Back to Rome, to the Vatican, then home...sadness

All good things come to an end...and so brought the end to our 12 nights aboard the Carnival Dream through the Mediterranean. I always am sad to come back, but our vacation wasn't quite over yet! :-) We had another day to explore Rome and Vatican City! Just as we did previously, we took the train into Rome. That meant lugging all our bags to the station...

Sort of a fiasco when I said "let's get off here," referencing the Vatican stop. HA! We had to wait for a taxi...then it was an adventure finding the hotel...which had it's lobby on a second floor and a small little sign. I wouldn't recommend Hotel Sant' Angelo, it was dated and uncomfortable. We had an old school 13" TV that didn't even turn on. Ha! Oh well we opted to spend the majority of hotel funds the first night in Rome...which we definitely scored big on. Hotel Artemide was primo!

We did a tour of the Vatican, which was amazing. So many pieces of art, sculptures, and celebrities? Yup, we saw Vince Vaughn strolling through! It was too funny because I got him on video...promptly getting a "no pictures" from his body guard. As I am not a paparazzi, I simply was like, "come on, I'm on a tour!" I laughed!

But the best part was seeing the Sistine Chapel in person. OH MAN! I was in awe...wow. No words can describe such an intricate painting telling stories, beliefs, and more. It was something to see, I recommend it to everyone!! No pictures are allowed in there, so sorry...



Then we got to see St Peters Bascillica which blew my mind too! It was huge! So much to see, so much to take in...time never allows as much as you need.

We headed back to our hotel and changed for dinner...decided to go back to where we spent our first dinner in Rome, in Piazza Navona. Had dinner across the square from the first night...and it was amazing, again!

Deb even got the BEST hot chocolate she has ever had, I thought it was too much chocolate, but oh man, it was amazing, too!

The following morning, after a quick nap (so it felt) in the sub-par hotel, we headed to the airport. Our driver was arranged to be there bright and early at 430am...yikes!

We were exhausted after an amazing honeymoon...thanks for reading all the posts! It was fun thinking back on it...what a great way to spend our first two weeks of marriage!!!

Firenze (aka Florence), last port of call...bathroom fiasco(s)

I am going to try and be brief, quick, etc...we have so much going on now that blogging our honeymoon seems like old news and frankly, who cares anymore?! Actually, I know there a couple of you Kadlec blog readers that do read it (hello sister!).

Oh where do I start...we had a 7am to 7pm day in Livorno, a port city about an hour outside of Florence. We did the "Florence on your own" tour through Carnival. Based on readings before the trip this seemed like the most logical choice and most economical. Oye, it was...but with plenty of entertainment!

Not kidding...we get on the bus and someone says "can we stop for a bathroom before we get there?" Excuse my abbreviation, WTF! I was angry, but Debbie was furious...I mean, we are one of the youngest people on the cruise, and youngest on the bus. We knew well enough to go before we got off the ship 10 minutes earlier! Oye. So, 1/2 way to Florence we stopped at a gas station to let off the whining guests...95% of the bus got off. The fiasco of getting everyone situated, back on the bus, etc...yeah, fun stuff.

But we got there and holy crap, what an amazing city. I think Florence could be my favorite...we went to the Duomo and neighboring Gioto's Bell Tower. We climbed the bell tower as the line was shorter. We got up to the first platform and I think we both said "that wasn't so bad." Ha, that was the first of four! By the top we were a little pooped and tired. Luckily for us we prepared and our Nalgene full of water again was a Godsend. The view was amazing!!

Then we of course went to get some gelato. I mean, "why not?" We took the advice of our guide that gave us recommendations on the bus ride over. She was not wrong! We went there TWICE, once again before we headed back towards the bus!

We explored and went down to the Accademia to see where the "David" was. "WAS" because it was a Monday and in Italy the majority of all museums are closed on Mondays. Boo. We missed out a lot but made up for it elsewhere. That is a recreated version of the statue, to scale, etc.

Next we walked over to the Pontevecchio, which is a famous store-lined bridge. Debbie continued her shopping...window shopping, at least. We really didn't buy much... One thing we joked about throughout the honeymoon was "trusting" another couple, person, or whoever with our camera. Another couple was as reluctant as us, we all laughed about the topic, and they were gracious and snapped a beautiful shot of us on the bridge.

