It's almost 1 am on Thursday morning and I have to get up at 5 am for a 6 am debarkation.  The night of the storm at sea was crazy…the ship felt like it was on it’s side and the winds were crazy…waves crashing it even broke some windows and tables.  The spin instructor said it was the worst she was in over 3 years.  Monaco and Genoa were both cancelled and I was in a pissy mood all day because of it. I really wanted to go to Monaco and I wanted to just get off the ship.    I went to spin and that was about it.  Craig and I sort of stayed out of each others way because I was in such a pissy down mood.  In the evening I went to the club with Tracy (a girl from our dinner table to go dancing) and Craig went to the show with some other people..
 
Today was simply gorgeous  we woke up in the port of Livorno and Craig and I went on a 10 hour tour of Tuscany.  We stopped at San Giamino (the birthplace of Pinochio) a medieval village that became a ghost town after the plague and is well preserved.  After we went to local farm for lunch and they also had wine tasting of course we didn’t partake but it was interesting and they made olive oil and learned how to make olive oil.  After we went to the Renaissance village of Volterra where we saw some ancient Roman Ruins and Renaissance art and architectures.  But the highlight was just the beauty of the small villages and the Tuscan country side….it was like a painting.  We didn’t get back to the ship until 6 pm and hurried off to dinner and then had to go pack.  

I so don’t want to come home and it will be hard to readjust to “real life”.   Gratefully both of us remained healthy on the cruise and no big fights or blow up….you don’t really know someone until you live with them 24/7 for two weeks….but it exceeded my expectations.

We just left Barcelona a little while ago and heading to Monaco and Monte Carlo next.  I’m trying not get the blues but I know the trip is coming to an end and I’m really sad.  I wish it was another 2 weeks left.

Last night I was bored after dinner and didn’t want to go gamble so I went to the gym and rode the bike for an hour.  The sea was very rough and I had to take a Dramamine.  I woke up this morning just as the boat was docking in Barcelona…my 34^th Country.  Unfortunately there was no place to get my passport stamped   Craig and I had breakfast and then got off the ship about 9:30. 

It was Colombus Day today and ironically it is a huge holiday here as well as where Colombus set sail  Our day started off at the monument of Christopher Columbus where he stands 100’s of feet up pointing in the direction of America.   We then walked up Las Ramblas which is the high end shopping street and then over to the Catheral which was beautiful.  Mass was going on so we sat down and listened for a while to the beautiful organ music.   We then were hungry so stopped to get Tapas….the big thing in Spain.  Little plates of appetizer that you share and pass around.   They were excellent.   We then walked over to Sagrado Familia Church (Sacred Family church) which was designed by Gaudi (Barcelona’s native son).  I learned today that is where our word “gawdy comes from”  his style is very ornate and elaborate.  Some people like it…but some think it’s “Gaudi”.  LOL.   It was pretty amazing.  We then went to Barcelonas Arch de Triumps and to the Gothic area which has all gothic architecture and is where the Picasso Museum is.   Picasso lived in Barcelona from age 10 to 19 so they had a lot of his early works there. 

At this point Craig was tired but I wanted to go shopping so he headed back to the ship and I went shopping for about an hour and then came back to ship.  He was taking a nap so I went to the gym…lifted weights for an hour and treadmill for 30 minutes.  By then it was time to go to dinner.   We set sail.   Our waiter told us that it is supposed to be a rough night on the seas.  It was beautiful weather in Barcelona and the sea seems so calm but the waiter said they needed to fasten everything down in the dinning room.  The captain made and announcement that it was going to be “high seas tonight” and to be very careful walking around the ship.   So craig and I just got back to the room and took some Dramamine just in case.   I don’t want to be sick for Monte Carlo.

We might go to the uncensored comedy show tonight but it is not until midnight…and we have a 9 am tour tomorrow  of the Gran Prix in Monaco, the Monte Carlo Casino, the Hotel Paris, and the cathedral where Grace Kelly is buried…so I need to get some sleep.

Other than feeling sad about the cruise coming to an end my mood is a bit better…usually when I back pack around the world I’m pretty ready to come home by the end of the trip…but this time I’m not. Yet, in some ways I am…I sort of look at it as a fresh start to make some new changes in my life with some of the enlightenment I’ve gotten on this trip.  

Update:   The seas just got really rough and  they made an announcement that they would not be able to port or dock in Monaco and that they were going to go to genoa Italy.  But then an hour later they said that Genoa was out of the question and we would be sailing out further into the Mediterranean to calmer waters.

They cleared all the decks and the wind was 30 knots or 50 miles and hours and 20 foot swells.  I took an extra Dramamine.  I was totally disappointed as I really really wanted to go to Monte Carlo.

I woke up at 6:30 on Sunday….. and had room service.  It was dark out and there was a storm….you could see lightening on the horizon…it was pretty incredible.  I then went to a 9 am Pilate Class for an hour but it wasn’t enough…so I did another ½ hour on the gym.  I asked if they had a scale on the ship but they said No..  But I actually think I may have lost weight or at least stayed the same as my clothes are getting loose and I’ve been making healthy eating choices part of the time.  After Pilate I have just been relaxing….but the sea is very rough today…it’s been extremely smooth but the boat is really rocking and rolling today.  

Gonna rest for a while…maybe even take a nap and then our last formal dinner.   As I write this we are sailing off the coast of Corsica and a bunch of little islands. They had a debarkation talk this morning which was depressing…because we only have 3 more full days at sea and I so don’t want to come home.   I think I could spend a year cruising the world and not get bored.

the pace picked up yesterday.   Craig decided to do a shore excursion to Taormina and the Greek Theater while I did my shore excursion to Mt. Etna.   We both had to be out the door at 8 am.  

