London-Rome-Med Cruise Jun 23-Jul 7, 2007

In the summer of 2007 from June 23 to July 7, my family went to the marvelous cities in Europe: London, Rome, Santorini, Athens, and Naples.

We have never been to Europe before except for the time we stayed four days in Paris and Alex going on a Europe trip in high school. We were very excited to see the great famous buildings and monuments in each city.

June 23, 2007 - On the Way.

Our vacation started at about 2:00 pm when we left the house to go to the airport. Already at once, as you may have guessed already, Dad started talking to our Indian driver about cars. After that embarrassing taxi drive we got to the airport. We checked into our Thomas Cook flight to London. We went through security and headed to our gate. Alex and I went around looking for snacks to buy, we ended up buying chips and chocolate.

We boarded our plane at about 5 pm. We got good seats with an extra seat in the middle of each of us, so there was a lot of room to relax and sleep. During the flight we bought an adapter for our headphones to watch the movie Eragon. They also had so-so food on the plane that was okay and edible. The flight continued on for about six hours and with the time change in London, (of five hours) we got in London at about 5 AM.

June 24, 2007 - London

London is the capital of England and the UK. We arrived in London at 5:00 AM in London time. We got our luggage, boarded the Gatwick Express to the city and then took a unique black London taxi to our hotel “Premier Travel Inn County Hall.” This hotel is located in the old City Hall. Unfortunately, it was too early in the morning to check in so we couldn’t go to our room until 2:00 PM. So instead we left our luggage at the hotel and explored the streets of London.

It was raining lightly outside, that’s the usual weather in London. We first saw the parliament building that was close to our hotel and Big Ben, a huge clock tower next to the parliament building.

We went down to the nearby Westminster London Underground (the subway) to buy a day pass for buses and subways. We went back out and took a seat on a bench with a view of the River Thames (a major waterway that flows through southern England) to eat breakfast, which was a subway from Mr. Sub and cookies.

We then took the London Underground to a station near the famous British Museum. The museum was a little far from the station and it was raining so Mom took a newspaper as an umbrella. The museum didn’t open until 8 o’clock so we bought drinks at Starbucks while we waited.

The museum was big and very interesting but Dad and I were suffering jet lag so we were really sleepy during our time there. We still saw many exhibits such as a real mummy, Roman, Greece and Asian history and artifacts. By the time we finished we were really sleepy.

We took a normal bus back to the hotel to check if we were allowed to check-in yet. We weren’t, so we left Dad sleeping with the luggage to eat Japanese noodle near the hotel for lunch. My fried noodles were good while mom’s and Alex’s were sucky. Once we returned, we finally were allowed to check-in.

When we got to the room we discovered two things, one, my DS broke (boohoo) and two, MOM FORGOT MY UNDERWEAR AT HOME!!!!!!!!!! After we panicked a while we settled in, said we’ll buy new underwear tomorrow and slept until 6:00 PM. It then took us another half an hour to get out of the room.

We were going to eat in a Chinese buffet but it was closed. Instead of eating on the streets, we went to the hotel’s restaurant which had good fish n’ chips. We set off again to see one more thing, The Tower Bridge, a very beautiful bridge crossing the River Thames that can lift two parts of the bridge’s middle to let boats cross by it. After crossing it, we took a normal bus back to the hotel where we finished off our long day.

June 25, 2007 - London

This morning we ate breakfast without Dad at a bagel café with tasteless hot chocolate and good bagels. After we ate, dad insisted on bringing the umbrella with us in the backpack even though this morning was sunny.

First on our list of things to see was Westminster Abbey. Westminster Abbey is a church where monarchs were crowned since 1066. It was very big and beautiful but we didn’t go in, instead we went to its gift shop.

After buying a few souvenirs we set off to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards. Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the current British monarch, there is a Victoria Memorial in front of it for Queen Victoria, the first monarch to live in Buckingham Palace. The changing of the guards was very organized and interesting but it started to rain through it so Dad was right after all. We bought some bad orange juice from a vendor to wait to get into the front of the palace (Mom thought we could get in but she was wrong). As we were waiting we saw a black Jaguar come out with a police escort and Mom thought it was the Queen and got excited. She also thought a van carrying the royal mail was the Queen too.

