*MALTA*

After a day at sea we docked at Valletta, Malta; a small island in the south of the Mediterranean. It was only a short day, so we went exploring on our own without a tour guide. The weather in Valletta was much hotter than Barcelona and James and I were pretty sweaty by the time we made it back to the ship.

Like I said, Malta is small. It's best known for it's knights and gardens, as well as a beautiful church with an original Michelangelo painting. James and I basically spent the morning strolling the town and then headed back to the ship. We knew we had some pretty intensive sight-seeing ahead of us, so we kept it easy.

"Probably", we're just not totally for sure. The language barrier at it's best.

The steps in the city are very short, so that the knights could climb them easily with their armor.

There are 365 Catholic churches on the tiny island of Malta. No excuses huh?

The beautiful limestone forts.

*NCL*

Sunday night we boarded the ship. This was my very first cruise, so I had NO IDEA what to expect. All I knew was to take the stairs to avoid massive weight gain (thanks Kathy) and to eat green apples for sea sickness.

There was some sort of confusion while checking in that secured us a major upgrade: BALCONY! Heck ya! We aren't sure what happened, but we also didn't want to ask too many questions. I'm not sure I will ever be able to have a room without a balcony again. Sitting outside at night or watching the boat dock at each port in the morning, were some of my favorite times. It was fascinating to think of myself in the middle of this large ocean with the bluest water I have ever seen. The boat was pretty new, so everything was still very sparkly and clean. And of course the service was great. There were only two nights of boat rocking, but nothing a little ginger ale couldn't fix.

I'm still not sure though if I am a cruiser... I did enjoy the cruise very much, but I think the ports of call had a LOT to do with my satisfaction. I was bored often, there were a ton of people, and way more kids than I expected.

Every night we had some sort of towel animal with chocolate mints on our pillows. This particular animal is a monkey.

James being a lazy bum: acceptable on vaca.

My new favorite color.

On our balcony before we left Barcelona.

The ship was huge, I was constantly lost.

*BARCELONA*

We arrived in Barcelona on Saturday afternoon after a long flight and lay-over in Amsterdam. The weather was so beautiful, mid-80's with a great ocean breeze. Since James and I had not slept in over 24 hours, we were dragging a little, but managed to take a long walk around Placa de Catalunya and Las Ramblas (basically the city center). The next day was spent on the "hop on/hop off" bus, and saw tons of great sites. Sagrada Familia, Park Guell and many other beautiful pieces of architecture were on the route. I think my favorite part of Barcelona was the architecture, Gaudi's buildings are so amazing, the word 'creative' doesn't even begin to describe his mind.

Sunday evening we had to leave for the cruise, but we returned the next week once the cruise was over, to fly back home. Once we were back we stayed in a really great hotel, Casa Camper. They are based off of the European shoe brand; Camper. The hotel is very small, but the service was great and the design kept me thinking. On our last night we went to Picasso's old stomping ground: 4 Gats. The atmosphere was really cool and vintage, but the food lacked. There were sketches of Picasso's all over, even the plates were small drawings.

In short: I realllllly liked Barcelona. Maybe is was the familiarity of the Spanish language or the mix of modern and historical architecture, but it really made my heart smile. It was hard to leave.

A great view of the mountains behind.

The view from our hotel room.

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia

Placa de Catalunya

4 Gats

WARNING

If vacation stories and pictures of other people's vacations bore you, please exit page now and do not return for about a week.

Thank you,

Management

You know it was a good trip when.....

You are pulling wet clothes from the washer to put in the dryer and a wine cork falls on the floor.

HOLA!

Hola Amigos!

We aren't quite home, but we are at the first hotel that offers free internet, so I thought I'd take advantage and get a blog out... trust me, there are many more to follow.

At the moment, we are in Barcelona, Spain. We get on a flight back to the States tomorrow morning.

So, you ask, 'How was the trip?'.... 'Ok, I guess?'... SIKE!

It was AMAZING. For me, it's been a trip of a lifetime. I've seen so many wonderful things, learned so many interesting facts and experienced more than I imagined.

The cruise was very nice but for me the ports and excursions were the highlight. Each morning I woke up knowing my brain would be submerged in history and mystery.

I will blog later on each city we visited with pictures to match. But for now I will make my top ten list (in NO order... there's no way I could rank these top ten)

La Sagrada Familia

(Gaudi was insane)

Vatican City

(the whole thing)

Pompeii

(to walk on streets built centuries before Christ, wow)

Casa Camper

(inspiring hotel)

Rome in Limo

(best touring company in South Europe)

Gelato

(there was no shortage in Italy)

NCL beds

(there was no shortage of naps in Italy either)

Lunch in Sorrento

(Fresh pressed olive oil? Yes, please.)

Paella

(licking my lips)

Balcony Upgrade

(bling bling)

Ok, once I get home I'll bring on the photos.

See ya later Alligator

After while Crocodile.