The Never Ending Birthday

Having a summer birthday Colin has a real knack for stringing them out as long as possible. This year he managed to have even more birthday celebrations than ever before. He was honored at dinner our last night on the boat (Aug 18th) by the stewards. They sang him happy birthday in Javanese, as the majority of the staff in the dining room were from Java.



Then he had to pose for a few pictures, since they totally spoiled him every night at dinner.

Then on his actual birthday, in Venice, he had his gondola ride and day of fun. When we got home we had some presents waiting for us that had come in the mail while we were gone. So we got our traditional Carvel ice cream cake and celebrated with the next door neighbors to open those gifts. Then, the next day, Sunday, was mail day (the one day a week that a plane comes in and brings us mail) and there were some more gifts for him to open. The following Saturday he had a birthday party to celebrate with all his friends. He lives for the birthday party and even on his actual birthday in Venice he kept asking when he was going to have his "real birthday" meaning the one with friends, cake and bouncy castles. Of course after Saturday comes Sunday, mail day, and more presents! LOL It seriously was the birthday that never ended. The poor kid is going to be so confused when it becomes a one day celebration! Here are the pictures of all the celebrations post cruise. 

Colin turns 5!

Welcome (back) to Venice!

Venice Post Cruise

It is always a sad day when you have to get off the cruise ship. We've experienced this before and knew better than to attempt to fly home that day. Compounding the depression from leaving the lap of luxury with the depression that vacation is now over and you are on your way home is just too much. So we decided to book a few days in Venice on the back end of our trip too to allow us some time to emotionally wind down from our vacation.

The second time around Venice was better, we were better acclimated to the heat and humidity. The day after we got off the boat was Colin's 5th birthday. We took him to the Natural History Museum where we saw all kinds of awesome things. He enjoyed looking at all the fossils, taxidermy animals and other artifacts from various cultures around the world. When we asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday he said he wanted to ride in a gondola. So we waited for the evening time after dinner to go on our gondola ride. Colin loved it and our gondolier was very nice, he had a young son just shy of Colin's age so he was chatting Colin up and at the end of the ride he let Colin wear his hat and help steer the boat. Colin thought that was fantastic!

Another thing we wanted to do during our stay was visit the other islands, specifically Murano and Burano. We took the ferry boat and wandered the cemetery, which is a small island off the main island of Venice, between there and Murano. The only thing on the island is the cemetery. It is of course very old and was huge. It was quite interesting to walk around and several famous people are laid to rest there, including the famous poet Ezra Pound and composer Igor Stravinsky. Next stop was Murano, the island famous for their glass. We watched a man make several glass figurines in the shape of a cat, unicorn, and more. It was incredible how he took a blob of melted glass and in a matter of two minutes had shaped it into a perfect animal! When we were done wandering the streets of Murano we boarded the water bus to take us to the island of Burano. A little further out, it is famous for it's brightly colored houses and high quality lace. The houses there definitely had a different style to them and it was gorgeous to walk around and look at them all.

Finally it was time to pack it up and early in the morning, just before sunrise we caught a water taxi to the airport. On our ride from the island to the mainland we watched a beautiful sunrise which was a perfect end to our trip. Our flight home had us land and change planes in Zurich, Switzerland. Just an hour in the airport there where I could speak and understand the language (German) and seeing the countryside from the air made me homesick for Germany. We passed over the Swiss Alps which were covered in snow even in August! Beautiful! While we were not thrilled to have to head back to the island and get back to reality I was ready to get home to my Cooper dog.

Kefalonia

Argostoli

The last stop on the cruise was on the Greek island of Kefalonia. We pulled into port in a beautiful town called Argostoli and took a cab to Lassi, where we went to the beach to relax. The beach was packed, but obviously because it was so incredible that is where everyone wanted to go. The water was crystal clear! When we pulled in to port to dock the ship we saw a sea turtle swimming around in the water. When we got out to the beach we found ourselves swimming in 10 feet of water and it was so clear you could see shells on the ocean floor. Fish were swimming all around and they were brightly colored fish like the kind we spent a ton of money to buy for our salt water tanks over the years. We snorkeled all along the rocks and around for most of the day enjoying the amazing water.

Santorini

Santorini

If the cruise ship only stopped in Santorini I'd have been just fine with that. I've wanted to visit there for a very, very long time. It did not disappoint! It was HOT, but as beautiful as I'd imagined. We left Colin at the kids club on the boat because we didn't think this tour would appeal to him. I'm sure that was a good decision, we loved it but he would not have. The pictures don't do it justice, it was incredible.