Since we couldn’t get into Buckingham Palace, we walked over to a beautiful place in London called Trafalgar Square which commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (a British naval victory of the Napoleonic War).

Later, we took the metro to china town so that we can eat lunch. We went to a nice dim sum with the usual food we have there. Once we finished our little meal Mom bought tickets for a Mary Poppins musical tomorrow. We bought a few souvenirs and took a double-decker bus back to main London to buy me new underwear.

After that bit of trouble we walked to Harrods a huge department store with the slogan “All Things for All People Everywhere.” It did have everything, and it was huge with everything having a big, fat price tag on it. We spent a lot of time exploring it, though it didn’t have all things because it was sold out on the Wii!

When we finished our wandering, we spent maybe another half an hour looking for the bus stop back to the hotel because our tour guide (Mom) got us lost. Once we found a bus stop we took the bus back to Trafalgar Square so that we can walk back to the hotel. It was really far so we were getting sore. On the way back we saw 10 Downing Street, the home and workplace for the Prime Minister.

Once we finally reached the hotel, we all showered and eventually took a nap. When we woke up it was late and we were a little hungry. We went out to look for something to eat but everything was closed (even McDonalds) so we bought chips and noodles from a grocery store for dinner to eat at the hotel along with a few free biscuits from the hotel. We then called it a day and went to sleep.

June 26, 2007 - London

This next morning was slow to get up and eat a buffet breakfast at the hotel. The buffet was a little good but we arrived when it was soon to close. We then set off for St. Paul’s Cathedral (an Anglican cathedral and the seat of the bishop of London) by taking the metro. When we got back up to street level from the metro, Mom led us the wrong way by walking the opposite way it was.

After our little confusion we finally entered the cathedral. It was very artistic with many statues of important British people. There was the Crypt which contained more than 200 memorials and the tombs of many people including that of Lord Nelson (a famous British admiral who defeated the French in the Battle of Trafalgar).

While we wandered I felt like I had to use the washroom. Alex and Dad waited while Mom and I looked for a bathroom. Once I finished my business we collected Alex and Dad and went to start climbing up the steps to the Whispering Gallery. Mom and Dad gave up at this stop and waited for me and Alex to finish the whole 530 step climb to the Golden Gallery. We were rewarded with a magnificent view of London. On our way down we united with Mom and Dad and headed out of the Cathedral.

We then tried to find our way to the Millennium Bridge (a modern, steel pedestrian only suspension bridge crossing the River Thames). When we finally found it, we crossed it admiring its unique design. The bridge led to Tate Modern (a modern art gallery) where we would go in and look at the modern art. The art was very simple and hard to understand leaving us with mixed thoughts. We went up to the top floor to buy drinks. Mom bought a horrible yogurt drink that was painful to drink, but the view of the River Thames, the Millennium Bridge and St’ Paul’s Cathedral from the restaurant was beautiful.

We took the bus back to the hotel to drop off our souvenirs. We then went to go ride on the London Eye (a Ferris wheel for tourists to view the River Thames and the Parliament Building). Our hotel supplied us with two free tickets but Mom still had to line up in a huge line-up to buy two kid passes. The ride had a good view at first but at the peak of the ride, it felt too slow.

After the half an hour ride on the Eye we went to a sushi bar near the hotel called YO! SUSHI. It was the type of restaurant that carried the sushi around on a conveyor belt. The customer will grab different coloured dishes and the colour of the dish determined the price (P.S. avoid the grey ones, they’re 5 pounds each). We all loved the sushi and the system.

Alex, Mom and I prepared to go to the musical Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward theatre. We left Dad to sleep at the hotel instead of during the songs. We took a bus to a stop a little far from the theatre so we had to walk a while. By the time we got there the musical had already started because Mom got the starting times mixed up so we were 20 minutes late. Mary Poppins is about a magical nanny who takes care of two children whose parents are too busy. The musical was pretty good, but not as good as the film.

