The Great European Picture Post
Ya know that thing I've been talking about since last August? It finally happened.
We took an overnight flight to Barcelona, Spain, connecting in Toronto. Because of a flight change, our 2 hour layover turned into a 5 hour layover, and then our plane was delayed another two hours. We got to Barcelona around 9:30 am local time (body time: 3:30 am) and then had to try not to die of exhaustion while we waited to check into our hotel.
Here are some photos from the roof of our hotel.
While some of us slept for a few hours, others of us (Kim) mingled with people at the rooftop pool. She ended up meeting a guy from Boston, Chris, who works for IBM and travels for business. He's mostly familiar with Barcelona, so he gave Kim directions to Las Ramblas and told her of an amazing tapas restaurant to try. On our way to the subway,
(subway!)
we ran into Chris, so he joined us on the adventure.
We stopped to people-watch and drink Sangria.
Street performers.
Kim and the menu of booze.
Fun architecture.
Chris then took us all to his favorite tapas restaurant.
It's a small, standing-room-only place with plates and plates of food. Each item is attached to a toothpick, and they only charge you for the toothpicks on your plate - that way you only get charged for what you eat. Amazing food, awesome people.
CAMERA WITH FOOD SETTING!
And because we're so awesome and we tip well, they gave us free truffles that were MIND BLOWING.
MIND. BLOWING.
And oh hey, then we ate more. Coconut ice cream.
I swear you guys, this picture album should really be called "all the food I ate, plus towel animals."
(We'll get to that.)
I loved Barcelona. We didn't get to do a lot of the touristy things, but that night was so much fun. It was fun meeting the locals, it was fun talking to our unofficial tour guide, and it was fun to really feel like part of the culture for a few hours.
The next day, we had breakfast and got right onto our cruise ship.
Liberty of the Seas:
Complete with whirlpools that hang off the edge.
Sometime after laying around the pool and exploring the ship, we ate some more. Big shock.
Mom and me.
This trip wasn't totally about being on the ship, but we did take advantage of trivia (movie themes and Name That Tune - 80's edition), pub entertainment, and most of all, the casino. I won enough money to cover a cab trip home from the airport. I'll take it.
First stop: Monte Carlo!
I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to this stop. I have no interest in France. Never have. All I know about this particular area is what I see on E! film festival coverage...and I'm sure P Diddy sings about it in something.
Anyway, at first glance, it looked like what I picture parts of LA to look like - lots of high end shops, palm trees, on the water.
Yachts EVERYWHERE.
But once we turned the corner, it looked like the place I was hoping I'd get to see at some point in my life. Cobblestone streets, outdoor cafes, little alleyways, etc. This made Monte Carlo another favorite stop.
The next port was Livorno, Italy - gateway to Pisa and Florence. Mom and I were planning on going to Florence, but we missed the early trains, and just didn't have time (it's a 2 hour ride from the port). Mom headed off on her own to see the leaning tower, and I stayed on the ship to play ping pong with a nice Irish guy I met in the pub the night before. I also laid by the pool, slept, and read my book. Mom said it really wasn't worth it, so I think I made the right decision. I did take pictures of Livorno from the ship, and mom said it's just not that pretty up close.
The last port was Civitavecchia Italy - gateway to Rome.
Kim and her mom a bus tour of Rome, while mom and I took a train through the Italian countryside to Vatican City.
We ended up going on a walking tour, mostly because that meant skipping all of the lines. Our tour guide was just batshit enough to make it completely entertaining, but I didn't always hear or understand what she was saying. So, I present to you once huge photo dump of the Vatican.
The dome of St. Peter's Basilica, from outside of the Vatican wall.
.....Aaaaaand photo dump. These are all at the Vatican museum, I believe.
(I cannot look at this without thinking of Arrested Development.)
Almost there!
And here it is, The Sistine Chapel. It's just as amazing as everyone says. I took as many pictures as I could until I got yelled at.
The last stop on this tour was St. Peter's Basilica.
All of Vatican City was pretty amazing to see. I was most interested in the Sistine Chapel, but glad that I saw the rest at least once in my lifetime.
PS: I totally had pizza (and possibly gelato) in Italy.
Did you guys make it through this entire post? Wow.
This was an amazing trip. I wish our time wasn't so limited, though. It was important to do the tourist things, I suppose, but my kind of travel is mingling with the locals, sitting in cafes, and finding the spots on the road less traveled. Now I understand why people backpack through Europe. I don't think I have the patience or time for that now, but when I go back there, I know how I want to see it.
