A Walk Amongst Trolls

While enjoying a walk around Ekebysjön one day a while ago, we had the feeling that we were being watched...We stopped and looked around more closely, and sure enough, we were.  Nestled in tree roots and on logs, hidden by fallen leaves and hanging from branches, were trolls!  We delighted in finding them and pointing them out to each other...they were made from shells, wood, rocks, buttons, yarn and paint.  I had the idea then that we should have the kids create a troll of their own and leave it in the forest.  This past weekend the kids began early to paint their rocks that we had collected from the area.  Graeme made a troll holding a sword, Renee painted a Canadian flag and Elise made a funny face.  We carted the rocks back to the forest and scouted out the perfect spot to leave them.

 

Graeme decided to put his on a log and the girls followed suit so that they would all be together.

So, there are a few more eyes watching people walk this trail.  I hope they are there for a long time for others to enjoy!

Montserrat, Spain

On Sunday, after leaving the ship, we boarded a bus for a hair-raising drive up into the mountains an hour away from Barcelona.  The mountains are called Montserrat, and it means "serrated".  They definitely didn't look like any mountains I had ever seen.  There is a monastery sitting up here and lots of trails to walk on. 

There is actually quite a lot of activity up on the mountain.  Restaurants, shops, a hotel and of course not to be forgotten, the monastery.  It was a very foggy day and we could not see far in front of us. 

 

I'm sure this funicular ride is spectacular for those brave enough!  We opted to have a quick peek at the church and then have a walk on the trails.  We also managed to squeeze in time for two hot, strong coffees and a chocolate croissant!!

 

There were lots of really energetic people running and cycling up the mountain.  The trail we started on gave us a great view but we didn't have time to go very far.  The drive down the mountain was less scary, but I hated to see people leaning to one side, craning their necks for a look.  The bus took us to the airport where we hopped on a shuttle to take us to a nearby airport for our last night in Spain. 

We had a great vacation.  Cruising was a really nice way to see alot of different places without having to schlepp our bags around and find places to eat.  It gave us a taste of Italy and France and let us know that there is much, much more to see!

Enjoying the Voyager of the Seas

The Voyager of the Seas was a great ship.  The staff were very friendly and went out of their way to make our trip enjoyable.  We had only the one full day at sea so we didn't really spend alot of time onboard, but we made the most of it. 

There was mini-golf, rock-climbing and swimming pools (too cold for my taste!) and the kids tried them all!

The kids loved to race back to the rooms after dinner to see what creature our room attendant had fashioned out of towels.  Over the course of the week, we had a dinosaur, stingray, bat, bird and a rabbit to name a few. 

The girls and I attended a jewellery workshop one afternoon and we each created a necklace, bracelet and earrings that we wore to dinner that night. 

Each night we had an itinerary delivered to our room of all the next day's activities.  The list was endless and no one could ever go home bored!

Cruising the Mediterranean--Aix-en-Provence

Our plans for Saturday included a trip into Aix-en-Provence to spend some free time exploring this city.  It was market day so we watched the city come to life.  What a sight to see!  The food on display looked so fresh.  We sampled some delicious cheese and breathed in the smell of chicken roasting in Herbes en Provence...yum!  The flowers were all blooming, the linens and soaps were displayed so temptingly...how nice for the people who live there to have access to this wonderful selection!  We enjoyed a cappuccino and were entertained by the air-kissing going on between the other customers at the cafe.  The smell of baked bread lured us into a shop and Kris and I each devoured a flaky, buttery chocolate croissant.

   

This hurdy-gurdy man entertained the kids while I selected another small painting to take home and add to my collection.  We gladly headed for the bus at the end of the day, tired from the week's worth of sightseeing.  This was our last night on the ship and we were due to arrive back in Barcelona the next morning. 

