there's no place like gnome.

Our one stop in France was a quick one – the first tender boats were running at 6:30ish, last boat back was 1:30. Our ship anchored away from shore so our tender ride lasted about 10 minutes before docking at the port.

Dave and I wandered around. The main goal: find a patisserie with fancy desserts and French macarons. Success? Kind of.

We wandered into old town, struck once again by the charming rambling streets. We found fancy chocolate croissants and espresso across from a local market.

We, tragically, had little luck finding a place that had rows and rows of macarons. Sigh. Granted, we didn’t have a whole lot of time to explore. We did, however, find a McDonald’s. And guess what? McDonald’s in France have macarons! And you know – they were lovely and full as macarons should be. (McDonald’s also sold poutine-like French fries. We did not try.)

We walked uphill to a cathedral that overlooks the town and port. More charming streets. Endless charming streets. Bakeries with piles of freshly baked bread. Gelato. Cheese! So many delicious things that we would have bought and ate if we stayed longer.

And this is it, folks. We came back to the ship, ate some lunch at the buffet and then came to our room to shower/pack. We’ll go out for dinner tonight, see a show, and then tomorrow by 9am we’ll be off the ship. Another 28ish hours in Barcelona after which we’ll time-travel home. (We are ready. It’s been amazing in lots of ways but we’re ready for routine and dogs and flower garden and lower temperatures and less people all around.)

We stayed overnight in the port of Livorno with another day to explore today. Originally, I had thought we might take the twenty minute train ride to Pisa today but in true European fashion, there is a train strike (as happens occasionally, planned and known in advance). It began last night and runs until tonight.

With no train and, honestly, a desire for a low-key day, we stayed in Livorno. There was a local shuttle from the cruise port to the city centre for 7 euros. Done. Sold. We were on board by 1030 after sleeping in and a nice breakfast on board.

The goal: cafes, a nice lunch, and some shopping/meandering. Brother-in-law Matt and wife Lisa joined up partway through for lunch and what followed. We drank aperol spritzes and ate pizza. Dave bought some cherries at a local produce market. We consumed coffee in espresso form (And just look at that cube-croissant-pistachio thing!) and frozen form. We shopped at a local grocery store for pistachio butter and unique pasta shapes. (Ohmygoodness, the Italians love pistachios. And I’m on board with all of that. That pistachio coffee I had in Naples, aka the coffee I will think about forever? I’m thinking it may have been made by adding some pistachio butter; must try.)

We’ll be leaving port shortly. Dave and I have reservations at the steakhouse on board for dinner. Tomorrow: Cannes, France. A tender port. We have to take a boat from our boat. (Last day! And then one final night in Barcelona before flying home to be reunited with these goofballs who have – no doubt – been keeping my mom and stepdad good company.)

Another day, another port, another train.

We rode the train into Florence today, a train ride that was close to 1.5 hours. We walked around, ate some delicious things, saw some magnificent sculptures and buildings, but the main event was the pasta making class I had booked months ago.

Lorenzo guided us in making three types of pasta with one dough – two filled pasta and one not. He prepped the sauces and, when it was time, cooked the pasta we made for us to all enjoy.

We visited Rome today and it was what we expected – hot and people-y with cool ancient sites around most corners.

We went in knowing there was way more than we could ever see in one day so we made a basic plan – the Pantheon, Colosseum (from the outside – not a tour), and the Baths of Caracalla (a lesser visited site I learned about through my favorite travel guy Rick Steves). Plus some food and espresso and gelato. With that, we would be content.

And so that’s what we did. We grabbed the train from our port of Civitavicchia; it was about an hour ride into Rome. Figuring out we weren’t all that far from the Vatican, we decided to walk by. It’s free to get into St. Peter’s Square and thought we might do that but were met with long security lines and the square was FULL of people. Our travel companions would send a photo later that confirmed the Pope was addressing the crowd today.

From there, we worked our way down busy streets and cute alleys to the Pantheon, a dome that defied architectural standards of the day. (And stopped enroute in a cute espresso store that was right up my alley.) The dome is as wide as it is high. Much of the marble floor still original, two centuries later; the pillars on the portico cut from a single stone.

We headed towards the coliseum and we both got a little cranky on the way. (Truth.) We found some food and regrouped before taking our photos and continuing on.

At the Baths of Caracalla, we didn’t learn a whole lot but relished the nice breeze and enjoyed a space with very few people. We envision that in its glory, the baths were like a country club; it’s where the people of status would come to soak in the pool and talk politics. Or something. But it was neat and old. Check.

We found some gelato before a brisk walk to the train station. We were toast – seven miles later – and learned that it was either the train now or wait two more hours. Now, please. We even figured out how to validate our ticket this time in the machines on the wall. (We couldn’t figure it out on the trip in and were lucky a conductor didn’t ask for our tickets; an invalidated ticket comes with a fine.)

We were toast … but still had energy after the train ride to find some drinks by the sea in the port city before taking the shuttle back to the boat. I finally tried an aperol spritz, the quintessential mixed drink here. I liked it. (I had two.)

Today we were in the port of Naples, a city Rick Steves describes as ‘gritty.’

Agreed.

We were planning to go to Pompeii but Dave did not sleep well the night prior; that combined with the sun and heat was probably going to make things pretty miserable. So we pivoted and went with plan b – eat our way around Naples.

