Cruise news and Greece

Well, after much demand (OK, just Christine), I will slowly be blogging about my trip to Europe. So, here we go:

I got Rome, Italy on September 13 and my parents and aunts and uncles and grandmother. Yeah, it was a big car.

We drove to the port outside of Rome and boarded the ship early. It was absolutely gorgeous. I don't have extensive pictures of the ship because my camera just didn't do it justice. However, while we sailed off (My first time on a cruise), we went to the on-board martini bar and got drunk. That's how my family rolls. With alcohol.

Look at our delicious sampler of martinis:


After we set sail, my grandmother and I went to find our room. We were roomies, which was really enjoyable. All we did the entire trip in the room was watch CNN International and do crossword puzzles. I got a little better at them towards the end of the trip. Oh, and ate breakfast in bed. Here's the first day, when my grandmother ate her breakfast on the balcony:


I told her that should be her Christmas card picture this year with the caption: "Life's been hard this year"

As you may know, my grandmother was diagnosed with lymphoma last year and we were really worried about this trip. I mean, it was tons of walking with not many resting places and in the hot sun. We were concerned. But, of course, she rocked it. Hell, I was tired after our Jerusalem walk and she was ready to keep going.

Our first stop was Santorini. I had been to Greece before and many of the islands, but not Santorini. My parents had been there about 1,000 times, so they were bored, but I thought it was beautiful:


However, there was a downside. To get up the mountain, you have to take this cable car thingee. You can walk up the trillion stairs or you can ride a donkey to the top. (Ron White does this hilarious bit about Santorini and how riding the donkey up the mountain or riding the tram is the same price. HI-larious). But, the line for the cable car was, well, about an hour-and-a-half long. But, we had to wait in it because of my grandmother. So, there we stood. ForEVER! They are nifty little things, though:


Anywho, we got to the top, were able to shop around and eat some lunch and went right back down. It was gorgeous and we were really glad we waited for it.

The next day, we went to Athens. Everyone in the group had been to Athens, so we just went to the New Acropolis Museum because it was, well, new. Also, this year ONLY, it costs 1 Euro, but starting in January, it's going to cost somewhere between 20 to 30 Euros. But, I love that city, so it was nice to visit again.

Then, on we went to Turkey. And that will be the next post. Stay tuned! After these messages, we'll be right back. Remember those?