Malta

Currently, we are sailing through the straight with Greece on one side of the ship and Italy on the other. We also sailed past the volcano, Mt. Etna. It was already dark by the time we went through, so, we couldn't see anything. I'm not sure if we would have even if it was daylight.

This morning we sailed into the Malta port around 7 am and disembarked about 8 am to take a tour around the island of Malta. We started out in the fishing village of St. Julian's. They have these cute multi-colored boats that have a raised eye painted on each side of the bow. These boats go by the name of Dghajsa. They look similiar to a gondala boat, but are more colorful.


There were horses and carriages in the fishing village.




We continued on to the Blue Grotto. The water is so blue!



After viewing the Blue Grotto, we continued up the mountain to the highest point on the island of Malta. Pictured below is a limestone church at the highest point.



On Wednesday we are in the port of Naples, Italy. We will disembark to see Sorrento, Pompeii, and Capri.

Below are the pictures that I've been trying to upload for Paris and Barcelona


Eiffel Tower


I'll post some pictures tomorrow from Barcelona and also from our trip into Sorrento, Pompeii and Capri.

Paris Photos

Here's a couple of photos of Paris. I'm going to resize some more and will post them and some of Barcelona and Malta later on.

Day at Sea

We've had a great day at sea. Very relaxing, which was nice after being on the run for the last few days. We sailed past the coast of Algeria around noon and will pull into Malta around 7am in the morning. The view coming into the port is supposed to be spectacular and we'll be on the observation deck to view it. After that, we will depart the ship for the Malta Scenic Beauty excursion. The only thing that I know we will see is the Blue Grotto. I have no idea what other sights we will see.

Will post more tomorrow! I'm having a fantastic time!

Barcelona!

On our way to the ship today, we toured the Gaudi museaum. The mosaics were amazing! It's been another long day. I'll post more tomorrow with details of the things we have seen. But, since the ship's internet is as slow as it was in Europe, I'm going to need to download a photo program tomorrow to resize my photos since they are so large, they don't want to upload.

When I get back, I will go into more details on all that we see and will put up lots more pictures. I will put together some slideshows and label each of the photos. The internet connection on the ship is very show and my pictures are too large to upload.

We're on the ship now and will be at sea all day Monday. Tuesday we'll leave the ship for our Malta Scenic Beauty excurion. We'll see the Blue Grotto while there, and so much more.

Amazing!!!!

Wow! Paris was absolutely amazing! We ended up missing our Eurostar train and having to catch the next one, so, that threw things into a tailspin. But, we recovered nicely. What an amazing city. We walked around and it´s like nothing I´ve seen before. We went to all the tourist attractions.

I will go into more detail tomorrow once we hit the ship. Our internet connection in London was the pits and it took all of my battery to upload the few pics and post the London message. We don´t have the right converter here to convert for my power cord, so, when we hit the ship, we´ll have power and I can post some pictures and go into lots more detail. Plus, by then I´ll have some sleep and can be a bit more coherent. We´re running on about 8 hrs sleep over the course of 3 days.

We´re in Barcelona now. What a fabulous city! We walked down La Ramblas and saw the street people perform. We went to the gorgeous church that they´ve been building for I have no idea how many years. I´ll know when I post tomorrow.

We just came back from seeing the most amazing sight. They have this gorgeous water feature that is lighted and dances to music. It only runs in October and November on Friday and Saturday nights. It was the most spectacular sight!

I have taken a ton of photos and will post some tomorrow when we get on the ship. Each day is better than the first! Having a ball!

Check back tomorrow for pictures!

More pics

Pictures, I think!

The internet connection is extremely slow here and has caused the pictures to upload horribly. They're very pixilated when enlarged, so, I hope you can make them out.

Here's a link

London

We're in London!

We made it! Our flight into Gatwick Airport was uneventful...thank goodness! But...the cab right from Gatwick into London...that's another story! It's about 25 miles and it took us almost 1 1/2 hrs to get there. Talk about traffic! We were so afraid that we would miss the changing of the guard as it was already 11:15 when we arrived at Buckingham Palace. We thought the guard changed at 11 am, but, thankfully, it was 11:30. Phew!! So, we got to see everything...well, as much as one can see with a bunch of people standing in front of you :) After the changing of the guard, we headed for the Double Decker bus and flew through the city. We jumped off at Big Ben to see the Parliment and Westminster Abbey. Wow! It would take a day just to do Westminster Abbey justice. After that we started walking and ended up at the Royal Mews at just the right time for the changing of the horse guard.

After that, we headed to the location of the London Eye and the River Boat tour. We took the boat tour first, had some dinner and then road the London Eye just at dusk so that we could see the city all lit up. Unfortunately, the majority of those pictures did not come out well. I'm not sure if it's from taking them through the glass or what.