We wondered back through Florence searching for leather, a staple of the city. Eventually we did find some...I got myself a new briefcase (which I finally broke in this week, actually!!) and Debbie got herself an Italian handbag (it's red and I haven't seen another one even resembling it back in the states, which is pretty sweet! Ditto to my briefcase, it's embossed with TDK and all!)

We also hit St Croce chuch...so beautiful outside and in...we toured the inside, too!

It was around here when we ran into Bob and Lisa and got to pull out the "EH! EH!" in the streets of Florence. They were caught off guard, but it was hilarious. So much fun.

After we got the gelato, best in Italy, again...we had to meet back up with our group. Let's see...one guy lost his wife en route back to the bus...his comment "she has her passport and knows how to get back" and we LEFT! Not kidding!! Then, like clockwork, someone asked for a pit stop. This time Debbie yelled "come on, this is not included in the tour!" No need to say what happened but I swear we were going to have a rebellion against us "kids."

(Deb snapped a shot of the cranky, bathroom-loving folks!)

Oh well, Florence was a blast all the way around!!

More Monaco and then Nice, France!

It's great waking up knowing we were already in port. We ate breakfast and were off onto shore!

I had mapped it out, I knew how to get to the train station...umm, sort of. We found our way there and went through the hassle of NOT having COINS to pay for the train ticket to Nice. Well, we eventually found out how to get to the ticket booth and ran for it. We ran back and just made it onto the train.

Nice was my first time making it to France, obviously, since this was my first trip to Europe. I was sort of disappointed. So was Deb. Unfortunately it was a Sunday so many things were closed. However, we made the most of it. We found our way to the French Riviera and were on the lookout for stars.

All we found was the beach, a nice market, and a place to enjoy some Leffe (to take the edge off).

I had found myself figuring out Italian from the first 10 or so days, plus it's close resemblance to Spanish. In France, I was lost. I was like "perhaps the beef tare tare." The waiter informed me, thankfully, "that is raw beef." Ha! I opted for the ham & cheese! It actually was on a baguette which turned out to be the best bread I ate on the entire trip! Deb went crazy in France...another pizza. She was pleasantly surprised, though!

Being semi-disappointed we opted to head back to Monaco and explore the city further. We got gelato, walked through the beautiful (and very rich) city. Found our way to the palace and even went to see Princess Grace's tomb. Overall it was a lot fun. Before we made it back onto the ship we stopped for cappuccino and crepes! Whoa, the crepes were amazing. Debbie was in heaven!!

Even got a nice shot of the ship before making it back onboard.

Next stop...the much anticipated Florence (aka Firenze)!

Golf...then winning at the "Monte Carlo Casino"

Even though we were supposed to wake up in Barcelona and head off to enjoy tapas and spanish culture we woke up alongside Italy. In only a few hours we'd pull up alongside Monaco a day earlier than expected. We'd have preferred the day in Barcelona, but sometimes things just work out...

We met up with the Carson's in the spa that morning and a day of activities unfolded. We all competed in a putting competition in the lobby. I sunk 2 of 3 balls! I was all set to move on to the next round until those old folks came in and put 3 in a row in. I was like, dammit! :-) We even convinced Debbie to putt...she did awesome...like a pro.

Then Bob and I ventured up to the top deck for some mini golf. We had time for a full game, and an abbreviated game. I was down by 6 strokes and miraculously came back! It was a game of chance with blowing winds and a rocking ship! Once our time was over we ran and met up with our wives for Bingo. Of course!

At dinner we planned out our night in Monte Carlo. I was sooo excited! I wanted to go into the Monte Carlo Casino in a full tux, James Bond-like. I settled for the suit. We went out with our friends from the ship, Bob and Lisa, Tricee and Horas, and Kate and Derek. You think you are doing well in life until you go to Monaco. The cars parked on the street are insane! Lamborghini's, Ferrari's, Porsche's, classic cars, Bentley's, and so on!