I always get a little nervous doing shore excursions because they tend to be pricey and then you find out when you get off the boat that you can do most things by yourself or for ½ the price.   This is one time I’m glad I did shore excursion…it would have been nearly impossible to have done Mt. Etna by myself.    We started in Messina city and as we drove by the guide explained it was the 3^rd largest city in Sicily and was completely destroyed in 1908 by an Earthquake/ Tsunami that killed 100,000.   As we drove up the coast he pointed out the land slide that killed 30 people last week.   The drive was very scenic with castles and villages built upon the cliffs.   He also explained about the Sicilian Mafia and the filming of the Godfather here in Sicily.   The drive to Mt. Etna took about 2 hours….up the longest and narrowest road ever.   Mt. Etna is about 9000 ft up and is actually a series of several volcanic craters combined.   The most recent explosion was 2001.

We toured some of the lava flows and then had a chance to hike up to one of the craters.  I almost didn’t do it as it was 60 degree slope with loose volcanic sand and rock…but I love hiking and volcanoes and did….So now I’ve been to the top of 8 active volcanoes!!

It was pretty incredible.  I just love volcanoes for some reason….there is always so much force and power and starkness which is truly the birth of new life, new earth.   After hiking up to the crater…we got back on the bus and headed back down the hill.     We got back to the ship about 2 pm.   I then went off on my own and toured around Messina which was actually quite quaint but everything was closed because of the funerals and at this point it was siesta time. 

I got back on the boat and decided to go to the gym and lift weight for an hour.  By then it was 5 pm.  I met up with Craig and we went to our sit down dinner.  During dinner the ship had left at 5 pm and about an hour into it…the boat stopped…we found out later that two people were left behind and didn’t get on the ship in time and was piloted out.   After dinner we gambled alittle as we sailed by Stromboli the active lava volcano which was cool…it was pitch black out and all you could see was the eerie red orange glow of the lava spewing forth.    We have a fun day at sea and then three ports in a row..Barcelona..Monaco/Monte Carlo…and Florence.    I really wanted to do the tour to Monte Carlo Casino and Hotel Paris so we signed up for the excursion for that.   We also found out that you do have to get dressed up to enter the Casino.   Both of us have been to Florence before and I had been to Pisa…so we decided to splurge and we booked ourselves on a 10 hour excursion to Tuscany which includes a lunch at a local farm and visiting some of the villages of Tuscany as well as the sites from “Under the Tuscan Sun”.   Which will be our last day before coming home.  I’m already getting sad.

Its currently 10:30 pm…and I’m on the Mediterranean sea approaching the tip of the boot in Italy en route to Messina, Sicily…Our room is in the back of the boat with a huge patio and I’m on my laptop watching the ½ moon rise and the reflection of the moon beams on the rippling water made by the swirls of the propellers…Craig is at the Casino.  We just finished watching an awesome show.  I’m calling it an early night as I have to get up and off the boat by 8 am for my trip to Mt. Etna.
 
So after I last wrote, I headed back to the ship and went to the gym for an hour. I then met up with Craig and had lunch.   Craig went to do laundry on the ship…I on the other hand hate hate hate doing laundry so I splurged an paid the cabin steward $15 to do a load of laundry for me.   The ship sailed out of the harbor of Venice at 5 pm….it was beautiful…the sun was beginning it’s descent casting an orange glow over the city as the ship sailed past the piazzos, canals, bridges, and cathedrals.   We did our usual evening stuff...show, gamble, eat and chit chat.

Today was  a “Fun Day at Sea” as we voyage toward Sicily.   I woke up late  at 9 am…which is late for me.   After having some breakfast and coffee I went to the Travel talk for the next few ports.  Apparently there was an earthquake in Sicily last week which triggered mudslides and rockslides and a lot of people were killed.   So parts are shut down and tomorrow is a national day of mourning…but this will not effect my trip to Mt. Etna but will effect the port of Messina.   They also informed us that Monday Oct. 12th…is a national Holiday in Spain (Columbus day) so many things will be closed there as well.
 
After the travel talk I went to the gym and ran 5.1 miles in an hour on the treadmill.   I didn’t see Craig nearly all day…he was out sunning and swimming. I then had lunch and then went shopping on board for some watches and colognes since it is duty free.   At 4 pm Craig and I went to Yoga which was really nice.   Then it was off to dinner, a meeting and then the show….so it was anice full relaxing day.
 
One of the things I’ve learned on this trip is 1) I have a really hard time just relaxing I get caught up in this fear “that I’m missing something” or “I’m missing the fun” and 2) I don’t do well when I don’t have a schedule or routine…I find myself very anxious and self absorbed.   So just some new things for me to look at and work on.
 
Tomorrow as I said…we arrive in Sicily….the main thing there I want to see is Mt. Etna as it is the most active volcano in Italy and you all know how I love my volcanoes!!!   Sunday will be a day at sea..and Monday will be Barcelona.
 
The weather on this trip has been phenomenal…it has been sunny and 80 every single day!! And my health has been phenomenal as well!  The ship is gorgeous and it is it’s 2nd sailing…they are still varnishing some of the stuff and ironing out a few “bugs” but over all is wonderful…..13 stories!! I often take the stairs.  Well, I am about to head to sleep soon.  I hope all is well with you….I will probably send out another shout out on Sunday.