And because everyone knows the best part of a cruise is the towel animals, I leave you with these.
We took an overnight flight to Barcelona, Spain, connecting in Toronto. Because of a flight change, our 2 hour layover turned into a 5 hour layover, and then our plane was delayed another two hours. We got to Barcelona around 9:30 am local time (body time: 3:30 am) and then had to try not to die of exhaustion while we waited to check into our hotel.
Here are some photos from the roof of our hotel.
While some of us slept for a few hours, others of us (Kim) mingled with people at the rooftop pool. She ended up meeting a guy from Boston, Chris, who works for IBM and travels for business. He's mostly familiar with Barcelona, so he gave Kim directions to Las Ramblas and told her of an amazing tapas restaurant to try. On our way to the subway,
(subway!)
we ran into Chris, so he joined us on the adventure.
We stopped to people-watch and drink Sangria.
Street performers.
Kim and the menu of booze.
Fun architecture.
Chris then took us all to his favorite tapas restaurant.
It's a small, standing-room-only place with plates and plates of food. Each item is attached to a toothpick, and they only charge you for the toothpicks on your plate - that way you only get charged for what you eat. Amazing food, awesome people.
CAMERA WITH FOOD SETTING!
And because we're so awesome and we tip well, they gave us free truffles that were MIND BLOWING.
MIND. BLOWING.
And oh hey, then we ate more. Coconut ice cream.
I swear you guys, this picture album should really be called "all the food I ate, plus towel animals."
(We'll get to that.)
I loved Barcelona. We didn't get to do a lot of the touristy things, but that night was so much fun. It was fun meeting the locals, it was fun talking to our unofficial tour guide, and it was fun to really feel like part of the culture for a few hours.
The next day, we had breakfast and got right onto our cruise ship.
Liberty of the Seas:
Complete with whirlpools that hang off the edge.
Sometime after laying around the pool and exploring the ship, we ate some more. Big shock.
Mom and me.
This trip wasn't totally about being on the ship, but we did take advantage of trivia (movie themes and Name That Tune - 80's edition), pub entertainment, and most of all, the casino. I won enough money to cover a cab trip home from the airport. I'll take it.
First stop: Monte Carlo!
I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to this stop. I have no interest in France. Never have. All I know about this particular area is what I see on E! film festival coverage...and I'm sure P Diddy sings about it in something.
Anyway, at first glance, it looked like what I picture parts of LA to look like - lots of high end shops, palm trees, on the water.
Yachts EVERYWHERE.
But once we turned the corner, it looked like the place I was hoping I'd get to see at some point in my life. Cobblestone streets, outdoor cafes, little alleyways, etc. This made Monte Carlo another favorite stop.
The next port was Livorno, Italy - gateway to Pisa and Florence. Mom and I were planning on going to Florence, but we missed the early trains, and just didn't have time (it's a 2 hour ride from the port). Mom headed off on her own to see the leaning tower, and I stayed on the ship to play ping pong with a nice Irish guy I met in the pub the night before. I also laid by the pool, slept, and read my book. Mom said it really wasn't worth it, so I think I made the right decision. I did take pictures of Livorno from the ship, and mom said it's just not that pretty up close.
The last port was Civitavecchia Italy - gateway to Rome.
Kim and her mom a bus tour of Rome, while mom and I took a train through the Italian countryside to Vatican City.
We ended up going on a walking tour, mostly because that meant skipping all of the lines. Our tour guide was just batshit enough to make it completely entertaining, but I didn't always hear or understand what she was saying. So, I present to you once huge photo dump of the Vatican.
The dome of St. Peter's Basilica, from outside of the Vatican wall.
.....Aaaaaand photo dump. These are all at the Vatican museum, I believe.
(I cannot look at this without thinking of Arrested Development.)
Almost there!
And here it is, The Sistine Chapel. It's just as amazing as everyone says. I took as many pictures as I could until I got yelled at.
The last stop on this tour was St. Peter's Basilica.
All of Vatican City was pretty amazing to see. I was most interested in the Sistine Chapel, but glad that I saw the rest at least once in my lifetime.
PS: I totally had pizza (and possibly gelato) in Italy.
Did you guys make it through this entire post? Wow.
This was an amazing trip. I wish our time wasn't so limited, though. It was important to do the tourist things, I suppose, but my kind of travel is mingling with the locals, sitting in cafes, and finding the spots on the road less traveled. Now I understand why people backpack through Europe. I don't think I have the patience or time for that now, but when I go back there, I know how I want to see it.
And because everyone knows the best part of a cruise is the towel animals, I leave you with these.
