Geo: 36.492, 21.286Ionian Sea DayToday was only one of two sea days we will enjoy on this cruise as it is a port intensive itinerary. Today we spent 90% of the day in the Ionian Sea and as I type this now, around 11pm at night, we are in the Sea of Crete (North) headed up to the Agean Sea. This sea day has been peaceful and good and muchly needed. Kamie and I both fell asleep last night at a decent hour (I believe). I had taken a long, hot, steamy shower, drank a hot decaf peppermint tea (sooo good) and the ever-wonderful Dristan Cold Medicine. I was out at around midnight and slept all the way until nearly 9 am this morning! YAY! Of course, we woke-up and realized the ship gained an hour ... read more

Geo: 45.4345, 12.3384Today was sail away day from Venice. We were awake before 7:30 am again after having been up past 2 am. We weren't scheduled to leave Venice until 2 pm so we left the ship and explored more of Venice this morning. I had to use the restroom in Venice and when we finally found a WC (water closet)... it was 1 Euro to pee. Well, at least it was nice and clean! We went to the local grocery store (Coop) to pick-up Coke Zero and Fanta - for 1/4 the price the cruise ship would charge us ....and if I haven't mentionedhow the locals walk around with their dogs with them in Venice - well, they do.And, these dogs usually do not have leashes - they simply follow their masterseverywhere. I am always ... read more

Geo: 45.4958, 12.2441What a long day today! It was a bit overwhelming! It is currently after 10:30pm as I start to type this and Kamie is snoring next to me. I'm trying really hard to not fall asleep because I keep going to sleep "early" (around 9:30/10:00) and then waking-up at 3 or 4 in the morning. I have huge bags under my eyes and frankly, I could probably sleep at any moment if given the chance. I've been going-going-going on about 4 or 5 hours of sleep per 24 hours for a couple of days now, if that. To back up.... I was awake at 3/4 am last night and could not go back to sleep. I finally got in the shower and started getting ready. Kamie was awake by 6 am. We had breakfast ... read more

Geo: 53.3441, -6.26749We arrived in Dublin this morning just before 8am. We were cold waiting in the windy mid-40 degree weather for our hotel shuttle bus but it felt nice to get some fresh air after that stuffy plane for nearly 9 hours. We arrived and the front desk attendant said she had good news: our room for tonight was ready.... and she had bad news: the hotel is now entirely nonsmoking. Kamie was irked but he has decided his electronic cigarette is pretty darn great and has been using it continually indoors. We literally threw our bags down, changed clothes, grabbed the bare essentials and walked back out the front door of the hotel and down the street to the local bus stop. We took the local buses everywhere today. Dublin (and the outlying areas) ... read more

Geo: 38.6276, -90.199With thoughts of Willie Nelson in my head, we begin our little blog today. This is more of a test than anything ~ to see if everyone gets an email about this blog or an I-don't-know-what...but something is supposed to show-up in your email inbox. We'll see. All I know is Travelpod rocks. I've been addicted to it for about a year now but this is the first time I'll actually write as we travel... if we get Internet access occasionally, that is.So, what happened today? I worked until noon. It went quicker than I had anticipated. I had all the bags packed yesterday so I went home, did the last-minute house things, and then we showered Scaredy and Simon with lots of kisses and happy "We'll be backs!" I figure if I leave ... read more