Day 8: Thursday June 12, 2014 - Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii

Avery: so this morning started with a delightful wake up call from the one and only MICKEY MOUSE! I got up hastily and threw on some clothes that mom and I had just cleaned. That's right, Avery did laundry. We rushed up to deck 9 for a quick breakfast. Departure was at 7:15 sharp so that meant we ere running to get there on time.  After many days of walking we finally got a break! We were going to Capri on a huge boat, we would then get on another boat to Sorrento. After that we would take a bus to Pompeii. The boat was beautiful and very spacious. The view from the boat was even more spectacular. The water was crystal clear and the prettiest shade of blue. The ride was an hour so I of course fell asleep. After a lovely nap I woke up to Capri. Never have I ever seen so many attractive cliff side homes (And good looking men in one location). Wait till you hear what we did next.-Avery

Capri was Gorgeous! Cliffs up 350 meters with beautiful homes seemingly carved right into the cliffs. Bougainvillea, jasmine and oleander growing everywhere. We left our super jet ship and boarded a two tier motorboat to tour all the grottoes around the island. Daniella was our guide for the day but the extraordinarily handsome Marco was our guide. There were 3 large rock formations that we swear looked exactly like the famous 3 Sisters out in Monument Valley! We saw all sorts of gorgeous grottos - one even had a rock formation inside that looked like the Blessed Virgin. The water was crystal clear sapphire and we just wanted to jump in but Marco warned us it would be cold. There were quite a few mansions built into the cliffs and Marco told us that they sell for starting prices of 20 million euros! We definitely want to come back to Capri! ~ Joan


Today was amazing! We went in a pretty fast but really smooth jet boat ride. I got to do a few sketches and I took pictures of the beautiful cliffs, mountains, and structures! Then we took another boat to Sorrento. We got free gelato!!! I love gelato. Then we got free time to walk around. Basically, we just sat in the shade, I bought a peach from a fresh market man. It was my first European bargain, he wanted it for 90 euro cents, and I got it for 70 :) heehee. We went to the main square in Sorrento, and went to a nice restaurant. Then we took a bus to Pompeii! It was soooo cool, to see the ruins and what they have built. We saw what the pools/ baths used to look like. The tour guide told us how to find which places where stores and which were houses. We got to see mountain Vesuvius and then we got some drinks because it was veryyyy hot. We took a bus back, we made it back to the cruise just in time! ~Brady

Day 3 - June 7, 2014 - Our First Day of Cruise!

  So today we woke up early to get ready to get on the cruise! We hopped on a big bus that was filled with many people from many different places. The ride was about 20 minutes and it went by fast because there was a welcoming video. We went around the corner and we saw the boat, it was ginormous! I couldn't help but get excited just looking at it. We got in a long line for check-in. There were so many people it was crazy!  We finally got on the boat and we all felt at home. We Immediately got in our bathing suits and got in the pool. We got nice refreshing drinks and decided that it was time to start the fun.  Brady and I went up at the highest level to go down the crazy slide. We weren't ready for what we were about to find out. The slide was different from most slides. You don't sit to go down the slide, you step on at box and it opens up and drops you straight down. It was a lot of fun and I'm happy we decided to do it. Brady and I decided to go to "Vibe" which is the 15-18 age group. It was packed with people! They were playing games and enjoying each others company. I met a lot of fun and interesting people today and I hope I meet more. After Vibe we got ready for dinner. We were going to Cariocas and we were going to be sat with another family who turned out to be super nice (yay!).  They were Christi, Zach and Weston! Weston is 15 so we talked a lot about him moving up to high school next year. The family was amazing and we talked for so long we looked around and we were the last table there. After all the good nights we are going to bed. Can't wait to see what tomorrow holds! ~Avery