After the show, we stopped by an internet café to email Erik and Sammy. Then we took the wrong bus to a place far from the hotel. We had to walk a long hike back to the hotel where we joined Dad watching Wimbledon on TV. We finally got some rest after a long tiring day.

June 27, 2007 - London to Rome

Once again we woke up late at 9:00 when we were planning to set off earlier. We ate the buffet breakfast at the hotel again. We left our luggage in the hotel so they can hold onto it for us while we go out for the morning. When we were changed and ready to leave we took the subway to the Tower of London.

The Tower of London is a place with several towers (bet you thought it was only one) that served as a royal palace, a fortress and a prison for royal and special status prisoners. It also houses the crowned jewels in the jewel house.

The Tower of London is also where some prisoners were executed. We were guided around the Tower of London by a Beefeater (ceremonial guardians of The Tower of London) who had a very loud voice which benefited us. He told us many interesting and gory stories about the history of the tower of London.

Aside from the tour, the site was historic and full of tourists. We also saw the crowned jewels in the jewel house. Although the jewels were glittery, I thought I was going to see the biggest diamond in the world not royal silverware. After seeing those pieces of beauty, we went to the White Tower which displays items from the royal armories. It was really, really crowded and uncomfortable here so we exit the tower quickly. At this time we were going to leave the Tower of London. We had a panini lunch and then we headed back to the hotel by subway to pick up our luggage.

We then went back to the metro to go to the Gatwick Express. We checked into our flight on the easyJet airline. The security line was very long and unorganized.

So after our two hour flight we landed at the Ciampini Airport in Rome. We took a taxi to Sheraton Roma and Dad tried to make conversation as usual but the taxi driver didn’t speak English.

Then we checked in and dropped off our luggage in the room to go eat pizza. The pizza was very thin, delicious and the pizza we had was Margarita. Dad claims he hates it and wants thick Pizza Hut pizza. Then we went back to the room to sleep after a rushed day. This time we got two rooms for the parents and the children.

June 28, 2007 - Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and it is full of history from ancient Rome and the Roman Empire.

We woke up this morning earlier to catch the morning shuttle to Rome, since our hotel is far from the main city and attractions. Rome was very hot and crowded, it felt more like Mexico. We first wanted to go grab breakfast, so we ate a nice panini breakfast at a café, and the paninis were delicious.

We then went down the street to Capitoline Hill (which was once a sacred temple for the Roman, but now, it is now City Hall). We had to climb up steep steps to get to the top. We went past the building to see the Roman Forum. The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. It was pretty interesting to see the ruins. It was a big area with an arch in the middle.

We took pictures and headed to the Colosseum. The Colosseum is a huge arena that was originally capable of seating around 50000 spectators, but now it is just a huge ruin. It was used to stage gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. Instead of waiting in line for two hours to get in, we joined a tour instead to get in quickly. Our tour guide used one way radios to talk to everyone. The Colosseum was very beautiful; the view of the whole stadium was just breath-taking to see what was once a huge arena is now an earthquake worn-down tourist attraction.

After seeing that spectacle we wanted to go back to Capitoline Hill to see the museum full of well-known statues in it. We first got it confused with the Vittorio Emanuel II Monument (dedicated to Victor Emanuel II, the first king of unified Italy). We walked around it and just saw a few statues and a view of Rome. When we finally found the Capitoline Museum, we left Dad outside and went inside. We saw many famous statues, such as the She-Wolf . The craftsmanship was uniquely European and superb.

We then went to go eat lunch at a nice restaurant after going up and down the street it was on. Dad and I had some really good seafood pizza and Alex had some ravioli. Later on after that we went to the Pantheon (a very well preserved temple). We bought gelatos (delicious Italian ice cream with no fat in it) in a shop outside of the Pantheon. The gelatos were absolutely delicious and tasty. Alex and Mom got a little view of the Pantheon before it was closed, but Dad and I missed it because we were looking at a dog.

