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Yesterday was an unbelievably long day. We got up at 5:30 Barcelona time, which is 9 hours ahead of home. Our first flight was delayed, but we still made our connection in Madrid. The flight from Madrid to New York is 8 LONG hours long. We survived it. Violet did a little better this time than on the way there, but that is a long time for a one year old. The worst part was landing at JFK and knowing we still had to fly 6 hours back to San Diego. Even though it was only like 3:30 in New York, to us it was already 9:30. Got through customs fine (or so we thought) and another delayed flight. Only had to wait for 14 planes to take off ahead of us this time at JFK. We are going to try to never fly through JFK again. By the time we landed in San Diego last night, we had been travelling for 24 hours, and to us, it was morning again. Debbie picked us up at the airport, and we found out that none of our bags made it. They think they were held up at customs in New York, but we won't know until this afternoon. I hope that's all that happened because practically everything we own is in those bags. (those huge, heavy bags we had to pay extra for because they were over the weight limit). Anyway, last night we were too out of it to care, but it felt really great to wake up at home today. It's just now 7 and the kids are still asleep but Neil and I have been up for a while now. We have no food here at all so Neil is going to run in and get some groceries. We cannot wait to eat some Mexican food so tonight, it's veggie fajitas. We may even eat it for breakfast. I officially know what jet-lagged means and I won't go throwing that term around when I fly to Hawaii or New York ever again.

I am glad we're home. It's going to be great for me to get back to my routine and to see everyone I've missed so much, and for Neil to start his new job too. It was an amazing, life-changing trip and I can't wait to hang out with Neil tonight when we're full from our huge, home-cooked meal and talk about it all again.

Back in Barcelona

Our last full day on the ship, we had our character breakfast. Hayden had a great time.

Got off the boat today with no problems, no wait. We expected long lines and a difficult time finding our luggage, but we were off the boat and in our cab in under 15 minutes. It feels good to be back in Barcelona. We dropped our bags at the hotel and headed back to downtown to La Boqueria, an amazing open air market. We wish we were staying in an apartment again because we would have stocked up on the freshest fruits and veggies we have ever seen. We took a long walk on the beach, hunted some shells… Hayden found a BB ball, he also found one in France. We decided to go to L’Aquarium since we were on the waterfront. The aquarium had a cool “let the sharks swim above you” thing. Violet and Hayden both had a great time. Then we headed out to check out some Gaudi buildings. Stopped and checked out Casa Batillo, check out the pic’s. It was sprinkling at the time so it was a quick stop. We went back to the room and took a nap, then back to the city. Had another great meal at a café. Made it over to the water and light show at Montjuic. Had to go the long way around since they were also having the international auto show on the grounds. Finding a cab was very tough at 10:30 on a Saturday night in downtown. You’ll never get one unless you basically piss someone else off by cutting in front of them. We’re back to the room now and planning on hanging out by the pool tomorrow and getting ready for the ridiculously long travel day ahead. We are excited to get home and sad to leave. Hayden wants to go back to the boat. He is already insisting on another cruise. See you all soon!

Looking for shells on the beach in Barcelonetta






Our afternoon at L'Aquarium

At Gaudi's Casa Batillo - a building designed to represent the slaying of a dragon.

At the cafe for a late dinner - still light at 9:30 at night


Hayden having some Spanish chocolate mousse


Fountains at Museo Nacional de Art Catalunya

Font Magic show at Montjuic

Villefrance and Nice, France

A great day today in VilleFranche. We had to get ferried off the boat again today. It was cool since because we the only ship in port and we had the town to ourselves. Beautiful deep blue water that I have only seen in the Meditteranean. The most beatiful place I have ever been. We searched for shells on the beach before we caught the train to Nice. A quick trip and we made it to Nice. The people were all friendly and even though we only know a few words in French we found a great café and had awesome panini and wine. We walked to the beach and walked in the Mediterranean, hunted for shells and enjoyed the perfect weather. The kids were great, the weather perfect. A great way to spend the day in our final port. It is hard to believe that the trip is coming to an end. Looking back, it is even tougher to comprehend all of the amazing things we have seen and done in the last two weeks.