Five hours and twelve thousand steps later we were tired but with happy bellies. We stepped foot in a couple churches (which, honestly, all kind of blur together at this point, sorry to say). We followed a little bit of Rick Steves’ city walk and saw a city that was very much alive. We made two coffee/pastry stops and a pizza stop. (Naples is known as the birthplace of pizza.)

Once back on the boat we napped before relaxing poolside and taking in the view of the city from the 16th deck. Tonight we’ll join back up with the rest of our crew for a show and dinner. Tomorrow: Rome. (Hopefully. If Dave sleeps well and our train travel plans come to fruition.)

The last couple days we’ve been in port at Ibiza and Mallorca, two Spanish islands. (Though Mallorca has their own dialect of Spanish – a Spanish/Catalan mash up of which I could not decipher, despite my These are the two cruise ports at which we booked a cruise excursion – kayaking in Ibiza and biking in Palma, Mallorca.

Kayaking in Ibiza. Waves that envied that one overnight kayak trip I took with my friend Sara on Lake Superior. No wet suits this time but tandem kayaks and some pretty (okay, really) high waves/swells. The part I enjoyed the most? That part when we were heading back towards the beach.

We stopped at this little cove for a moment to rest and swim if we wanted. But see, in Ibiza, there is this sea grass that it’s known for and the first 10 feet of water was full of this dead grass. Let us just say when we got back to our room to shower, we made a complete mess. Sorry, room steward. (Photo: Dave full of the dried sea grass. He also pulled a fistful out of his shorts pocket!)

Today: Mallorca. We booked a bike tour for the morning which promised to help us explore a bit of the old city. Our guide was great as she led the way. We saw the old palace, a couple gothic cathedrals, and learned the history of the island. The ride was easy and fun until noon came and it became super HOT.

We visited a covenant of cloister nuns – they don’t leave the covenant and have taken vows of silence. They bake for a bakery that’s on site. We didn’t see any of them but did see a ‘helper nun’- a nun who also lives on site but can communicate by speaking – when some of our group purchased from the bakery.

This was the cutest old city and we could have spent much more time wandering its puzzle system of alleys. Our guide said that it’s become a huge tourist destination; people arrive and stay exclusively on this island. They just added a direct flight to NYC to meet the demand.

Following our tour, we headed back to the bus, sweaty, hot and hungry. Lunch was had and now it’s a lounge chair poolside in the shade. (The sun got me while kayaking yesterday; I’m a bit toasty in places.) Tomorrow: a sea day before reaching Italy.

I write this Friday from the top deck of our cruise ship. We arrived and are ready to relax. Dave said to me this morning after breakfast in the hotel that one of our stops yesterday was “one of the most beautiful things he has ever seen.” I agree.

But first we explored Barcelona cathedral – a beautiful, old Catholic Church. This was impressive and very cool to explore. Our ticket allowed us to go on the roof which was super cool.

From here we explored a local market and oh, the seafood we saw on ice. A quick stop back at the hotel and then we had a mountain to climb. Our next stop was a guided tour of Park Güell (pronounced ‘gway’). It was 2.5 miles from our hotel and we said, eh. We can do that. We weren’t anticipating the heat or the hill, aka mountain. We made it but barely. The tour was a bit overshadowed by our exhaustion but still cool to see. This park, by architect Antoni Guadi, was commissioned as an exclusive community but no one bought onto the idea so in the end, it became a park.

From there, we took a taxi to our next destination, stopped for a sandwich (ham, of course) and a beer (Dave)/sparkling water (me), before meeting our tour guide again at La Sagrada Família. Aka the most beautiful place dave has ever seen.

And it was. Words and pictures won’t do it justice. So much thought and incredible detail. For now, photos.

Maybe more stories to come another time. But for now, it’s time to meet up with the rest of our group and find some lunch on this gigantic floating hotel.

Last night, after our arrival, we took a bus to the city center and settled in at the hotel before having a late night meal of tapas down the street from our hotel. No complaints.

We set off this morning after a fruitful night of sleep, stopping first at a tiny fruit market for a couple bananas and a plantain. We found a cafe on the corner for breakfast. No doubt the first of many cafe stops and beautiful espressos.

I’m typing this quick before we set off to explore the cathedral and gothic quarter. More to come!

Dave and I embarked on a time travel adventure in the last 24 hours.

We left American soil, spent eight hours on a plane, and emerged in Copenhagen with the clock set another eight hours ahead for a trip we’ve been dreaming about for a long time. (Fun fact: yesterday was the anniversary of our pizza place marriage!)

We’re now killing time and trying to catch some sleep as we wait for the final leg of our trip – a jump over to Barcelona, where we will stay until we board our Mediterranean cruise ship on Friday; that ship will become our home for the following eight nights.

As for this airport layover, Dave officially set foot in Europe for the very first time and has already ate his first Kinder egg.* (He got a deer; I got a penguin.) Priorities. He also ate his first plane meal and this frankenfurter thing in a roll at the airport. (He said the ketchup was weird.) Not ON a roll; in a roll.

It is my hope that I’ll come back here a couple times to recount the things we do and places we see, not so much because you need the play-by-play but because I do love to look back at these entries and remember what we did. It’s like your privy to my personal journals

*Kinder eggs – the kind in Europe that have toys inside – are one of my core memories from my teenage trip to Spain. My friends and I LOVED those chocolate eggs. Fun fact: some of those kinder egg toys (oh, 25 years later) still hang out in my potted plants.🪴