Kusadasi

Kusadasi

Today was a port I was very excited for. For years I've wanted to go to Discovery Cove at Sea World in Orlando but just can't justify the price. Well Adaland Sea Park in Turkey is a smaller, similar type park for a much, MUCH better price. We booked our tickets from home before the cruise knowing we were definitely going to do this. It has several fish tank snorkeling areas where you can snorkel the reef, a stingray pool you can snorkel in, and even a cage to take you down to dive with the sharks! There is a small water park attached to it was well and Colin loved the water slides and lazy river. The water was COLD, much colder than I anticipated but thank goodness it was super hot that day and I was able to make myself get in. Colin didn't take any time at all to get the hang of snorkeling, he'd been doing it in the pool and at the beach at home a couple times. The shark tank was the funniest part of the day. He did NOT want to get in that tank and go down. He stood on the platform and watched Shelby and I go down instead and was very concerned for us. After we came up Shelby told him it was his turn and he was not so sure about it still, we pretty much made him do it because we knew once he got in there he would stop freaking out. That is exactly what he did too, went down and was excited to see the sharks swimming around him. He even went down a second time so I could take some pictures from the other side of the glass. It was a great day and we all loved the park.

Istanbul Day 2

I love Istanbul! Shelby made a run for the Starbucks (conveniently located right across the street from the cruise terminal!) while I took Colin to kids club and then we headed off for our full day tour of Istanbul.

Istanbul Day 2

The day began at the famous Blue Mosque where we had to cover up and take off our shoes. I'd heard about how pretty it was inside but nothing could prepare you for it. Absolutely gorgeous! Intricate details everywhere you look. After the mosque we went to a Turkish carpet shop for an explanation and to see how the carpets are made. Of course there was the option to buy as well, but we skipped that. About 10 people on our tour did buy rugs of all sizes though, it was neat watching them pick them out, maybe of the people fell in love with one they threw out in the demonstration and at the end they all ran to claim "their" rug before someone else did. Next we had some free time to wander the Grand Bazaar for a bit. We found some instruments to buy for Colin since he stayed behind on this tour. It wouldn't have interested him like the one from the night before.

After having some difficulty finding the Turkish rug shop, which was our meet up point to get back on the bus, we eventually found our group on the street near where the bus was stopping to pick us all up. Whew! That would have sucked! LOL We then headed over to Topkapi Palace where the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire lived for more than 400 years. Next up we headed to Hagia Sophia to tour that church before walking to a restaurant for a Turkish lunch. By the time we got to lunch it was nearly 2:00 and I was very happy I brought along some snacks! The tour was a long one but super fascinating and full of amazing sights. I would love to visit Istanbul again to see more sights.

At the end of the day we picked up Colin from kids club and took him to the pool. He and some friends had been doing flips into the pool for a few days and we'd been telling Colin he was not allowed to do them. Sure enough, that stubborn boy of mine didn't take our advice and he attempted one anyway when he thought we were not watching. He was on the opposite side of the pool from us so there was nothing we could do as he didn't land his flip and hit his head on the side of the pool. A man sitting by the edge where Colin fell in jumped in (fully clothed) to pull him from the pool because he had knocked himself out. About the time the guy got him out of the water is how long it took Shelby to make his way over all the pool chairs and around to the other side and Colin came too and was coughing up water as he handed him to Shelby. He cried and it gave him a giant goose egg right away, but he didn't appear to have any major signs of injury as we both assessed him right away. The ship's nurse also came down and did a quick assessment and determined he seemed to be ok and just to watch him as he had a concussion. Scared us and him half to death, he's lucky it wasn't worse and at least I don't have to worry about him attempting flips anymore.

Istanbul Day 1

Istanbul Day 1

We arrived into Istanbul in the late afternoon with beautiful views of the city. There were two cruise ships in port when we arrived and our parking spot on the dock was in front of them both, meaning we had to sail past them and then parallel park in our spot in a sense. It took some time and it was probably nerve wracking for the captain considering the majority of the passengers on our ship were on the top deck watching and many passengers from the other two ships had gathered on their decks to watch us as well. He pulled us right in with ease, it really was quite amazing.

Once docked we headed for the tour bus to get our tour started. It began with a stop at the Basilica Cistern, one of the few early architectural examples to survive and stand today. Then it was off to the famous Spice Bazaar where we all tasted many samples of Turkish Delight before buying a few boxes to take home with us. Colin learned quick that he could lay on the charm to get more goody samples, he enjoyed that part! The market was incredible, the pictures show some of the things you could buy there. After the market we boarded a sightseeing boat for a cruise of the Bosphorus Straight, considered one of the most scenic and beautiful places in the world. It splits the Asian and European sides of Istanbul (yes, the city limits actually lie on two continents!) and architecture from the Ottoman Empire dots both sides of the straight. Afterwards we went back to the boat for a party on the back deck with Turkish food and incredible views of the city under the moon.