Tonight is our last night on board and we are both surprised at how sad we are to say goodbye to the experience and the people we’ve met. And at our $500 bar bill! Well worth it! We’re excited to spend a couple more days in Barcelona, and it will be good to be home – we miss you all!

Marseilles, France

Unfortunately, Hayden woke up the morning we arrived at Marseilles with a fever. We walked around a little, but had some trouble finding the bus to Aix en Provence. It was probably a good thing after all since Hayden was feeling worse by the minute. We headed back so he could rest. We'll have to come back to Marseilles another time.

La Spezia & Pisa, Italy

Today we docked at La Spezia, Italy. This is the first port we’ve been in where we had to take a tender to shore. We planned on a shorter day after the marathon day in Rome yesterday. But, it didn’t work out that way! La Spezia is really cool – not touristy at all. We found the train station, but we messed up when we bought our ticket and paid for the train ride all the way to the end of the line instead of the town we wanted. 50 Euro one way. But, we were able to take the high-speed train to Pisa. We also learned Italian trains have different classes and the high speed ones have assigned seating. But, no one messed with us and made us move, so it didn’t matter. We walked a LONG way to Piazza del Duomo to see the famous tower. After being in Rome yesterday, we weren’t overly impressed with Pisa. It’s a great Italian city with beautiful architecture, friendly people, cobblestone streets, and one crooked tower. We were glad we saw it, but once we made it there, we were ready to go. We decided to have lunch and unfortunately picked a café too close to the tower. The food was bad (still better than anywhere in the US, but not compared to the other Italian cafes we’ve been to) and the atmosphere of cheesy accordion music wasn’t really our scene. Though, we could have picked up a sweet Rolex for 10 Euros while we dined. We walked all the way back to the train station to find we had just missed the train back to La Spezia. We killed time at a nearby café and paid 20 Euros for cheap wine and a lemon soda for Hayden. We got on the next train, but it wasn’t the high speed train so it took a long time to get back. But, since we actually got the right ticket, it only cost 12 Euros to get back. In La Spezia, we bought Violet a pretty dress at a store called Prenatal that had all kinds of cool baby stuff and clothes. We finally got back on the boat at 6:30. Another long day, but a nice train ride through Tuscany and another great city. Tonight, we’re leaving Italy and heading to France.

Rome, Italy

An incredible day in Rome!!!!! Everyone hears that Rome is unbelievable; we are believers. One day is not nearly enough to even begin to see the city, but we packed a serious amount of sightseeing into our one-day. The kids were great and we saw plenty... Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Piazza Venezia, the Coliseum, Forum, and Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican. You think that the tourist attractions are the only ancient things to see and that they must be surrounded by a modern city. We were amazed that the entire city is a masterpiece. Every building on every block is masterfully built with amazing detail, color and proportion. Being surrounded by ancient ruins and a vibrant city is an experience we won’t forget. We have to go back!!

Key highlights: There is Italian baby food that is Rabbit and Horse -has the picture of the critters right on the package!!! And Roman men also love Kel. She is keeping the Italian streak alive. I told her if I ever kick off, she should move to Italy. Rather than tell all the stories, the pictures speak for themselves!!!

On the bus to Rome
The Start of our Day at Piazza del Popolo

Hayden going up the Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain
Outside the Pantheon

The Pantheon’s Famous Open Dome
The Thinker

Walking Down Via Del Corso

At a café in Piazza Navona

Some Crazy-Old Ruins in the Middle of the City

Hayden Chasing Pigeons at the Piazza Venezia

Going to the Coliseum

21st Century Gladiator

Inside the Coliseum
St. Peter’s Square – Vatican