The Good-bye

What an adorable sight to wake up to!

Today’s goodbye was way worse than the first time.  As soon as we got out of the hotel shuttle bus at the airport Samantha gave me a big hug and started to cry.  We got our luggage out of the back and Samantha and I held hands into the terminal.  Once inside we spotted United but I didn’t see where to check in for Qatar Airlines.  The man at the information booth said it was at Terminal 3, not Terminal 5 like the hotel thought.  This meant I had to say goodbye now instead of at the gate.  Sam and I hugged for a long time and then said goodbye.  J gave me a big hug too but wasn’t nearly as upset.  I gave Mike a hug and kiss and they were off.

I jumped on the inter-terminal shuttle to Terminal 3 and now here I sit.  It is 8:30am.  My flight it just after noon.  Mike and the kids’ flight is at 11am and the recommended check-in is 2 ½ hours in advance.  Unfortunately I have almost four hours until mine so the check-in counter isn’t open yet.  I took advantage of the opportunity to wrap my bag.  When the attendant at the luggage storage place in Dubai pulled my bag off the rack he ripped off the handle.  I wasn’t upset about the handle but there was now a nice size hole in my $18 Black Friday Kohl’s purchase.  In Dubai there was a luggage wrapping stand that encases your luggage in plastic for a fee.  Perfect.  I was thrilled when I saw that there was a wrapping station here in Rome too.  For €9 (about $14) I had peace of mind that the contents of my luggage would stay contained.  The cruise line had given me tape but it didn’t hold.

This was an absolutely fabulous trip.  The cruise was just perfect for the kids to have an opportunity to sample Europe.  We had a home base that was familiar every night and food that the kids would eat.  There were many more American’s on the cruise than I expected but the diversity was nice.  The kids really liked the young couple we met from New York and we ran into them several more times over the course of the cruise.  Jason got along with all the kids and towards the end Sam made a friend too.

Mike and I agree that it is unlikely we will return to Italy.  The people were nice but it was dirty.  It was more than just the graffiti, although that really bugged me, it was just an overall disregard for public spaces.  There was trash everywhere and the public areas were filthy.  Even the kids noticed. Outside of Rome the graffiti was significantly less but dirty still.  The history and culture is amazing and definitely worth visiting.  As for falling in love with Italy as the tour books suggested, not quite.  We might entertain a day trip into Venice sometime, but we feel we can check Rome off the list.

Our experience in Greece was slightly better than in Italy.  Rhode was nice and Crete was ok.  Turkey will continue to be on our radar for the future.  Mike spent time in Incirlik with the Air Force and had always told me he wanted to return.  After our one short day in Ephesus, I would agree I could definitely spend more time there.

Just as I had suspected, the kids and Mike seem to be much closer.  Especially his relationship with Samantha.  She had been Daddy’s girl when she was an infant and she would often choose to go to him over me.  That all changed when he went on a long business trip.  It was nice to see them close again.

Jason has a new attitude which we attribute to a combination of his age and new school.  It was fun to see him discover things in his own way.  He is definitely not my little boy any more.

Cruise - The end

We were docked back in Civitavecchia when we awoke.  I didn’t want to have to rush off the ship and race to the airport so we scheduled our flights for the next day.  Our only task today was to get to the hotel near the airport in Fiumicino.

Once off the ship we quickly found our luggage and boarded a bus to the port entrance.  From there we walked to the train station.   Both kids did a fabulous job with their suitcases the whole trip but this walk was quite a distance.

We let the local trains go buy and waited for the express train that was non-stop into Rome.  There we changed trains and took a second one out to the airport.  From the airport we took a taxi to the Best Western.  We selected this hotel because it had “family” rooms with beds for each of the kids and good reviews.  It was descent, but it certainly didn’t compare to the flat we stayed at in Rome.

After we checked in our first mission was to find lunch.  The front desk attendant recommended a restaurant and off we went.  Because Mike is a more adventurous eater than the rest of us, he loved lunch.  The kids and I had a harder time.  They had discovered on our trip that they liked fried calamari so when they saw it on the menu, they both jumped at it.  Unfortunately what they were served still had the tentacles attached.  I ordered seafood pasta.  I expected Red Lobster type seafood that doesn’t look like it used to have a life.

