BACK HOME IN THE US!

I am thrilled to be back home. Now time to fix this Jet-Lag and get some work done! Thanks for following my blog. I think I've caught the blogging bug and want to start keeping up with things happening in my life.

Stay Tuned. ;)

Court

Travel Through Time in Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik was an amazing place to visit. I definitely want to go back at some point in the future. In order to get to Dubrovnik, we had to take a tender from the ship because it couldn’t dock. That was an interesting experience. The tender was more susceptible to the roughness of the waves. It was like we were on a roller coaster! We walked around and bought a few presents. I found this beautiful piece of jewelry for my friend Katie and also bought mini lavender stuffed pillows. The currency threw me a little bit because it seemed so much larger. However, the conversion was like 5.00 Kuna to 1.00 Euro. There was a fresh market with these little home made treats. I tried these mandarin, orange candies. They were pretty good. We also tried the gelato of course. I didn’t really like it here because it was creamier than the gelato in Italy.

We went to this 3D Movie theater to watch a film on the history of Dubrovnik. That was also pretty interesting and I found out that Pokovka is the word for Popcorn there! While walking around, I also noticed posters for the Great Gatsby, which made me want to see the film once I got home to the states. We also saw a poster for a big MTV party (apparently Dubrovnik is the spot for young people, they have the best parties!) After our day in Dubrovnik, we headed to the tender to get back to the ship.

Dinner was pretty special that night because our waiter asked the chef to make cheesecake specifically for me! I also was able to have another one of my favorite drinks on the ship: a Fruit punch, complimented with an orange and a cherry!

Much Love,

Court

Here are a few pictures from my day:

Beach Time in Corfu.

Because I’m really tired right now, I’m going to make a list of things (accompanied with pictures) that I remember from our day at Corfu:

We went to Glyfada Beach on the west coast of Corfu. It resembled a tropical island landscape!

There was a man with a large beer belly and a speedo. OH EUROPE!

The Water was a beautiful green/teal.

I had a real Gyro at “Golden Beach” beach bar. It was delicious. I love Greece!

I also noticed that there were a lot of houses that were just a second story on stilts

It was Gala night, so we all got dressed up and ate an especially fancy dinner.

The Show for tonight was Zodiac. I was expecting them to sing and dance to Aquarius; however, they didn’t! It was still very entertaining.

I’ve had a gazillion Fruit Punches on this cruise. THEY. ARE. SO. GOOD!!!!

Here are some pictures:

The Beauty of Argostoli.

When we docked in Argostoli, I was in awe of the beautiful, clear water by the ship. We knew we wanted to spend the day at the beach but we didn’t know which one! We started walking to the city bus to catch it to the next beach; however, a taxi driver stopped us and said that he could take us to one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe, Myrtos Beach.

 After a half an hour of travelling on winding roads through the cliffs, we arrived at one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. The cab stopped at the top of the mountain to allow us to take pictures of the beach from above, then we proceeded to drive down. The water was so clear and beautiful even all the way out to the deeper parts. However, the ONLY pitfall was that it was a rocky beach, so it was hard to walk on when going to and from the water. It was also slightly foggy at first (which you’ll notice in the pictures.) That didn’t matter because it was just so peaceful and relaxing. We spent the day at the beach, reading, tanning, swimming, and relaxing.

The most hilarious part of this day was seeing the goats on the road. THAT’S RIGHT, you heard me, GOATS, on the road, NOT DEER, but GOATS. Sorry I just found that so amusing, I’ve only really seen goats in the petting farm or behind a fence, not just wandering around, hanging out, and chilling on the road.

We made it back to the ship and relaxed until dinner. Dinner was Italian themed, so towards the end all the servers played Italian songs and danced. They even got all of the ladies, including myself, to waltz with them. Our waiter, Marlon, was the best dancer! I was so full and content after dinner that once my head hit the pillow, I passed out!

 

xoxo

Court

A Day Spent in Malta.