Cruising the Mediterranean--Villefranche, France

Friday morning the ship anchored in the bay at Villefranche.  This would be the only day that we would have to leave the ship by tender.  It was great to hop on board the small boat and see how our cruise ship looked from a distance; it seemed to tour over the city when we were onboard, but it didn't look so imposing once we were on dry land.  Villefranche is a beautiful place!  Just what comes to mind when you think French Riviera.

   

Our plans for this day included sun, beach, French bread and cheese and some relaxation!  We took a quick tour of the village, shopped at the local market for our lunch, then made our way to the pebbly beach to lay in the sun.  The temperature was just right, hot enough to sunbathe but not so hot that it was uncomfortable.  The kids beachcombed and Kris and I lounged around reading our books.  The beach was being used by both cruise passengers and locals. 

I think that Kris and I both agreed that this was a place worth returning to!

Cruising the Mediterranean--Florence, Italy

Another early start to our day on Thursday...we were heading to Florence.  In fact, all the mornings were early...being on vacation is rough!  A short bus ride brought us to the old city.  We had been informed that this was the place to get some shopping done!  Leather, gold, wine, gelato...it was a feast for the eyes!  We set out from our meeting place without a real plan.  We were happy to be exploring Florence on our own, no earphones or crowds to contend with.  We made our way to the old bridge and snapped some photos of the kids.  Florence charmed us with the small, cobblestone streets, elegant window displays, and gelato counters.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Ristorante Boccadama...the lasagna was to die for!  The kids were excited to try some real, Italian gelato, so we followed our guides suggestion and sampled some gelato from a shop on one of the side streets.  It was good, but nothing to write home about!  While we continued to meander along the streets, we came to this window display:

  

And couldn't resist trying a second sample!  We weren't disappointed, this gelato tasted as good as it looked!  Elise bought a sketchbook bound in Italian leather.  I bought a small print of the city I plan to frame and hang up as a reminder of this beautiful city.  This was our best day yet!

Cruising the Mediterranean--Rome, Italy

Another early start awaited us Wednesday morning.  We had chosen a full-day excursion, so we boarded a bus at 7am for the 90 minute drive into the city.  The bus dropped us off right behind St. Peter's Basilica and we had the morning to explore on our own before meeting back up with the group for a guided tour.  We paused for a few minutes to soak in the atmosphere in the square as the crowds assembled for the daily blessing, then made our way to the first stop on our list, the Trevi Fountain.

  

We enjoyed the cleaner streets in Rome, but still got lots of laughs at the expense of the cars, including this one taking advantage of it's tiny size! 

I was not expecting Trevoli Fountain to be so large!  We all took turns throwing in a lucky coin, held in our right hand but thrown over our left shoulder, guaranteeing our return to this glorious city. 

Lunch was pizza at a sidewalk cafe, which we thoroughly enjoyed but didn't linger over as we had limited time and the Spanish Steps were next! 

Kris navigated the cars and tourists milling about the steps to pose for this picture with the kids.  Somehow it wasn't quite what I expected either, but we checked it off our list nonetheless. 

The afternoon tour of Saint Peter's Basilica was due to start, so we made our way back there and joined our group (herd) for a tour, complete with headphones.  The inside of the Basilica was breath-taking...truly.  And what was so amazing was that despite it's grandiose size, the space didn't overwhelm anyone.  The kids were growing tired of the photo shoots, so they grudgingly posed for quick pic inside the church. 

      

We left the Basilica, enmasse, to board a bus to take us to see the outside of the Coliseum.  We enjoyed the colourful outfits of the Swiss Guards that were posted outside the Vatican City. 

The Coliseum...what a sight!  We weren't able to tour the inside, so we had to content ourselves with a view from the outside.  What a place it must have been in it's day!

The day spent in Rome was great!  It was also definitely not enough time to see everything.  We'll just have to hope our wish comes true and that we'll have the chance to explore it again! 

