We welcomed November with a Mediterranean cruise and a week in Tuscany. What a wonderful getaway! Sit back and enjoy our trip.
It was a late flight on our way to Rome
Welcome to RomeDay 1 - Rome, Italy
Sunday, October 30, 2011
We made it...Navigator of the Seas here we come!
Boarding our vessel
We made it...Navigator of the Seas here we come!
Boarding our vesselWe were able to board the ship at 1:00pm, even though we didn't depart until 5:00pm that night, but we were able to go have a long nap before we met up with everyone! We then did our safety meeting and then headed out for our first dinner and DRINKS on the boat.
This is the middle of the ship where all the shops are and the coffee shop
The crazy men on the ship - our first dinner
Kitty and I
Heather and Tanya
Heather and I
This is the middle of the ship where all the shops are and the coffee shop
The crazy men on the ship - our first dinner
Kitty and I
Heather and Tanya
Heather and IDay 2 - Messina (Sicily), Italy
Monday, October 31, 2011....Happy Halloween
Messina, Italy
Messina, Italy
First morning on the ship
Rob enjoying his breakfast on the ship
Two doors down...the Harrington family
Whoo we made it!
Messina, Italy
Messina, Italy
First morning on the ship
Rob enjoying his breakfast on the ship
Two doors down...the Harrington family
Whoo we made it!So we pawned (kidding) the kids off at the Kids Club on the ship and headed out on a tour of Mt. Etna (volcano) and winery tour. We hopped on the bus and began our way to Taormina where we shopped, ate great food and drank great wine!
Good times, headed out on our "bus tour" of Messina (Sicily) Italy....our tour guide was....well the end result was the winery, enough said.
Rob and I in Sicily!
Sicily streets, the've been getting a lot of rain and the roads were flooding. You would think we would be disappointed that it was raining, but when you are living in Saudi Arabia....it was a welcome sight!
All the streets looked like this, cobblestone, little wine cafes along the way. I loved it!
S. Nicola Catherdral
Heather and Rob dancing in the rain.
Don smelled the Guinness from the bus!
Pub time!
The gals at the pub in Sicily
Good times, headed out on our "bus tour" of Messina (Sicily) Italy....our tour guide was....well the end result was the winery, enough said.
Rob and I in Sicily!
Sicily streets, the've been getting a lot of rain and the roads were flooding. You would think we would be disappointed that it was raining, but when you are living in Saudi Arabia....it was a welcome sight!
All the streets looked like this, cobblestone, little wine cafes along the way. I loved it!
S. Nicola Catherdral
Heather and Rob dancing in the rain.
Don smelled the Guinness from the bus!
Pub time!
The gals at the pub in Sicily(L: Tanya, Me and Heather)
Cheers - Sicily
I am woman, hear me ROAR! Heather lifting a lava rock!
Kitty and I at the lava river
Lava river!
FINALLY we have made it to the Winery!
At the winery
Cheers - SicilyWe stumbled (literally) on to this little restaurant that over looked the sea. The food was amazing!
We headed off the the Lava river off the volcano Mt. Etna.
We headed off the the Lava river off the volcano Mt. Etna.
Cool things about Mt. Etna
-it is an active volcano and is one of the most active in the world, it is in a constant state of activity
- it is the tallest active volcano in Europe
- the last recorded eruption was October 23, 2011!...didn't we visit Mt Etna on the 31st? Yes we did but now I can check #73 off my bucket list..that's right people I peed on the side of an active volcano!
I am woman, hear me ROAR! Heather lifting a lava rock!
Kitty and I at the lava river
Lava river!(L: Matt, Don, Jay, Rob and Brad)
FINALLY we have made it to the Winery!
At the winery(L: Kitty, Heather, Me and Tanya)
Vineyard
We had some road pops for the way home....I told you the tour guide was a lot more interesting on the way back...mind you she was quiet and we were drinking
See you can drink at any age here in Italy
Trust me drinking on the bus made this next picture all okay!
Funnel cloud - yikes. The tornado never touched down thank goodness
William and Gabe playing mini golf
Jaymee playing mini golf with the boys
Jaymee and William racing at the arcade
Jaymee and Gabe enjoying the arcade on the ship
Tanya and I ready to go out! Rob stayed behind beacuse poor Jordyn was still confined to the room.
Day 4 - Kusadsi, Turkey
Vineyard
We had some road pops for the way home....I told you the tour guide was a lot more interesting on the way back...mind you she was quiet and we were drinking
See you can drink at any age here in ItalyTrust me drinking on the bus made this next picture all okay!
