One Year ago today

One year ago tonight I was in Barcelona boarding a cruise ship. My niece Val who was traveling with me insisted we get dressed up and go to dinner on the ship even though we had been up for 36 hours and were exhausted.  It was, after all MY BIRTHDAY.  Then we went to our room, got into our nice cushy white robes provided by the cruise ship and went out onto the deck, noticed it was a bit rough. The spray was blowing up into our faces.  We thought, how cool!

Then we went to bed and slept like the dead. Next morning we go to breakfast to hear there was a huge storm and many got seasick. We slept through the whole thing and were very happy we had. We were glad to know we were not going to be prone to seasickness.

My sis Carol and I at San Francisco airport the first time

We had missed our flight to Barcelona the first time, standing in the wrong line until our flight left. We were panicked and finally found another leaving the next morning. So our night in Barcelona did not happen since we spent that night flying and arrived in Barcelona the day we were to board our ship. But we were happy we made it in time.

Val and I at San Francisco Airport

We did take a taxi to see the famous Gaudi church in Barcelona before we boarded our ship that afternoon.

In Barcelona at the famous Gaudi Church

The first morning after the storm we went into Montecarlo in Monaco. We climbed some very old winding narrow stone steps up to the castle where we could look over the bay and see the Bond Casino.

The Palace of Monaco

Overlooking Montecarlo from the palace

The Palace

By the way, there are no beaches in Montecarlo so the rich people lay here to sunbathe

The on to Florence the next day, which has so much great art and the Duomo which has the tombs of many great artists and writers.

inside the Duomo in Florence

The fake David

Florence where it rained and I got this hoodie

The next day to Rome

The coliseum

The Vatican

The pope on the big flat screen outside on St Peter's Square

Inside the Vatican the ceiling in the hallway above the crowds. It's all beautiful in there. We could not take photos in the Cistine Chapel but it was so crowded you could hardly breathe. Our guide told us all about the history of Michaelangelo being chosen to paint it based on the pope at the time being impressed with La Peita scuplture. Michaelangelo was a sculptor, not a painter. But he did both well. The Cistine, the David, La Pieta and much more,

St Peter's Basillica where the sculpture La Peita is

It is the most touching sculpture I have ever seen. It is the mother of Jesus, Mary, holding the body of her crucified son.  The lighting was horrible so my own pics did not turn out too well.

La Pieta

by Michaelangelo

This sculpture was attacked a few years ago but is restored and protected by glass now.

Then on to Naples. Val and I heard that Capri was the place to go so we took a boat to Capri where we could see Mt. Vesuvius across the water in Naples. Capri had some of the most beautiful scenes ever.

Arrival in Capri where I bought a hat

We went to the top of the hill/mountain and could see Mt Vesuvius across the water

Capri

Capri again

Another Palace on Mallorca

And on to another Palace on the Island of Mallorca.  We went through the castle.

Mallorca

Palm trees on Mallorca, a beautiful place

The palace at Mallorca

Then we had a free day sailing back to Barcelona.  We had time to have lunch on the deck.

It was an amazing cruise and the food was fantastic. We had guides to show us the sites when we stopped at the cities. Rome was a couple hours to get to the vatican on a bus.  The lines at the Vatican museum are VERY long and you really need a guide to get you in and tell you about the art there. There are over 7 miles of hallways there and we saw only a few highlights.  I would love to spend days and weeks in Europe but unless you are a young college student and can sleep in bed and breakfasts it is very expensive. So this was the way to go and I would do it again in a heartbeat. And again and again. Maybe someday.

But if I never do again I will always have these memories. No one can take them from me.