We took the long way back to the hotel from the restaurant and headed down the coast.  There were few people on the beach as it wasn’t quite swimming weather.  The beach was dirty and I had no desire to take off my shoes and walk in the sand.

We stopped at a Gelato shop for one last Italian treat.  We can guess at some of the translations of the flavors, but most of the time we just pick based on color.  When Samantha ordered the woman behind the counter looked at us and asked for clarification as if to ask “Really?”  So I asked “No?”  She managed to get out in English “alcohol”.  Oh, I see.  No wonder she was asking us if Sam really could have that flavor.  She picked another…but I picked that one.  It was good.

After our walk, we plopped down on the bed to watch a movie together.  For the first time this trip, Samantha called out “I want to sit next to Dad”.  The rest of the trip it had been mom she wanted to sit next to so I knew that she was adjusting to my leaving in her own way.

Cruise - Naples, Italy

Our last destination was Naples, Italy.  We had tried to sign up for a tour to Pompeii but it was full.  We were disappointed at the time but it turned out to better.

After breakfast we disembarked in search of a taxi to take up to the train station.  This was harder than I expected.  There were several taxis at the port but the drivers wanted to take us all the way to Pompeii.  We did eventually find a driver willing to take us to the train station but he still gave us a sales pitch the entire way.  Mike and I make a good team and we travel well together, even when we have no idea what we are doing.  We got train tickets, found the right train and arrived in Pompeii without issue.

Pompeii is an ancient Roman town 14 miles east of Naples that was buried by the ash of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D.  Considered the “best preserved specimen of an ancient Roman town in existence” I still didn’t expect what I saw.  It was a whole town.

At the port just after we got off the ship.




Aerial View of Pompeii (I didn't take this photo.)





Samantha is walking on the far right; Jason is the next person to her left.



Samantha wasn’t quite herself when she woke up and her eyes were runny. Before we went to breakfast I went down to the medical station and was able to get some Benadryl for her.  (I was pleasantly surprised that they only charged me $6 for the bottle.)  She had been fine after breakfast but in Pompeii she faded fast.  Her cheeks were flushed and she said that she wanted to go back to the ship so we cut our trip short and headed back to the train station.

Pizza is believed to have been invented in Naples so it was a fitting choice for lunch.  We split a margarita pizza at a café outside the train station before we boarded the train and headed back.  This time we had no problem getting taxi.  Back on board, having had a chance to rest, Samantha perked back up and was fine the rest of the night.

Both kids again headed to the kids program after dinner while Mike and I packed up our cabin.  They had also left surveys in the room so I took the time to share my thoughts.  With a few minor hiccups, it had been a fabulous trip.  For the kids this trip was “Europe Light”.  It was just enough of a sampling of other countries with the security and familiarity of the same bed every night.  (I liked that too.)

Cruise - At Sea

Today was our second day at sea.  The seas were still rough so I took more sea sick medicine at breakfast/lunch.  “May cause drowsiness” was an understatement and I was back in bed.  Jason was of course at the kids program.  Mike and Samantha went to watch an ice carving demonstration, and then Samantha went to the kids program too.

Late in the afternoon I was feeling better and out of bed so we all headed to the game room in search of board games.  Lots of other passengers had the same idea and all the tables in the game room were full.  The signs request that we not remove the games from the room so rather than take a game down to our room we took it into the lounge next door.  The bartender allowed the kids to sit with us and we were able to drink so it was a perfect spot.  Family game night, in a bar, with amazing scenery.  It was perfect! 

After dinner both kids asked the waiter to have their meals right away so they could head to the kids program.  Initially Samantha was not impressed but when she gave it a second chance she enjoyed it more.  Jason can jump into social settings with both feet.  Samantha needs to wade in slowly.

Cruise - Crete, Greece

After we were in bed last night the Captain came over the loudspeaker to tell us that there had been a 5.9 earthquake in Crete, our destination. According to the reports there wasn’t any damage.

We were up earlier today and after a late breakfast, Sam, Mike and I disembarked.  Because it was cold and we didn’t have any specific destination in Crete, we gave both the kids the option to stay on the ship.  Jason chose to spend the day in the kids program but Sam chose to come with us.