We paid the 10 euro cover charge and went into the Monte Carlo. I was not scared to drop money into a slot...I was not going to be intimidated...no way! I went ahead and put in a whole 5 euros! (the minimum) Well...it worked out! I won 35 euros which covered our cover, slot money and the 4.50 euro water I got for Deb. What a fun time we all had in there. The ornate decorations, the clientele, the whole experience. We all went towards the VIP area, but that didn't work. I had the beautiful woman on my arm (which seemed to be the first requirement), but my wallet was obviously insufficient. Hello, I just dropped 5 euros! :-)


Afterwards we all wandered back towards the ship through the Carnival and more. We all had a full day the next day!

Mediterranean Storm, a day from Hell!

Since we booked an inside cabin it was always dark...which is perfect for Debbie's love of sleeping! The ship was rocking, rolling, and slamming into the waves...I couldn't believe I had slept all the way until 12 noon! I quietly got out of bed, got dressed and figured I'd go explore what kind of waves we were going through.

I noticed there was little light from outside...heard creaks all over the ship. You never would have guessed the ship was a mere 3 weeks old! The elevators in the grand lobby (spanning 10 or so decks) were shaking and you could visibly see their cables shaking back and forth. I found my way to my favorite lookout and couldn't make it outside. There was a sign about the heavy winds. So I backtracked and found a dead end again at my alternate. I went to the spa deck, found my way through their secret stairs and found the top deck. There was one guy there watching. So we got talking. Well, we were going through 45 foot seas and fighting winds upwards of 70 mph! Crazy! I mean our ship is 200 feet tall, 130 feet wide, and 1000 feet long...no matter which way you cut it...that's a lot of wind area!

Chairs were buckled down, doors were sealed off, and the Cove balconies, which I was wanting us to upgrade to...were locked from the outside! See, these balconies are a mere 40 feet from the sea! It's one mistake I could have and would have paid the repercussions to! (Deb didn't want to be that close to the water if we started sinking!)

It was around this time when I "woke up" and realized my watch read a little after 6 AM! Apparently the moment I woke up my watch was positioned just right at 12 and 6. Oye.

That day was rough, people all over the ship were quite sick. Debbie, included. The ship was really moving. In 1993, on the Carnival Celebration (oddly enough, another CCL ship), our family was on a cruise in the caribbean and we went right through a Tropical Storm. I may not remember things like they were yesterday, being 11 and all, but it was not nearly as bad as this. SOme of the slamming of the bow into the water were definitely beyond scary.

We were going between Sicily and Sardinia en route to Barcelona, Spain. At one point, around noon, we turned around. I was actually up in the gym when we made the "turn." WOW was the ship listing, it was nuts! Nobody knew why we were turning around, but it made sense, we had to go another way. We ended up hugging the coast of Sardinia...but found out later...we were going to miss our stop in Barcelona. UGH! We were both so disappointed.

(FYI, the coast guard turned us around due to the conditions. They were unsafe for travel. Another ship in the Mediterranean, the other option for our cruise, had it even worse! Another instance where I could have been in hot water!) The story is over at Cruise Critic.

The weather improved and we started making good time towards the end of the day...we found out we'd have a morning at sea and arrive in Monte Carlo, Monaco early.

Night ended with another formal night...here is the "loud table in the corner." I'm sure that's we were dubbed...we had loads of fun at every dinner!

Cannolis in Sicily...day 9

Well after another day at sea, Debbie and I were ready for more exploring in Italy. Much had been anticipated for our visit to Sicily. My friend recalls Sicily as one of his favorite places to visit when he goes to see family in Italy.

Plus we got an incredible deal on our excursion due to my addiction to the Cruise Critic (cruisecritic.com) website and message boards. Months out of the cruise I started communicating with our fellow passengers with questions, advice, etc etc about the cruise, itinerary, and more! it's a great tool for anyone looking or planning on taking a cruise. In almost every stop members arrange excursions at lesser costs on their own. We took advantage here. The cruise version of our "Taormina on your own" was approaching $100 each. We did it for $20 each. Totally worth it...left more in the budget for cannolis!