Day 2- Friday June 6, 2014 - Picasso and Camp Nou

Nosotros fuimos al Museo de Picasso, y la Camp Nou ayer. (We went to the Picasso museum and the Camp Nao yesterday [Yeah Spanish Class!] ) so we went to the Picasso museum by hop and go tour bus (el autobus)! We got pretty lost, but luckily some people knew more than 3 languages, so we found it quick. Before we found it, we saw a beautiful cathedral, and beautiful doors with narrow winding pathways of the Gothic Quarter. There was so many beautiful art works on the walls and doors, it felt so open and modern. The museum was made from 5 connected mansions! We saw the paintings in chronological order. Their was a great quote that said "When he was a child, he painted like a man. When he was a man, he painted like a child." We saw all the different phases/periods (when his friend Carlos died, he had the blue period, while when he was in love, he was in the rose period.) the gift shop was huge but I only got a mini sketch pad and cool pencil! Then we walked over to a great restaurant for breakfast/lunch! Their empanadas were amazing and their chocolate croissants were to die for! Food here tastes so real, homemade, and natural! So tasty! Hasta mañana amigos- Brady (we could not take pictures in the museum, it was not permitted. Sorry!) 

After the museum we went for a much needed food break. I couldn't believe how delicious the food was compared to american food. I had a WONDEFUL pink lemonade to drink and a bagel with cream cheese and nova. It was absolutely delicious. We sat looking around at the beautiful scenery around us before we got some yummy gelato. We needed to get back on the tour bus so we could go to Camp Nao! It was much harder than we thought it would be. We got lost and walk for a long while until we found where we were supposed to go. On the tour bus I fell in love with Barcelona. The clean air, wind blowing in my hair. It all seemed so surreal. I was taken away by everything we passed. We had finally got to the camp and it was enormous! There was so many people to guide us to our tour. First stop was pictures, we got one with the World Cup trophy. Then we got to see the locker room. It was huge, it included two massage chairs, a hot tube and a ice tub. Next stop was the field. I have never been so speechless in my entire life. The field was gorgeous, I know that weird to say about a soccer field but I have no other world that describes it. The field was so green and there were so many chairs. We went to the top where the officials sit to watch the game and you could see everything there. We went inside to see videos of players best goals. That

was incredible, there is just so much talent. After that we saw a video tribute to the one and only Messi. Messi is one of my favorite players so I fully enjoyed the video. After all of our walking around we got back on the tour bus. We accidentally got off at the wrong stop. I have decided there is nothing scarier than being lost in a place where you have no idea where you are.We got on a taxi and arrived at the hotel. What an amazing day! See you later- Avery xoxo

Day 1 - June 5, 2014 - La Sagrada Familia and We Conquer the Metro!

Our flight was fairly smooth but it did not seem to matter to Avery as she put on out the neck pillow, eyeshades, blanket and tuned out the world. We thought she looked like some famous actress or model disdaining the public :)

We finally arrived and hopped into a taxi who turned out to be the speediest driver EVER. We got to the hotel in record time. We arrived at the hotel a little bleary eyed around 10 am and the check in fellow took one look at us and put us on the top flow eith a beautiful view of the Mediterranean. We immediately crashed for about 2 hours.

When we woke up, we went to the lounge where they have snacks and beverages. We talked to the concierge there and he suggested we begin with Sagrada a Familia.

We booked our Sagrada Familia tickets online as we heard the lines were outrageous. Next challenge: how to get there. The bellman gave us directions to the Metro. It took us a bit as our hotel is in a very residential area on the beach. I will let the girls describe the metro and the awesome Sagrada Familia.~Joan

We went to Sagrada Familia via the Metro! The Sagrada Familia was absolutely stunning, people with all different beliefs gatherered here to be in awe. The geometry of the church and the stained glass was so beautiful. It was breathtaking. We took the elevator to the tower, which was more than 50 meters. Than we climbed 20 meters highter, crossed the bridge to another tower, and then walked down all the stairs back to the bottom of the church! Views were amazing, but the walk down wasn't!
Very painful to our feet, but the experience was great! -Brady


Dinner started with us rushing to get the wifi code so we could write about our wonderful day! We sat down at a very nice restaurant and the waiter was very excited to get us some food. We were very hungry so I of course got a Cesar salad. I ate it with great speed. While we were eating I saw a very handsome boy whose family was talking about the cruise that we are going to go on! Mom started a great conversation with them and talked for a good 15 minutes. Brady and I decided to get Belgium chocolate gelato. It was extremely rich but we finished every bite. After we payed, Brady and I decided to go to the gym. To our surprise we stayed for 2 hours! We went to bed very fast after all that food and workout! -Avery

Our 2014 European Adventure

We are off to Europe! This morning we boarded Jet Blue to JFK and we are now waiting in the Delta B49 gate area for our flight to Barcelona! Ole !