I have to say that Malta is my favorite place out of where we’ve gone on this trip! It had such an interesting mix of Middle Eastern, British, Italian, and African influences. Kelsey wasn’t feeling well this day, so she didn’t get to go on to the land. However our new Canadian friend, Dan, took the trek with us. We got off the ship and were bombarded by offers from tour options. We decided to go with a Taxi driver who offered to drive us around Malta for a few hours and tell us about each place we went to. I was taken aback because in Malta they drive on the left side of the road! This was the first country that I’d been to that does that. By the way, Malta is the smallest Country in the world (according to a brochure they gave us on board the ship.)

Our first stop of the day was at the San Anton Palace garden. This was a gift made by Queen Victoria in the late 19^th century. It was absolutely beautiful. I have never seen so many exotic plants in one place. I also saw a black swan for the first time in person. Walking through the garden was very relaxing. After a few hours there, we headed to a glass shop. Malta is famous for its glass. Of course mom and I bought a few souvenirs for family and friends! Lastly, we headed to Mdina. This is the old part of Malta. From the walls of Mdina you can see all around Malta, all the way to the coast!

Our Cab driver dropped us off at the Malta city center, where we had a quick snack of gelato and creama filled croissants. We then walked around and did a little more shopping! I found a store called Promod, where I bought these jean shorts with a pattern down the side and a jean vest/shirt! Unfortunately, I dropped my sunglasses and then proceeded to step on them. I had to buy new ones! We found our way back to the ship by walking by the coast.

After a nap, we headed to the Casino. Since I am over 18, I can take my chances and gamble here in Europe! I found that the slots aren’t really my thing… I’m going to learn more card games and try my luck at those in Vegas once I turn 21! It was definitely a busy day and after dinner, I crashed, exhausted from all the fun. :P

Much Love,

Court

ESCAPE FROM POMPEII!

Today we headed to Pompeii as a part of one of the cruise excursions. We had breakfast delivered to our cabin. I had a croissant with tea and honey. The tea was great because they gave us actual sugar cane to use! After breakfast we headed to the meeting room to register and meet up with our group. We were sent to a bus with Italians and Americans. Our tour guide was English-speaking and she gave us little headphones that she spoke in to. We left the port and headed towards Pompeii. We first made a stop at Giovanni Apa, which is a jewelry store founded in 1848. It takes shells and makes necklaces and bracelets (amongst other things) with shells. After exploring their factory, we got back on the highway and headed to Pompeii.

I’ve been fascinated with Pompeii since I was a little girl. I remember reading various history books about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and how Pompeii now serves as a time capsule of what a town in Ancient Rome was like. Obviously being able to see this historical site was overwhelming. Not to go in to crazy detail, (or else this post would literally be the longest one ever) I’ll just mention highlights. We were able to go to the Basilica, which was the site of the court. We also saw the brothel, with its pictures and stone beds. My favorite place was probably the square/market area. This was where we saw the famous body casts that are shown in many books. It’s so fascinating and tragic to see these people in what were their last moments before suffocation from the ash. The history nerd in me thoroughly enjoyed this visit to Pompeii!

We returned from Pompeii around 5 or so and loaded on to the ship. I decided to take a nap because I was worn out so we rested a little bit on the pool deck. Then we headed back to the cabin to get ready for Bingo. This was my first game of Multi-lingual bingo ever. Our cruise director, Daniela, had to announce every letter and number in each of the languages on board: English, Italian, Spanish, French, and German. I actually did pretty well and was SOOOOO close to filling up my whole card for super bingo (with a prize package of 1,500 euro!). However, someone else beat me to it… After Bingo we headed to dinner. We enjoyed another 7-course-meal, highlights from the meal include my sea bass and orange sorbet!

After dinner we decided to explore the ship a little bit more. We found the Puccini Lounge as well as the Casino and Game Room. Feeling rather tired from the day, we decided to call it a night!

-Court

First day on board the Costa Classica!

