Wonderful day at sea. This was the most relaxing day of the trip. We slept in, had breakfast, I sat out on a lawn chair reading. It was so windy out though and my cutsie cowboy hat that I bought for $1 kept blowing away! poop. We used the hot tub and pool for a bit. of course, thoughts of "this is life" entertained my mind. And I ate. Ate ate ate. Food is available on the ship every second of the day, pretty much. Pizza, hot dogs, and hamburgers for lunch. I had my fair share of a billion cups of ice cream. And I remember we played basketball on the back of the ship. I was fortunate enough to see a nice sunset as we sat on the back of the ship looking out ... read more

This was one of my favorite days on the trip. I had never been to Grand Cayman and found it to be a wonderful island. I woke up and immediatly said to Jay "I feel like eating today" and eating I did. I was so glad my sickness was done. And I didnt have to miss out on any excursions!! So this was my first experience with "tendering" meaning the ship cannot fit up to port, they basically "park" the boat still in the ocean and we have to board a smaller boat to get to shore. It was ok, but took forever!! Once off the little boat, we had a while before our excersion started and we walked around a few streets for a while. Everything was so touristy and I imagined all the people ... read more

This was by far the best 10 days of my life. Indescribable. I laughed, I cried, I got annoyed at beggars. I ate the best food, met some of the nicest people, my desire for travel has definatly intensified. It was a day of sad goodbyes. Sad, to leave, but happy I have met the group and our wonderful tour guide, Joel. Seriously, he was AMAZING. Once returning home, so many people asked me "how did I get to go to Europe?" As if its an impossible feat. Well....I saved. For one whole year I saved my money. As much as I wanted to go out drinking, or buy new boots, or spend money on a new hairdo....I wanted to go to Europe more. So I saved. Every moment spent in my cubicle hating my job, ... read more

To say that seeing the colosseum was amazing would be an understatement. Seeing the Colosseum in person makes you gasp outloud, smile, cry, twitch.... it leaves you breathless and wanting more. Your breath catches in your throat, the first time you see it.You could see a thousand pictures over the course of your lifetime, watch a million documentaries, but to see it in person? To see its exquisite imperfections? Thats quite remarkable. We've seen many "famous" monuments over the course of this trip. From the Tower Bridge, to Big Ben Clocktower, to the London eye, to the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur and St. Peter's Basillica, but perhaps none is more famous than the Colosseum. And its just as stunning today, as it was centuries ago when it was actually used in gladiator-style killings. ... read more

Rome - Day 8 - Vatican -- March 8 ---PART I To say that the Vatican is amazing would be an understatement. It was the single best, most incredible thing I have ever seen, or probably will ever see. It had been a dream of mine over the course of the last two years to see the Vatican. Literally a dream. There was nothing I wanted more than to see the museums, the paintings, the sculptures, and to learn the history of the amazing, centuries old Vatican. We had to be up extremely early to be on the bus on our way to the Vatican. To be honest, this was the best day of the entire trip. Nothing could top it. We arrived at the Vatican after a 45 minute bus ride. We had a tour ... read more