Funnel cloud - yikes. The tornado never touched down thank goodnessWe arrived back to the ship at 5:30pm to have alarms going off as Rob and I entered the ship. Frantically staff memebers were pushing us off to the side and making phone calls, apparently one of our children was sick. My stomach dropped and I ran off to our room where poor little Jordyn was sleeping in our bed. She got sick at Kid's club and was throwing up, so they took her to the ship's doctor and they said she needed to stay in the room until she was 24 hours symptom free, also because Jaymee is her sister she was not allowed to come to Kid's club until Jordyn was released. So the girls sadly missed their Halloween Party, but still had bags full of candy from the Kid's Club. So Rob and I decided to take turns on which one of us would go out, he won. They all went to a Beatles show and then to the cigar bar on the ship and had many drinks! Glad they had fun, the girls and watched movies.
Day 3 - Full Day at Sea
We had a full day at sea this day and Rob and Jay took the kids mini-golfing. I stayed back in the room with Jordyn, as she hadn't been cleared by the doctors yet.
William and Gabe playing mini golf
Jaymee playing mini golf with the boys
Jaymee and William racing at the arcade
Jaymee and Gabe enjoying the arcade on the ship
Tanya and I ready to go out! Rob stayed behind beacuse poor Jordyn was still confined to the room.Day 4 - Kusadsi, Turkey
Wednesday, October 2, 2011
Well we woke up this morning and I had a migraine! So Rob and I made the decision to stay back and just relax, Jordyn was finally released, but it was a long night of holding hair back etc...
The Aramco clan...that boat will never be the same
The Aramco clan...that boat will never be the same(L: Brad, Rob, Kitty, Me, Matt, Tanya, Don, (Heather is hiding behind Don, we see your feet!) and Jay)
Yay! I'm free!
Golfing
Yay! I'm free!
GolfingBehind Jordyn is the climbing wall and basketball court
Mini golf! We needed to get out of our room!
Jordyn posing with the Basketball guy
Daddy, Jaymee and Jordyn racing (don't know who was having more fun in the arcade the girls or Daddy!)
Jaymee and Jordyn driving the dirt bikes
The concentration on Jaymee's face
Mommy playing in the arcade
Just having fun!
After fun at the arcade we headed to the room and changed into our bathing suits to go swimming.
Girls in the hot tub
We hit the hot tub
A view from the top
Mommy and her girls in the hot tub
a little island off of Turkey
some pictures from the boat of Turkey
Sunset over Turkey
So everyone returned after a long day of touring and we decided to make reservations at Chops steakhouse, once again we dressed up. Rob and the boys went downstairs for some before dinner drinks and I got ready. The girls and I walked over to Tanya's room for a glass of wine and low and behold Jaymee got sick! We managed to make it all the way back to our room before she actually threw up, so I put her to bed, quickly went downstairs to tell Rob. He came back to the room and we called the nurse. The Medical office has now asked that ALL 4 of us remain in our rooms until we can be released!
Rob and I with Athens behind us
The view of the Acropolis from our room. It was a lot farther away than that, but I had a lot of time on my hands so I took the camera and the binoculars and took my own picture~
Greece
Greece
Well we got signed off late last night that we were able to leave our room, so we were excited to see the sights of Crete. We docked at 6:30am and had to be back on the boat by 1:30pm so that didn't give us a lot of time, but we decided it would be a great outing to do with the kids. So we went downstairs to meet everyone, but poor Jaymee was just too weak from not eating anything for the last day and half, all she wanted to do was go back to bed and sleep, so Rob headed off to Crete with Jordyn.
Have fun in Crete! Me 10 flights up
Streets of Crete
Crete
Crete
The Venetian Lighthouse - Crete
The Venetian Lighthouse
Tanya and Jordyn enjoying an ice cream in Crete
Crete
Rob enjoying a beer boot in
Crete after being confined to the room for two days!
So after a fune filled morning, everyone returned back to the ship. Jaymee slept and finally woke up later in the afternoon feeling 100%! Thank goodness because this night was formal night, and I did not drag my gown for nothing!
Rob and I on fancy night
As if I was going to pass up the chance to play in the arcade in my dress...duh!
Driving with Kitty
Day 6 - Full Day at Sea
Mini golf! We needed to get out of our room!
Jordyn posing with the Basketball guyAfter a game of golf we hit the ice cream stand, then went to the arcade.
Daddy, Jaymee and Jordyn racing (don't know who was having more fun in the arcade the girls or Daddy!)