We left Florence around 7:53 with a train heading to Pisa. We caught the train from Pisa to Genoa but missed our train to Savona to meet the ship. Luckily there were a few trains from Genoa to Savona so we caught the next one. We arrived in Savona and caught a train to the port where we checked in and embarked on the Costa Classica. I was a little apprehensive when the boat finally started moving because it was my first time on board of a ship. We also had rough waters the first night. We headed to our room, 7044 and unpacked then walked around the ship a bit. It has two pools, a casino, a game room, a couple bar/club areas, shopping, and three dining areas. I was in complete awe with the amount of things on this one ship (event though people say this is a baby compared to other colossal ones!)

For lunch we headed to La Tratorria, which is the buffet place on the ship. It’s all you can eat so I tried a little bit of everything! Like I said, the first day at sea was particularly rough and I felt wobbly. We all took motion sickness pills and felt better. That night we went to a show with the “Afro Arimba Dance Company” and the voice of Michel Reit. It made me think of my friends who are working/have worked on cruise ships. The dancers were absolutely fantastic and had the most elaborate costume changes. Dinner was delicious! Of course they sat all of the 7 Americas on the ship at one table, which I found hilarious. There are about 50 English-speaking people on the entire ship, mostly everyone is Italian, German, or French.

After dinner we sat in one of the lounges and I ordered a Calibri drink, which is coke and fruit punch mixed together. You’d think it wouldn’t be that great, but it is actually very good. Before bed we channel surfed on our tv. Most of the channels are in German, French, and Italian. We found one channel that was airing the finale of a talent show called “Amicia.” (I think that’s the name, I couldn’t really tell) I fell asleep to Italian singing and elaborate dance sequences.  Overall it was a good first day on board!

-Court

Last Night in Firenze!

So this morning I was able to sleep in which was fantastic! I then headed to Marino’s for my favorite pastry and a bottle of coke. Then caught a taxi to meet up with my Mom at her hotel. We then went on a search for another suitcase to carry all of the other items that we’ve purchased for family and friends. After exploring the little shops and boutiques we headed to the Instituto Gould… but not before getting some GELATO! I mean hey… it’s the last day! On our way back, we stopped at a little shoe store with the cutest shoes. I bought a pair of lace up dress shoes and knee high boots! I’ve always wanted a pair of those, and they fit perfectly! We finally arrived back at the Gould and met up with Kelsey who had just gotten back from a day trip to Pisa. Kelsey and I started getting ready for the dinner planned for our last night.

 After a long walk up hill in a skirt and wedges, we finally arrived at our dinner location. The dinner tonight was at one of the highest points of Florence, overlooking the city. It was directly behind the Boboli Gardens in this beautiful Tuscan Villa. We were served SO MUCH food. It was all you can eat, and we definitely ate it ALL. It was nice being with everyone on the last night. The house belonged to a woman who lived through World War II. She rents out the upper floors to our hosts, author, Sally Fernandez and her husband. We also met world renowned South African conductor, Deborah Chevrino, a good friend of our hosts and also one of their neighbors. She won the Gold Medal at the First International Conducting Competition in Florence, Italy. She became the first woman to win first price in an Italian conducting competition. She was also a Fulbright scholar and knows five languages, including Swahili! Needless to say, we were completely awestruck with her.

After Deborah finished speaking with us, the Halperns asked if I would sing for her and the class. I was freaking out!!! I ended up singing one of the Italian Arias I’ve  been working on with Brenda called O Mio Babbino Caro. This is a pretty famous Aria… often sung by pageant girls :P haha. After I sang, Deborah came up to me and said she would love for us to keep in touch and she even said that I had a great tone quality for Opera. If it was possible for me to turn beet red, that would have been the moment when it happened! After chatting with Deborah, the Halperns, and the Hammonds (and taking pictures with all of them) it was time to go back to the Gould and finish packing. We HAD to stop on the way back and get Gelato one last time! I got my favorite flavor, Pompelmo Rosa. It was amazing as usual.  I took my time eating it and completely savored it!

 

My last night in Florence was completely incredible! I will cherish the time I’ve spent here. I truly have learned so much about myself and even more about Dante, Machiavelli, and the Medici Family! :P

Tomorrow we leave for Savona. I am so excited to go on my first cruise!!

Ciao!

Court