We ventured to Taormina and went to the Greek Amphitheater on the mountainside. The town was okay...we were definitely disappointed. Call it spoiled but we were not feeling the rain, humidity and temperatures in the 60s. Plus the bugs...strange looking ones....

So what did we do, we had lunch! I had a GIGANTIC calzone (with gorgonzola and more inside) while Debbie went way out of her comfort zone and ordered a..........pizza! All was amazing, as usual.

Afterwards we strolled the shops more and I bought more liquor. It's a cinnamon liqour called Cannella. It tastes like Christmas in a bottle! This time I didn't buy one for home and one for the ship...just one for home. But we did bring back pastries for the ship!!! (You know they never have enough onboard anyways...)

It was an okay place, Sicily, perhaps we'll like it next time. It was a beautiful departure when the weather cleared some...

Smooth sailing ahead and off to Barcelona. Or were we? The suspense builds! (Or not, I'm sure you all know what happened next!)

Move over food, back to honeymoon recap! Day 8

So I lost the wind in my sails on getting the honeymoon recap out the door. I'm back and going to move on!!

After Dubrovnik, we had another day at sea. It can be summed up easliy, relaxation...

...and BINGO twice, in the lounge then by the pool.


Our ship was apparently taking advantage of the calm seas, making great time en route to Sicily, that the Captain decided to do some maneuvering and such. We woke up to the the following the next morning. Perhaps he was out a little too late the night before???

(Actually the crew was definitely visible at night...including our Cruise Director who was more than willing to have a good time!)

Next stop...Messina, Italy...on the Island of Sicily.

Dubronik, Croatia...a new place for both of us! Day 7

Dubrovnik, Croatia we had heard lots of good things about before we left, and it was definitely one of the most intriguing ports of call. With all the cruise websites and excursion sites, I came up with minimal things to learn and figure out what to do. We decided we'd play it as it went...take the bus into downtown towards the city walls...and just have a good time. Instead of it just being us, Bob and Lisa joined us to walk the walls and more!

What a beautiful country Croatia is...the water was pristine, the countryside was gorgeous, and the walls were historic. But right as we were making it to the walls we saw a fight! It was a dove and a cat...guess who won? The dove actually...some alert tourist kicked the cat off the dove who was injured but walked away from the fight...not sure why this is information to share in our honeymoon blogging, but it just came to mind. Going for details here! ;-)

When we made it about halfway through the walls we stopped for some local beer...Karlavacko. It was light and tasty, perfect for the stop. We traded in the cans from the first round for more, then more! Who knows how long we'd been up there, just talking, sharing stories, enjoying the trip...we met some of our fellow passengers. Lisa was just saying she got stung by a dead bee when this little boy pops out from behind me (like a jack in the box) and says "how do you get stung by a dead bee?" Lisa's response, "I stepped on it while walking on the beach." Kid says "why weren't you wearing shoes?" Lisa, "it was the beach." Kid, "they make shoes for the beach." It just kept going and going, more kids kept coming and coming...soon enough it was a ball! Funniest part, which is becoming a classic line...someone asked the kid how old they thought I was...he goes..."late....(pause).....forties!" OYE!!

Anyways, I was called grandpa by the father and the story lingered throughout the trip!

Eventually we made it off the wall and through the streets...beautiful.

To lunch! We made it to a local restaurant down some stairs and we all had unbelievable food! Deb had the best pizza here...yes, in Croatia! Bob and I toasted some Grappa. Deb had tried in on previous Italian trips, but I had to go for it. I even convinced Bob (not that it took convincing to go for it with me!). It was awesome!

Back onboard for more spa, food, and honeymoon!

A day at sea then to the Italian Island of Sicily!

Day 6...Last Day in Venice

Our second day in Venice started off with me being...well, me. Like I said in my previous post, we bought 2-day vaporetto passes and I lost mine! We were walking off the ship and Debbie says "do you have your pass?" My thought was "come on Deb, I don't lose everything!" Well.......I did.....and I guess I do! :-)

After waiting in line for the second day, we got moving towards St Marks Square, the Bascillica, Doge's Palace, etc etc etc. It was awesome. We got moving into the church first. The lines grow all day long and we wanted to ensure we got in and didn't spend the day waiting in line! We watched the water slowly rise in the square and even in the church! It was an amazing church.