Jaymee and Jordyn driving the dirt bikes
The concentration on Jaymee's face
Mommy playing in the arcade
Just having fun!After fun at the arcade we headed to the room and changed into our bathing suits to go swimming.
Girls in the hot tub
We hit the hot tub
A view from the topMommy and her girls in the hot tub
a little island off of Turkey
some pictures from the boat of Turkey
Sunset over TurkeySo everyone returned after a long day of touring and we decided to make reservations at Chops steakhouse, once again we dressed up. Rob and the boys went downstairs for some before dinner drinks and I got ready. The girls and I walked over to Tanya's room for a glass of wine and low and behold Jaymee got sick! We managed to make it all the way back to our room before she actually threw up, so I put her to bed, quickly went downstairs to tell Rob. He came back to the room and we called the nurse. The Medical office has now asked that ALL 4 of us remain in our rooms until we can be released!
Day 5 - Athens, Greece
Thursday, November 3, 2010
Rob and I with Athens behind us
The view of the Acropolis from our room. It was a lot farther away than that, but I had a lot of time on my hands so I took the camera and the binoculars and took my own picture~Here's what I've learned about the Acropolis:
- The word acropolis means "high city" in Greek
- It was believed to be built for the Athena the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice and skill
- She is the virgin patron of Athens. The Athenians built the Parthenon on the Acropolis of her namesake city, Athens (Athena Partenos) in her honour - interesting.
Greece
GreeceDay 6 - Chania (Souda), Crete
Friday, November 4, 2011
Well we got signed off late last night that we were able to leave our room, so we were excited to see the sights of Crete. We docked at 6:30am and had to be back on the boat by 1:30pm so that didn't give us a lot of time, but we decided it would be a great outing to do with the kids. So we went downstairs to meet everyone, but poor Jaymee was just too weak from not eating anything for the last day and half, all she wanted to do was go back to bed and sleep, so Rob headed off to Crete with Jordyn.
Have fun in Crete! Me 10 flights up
Streets of Crete
Crete
Crete
The Venetian Lighthouse - CreteA little info about the Venetian Harbor
- it was built by the Venitians between 1320 and 1356
- it was used for commerce and also to control the Sea of Crete from pirates
-You can't see it, but behind it is a chapel called St. Nicholas which is where the Venetians and the Turks executed condemned prisioners
The Venetian Lighthouse
Tanya and Jordyn enjoying an ice cream in Crete
Crete(L: Brayden, Jordyn and ShaiAnne)
Rob enjoying a beer boot inCrete after being confined to the room for two days!
So after a fune filled morning, everyone returned back to the ship. Jaymee slept and finally woke up later in the afternoon feeling 100%! Thank goodness because this night was formal night, and I did not drag my gown for nothing!
Rob and I on fancy night
As if I was going to pass up the chance to play in the arcade in my dress...duh!
Driving with KittyDay 6 - Full Day at Sea
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Well our last day has arrived on the ship, it was a memorable trip to say the least. We definetly got the short end of the straw, but you know what? I had a blast anyway. I read an entire book with no pictures and I hung out in my yoga pants! We travelled with great friends who spent many a night drinking in our room on our deck and that was what this was about! So thankyou Williams Family, Harrington Family and Brokaw Family for bring us food, wine and A LOT of laughter while we were confined. And thank you again for the tacky coffee mugs I love to collect on all my trips! I am just so thankful nobody else got sick!
Stromboli volcano
This is one of three volcanos in Italy. Like Mt Etna this volcano is actually active also, yes that is steam coming out of the top. And in case you are wondering I did not pee on this one, but there are about 850 people that live on the mountain. The last major erruption was April 13, 2009. Stomboli is often referred to as the "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean because it is visible on every side. If this was in the evening we would have seen orange lava.
Jordyn lost her first tooth!
Last supper - all of us!
Last supper the kids table
Last night on the cruise
Stromboli volcanoThis is one of three volcanos in Italy. Like Mt Etna this volcano is actually active also, yes that is steam coming out of the top. And in case you are wondering I did not pee on this one, but there are about 850 people that live on the mountain. The last major erruption was April 13, 2009. Stomboli is often referred to as the "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean because it is visible on every side. If this was in the evening we would have seen orange lava.
Jordyn lost her first tooth!
Last supper - all of us!
Last supper the kids table
Last night on the cruise(L: Heather, Kitty, me and Tanya)
So we finally got off the boat! And then we took the train with the Harrington Family for 5 days of relaxation at the Grotta Giusti Natural Spa Resort in Toscana, Italy (which is just outside of Pisa)
Our taxi to the Grotta Giusti- we travel in style...not all the taxi's are fancy cars
Home for the next 5 days
The kids loved collecting leaves!
