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.

UN Day at Rödabergsskolan, October 23, 2009

Today was UN Day at school.  It is amazing to think that there are 80 countries represented at this one school.  The children put on a colourful show and displayed some admirable talent.  How nice to celebrate and share our heritage. 

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Fall is Colourful in Sweden

Fall is colourful here in Sweden.  I'm sure these pictures don't do it justice, but I decided to capture the colours anyway.  I took my camera with me yesterday when I went for a run along the waterfront in Stocksund where we live.  It was an unsettled day, partly cloudy and partly sunny, but when the sun was shining the colours were brillant. 

Everyone here has raided their closets and pulled on their hats, scarves and gloves.  It's not uncommon to see a young girl wearing a thick wool sweater and scarf on her top half, with an extremely short skirt and thin tights to complete the look.  It's popular to wear high boots as well, and the girls have these neat and tidy leg warmers that they wear with just the tops peeking over the rim of their boots.  They look good, but cold!  I've seen Elise checking out these fashionistas, taking notes.  Watch out, Brockville! 

 

A couple of weekends ago, we hopped on the subway to make our way to Östermalm, an area known for it's high-end shops.  We checked out some lovely home stores, did some shopping for the kids at Zara, and "window-shopped" in the upmarket department store Nordiska Kompaniet, otherwise known as NK.  We browsed through Saluhall, a gorgeous food hall that's been around since 1888. 

The hall is filled with people, fresh food and wonderful smells--a true feast for the eyes!  There are bakeries, fish mongers, butchers, delicatessens and florists packed in this beautiful building.  Well worth the visit.  Next time we have to stay and eat!

Kris Celebrates His 38th Birthday in Sweden

We enjoyed a really nice dinner on October 8th, at our favourite restaurant in Gamla Stan, Agaton's.  The staff  are very friendly and make a big deal of the kids so we all have a good time there.  The kids enjoy watching their pizzas be prepared right before their very eyes (in the shape of a heart nonetheless!) and the cook doesn't mind the audience. 

We cruised around the cobblestone streets after dinner.  Renee entertained us with stories she had learned on a recent walk around the old town with her school class.  She especially enjoyed describing the gory details of the bloodbath of 1520 and relished telling us how the blood poured down the street.  Ugh! 
Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, a recent addition to Gamla Stan, ended the night on a high note for all of us.  By then, we were all pooped.  We made our way to the nearest subway station and headed home.  The kids flaked out on the seats, tired from the special night and the long week they'd had.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KRIS! 

All Aboard the Baltic Queen as She Sets Sail for Tallinn

We went on a great adventure last weekend.  On Friday evening, we boarded a ship in Stockholm bound for Tallinn, Estonia.  We travelled with another family who are from the United States and who have three children like us.  We followed the advice of another family who had done the same and were not disappointed.  We made our way to the harbour after school on Friday.  It was a smooth tranisition getting on the boat.  For our family of five, we had booked two rooms connected by a door.  The ship was new and sparkled!  The kids were impressed with the pull-down beds that were suspended from the wall at a height taller than them.  We didn't spend too much time checking out the tiny rooms--there was a whole boat to be explored.  There were restaurants, bars and shops on board.  The small playzone for kids was a hotspot!  We sat down at a table in the Grill House for our dinner and not long after, the ship was on it's way.  We had a hard time keeping the six kids in their seats for dinner.  We soon gave up and let them sit by the windows to watch the Archipelago float by.  After dinner, we made our way to an outdoor patio at the stern of the ship. 

The sunset was amazing and the view spectacular.    

The city of Tallinn appeared the next morning after breakfast.  The church spires from the old town compete with some modern office buildings for dominance along the skyline. It was a beautiful sight from the boat. 

We made our way off the boat and towards the old town.  We enjoyed seeing the contrast between old and new.  It was evident in the architecture and choice of shops.  

It was a warm, sunny day and the old town was very charming. We checked out a pharmacy that dates back to 1422, some old churches and lots of souvenir shops. We tired ourselves out with all the walking, but really enjoyed ourselves.

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