We will stay in Barcelona until Saturday and then board a Disney Cruise around the Mediterranean to celebrate an epoch event- Avery and Brady turned Sweet Sixteen in April.-Joan

I'm so excited to go to Europe! The first flight was great and the one we are waiting for will hopefully be too. It's a 5 hour flight, so I'm going to get a bit restless! I hope to see Pablo Picassos art museum, one of the soccer stadiums, Monte Carlo, and I hope to learn many more things on this trip! -Brady

I have always wanted to visit Europe. This was truly  the best birthday gift I could have ever asked for. I'm excited to see the similarities and differences of cultures. The buildings, people and art will all be different from what I am used to. For now we have to get through the 5 hour flight! -Avery

Day Eight - Cruise Day Six

Ketchikan

Still having a drippy nose I woke up by having mom turning on the lights. I don't think I have explained how amazing the room is... There are no WINDOWS!!! Which means its like a cave. So when the lights are out, the lights are out. Mom woke us up at 7:00!!! SO early. We left the cruise ship at 7:30 and hopped on the misty fjords(which is a large boat) and began the days adventure. Ketchikan is a small town in Alaska and it rains 154 inches a year. It started off ok, the only problem was it was extremely misty. Then we began to go faster and faster. If everyone doesn't know already I have a very weak stomach. I almost "frowed up". You know that feeling when you go over the train tracks too fast and your stomach feels like its a roller coaster. The narrater was very nice and knowledgable.She pointed out many eagles, seals and dolphins. They gave us clam chowder(jealous aunt Zuzu?) which was homemade awesomeness in a cup! After that we had King Salmon freshly caught. The day ended with me back in bed, big surprise;)-Avery

Well, the Misty Fjords in Ketchikan were . . . Misty. However, since we had perfect wether until now, it was okay. We managed to see dolphins, eagles and a very lazy seal. We came back to a great Disney show, in fact our favorite thus far and a yummy dinner at Tritons where .arnel tortured the girls with several almost impossible puzzles.

Avery pretty much said the whole morning. So, I guess I could say ditto! Before dinner we went to the best show yet at disneys cruise. Peter pan was flying, a dreamer got her dream come true, and it was a happy ever after. They mixed and matched every character into the musical. It was spectacular! It was all about Disney dreams and such. After that amazing performance, we had an amazing dinner. So to shorten up everything, the day was perfect! Tomorrow we are at sea for our second to last day... :( -Brady

 

 

 

 

 

Day Nine Cruise Day Seven

We got to sleep late, after having a rough night at sea. The waves were shaking the boat and that made the closet doors swing left and right which made a racket! I was about to anger management on the two doors. So I didn't get much sleep until later. We joined another bingo with Dollar Deano! We were two numbers away from winning 10,000 dollars. :( but that's alright! Maybe next time. We ran into Daisy and Donald Duck too! Tomorrow, it's home we go! Brady

Ariel gave us one final puzzle to solve but Josip, our head server had to give me a hint but as you can see, I solved it!Avery

It was sad to bid farewell to our waiters and our room steward, as hey took such good care of us. Last night the seas were a bit rough but we slept well. It was a luxury to sleep late and to know that we old take it easy. We went to the Jack pot Bingo, saw Avengers, shopped a bit and read by he sea. We arrived at our last port of call, Victoria, Canada but did not disembark. Instead we had a yummy dinner and hung out that night with a ton of Disney characters. Unfortunately, tomorrow morning we arrive back to Seattle. What an amazing trip! Joan