Upon exporing the hotel, Rob and Heather found the wine cellar...huh go figure
After a hectic week on the boat we decided our first day off the boat will be filled with a beautiful nature hike, followed by massages and then a nice bottle of wine in the Thermal pool...rough eh?
The hike was amazing, the lush tress, canopies it was wonderful
Once a geologist, always a geologist. Jay showing the kids rocks. Look kids a rock!
The Harrington Family at the Grotta
The Richards at the Grotta
The Richards Family on our hike at the Grotta
Harrington's Grotta
Olive orchard
The old Grotta
We made it to the top of the moutain
Self portrait Heather and I enjoying a glass of wine at the top of the moutain!
Making our way back down
The umberlla kids!
So we finally got off the boat! And then we took the train with the Harrington Family for 5 days of relaxation at the Grotta Giusti Natural Spa Resort in Toscana, Italy (which is just outside of Pisa)
Our taxi to the Grotta Giusti- we travel in style...not all the taxi's are fancy cars
Home for the next 5 days
The kids loved collecting leaves!
Upon exporing the hotel, Rob and Heather found the wine cellar...huh go figureAfter a hectic week on the boat we decided our first day off the boat will be filled with a beautiful nature hike, followed by massages and then a nice bottle of wine in the Thermal pool...rough eh?
The hike was amazing, the lush tress, canopies it was wonderful
Once a geologist, always a geologist. Jay showing the kids rocks. Look kids a rock!
The Harrington Family at the Grotta
The Richards at the Grotta
The Richards Family on our hike at the Grotta
Harrington's Grotta
Olive orchardAll those silvery trees behind the houses are olive trees. Just a little tip: if you ever come across an olive tree...DO NOT eat and olive! Wow wait for them to be pickled, trust me it will turn you off of olives if you eat one off the tree!
The old Grotta
We made it to the top of the moutain
Self portrait Heather and I enjoying a glass of wine at the top of the moutain!Making our way back down
The umberlla kids!(L: Gabe, William, Jaymee and Jordyn)
Umberella's from behind
What a view
Push ups, oh yeah this hike was a "fitness" trail where there were stations along the way, um we didn't do them but we made the kids!
Jordyn's smile
197, 198, 199....
Off to the pool we go!
Going to the pool
Daddy and his girls at the Grotta thermal pool...love the swim caps. We still don't know why, but we had to sport these caps everytime we were in the pool.
The girls in the Thermal pool
Daddy with Jaymee in the pool
Jordyn was truly enjoying this spa trip
Rob and I - relaxation
Jay and Heather in their robes
The kids in their robes
Heather and I left the boys to tend to the kids and we headed to the undergound caves for some detoxification...bascially we were sweating out the many bottles of wine consumed in the last 10 days!
Heather in the Grotta
Me in the Grotta
Heather and I in the Grotta
Florence, Italy
Riding the rails to Florence
Umberella's from behind
What a view
Push ups, oh yeah this hike was a "fitness" trail where there were stations along the way, um we didn't do them but we made the kids!
Jordyn's smile
197, 198, 199....Off to the pool we go!
Going to the pool
Daddy and his girls at the Grotta thermal pool...love the swim caps. We still don't know why, but we had to sport these caps everytime we were in the pool.
The girls in the Thermal pool
Daddy with Jaymee in the pool
Jordyn was truly enjoying this spa trip
Rob and I - relaxation
Jay and Heather in their robes
The kids in their robesHeather and I left the boys to tend to the kids and we headed to the undergound caves for some detoxification...bascially we were sweating out the many bottles of wine consumed in the last 10 days!
Heather in the Grotta
Me in the Grotta
Heather and I in the GrottaFlorence, Italy
Riding the rails to Florence(L front: Gabe, Jaymee, R Front: Jordyn and William)
Florence
Florence - chalk artists
The Richards in Florence
The kids loved feeding the pigeons
Hello David 
Florence
Florence - chalk artists
The Richards in Florence
The kids loved feeding the pigeons
Hello David Funny thing, for those of you who know I collect coffee mugs from everywhere I travel, but they have to be tacky coffee mugs, so yes I bought one in Florence where "David" is the handle!
