Cruise 4...Carnival Breeze

July 21st, 2012...Eastern Mediterranean

Kyrstin joins us for first overseas cruise!

Barcelona, Spain

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

Naples, Italy

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Venice, Italy

Messina, Sicily

This was a big one for Lady and The Pirate. The Carnival Breeze was a new ship. She was a huge ship. And she would take Lady and The Pirate, along with their daughter Kyrstin, to Europe. This was more than a cruise. This was not really as much a vacation as an adventure. This cruise, more than any other, fueled Lady and The Pirate's desires for exploration that would find them later exploring the far reaches of the globe. This was the kind of adventure that leaves one wanting a vacation after it. Every port was special and every port had a fantastic excursion.

The Pirate found out how difficult it is to plan activities after a long plane flight. Flying into Barcelona and getting in early the day before the cruise seemed like a great opportunity to take in a couple of attractions in the Catalan city of Antoni Gaudi. But how many times will one get the chance to see Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, the largest church in the World, as well as a live Flamenco Show from the front row? Just WOW! At least The Pirate thought so. Lady and Kyrstin were dead tired after that long flight. Lady fell asleep in the Flamenco Show. It was loud. How did she do that?

Lady and The Pirate's first port of call on their Mediterranean cruise found them in one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, where the rich bask in the warm Mediterranean sun...Monaco. With only one day in the city of Monte Carlo, there was a planned excursion to Nice, France, and enough time left over to visit the infamous Monte Carlo Casino and place a wager. At 20 years of age, Kyrstin wasn't old enough to gamble in the United States, but she could in Monaco. In fact, even though Lady and The Pirate made money at the Casino, Kyrstin made the most. All three came away winners.

Livorno was Lady and The Pirate's second port of call. This port supports excursions to Florence and Pisa, Italy. With limited time, the Tower of Pisa was a must as The Pirate wanted to climb it to the top. Lady and The Pirate generally plan and purchase their excursions well in advance and when The Pirate saw Pisa had an excursion that included climbing it, he didn't hesitate to book it. Lady stayed on the ground, but The Pirate and Kyrstin went to the top. It was certainly worth it. Florence is certainly a place Lady and The Pirate hope to return. With more time, they'd like to tour all the museums. They did, however click a few pics of statues outside the museums. The pic below of "David" is not the real statue, but a copy outside the museum.

Civitavecchia, Italy was the next port of call for Lady and The Pirate. All larger cruise ships must dock in Civitavecchia and travel to Rome by excursion or some other means. The trip will take about an hour. When it comes to places you simply cannot see in one day, Rome is right up there near the top of the list. Lady and The Pirate would return again to the Eternal City, but even adding another day they never really scratched the surface. Rome really needs an extended vacation to take it all in.

Lady and The Pirate found time to do three things in Naples, Italy. They visited the island of Capri to sample the biggest lemons they'd ever seen, caught an excursion to Pompeii, Italy to see the devastation caused by the 79 C.E. volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, and grab a lunch with family that lived in the area. It was just a great day altogether.

There were so many pictures The Pirate took in Croatia that he had a hard time choosing what to add here. While in the old town of Dubrovnik, Croatia, The Pirate walked the entire perimeter walls that were littered with canons and damaged areas from the recent Croatian war of Independence.

Venice is simply too exciting for just one day. Lady and The Pirate, along with their daughter, Kyrstin, took in a gondola ride as well as visited St. Mark's Square. There was just so much to do they had to concentrate on the top two must dos. Venice is certainly a place that Lady and The Pirate want to return.

Lady and The Pirate's last port of call was in the town of Messina on the Island of Sicily. They got a chance to stretch their legs with a nice stroll and a visit to Mt. Etna.

Notes on this cruise:

1. The Pirate made a video of the Flamenco Show and you can catch it by clicking HERE.

2. The Pirate thought it was neat how they labeled the excursion to France, the Nice and Eze tour.

3. If you get to visit the Coliseum, don't be surprised if you find it odd how out of place it looks buried in the hustle and bustle of the large and modern metropolitan city of Rome. Lady and The Pirate would visit Stonehenge soon after this trip and feel, like as they did with the Coliseum, that it was smaller than they'd imagined.

4. Stephanie and Dave were living in Italy at the time. They met us for lunch during our excursion.

5. Due to so much tourist activity from cruise ships in Venice, large ships now have to port away from the city.