We docked on the NW side of Crete.  Once off the ship we caught one of the bus shuttles to downtown Chania.  We enjoyed just wandering the streets.  We stumbled upon a public park that had fenced in antelope and peacocks.  There we saw the weirdest looking tree.  It was huge and it looked like it was growing roots down from the branches. 

Sam and I especially enjoyed looking in the shops.  Sam bought a necklace with a shell dolphin which the street vendor wrote her name on.  She also got a beautiful sun dress.  We found a shark tooth necklace for Jason.  We even bumped in to our New York friends.  After a couple of hours we headed back to the ship.

Back on board, Sam and I went to tell Jason that we were back and Sam decided to stay for a bit.  They both had fun and Mike and I had some nice alone time.

After dinner I started to feel nauseous.  The seas were quite rough and we could feel the movement of the boat.  I went down to the medical station and grabbed a few sea sick pills from the large basket in the waiting room and then laid down for a while.

I was back up by 9pm in time to head down to “Family Disco”.  Samantha had seen it listed in the schedule of events and wanted to go.  When we arrived there wasn’t anyone there and they were playing Old McDonald.  The event planner said hello and the kids requested songs that they liked.  The planner went off to tell the DJ.  We were still the only ones there but the kids and I danced on the dance floor.  Not impressed, Mike and I took the kids and left.  We stopped to grab a soda and then talked about what to do next.  Samantha had a tear in her eye when she realized we weren’t going back to the dance floor.  She had no problem being the only ones in the bar and she wanted to go back.  So back we went…and Samantha tore up the dance floor.  We only got Jason out there for one song and Mike will only Two Step so it was just Sam and I, and I was just there to keep her company.

Samantha is going to be our party girl.  She looked perfectly natural on the dance floor.  Even when she was in Miss Marilyn’s wedding at age two and half, we couldn’t get her off the dance floor.  Mike got some cute videos of her at Family Disco.  She continues to request specific songs until the DJ realized what type of music she wanted to dance to.  It was only an hour but a lot of fun, even if we were the only ones there.

Cruise - Rhodes, Greece

Today we woke up in Rhodes, Greece.  We docked around 8am but we weren’t up and moving until noon.  I admit that I was less than excited to get out today as the adventures of the previous days had worn me down.  But the rest of the family was anxious to get moving so off we went.  I used the restroom by the restuarant on the ship after lunch and impressed by the view.

When we first booked the cruise, I had my eye on a shore excursion to a beach in Rhodes but that excursion was cancelled due to weather.  We decided not to book a guided tour and set out on our own.

Rhodes is the fourth largest of the Greek Islands and closer to mainland Turkey than Greece.  It is thought that the Greeks erected the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, in the town’s old harbor.  Two thousand years later (1312) the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem fortified the city, protecting its inhabitants from Turkish invaders.  The Greek mainland was liberated by the war of 1821, but the Dodecanese Islands remained part of the Ottoman Empire of 1912, when the Italians took over.  Greece took control of the island from the Germans after World War II.

The town of Rhodes is divided into two districts; the New Town and the Old Town, surrounded by medieval fortress walls.  We chose to spend our time in Old Town, mostly around the Palace of the Knights of St. John.



Cats....EVERYWHERE!  They were under the rocks until a man put out some food.



A lady begging on the street had this cute puppy that the kids wanted to pet.  They each tossed in a coin and she let them hold it.



The weather on this cruise has been unpredictable.  We are not warm weather people so we have enjoyed the weather but it has been tough for planning.  In Turkey Mike decided not to drag his sweatshirt along but it turned out to colder than we expected.  Not wanting to make the same mistake in Rhodes, I brought them all but it was nicer than I expected and was actually quite warm.

Before dinner we went up to the sports deck.  The kids went up the climbing wall then we all played a round of miniature golf.  We also got in a few laps of inline skating before we were off to dinner.

Samantha



Jason



The kids amuse me at dinner.  Samantha is so grown up when she orders and she amazes me with her very grown up selections.  Jason loves Salmon and has made that his staple this trip at almost every lunch and dinner.