Afterwards, we went to Piazza Navona, a nice square with music and souvenirs being sold everywhere. We sat around and listened to music for a while and Alex got a portrait drawn for her by an artist. The picture looked sort of like her, but he didn’t quite capture the spirit.

We then took the shuttle bus back to the hotel to rest up for another big day tomorrow.

June 29, 2007 - Rome

We woke up at about the same time as last time to catch the morning shuttle again. This time we asked to get dropped off at the metro to take a subway to the St. Peter’s Basilica. The subway car itself was really vandalized on the outside, but at least there were beggars playing good music during the ride.

Before going to the basilica, we had to eat breakfast. So after looking for a long time and many stores being closed we settled down at a little cafe because we were so desperate. We bought a pizza sandwich which is two square pieces of pizza put together like a sandwich. Then we went to St. Peter’s Square (the front of the basilica) to start lining up to get into St. Peter’s Basilica.

St. Peter’s Basilica is the most notable building in Vatican City and it traditionally the burial site of St. Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. While we were waiting in the huge line up, we got the honour of seeing and hearing the Pope from his balcony, performing the noon mass. It turns out that the line up wasn’t even moving because the basilica wasn’t open to the public yet.

When it was finally open we left Dad outside or else he would be too bored. Michelangelo is one of the architects of the church and designed the dome in the basilica and one of his famous works is in there, the Pieta. We walked around a bit to admire the incredible craftsmanship of the inside. After viewing the statues we went down to the tomb of the Popes where all the Popes are buried, there are also other people buried there too such as St. Peter.

After we finished touring we grabbed Dad and then looked around for something to eat, unfortunately it was about 2:00, the time when Italians are taking their nap. Every restaurant that we were going to try was either closed or was about to close. Finally we stumbled upon a little restaurant, so we ordered paninis and pasta. The meal was pretty good.

After that we walked to Castle Sant’Angelo, a huge castle down the street from St. Peter’s Basilica. We didn’t go in for some reason, so instead we just walked along the river next to it so that we could go to the Spanish Steps. The Spanish Steps was a square with steps leading to a place where locals sell tourists junk. We climbed up and got a gorgeous view of Rome. We didn’t buy anything because we were smart and are not suckers. Afterwards, we went to a fancy McDonalds to have a little snack of fries.

We then moved on to the Trevi Fountain (the largest standing and most ambitious of the Baroque fountains of Rome). It was really nice with statues along the back of the fountain. We made a wish by first tossing one coin behind our back to make the wish, and then turning around and throw another coin to make the wish come true. We had our dinner at a friendly restaurant with really good pasta and well dressed service.

We spent our last night in Rome for a week, by walking around viewing the many great wonders in the city such as the Colosseum. We caught the shuttle bus, but not before we got one more gelato, it was a great new flavour, banana. We ended the day back at the hotel to prepare to go on a relaxing cruise tomorrow.

June 30, 2007 - Rome - Royal Caribbean Legend of the Seas Med Cruise

This morning we woke up on time to eat a pizza breakfast at the pool bar, while Dad was packing the rest of his stuff. We took the shuttle bus to the metro again to go to the train station. At the station Dad and I saw a Wii demo station, they were playing Wii Sports, but we had no time to join. We went on a train to the docks but on the ride, we had to sit in the same coach with a woman because she was in the coach first and we didn’t know. After that awkward ride we had to walk to a bus stop that takes us to our ship – the Legend of the Seas by Royal Caribbean.

Our ship was not as big as Liberty, but it was still fancy on the outside. We still had to go through the security line and get our personal cards to use around the ship. We headed straight to our room and it was pretty spacious compared to Liberty because it had a couch. Unfortunately, we had to go to the troublesome muster drill in case the boat sinks. It was the same as the other one, hot and annoying. Once we finally were allowed to leave we went back to the room.

Alex and I then went around exploring and managed to find the rock climbing wall and the buffet, but both were closed. We had to head back to get ready for semi-formal dinner at the Romeo and Juliet restaurant. When we got there we had a table without a view, so Mom went to switch our table to one having a view of the outside.