Michelangelo's David
Michelangelo's David
- was created between 1501 and 1504
- made of marble
-the eyes of David, with a warning glare, were turned towards Rome
Florence Catherdral
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore or in English: Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower
The detail on this was duomo was amazing
The kids - they were getting a little tired of walking around
The kids - they were getting a little tired of walking around(L: Gabe, William, Jordyn and Jaymee)
After a full day in Florence we headed back to the Grotta, had a wonderful dinner and some wine
Oscar winning performance Jay!
SPA DAY!
So I dragged my friend Heather along to their first pedicure! They loved it!
Jordyn sat back and relaxed
Jordyn truly loved the experience
Jaymee HAD to know everything that was going on
But then....
Jaymee ended up falling asleep
Jaymee (chose pink) and Jordyn (chose orange)showing off their nails
After a full day in Florence we headed back to the Grotta, had a wonderful dinner and some wine
Oscar winning performance Jay!SPA DAY!
So I dragged my friend Heather along to their first pedicure! They loved it!
Jordyn sat back and relaxed
Jordyn truly loved the experience
Jaymee HAD to know everything that was going onBut then....
Jaymee ended up falling asleep
Jaymee (chose pink) and Jordyn (chose orange)showing off their nailsThey were only supposed to get a pedicure, but the girls doing their nails loved them and painted their fingers too, after all its not like a 5 & 7 year old have rough skin to shave off the bottoms of their feet!
Mommy and her girls after the spa
Heather and the girls after the spa
Mommy and her girls after the spa
Heather and the girls after the spaThe girls really wanted Mrs. Heather to come because she has boys so they wanted her to have girls for an hour.
PISA
Daddy and his girls waiting for the train to Pisa
Jaymee and her spagetti, man that kid ate a lot!
Leaning girls. Funny thing we were walking to the leaning tower of Pisa and decided to stop and get something to eat at a local restaraunt, as we sat down Rob said, "I wonder how far we are away from the tower." We stepped outside and 'poof' there it was! Hilarious we didn't see it right in front of our faces...I blame it on withdrawl.
The tower is in the background to the left
View of the leaning tower from below looking up
Leaning Tower of Pisa (Torre pendente di Pisa)
Why does the bell tower lean?
Leaning tower
Yum yum
Going to buy our first gelato!
The girls and I enjoying gelato
Heading home after a wonderful trip
Going home
The last day we literally took a plane, train and an automobile! What a great trip. I love Italy and we are excited to go back and see more of it! We will do Greece and Turkey, but probably not on a cruise! Hope you enjoyed the blog...until next time.
Love The Richards Family
PISA
Daddy and his girls waiting for the train to Pisa
Jaymee and her spagetti, man that kid ate a lot!
Leaning girls. Funny thing we were walking to the leaning tower of Pisa and decided to stop and get something to eat at a local restaraunt, as we sat down Rob said, "I wonder how far we are away from the tower." We stepped outside and 'poof' there it was! Hilarious we didn't see it right in front of our faces...I blame it on withdrawl.
The tower is in the background to the left
View of the leaning tower from below looking up
Leaning Tower of Pisa (Torre pendente di Pisa)Why does the bell tower lean?
In 1178 when they started to build the second floor of bell tower it began to sink because it was set in weak, unstable subsoil. Construction was halted for almost a century because the Republic of Pisa was in battle with Genoa, Lucca and Florence. But during this time it allowed time for the underlying soil to settle, otherwise the tower would have toppled. In 1272 construction resumed. In effort to compensate for the tilt, the engineers built upper floors with one side taller than the other. Once again construction was halted in 128 due to the Battle of Meloria. The bell chamber was finally added in 1372.
There are 7 bells on the tower, one for each note of the musical major scale
1654 - 1st bell installed weighing 7,981 lb
1572 - 2nd bell installed weighing 5,428 lb
1719-1721 - 3rd bell installed weighing 3,192 lb
1473 -4th bell was cast one of the small bells weighing 661 lb
1262- 5th bell weighing 2,235 lb
15 01- 6th bell was cast weighing 2,205 lb
1606 - 7th bell cast weighing 1,437 lb and was cast again in 2004
I don't know about you, but that seems like a lot of weight to be "tilting" and that doesn't even include the marble the entire thing was made of!
- there are 296 steps to the top
Leaning tower
Yum yum
Going to buy our first gelato!
The girls and I enjoying gelato
Heading home after a wonderful trip
Going homeThe last day we literally took a plane, train and an automobile! What a great trip. I love Italy and we are excited to go back and see more of it! We will do Greece and Turkey, but probably not on a cruise! Hope you enjoyed the blog...until next time.
Love The Richards Family
