Day 8 - Our Day in Ostia

On Sunday after we disembarked from the ship we took a taxi to Ostia where we spent the day with Cyril's cousin Jenii, her husband Mario, their 2 girls Analisa and Sienna, and Cyril's Auntie Margie. They live in London but they vacation in Ostia for the month of August. We were glad we planned our trip so we could meet up with them in Italy. The last time Cyril saw them (and I met them) was 14 years ago when they visited Calgary.

We had such a wonderful day! We spent the entire day at the beach where we played with the girls, ate gelato, walked along the beach front shopping area and marina, had the yummiest Italian food, and of course just talked and talked about everything. It was nice to catch up and get to know them better. Analisa and Sienna were so much fun and so sweet. We only wished our kids were there too! It was such a wonderful visit we didn't want to leave, but we had an early Vatican tour the next morning.

Thanks Jenii and Mario for everything!! We wish we lived closer so we could see you more often. Eating Italian food just hasn't been the same!!!

Day 6 and 7 - Crete and Last day at Sea

We had a very short day in Crete. We had to be back at the ship by noon so we spent the morning walking around on our own. We toured a Venetian Castle called the Koules Fortress. It is on the harbour walls and was built in the early 1500's. It was great because we were pretty much the only visitors there. It was neat to think of all the battles that would have taken place there. Cyril really enjoyed it! We also went to an archeological museum and walked around the town for a bit before heading back to the ship.

Back on the ship, we decided to try out Johnny Rockets for lunch. The food was a little greasy but we had a fun time. Cyril even got up to dance along with the staff as they did "Stayin Alive!"

The next day was our last day which was at sea. We spent most of the day packing, exploring the ship, relaxing and getting caught up on sleep. We also watched the Ice dancing show which was amazing! We had to be up early the next morning as we disembarked at 7:30 am. Overall we really enjoyed the cruise and especially loved all the amazing sites we were able to see during the week. It always goes by way too fast!

Day 5 - Ephesus, Turkey

I learned so much during our day in Ephesus. It was so cool to be walking down the same streets that the Apostle Paul walked on 2 thousand years before! The grand theatre was exactly that...GRAND! I felt so small standing there picturing the thousands of people crowded in to hear Paul speak. It was very humbling to realize how these people lived so long ago and the amazing structures they built with much less technology than we have today. I am really greatful for the opportunity to travel to these biblical monuments and experience the gospel in such a different way!

Day 3 & 4 - Day at Sea and Athens, Greece

Athens was so amazing! I didn't know much about Acropolis and the Parthenon ahead of time but I was fascinated by the magnitude of the structures. It amazes me how they could have built these buildings over 2000 years ago.

We had a tour of the Acropolis in the morning and then spent the entire afternoon on our own exploring the city and ruins. It was extremely hot! It felt like about 40 degrees celcius. We drank tons of water but by 2 pm I thought I was going to faint. We decided to go find a cafe to take a break and have some lunch. We had souvlaki but were a little disappointed. We thought the souvlaki here in Canada is better.

After lunch we both felt much better and enjoyed the rest of our site seeing and shopping. We got back to the ship just before 6 pm. We had such a great day!

Our European Vacation! Day 1 & 2

For our 10 year anniversary Cyril and I decided we wanted to do something special. Cyril looked into all sorts of possible vacations and we finally decided on an eastern Mediterranean cruise. He booked everything about a year ago and planned the entire trip. I didn't have to worry about a thing because he was so well prepared (I always leave everything to the last minute) and the whole trip went flawless. [Except for a little problem with our memory card and we lost a whole day's worth of pictures!]

The only thing that was not sure was how our 3 kids would do without us for almost 2 weeks. Between my sister Krista, who had them during the week, and my mom who had them on the weekends, they were well taken care of. They even spent a whole day with Lolo and Lola who took them to Chuck E Cheese. Thanks everyone for all your help!! Krista said Holton didn't cry or fuss at all and the girls barely even noticed we were gone. Cyril and I missed them alot but we had so much fun on our own. It was definitely nice to get away and spent some 'real' time together without having to change diapers, do dishes, or make dinner!

To make things easy we stayed overnight at Rachelle and Matt's house so Matt could take us to the airport without having to wake up the kids. We left very early on Aug 16 with Jaidyn crying at the window as we drove away! A nice start to our trip!! When we called from Toronto to check on them, they told us that all was well and Jaidyn was totally fine. She just couldn't let us leave without making us feel extremely guilty!

The trip to Rome was very long and we were so happy to arrive at the ship. It was an 8 hour time change so we were both exhausted.

Our itinerary was:
Rome, Italy
Messina, Sicily
Day at sea
Athens, Greece
Ephesus, Turkey
Heraklion, Crete
Day at sea
Back to Rome where we spent 3 days before flying home.

We had such an AMAZING trip and saw so many wonderful sites. I really liked Athens but we both really enjoyed Rome and especially the time we spent in Ostia, Italy with Cyril's cousin Jenii and her family. They live in London but spend the summer in Ostia. The last time we saw them was 14 years ago! We loved playing with their 2 girls and just hanging out at the beach. It was so nice getting to know them better. And the food was SO YUMMY!!!! Eating Italian food in Calgary just won't be the same! I miss it already!!!

Cyril and I are back from our trip and we had such an amazing time! I am working on the slide show but we have over a thousand pics to choose from so it might be while. I'm going to break it down to a few days at a time so it won't be so long. Check back soon!