Our Honeymoon Trip, July 2007

For our honeymoon Joe and I went on a cruise along the coast of Italy and up into the south of France. The pictures are grouped according to the different ports we visited. We signed up for excursions at every port even though it meant early mornings, aching muscles, and sunburns. It was worth it! However, anyone planning a trip to Italy, don't go in the middle of the summer. We found out it's too hot and way too crowded compared to other times of the year.

These first two are in Barcelona, Spain. That's where we boarded our ship. We flew in a couple of days early so we could tour the city and get over some jet-lag. Joe loved Barcelona and wants to go back someday. He speaks fluent spanish so he was able to communicate easily with the locals everywhere we went. I just nodded my head and pretended to understand what they were talking about.

The building behind us is called the "Sagrada Familia" which translates to "Sacred Family". Construction on it began in the 19th century by a famous architect and artist named Gaudi. There are building and works of art by him all over Spain. This building was "his dream". It was the last thing he attempted before he died. Goudi had completed the design at least. After he died, the people kept the construction going with donations and money from tourists. It's still under construction. I wonder what Goudi thinks of it now.

These next three pictures are in Pompeii. The third picture is a cast of a person who suffocated when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. There were also casts of animals and all sorts of remnants left behind that are in perfect condition. Excavations are still going on today to uncover what was buried by the ash and lava. It was a bizarre thing to see.

The next two are the Coliseum in Rome. This was one of the things Joe wanted to see most. We got lots of pictures.

These next pictures are in the Vatican. There were huge rooms and hallways with statues, paintings, carvings, tapestries, maps etc. in every corner. One of our favorites was this giant head.

The hallway I'm in ends at a narrow spiral staircase that leads to the Sistine Chapel. There was no photography and no talking allowed in there. After that we went inside Saint Peter's Basilica (picture 3). It is the most enormous and ornate buildings we have ever seen and is covered with paintings and statues.

These were taken at Pisa. This was one of the excursions for the Florence port. Seeing the leaning tower was one of our favorite stops. We had fun playing around with the camera and the tourist gift shops here were the best. It's where we got most of our souveniers.

These last three are in Monaco and Monte Carlo. The port was in Nice, France. As you can see, the views were gorgeous! One interesting thing was that the people there are obsessed with Grace Kelly. I included a picture of one of the many banners they display with her picture. She's an American movie star who married the prince of Monaco and so became their most beloved princess. She died in a car accident after only a few years in Monaco. It was kind of weird because our tour guide talked about Grace Kelly for at least a half hour and at different points in the tour she'd throw in, "We thank Grace Kelly" or "We always remember Grace Kelly".

In the first picture, we're standing in front of the royal palace, still used today.