, Spain

Our next stop was a short one...after our tour (a walking tour which included a flamenco show and some traditional tapas) all the shops closed for siesta...a 3 hour siesta, mind you. Doesn't anyone work around here?

Orange trees can be found all over the city..but we hear they're quite bitter- thus they remain in the trees.

Before

After

Cadiz's oldest tree- it's 500 years old- that doesn't seem "that" old, am I wrong?