Our service was excellent, our waiter, Zsolt; our assistant waiter, Crawford; and our head waiter, Eduard. They were very polite and they would serve us magnificent gourmet meals and absolutely delicious soups. The desserts are also very tasty and to top it off we get tea at the end (I have grown a tea attraction from being in Britain).

Afterwards we went to the Welcome Aboard Show at the That’s Entertainment Theatre, introducing our cruise director Jill. Jill was still cheery and a little funny, but she couldn’t replace Todd, our old cruise director on the Carnival Liberty.

The show also featured Soul Mystique and an acrobatic family. Soul Mystique is a dancing couple that magically changes their clothes when covered, they also competed in Australia’s Got Talent. They were amazing and that was only a little taste of their act later on during the cruise. The acrobatic family was okay, but their stunts were too simple and it was kind of boring.

When the show was done, Alex and I walked around a bit more and then went back to the room to sleep where we were allowed to sleep-in because tomorrow was going to be a day at sea.

July 1, 2007 At Sea

This morning we slept in late until 10-11 o’clock. We missed the beginner climbing session but it was okay. We went up to eat brunch at the Windjammer Café. The food was set for lunch, but there was nothing special about this buffet. The food wasn’t as good as Liberty but it was still good.

Alex and I went on our own, we first wanted to swim. It took us a while to find chairs because everyone was relaxing in the sun. When we finally found two chairs we put our stuff down and swam, the pool was small and boring so we got out quickly and lied on the our chairs absorbing the sun.

After about half an hour of relaxing we went to the mini golf course. It was kind of fun, but it only had nine holes. We met up with Mom and Dad again to climb the rock climbing wall. Mom had to sign a waiver because Alex and I were too young. We got our equipment on and lined up to climb the wall. There are different difficulties of rock climbing the easiest being red. Alex and I did that one and easily managed to ring the bell at the top.

We then went to this little quiet place at the top of the ship to relax in the air conditioning. There was a piano there and Dad tried to make us play piano, but we refused, over and over again. By this time we had to get ready for tonight’s formal dinner.

We cleaned ourselves up and dressed up in to our suits and dresses. We looked very nice and professional. We went down to dinner and we had to challenge off not spilling anything on our beautiful clothes. Afterwards we went to the show, Film to Footlights. It was a cheesy dancing and singing show of a collection of Broadway hits. We were bored with the show so we were relieved when it was over. The new all went back to the room to rest for a big day when we dock in Santorini tomorrow.

July 2, 2007 - Santorini

Santorini is a small archipelago of volcanic islands in Greece that has a caldera (which is formed by the collapse of land after a volcanic eruption) in the island. There are white houses near the edge of the caldera and from the cruise ship the houses look more like snow on the cliffs. The churches in Santorini are commonly found having blue dome roofs.

We woke up this morning the wake up call I set for 7:30, meaning we will get out of bed at 8:00. Alex woke up with a very sore throat and she kept drinking water hoping to make it better. We went for breakfast and got ready to the tender to the shore. The tender loading process was disorganized and we didn’t get to Santorini until noon. Also Alex constantly went to the bathroom because of all the water she drank.

When we got ashore we took the cable car to the top of the cliff to the town Fira. The alternate way to get up to the top is either to: ride a donkey or climb the stairs. We got lost trying to get out of the alleyways of souvenirs shop, but we managed to at least find an open road leading to the bus station. We took the bus with some loud Greek ladies to a black sand beach called Perivolos and the sand was very hot because black absorbs heat. We rented beach chairs and umbrella for six Euros.

Alex was too sick to swim so we didn’t at first. Mom and I went out to eat lunch at a nice Greek restaurant. We got calamari and souvlakis, both famous Greek foods. Alex eventually joined us but Alex drank water instead of eating one of her favourite foods, calamari.

It was so hot so I couldn’t resist the tempting blue Mediterranean Sea water, so I ran in, but then I was caught by surprise because the beach’s seafloor was only one big slippery rock. Alex did not join me so instead we talked on the shore figuring out what to do.

