Mediterranean Cruise - Wrap up

Okay, I promise this is the last post on our trip. 

I am fitting in our last day in Greece, day at sea, and then a full day in Venice before 

we headed home to the States.  

Just to warn you, my favorite spot was probably Venice.  

It was beautiful! 

I mean the other places were beautiful too, but I could have taken pictures of all the

architecture, flowering pots hanging over balconies, fountains, and churches for days.

ALL of it was amazing. 

Day 7 

Katakolon, Greece 

The word of the day when we visited Katakolon was RELAX. 

We knew our trip was coming to an end, so we all 

wanted to enjoy some time relaxing and not going on another tour. 

We hadn't gotten our feet into the blue water of the Mediterranean yet, so 

we wanted to cross that off of our list too.  

We could see the sandy beach of Katakolon from our balcony on the cruise ship so 

we knew it wasn't too far.  

 On our way to the beach we walked through a little town with small shops on both sides 

of the street.  We did a little souvenir shopping, of course, and Kathy and Mom would catch me in alley ways taking random pictures of pots on stairs. 

It's what I do.  LOL

Some of my best souvenirs from the trip will be the photos I took!

We made it to the beach.

And we made it into the Mediterranean.  It was so clear and blue.

Relaxing..... accomplished.

 Day 8 
Spent on the ship... not much to tell.
Can you believe I didn't take one picture on day 8?
Shocker!

Day 9

Venice, Italy

It rained much of the day while we were in Venice. 

There were glimpses of the sun and we took advantage of each one of them. 

But even in the rain, Venice was beautiful. 

We departed the ship and got onto a water taxi.  

Since Venice is a city built on water there are no buses or cars or bicycles within the city. 

A water taxi took us straight to our hotel. 

It was all pretty surreal.

The steps led right into the canals.  

Even the moss growing on the steps and buildings was picturesque. 

With umbrellas in hand, we tackled the streets of Venice.  

It was easy to get lost in this city.  There are no straight main streets and 

the streets themselves are no larger than 4' in width, and bridges dot the landscape everywhere. 

{Rialto Bridge}

I had four things I wanted to do in Venice after reading the guide books. 

1.  See the Rialto Bridge

2.  Visit Piazza San Marco

3.  See the Gondola boats

4.  AND eat an Italian pizza

We were able to do 3 of the 4.  We didn't get a gondola boat ride, 

but it was raining and didn't look as much fun in the rain.  

But I got a bunch of pictures! 

I also did things I didn't have on any list. 

I drank out of a fountain in a square.. even with my mother cringing and telling me I shouldn't. 

I had fun shopping for purses. 

Oh My Goodness!  The purses. 

I was in heaven in the purse shops. 

There were so many I wanted to take home... only two found their way into my luggage. 

{Piazza San Marco}

We thought maybe the line for the Basilica wouldn't be long with the rain showers, but we were wrong. 

The long line wrapped around the building.  

We instead found a nice spot to view the Basilica and people watch while sipping cappuccinos.  

Seriously, someone needed to pinch me... and then musicians started to play.  

It was like a scene out of a movie.  

All three of us had smiles on our faces all day, even when we were navigating ourselves around 

water puddles and dodging out of the way from in-coming umbrellas.

We ended the night with a Vivaldi Concert.  

Earlier in the day we had sought refuge from a downpour of rain in a church and they just 

happened to be selling tickets to a Vivaldi concert later that night. 

We had front row seats and the music was superb! 

As much fun as I was having, I was ready to be home though. 

I couldn't wait to get home to cuddle with my kids and sleep in my own bed. 

So we said good-bye to Europe and hopped on a plane home. 

And as I sit here at home, with a mountain of clean laundry waiting to be folded and an even larger 

pile waiting to be washed, sticky kitchen floors, no food in the fridge, and 

a to do list a mile long... I am happy.  

I am so happy to be home and even happier to have these memories of a wonderful trip. 

I am a woman blessed.  

Blessed to be loved, blessed to be needed, and 

blessed to live this life I have been given.