The water rising is definitely a sad reality for the city...

Next up was lunch on the canal...we had more pizza and followed it up with more gelato! We even bought an original painting by a local artist...he signed the back for us!

Then our walk through the alleys commenced again and we made it back for more shopping at the Rialto Bridge. Deb got her Venetian mask for the nights festivities...

The way out of Venice we watched us sail through the canal from the whirlpools on Deck 15. They were quickly deemed not nearly good enough to the spa and we hustled indoors for some luxury treatment!

That night we did the Venetian sailaway party with our friends...Bob & Lisa, Horas and Tricee, and Derek and Kate. Most nights we spent time at the piano bar, but on this night we headed to the back of the ship to the nightclub.


Two awesome days in Venice went quickly...we were off towards Croatia...

Gondola, Murano, & Running!!! Venice, Italy - Day 5

One of the major reasons we picked the Carnival Dream was it's itinerary, especially that it spent two days in Venice. Of all the cities we were to visit on our trip, I was most excited about Venice. Debbie and so many others have been there in the past...rave reviews from all!

We arrived early in Venice thanks to one of our fellow passengers falling ill. His peril was our bonus. The ship arrives through the canal systems, and I was perched out front with camera and camcorder in hand to catch it all. Debbie eventually met me out front before we started seeing the beautiful views of the city. The ship moved very slowly through the canals and into Venice's Grand Canal where we pulled alongside Doge's Palace, St Marks Square, the Bascillica and the Bell Tower. In addition all the hundreds of canals, gondolas, and excited tourists!

First thing we did was get a Vaporetto pass, which is most like a subway pass. We bought the two day pass so that we could use it both days. Next stop, Murano. Debbie and I planned ahead, bought a Venice popout map, and were all set to take the "DM" boat "direct to Murano Island." So we got on and even had two other passengers that Debbie got acquainted with follow us. Yup...we got lost. See our map was a year old and the routes were changed. Two things then happened...we had to figure out what to do next and get on another boat...and said goodbye to those friendly Dream passengers who said in so many words "we'll get lost on our own!"

We arrived in Murano and it was gorgeous. We ate lunch there, shopped, and enjoyed the beautiful historic glass-blowing city. No big purchases here as the island was quite expensive! I got a pair of Murano glass cufflinks and we got a Christmas ornament for our tree.

Back to Venice we arrived at the Rialto Bridge. A historic bridge with shops lining the topside. Shopping commenced! We both got Venetian masks for the sailaway party back onboard the following day, Debbie got those Cameo earrings (beautiful roses!), and more shot glasses!

We navigated through the alleys to a little restaurant for dinner. I wanted tortellini, so when we finally found the place that had it...we went in! In Italy they seat people next to each other that are complete strangers. One mystery was this was our worst meal of the entire trip. This was better than nearly every Italian restaurant we've ever eaten in (aside from Little Italy and the Hill in St Louis)... The other mystery was our neighbor tablemates. I said no, Debbie said yes. She's prepared the evidence and I have since agreed...yes, they were 60+ year old lesbians. Oye. Feeding each other, holding hands, she was right...I was probably just loopy on some good Italian wine!

After dinner we strolled through St Marks Square and found ourselves a gondolier. See, it was COLD that night, probably 40s or so. We were the only ones at 930 that were up for a gondola! It was great, it was romantic, it was scenic, and very memorable. What great times!

The hike back to the ship was made more funny and dramatic (to me at least) when my new wife says while on the Vaporetto, "I have to use the bathroom." Simple task anywhere else, but not in Venice. Oye. It was midnight and we were still a mile from the ship when we got off the boat. No bathrooms in sight. The walk back to the ship turned to a brisk walk, to a power walk, to a slow jog, a jog, than a slow run! It was me chasing Debbie! As she got to the security checkpoint she pushes past some slow people and I am chasing after her. She runs past and gets back onto the ship as the security people are looking at me like some crazy man chasing her! It was quite humorous and I hope she doesn't kill me for telling the story!!

Sleep time, then another day in Venice!