Cruising the Mediterranean--Naples, Italy

We woke up early on Tuesday morning, excited to experience our first day in port.  We watched the sun rise and the city of Naples come into view from our balcony.  Eager to get some ground under our feet again, we went to the dining room for an early breakfast and then joined the crowds of passengers exiting the ship.  It was an unpleasant experience walking from the boat through the crowd of persistent taxi drivers and tour operators keen to make some money that day, but we made it through and started our walk through the city streets.  We experienced some culture shock here, namely due to the crazy drivers and the lack of pedestrian crossings!  It is no small feat to get a family of five across a three-lane road at rush hour in Italy!!  When our hearts had stopped racing we had a look around to get our bearings, then set off to see what we could see.  Unfortunately, the entire time we explored Naples, I never felt truly at ease.  It was partly the traffic, but also a sense of not being as safe as we were used to in Sweden.  Pickpocketing was never far from my mind.

 

The streets were colourful and the shop windows were beautifully decorated, but we found the streets to be dirty and the garbage cans overflowed.  We enjoyed watching Italians greet each other with air-kisses and had a laugh at the cars and all their dents and scratches.

 

We entered into this piazza and crossed over the cobblestones to have a view of the sea and our cruise ship, then made our way back to have some lunch aboard the ship and meet our tour guide for our afternoon trek to Pompeii. 

We were ready to be dazzled by Pompeii....and it did not disappoint us.  We could see Mount Vesuvius looming above the city of Naples, but were amazed to learn that it was just a fraction of it's original size.  We followed a tour guide as she led us through some of the many streets in this ancient city.  It was interesting to learn that the cobblestone streets we walked on were original, and that the large stones placed strategically every hundred feet or so across the streets were stepping stones for when it rained and the streets filled with water.   We saw the homes of wealthy citizens and poor, restaurants and a spa.  It was really hard to picture this city buried in a blanket of ash and to envision the damage that was done so long ago.  We had a very graphic illustration of the eruption and it's devastation when we viewed this representation of a dog who had died.

  

Fortunately, there was some relief from this horror, in the form of another dog, alive and well and enjoying the sun in the former market of the city:

The kids were getting tired by the end of the tour.  We decided that we weren't really "tour" people.  Having a receiver slung around your neck and a hard earpiece stuck in your ear while you trailed around behind a group of other tourists was not our cup of tea.  We had had a full day of adventure in Naples and gladly boarded the boat for dinner and bed, all set to sail to Civitavecchia during the night so we could enjoy a day in the Eternal City on Wednesday. 

Cruising the Mediterranean--Barcelona, Spain

We flew to Barcelona via Munich on Saturday, October 24th.  The excitement level was at an all time high.  "When do we get on the boat?" was what we heard every few hours.  And the answer was, "Tomorrow!"  So we spent some time exploring this vibrant city.  We stayed at a very nice place, called the W Hotel, seen here in the picture behind the kids.  It was a pretty impressive hotel and it stood out along the shoreline, visible even from the airplane.  It is in a newer part of the city that was created when the Olympics were held.  The beach it rests on is a manmade one, but that didn't take away from it's charms.  (The naked, hairy Spaniards did that!) 

This is the view from the 25th floor of the hotel.  The tallest structure you can see is the start of a funicular ride that takes people over the port and up to a nearby mountain. 

Seeing as we had some free time on Sunday before we were expected at the boat, we decided to try out one of the Hop On-Hop Off busses touring the city.  It gave us a good overview of what there is too see in Barcelona, and whetted our appetites to come back again sometime to explore it in detail.  We didn't get to see the Sagrada Familia, but we did see another of Gaudi's buildings, the Casa Mila.  The details in the balconys were amazing.

Not a moment too soon, we were boarding our ship, the Voyager of the Seas from the Royal Carribbean line, enroute to stops along the Western Mediterranean.

We had booked two adjoining rooms and the room steward performed magic each night while we were at dinner, transforming the couch into Graeme's bed.  The rest of Sunday and all of Monday we were at sea.  We saw land when we passed between Corsica and Sardegna.  When we woke up Monday morning, we had landed in port at Naples.