Then, of course, we had to take a cab to Harrod's Department Store to see what was there. Wow! What a store! We only bought a little chocolate to bring home to family just so we could have a Harrod's bag and receipt. LOL!

It's been a fantastic first day!

We get up tomorrow in time to catch the 5:25 Eurostar into Paris. We've already scheduled a walking tour that covers all the main tourist attractions.

I'll try and post some pictures in a little bit. The internet connection is very slow, so, they're not uploading. I need to resize and try again.

Now, it's time to get some sleep! Check back tomorrow for Paris info.

We're in Charlotte!

We've arrived in Charlotte, NC! I survived the flight and it wasn't so bad. Although, I did feel like a sardine in a can! LOL! We have a 3 hr layover and then we're headed to London, baby! Can't wait!
Will post more tomorrow!

Oh my gosh!!

We're down to 12 hours and counting! I can't believe it's finally here! I've packed and repacked this afternoon. I think my carry-on weighs more than my checked luggage. LOL! It looks like we're going to miss the rain in London and Paris. Overcast and high 50's, but, I can live with that! I'm even going to be brave enough to ride the London Eye. I don't like ferris wheels, but, I think this one will be ok, as the pods are enclosed and it takes 1/2 hour for it to rotate, so, it won't be going too fast.

We've had two beautiful days in a row. That said, it's almost time to batten down the hatches for the long cold winter. Since heating oil has gone through the roof, we've decided to go back to burning wood. So, my firewood guy delivered a cord yesterday and another cord today. I've spent the last two afternoons stacking this stuff! I got a good workout and can skip the exercise bike :) Good thing, as I've found muscles in my tuckus that I forgot I had! LOL!

Of course I had to take a couple of pictures of my hard work!

Operation Smile Cruise for a Smile Walk

Close To My Heart is now a proud sponsor of Operation Smile. Did you know that it only takes $240 to correct the palette of one child? Many children in less fortunate countries die of malnutrition due to cleft palettes. Won't you help me help a child?

On October 6th, during our Mediterranean Cruise, we will Cruise for a Smile! We will be walking the decks of the Norwegian Gem to raise money for Operation Smile. If you would like to donate to my Cruise for a Smile walk, please click the Donate button to the right to make your donation. I'd love to be able to come back and tell you that I raised enough money to sponsor one child!

Packing....

I spent yesterday washing all of the new clothes that I bought for the trip. I'm pretty proud of myself as I shopped the clearance sales and purchased almost $600 worth for only $168!! Yippee! More moola to spend on the trip. Now, that said...I hate to shop and have been wearing my son's cast off jeans and using my husband's cast off belt with a bazillion holes in it to hold up my pants. LOL! I lost enough weight this summer to be able to pull out my old skinnier shorts. YEA! But, that meant that I didn't have much, if anything, to take on the trip. I don't have a lot of business/casual clothes, because...face it...who needs to dress up on the farm? LOL!

So, after washing all of these, I put them in my new suitcase (yes...I had to purchase one of them as my last suitcase is over 30 yrs old...one of those carry type with no wheels). But, I scored a clearance deal on it, too! It was only $40 for a $129 suitcase. Woo hoo!! Anyway...I digress....I put all of my clothes in it and still have 1/2 a suitcase left. Some of those clothes will be in my carry-on, so, I think I'll have plenty of room to take my pillow with me. I'm not really a germaphobe, but the thought of sleeping on a pillow that "who knows who's" had their head on just grosses me out! Face it...I know I drool sometimes when I sleep...so, who knows who else has drooled on that pillow. YUK!! I bought the spacebag to put it in so that I can squish it good :)

Well, better go get busy! The laundry is waiting to go out on the line and then I need to finish up some projects around here before I leave....just in case....

2 weeks from today!

The time is finally drawing close! Two weeks from today I'll be on an airplane on my way to London! I can't wait!! My traveling buddy and I are on the phone at least 3 times a week now :) We're both so excited! I had the most awakening epiphany this past Saturday (13th)....I was cleaning the bathroom (yuk) and realized that one month from then, the trip would be over, and I'd be back here cleaning the bathroom again! LOL!!

I just heard yesterday that there was a fire in the tunnel that the Eurostar travels through. One tunnel is closed, so, there are a limited amount of trains running from London to Paris and back. They hope to have both tunnels back open by 9/30. I hope so!! We're scheduled to leave London at 5:25 am to head to Paris on 10/3. I don't want to be wasting time standing around waiting for a train when I can be in Paris seeing the sights. Plus, it's going to be Fashion Week in Paris when we are there!

I am just so excited about this trip! I am taking my laptop with me and will try to update my blog every day with a little about what we have seen and a few photos. So, be sure to check back starting 10/2 to follow our travels.