Athens Greece

Athens, Greece

We're in Athens! We got off the boat as soon as they would let us that morning and bought tickets for a Hop On Hop Off bus that picked up right at the port, it was great. It took us straight to the Acropolis area and we made it out there before the crazy ridiculous crowds and before the crazy ridiculous heat. We couldn't have asked for better weather up there with a nice breeze to keep it from being too hot. We saw all kinds of amazing bits of history. We thought the ruins in Olympia were old, HA! These structures date back into the 400 BC time frame! I really just can't wrap my mind around that!

We toured all of the Acropolis hill, the Ancient Agora area and hiked down to where Hadrian's Arch and some other ruins are. We found a geocache and left one of our travel bugs there. According to the internet our travel bug has since left the cache in Athens, visited Zakynthos Island (Greece), and is now in Katalonia Greece. We can track it forever now and see where all it goes on it's trip around the world. We found a public park and let Colin play for a bit too, he was excited to see a playground. On the way back to the ship we carefully tracked down the Starbucks we had passed on the way to the Acropolis that morning and made sure to stop in for a treat. Italy does not believe in Starbucks and there are none there, so we had to wait until we got to Greece for the possibility of hitting one. After a hot day of walking around an ice cold white mocha was DELICIOUS! Then it was back to the boat for some swimming, dinner and rest.

Olympia/Katakolon Greece

Olympia/Katakolon Greece

First port of call, Katakolon Greece! This is a little port near the ancient Olympus ruins and we booked a tour through the cruise to go see the ruins and visit a winery. The ruins were, well, ruins. Interesting for sure, almost unbelievable when you really stop to think that these hunks of stone have been here for centuries before Christ! The tour guide told stories of the fittest, most athletic men in the land roaming naked, practicing for the games. These athletes were idolized just like modern day professional athletes. For Colin this part was a little boring. All he could see was rocks, which he desperately wanted to climb, crawl on, touch, run all over. Of course, being from the 5th century AD and all they somewhat disapprove the children jumping on them. He hung in there the best he could, but the history was lost on him. We did excite him some by telling him this is where Hercules (he's seen the Disney movie) lived, but overall...it was not very fun for him. We on the other hand enjoyed the history, disliked the heat and dust, and were glad we can say we've been there and seen it. It really is amazing to see what the people of the time built and the elaborate details and architecture for such an early time period.

The winery tour was great. Lots of yummy feta cheese, fat Greek olives and of course plenty of wine. Of course I could only sample a small glass of the wine, which was highly irritating, but at least I got to sample some! After a stop for some shopping and ice cream in the port town we boarded the ship for some pool time and dinner.

Venice Days - Pre-Cruise

Venice Pre-Cruise

This vacation felt like it was taking forever to arrive and actually start. Because of our remote location it can often take two days of travel to get on or off the island. This is what happened when we left for vacation. Our first flight leg left in the evening and took us from our island to Lisbon, where we had to overnight in a hotel before flying to Venice the next day. It was kind of nice to break up the flights this way and getting to Venice at 10:30 AM the next morning was definitely a perk!

Having been to Venice before it was helpful in knowing how to navigate the airport and get to the water bus stations. The airport is actually on the mainland part of Italy and you take a water bus (boat) from there to the island of Venice. It was nice to arrive early in the day before it got too dreadfully hot, especially since we were lugging three big suitcases and a carry on size one. Venice and luggage is a disaster, but we already knew that and were prepared. Luckily our experience also paid off in the navigation department and finding our hotel was a breeze, which is also highly unusual in this city.

By the time we arrived at the hotel and hauled the luggage up three (maybe four, I'm trying to block it from my memory) flights of stairs were were drenched in sweat, ready for a cold shower and thrilled to no end the air conditioning in the room actually worked. After resting for a bit we headed out to wander and find some lunch. By this time the sun was HOT and I was in shock. I'd forgotten what that kind of humid heat felt like.

In our few days in Venice before boarding the cruise ship we wandered and tried to take in as much as physically possible. The sun was draining for us not being quite used to that kind of heat. We ate A LOT of delicious food, mostly clams and mussels, and returned to the room a couple times a day to take a cool shower and so I could put my ever swelling feet up for a break. I'm glad we did stay in Venice a few days prior to the cruise because it allowed us to acclimate to the temperatures we'd see throughout the rest of our vacation and I think it was more enjoyable for us because of it. We didn't stress about not seeing too much in the first stop in Venice because we knew we'd be staying for a few days on the back end of the cruise as well.

Finally getting on the ship was very exciting for all of us and sailing out of Venice gave some of the best, most beautiful views of the island. I'm very glad I was able to see it from that perspective and experience it that way.