Tired Feet and Happy Heart

Tired feet and a happy heart have indeed returned back home last evening. Once I organize my life and pictures I will share much more in the next few weeks. Today I will just share the itinerary for a trip of a life time.

September 19th

Left Portland and flew to Amsterdam, Netherlands

September 20th

Arrived in Amsterdam

Walked and took a canal boat tour

September 21st

We took a peaceful Sunday morning walk to Anne Franks home and toured the hideaway.

Walked through the flower market and bought tulip bulbs

Visited the Van Gogh and Rilksmuseum

September 22nd

Flew to Rome

Still adjusting to time change

Did our own personal get acquainted with Rome walking tour

Nuovo Piazza where chariots once raced

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Spanish Steps

Bought tea at Babington's Tea Room

September 23rd

Boarded a Carnival Cruise ship called the Splendor

This was the perfect place for my husband to recuperate from his August surgery

September 24th

Naples and walked the streets of Pompeii

September 25th

A day at sea

Tea at 3PM while we listened to the Mozart trio play classical music

and watched the sea outside the window.

September 26th

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Walked the streets of old Dubrovnik and toured a small island nearby,

walking through their Botanical Gardens

September 27th

Cruised slowly into Venice with the sounds of Pavorotti playing in the background

What an awe inspiring sight

Traveled by small boat to the island of Murano to visit a glass factory, then

onto the island of Burano where they are know for lace making

Burano was a beautiful island full of colorful homes

September 28th

A morning gondola ride through the canals of Venice

Shopped and walked through the crowds of St. Mark's Square

Tea at Cafe Florian on St. Mark's Square

September 29th

A day at sea

Pedicures while watching the sea flow by

September 30th

Messina on the island of Sicily

Walked the cobble stone streets of Taormina and visited the Greek Theater

The sights of the Mediterranean were beautiful from here

October 1st

A day at sea

Enjoyed lounging in the sun and having afternoon tea

October 2nd

Woke to the sights of Barcelona, Spain

Walked and walked some more through the street and alleyways

Walked down the main street for shopping, Las Rambles and found

tucked away markets, tea shops, and a historic chocolate shop called Escriba's

Found the Picaso museum, which had his early works

Saw several churches including the Gothic Cathedral

Tapas for lunch

October 3rd

An unexpected day at sea, as the water was to choppy to stop

at Cannes, France

France will just have to wait for our next trip

October 4th

Livorno, Italy where we took a tour bus to Florence

Visit Michelanglo's David

Walked the street and shops

Beautiful churches and art

Delicious lazagna lunch

Oh and gelato was first created in Florence, so of course gelato

October 5th

Cruise completed and thoroughly enjoyed

Back to Rome

Took a double decker bus tour around the city

Visited the Colosseum and the Forum

Walked

October 6th

Double decker bus again and visited a beautiful church

Vatican Museum

Sistine Chapel

St. Peters Square

Basillica

October 7th

Walked some more

Rome's Botanical Gardens

Got lost in a park and saw more of Rome than we knew existed

October 8th

Borghese Museum

Finally ended the trip with tea at Babington's

October 9th

Flew home

Needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed the trip, ate way too much but very good food, gelato at every chance, and met many people of the world. The ship alone had representatives from 58 countries working on board. Colours of the world, there were many. I took over 800 pictures and will post a few next week. For today just imagine and dream of the colours of the world.