3 Days Until Departure
I always try to write and keep up with my travel blog during trips, and I have never managed to actually complete one. So this time, I have decided to blog live from Europe and post on both facebook and my travel blog (http://cruzingthrougheurope.blogspot.com/). My live blogs will depend a lot on the free wifi and Internet cafes I can find (YAY for McDonald’s free wifi, Royale with cheese anyone?) so the live posts may be a little sporadic.
My family and I are getting ready to leave for Europe in three days. This will be my first time in Europe and my parents second time. I am incredibly, beyond words, excited about this trip. I have always wanted to go to Europe, and it seems almost unreal that our trip is so close. An insane amount of planning has gone into this trip. From figuring out how to use money, to choosing shore excursions, finding hotels, and the hardest task, getting plane tickets. There is still a ton to do, so the next three days are going to be very busy. Here are our plans for the trip.
Day 1 (Sunday): We will be flying from Orlando to Atlanta in the early afternoon. After a very very very long layover in Atlanta, we will be heading out on a red eye to Barcelona and arriving around 9 in the morning.
Day 2 (Monday): Barcelona, Spain- We will be staying at the Hilton Diagonal Mar which is right by the Mediterranean in the Poble Nou part of town just north of old town. After a long day of flying I’m sure sleeping will be involved. We will probably be doing a little bit of sight seeing and hopefully eating by the beach.
Day 3 (Tuesday): Barcelona, Spain- Our big day of sightseeing. We will be taking the bus túristica around to see the main sights, La Sagrada Familia, El Mirador de Cólom, and La Rambla. We will just be enjoying the sights and sounds of Barcelona.
Day 4 (Wednesday): Barcelona, Spain- On Wednesday we will be boarding the Magic. We will probably be on the ship around noon and sail away is at 9pm.
Day 5 (Thursday): Day at Sea- Today we will be out at sea on the way to the southern Mediterranean. I am sure that there will be lots of food involved.
Day 6 (Friday): Valetta, Malta- We don’t have any excursions booked for Valetta, so we will just be taking a cab into town and enjoying the sites.
Day 7 (Saturday): Tunis, Tunisia- This is one of the ports I am most excited about. Tunisia is a port in North Africa and is an entirely Arab culture. We are doing an excursion to Sidi Bou Said, a small village, and the ruins of the Roman colony of Carthage.
Day 8 (Sunday): Naples, Italy- In Naples we will be taking a drive along the Amalfi Coast, spending some time in the village of Amalfi, eating lunch in a seaside restaurant, and visiting the ruins of Pompeii.
Day 9 (Monday): Rome, Italy- Since Rome is an hour and a half away from the port our excursion is almost 13 hours long. We will be visiting the Vatican, the Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, maybe the Pantheon, and eating an Italian lunch. This is going to be an awesome day.
Day 10 (Tuesday): La Spezia, Italy- For today, we have the option of going to Pisa or Florence or both. After two straight long days in Rome and Naples, we decided to take it easy and just do Pisa. The excursion doesn’t leave until the afternoon so we have time to sleep.
Day 11 (Wednesday): Villefranche, France- Our excursion for today will be taking us to Nice, Monaco (hopefully gambling in the grand casino), and the medieval village of Eze. The grand prix will be in town, so it should be an awesome day.
Day 12 (Thursday): Ajaccio, Corsica- We don’t have any plans so we will be hanging around Ajaccio and checking out the local sites.
Day 13 (Friday): Day at Sea- The Magic will be on its way back to Barcelona and we will be enjoying one last day onboard while eating a lot of ice cream and Mickey bars.
Day 14 (Saturday): Paris, France- After getting off the Magic in the morning we will be heading to the airport and flying up to Paris. Since we will be getting up early and will need to do laundry, we decided to spend the night at the airport Hilton so we could be more relaxed.
Day 15 (Sunday): Disneyland
Day 16 (Monday): Touring Paris
Day 17 (Tuesday): Disneyland
Day 18 (Wednesday): Flying back to Orlando