After an hour or two we took the bus back to central Fira. Mom wanted to go to Oia, a scenic town with the typical Greek architectural building design. However, Alex’s sore throat, headaches and fever were getting worse and she moped in pain, so we didn’t go to Oia. Mom bought strep candy for her throat and I had some for the sake of candy.

Instead of visiting Oia we bought souvenirs (caps, key chains, magnets, and ceramic models). We sat down at a café to drink and look at the view of the caldera. Then we took a picture of donkeys coming up the stairs, but nobody was riding except for the guide. We then took the cable car to the tender back to the ship.

While Dad, Mom and I went to dinner Alex slept because she was too weak to go. After dinner we watched an amazing show of Soul Mystique’s full act of quick costume change and another magician that we believed have six fingers that used the quickness of the hands to fool the eyes.

Dad and I left Mom to go play mini-golf and shuffleboard and I beat him by a lot leaving him with bitter thought of losing. Then we retired for the day to prepare for the arrival in Athens tomorrow.

July 3, 2007 - Athens

This morning we docked in Athens. Athens is the largest and capital city in Greece.

Alex was still sick the next day and even if she was better, she couldn’t have gone out of the ship because she still needed to recover. Once again I set the wake up call for 7:30. We ate breakfast and set off for Athens (luckily this time we didn’t have to take a tender).

It was really hot, so we didn’t want to walk to the metro and took a taxi there instead. We took a subway to a platform near the Acropolis. The Acropolis is a well known site of ancient Greek temples and buildings placed at the top of a big hill. Mom bought tickets and then we started the long walk up to the top. When we got up, it was really hot because of the ruins collecting heat. The only thing that we really admired was the Parthenon (a temple of the Goddess Athena) and the Erechtheion (the old temple of Athena) that had a really beautiful structure.

We walked back down to the streets and bought frozen lemonade. Afterwards we walked over to the temple of Olympian Zeus (a temple of Zeus, king of the gods). We didn’t go in so we moved on to Athens’ parliament building where we took picture of the traditional Greek soldier. There were tons of pigeons and tourists. We didn’t see the changing of the guards.

Then we walked back to Plaka (an old historical neighbourhood under the Acropolis). The place is full of souvenir shops and restaurants. There were some interesting souvenirs such as a Greek mythology chess set and many Greek statues. After buying Greek dolls for our couples’ collection, we returned to the ship. On the way, we took another taxi, with a woman driver that smoked with the window down. We went aboard the ship pretty early so we had lots of time to do things on the ship.

While we were gone Alex stayed in the room and ordered room service. She got better though, when we came back. Dad, Mom and I ate a snack at the Windjammer and we saw Zsolt while we were eating.

Mom took me to the rock climbing wall again to do the next level, blue. Although this time I failed, and Mom got it on camera! After fits of unhappiness we got ready for another casual dinner. Alex was well enough to join us for dinner, but not for the show. The show was another cheesy singing and dancing show (zzzzzz….).

We then went back and went to sleep (old traditional ending to my journals). P.S: The steward (Vincent) and I were having a towel folding competition (I used my skills I learned from Carnival) and this night he did a better elephant than mine.

July 4, 2007 - At sea

Today was another sea day, so we were allowed to sleep in today.
Alex was feeling much better and could do activities with me today. Once again it was too late to eat breakfast so we ate the lunch buffet. During that time I left to take pictures of a parade of the cruise staff holding up their nationality flag.

We returned to the room to brush our teeth and Dad and I left the girls to play ping-pong (I was forced to). Dad and I eventually went to the rock climbing wall, which is where Mom and Alex were supposed to meet us. Alex joined us, but Mom was fast asleep in the room napping. Alex and I went rock climbing again. Alex managed to do blue. I did blue halfway, but used some of the other coloured rocks to ring the bell at the top (shameful of me).

Alex went back to the room, while Dad and I relaxed at the Viking Crown Lounge. We later went back to the room to prepare for another formal dinner. Mom got some good rest and was up and at em’ now. We headed for dinner and had to go through the clean challenge again (Dad ordered baby back ribs!). We then went out on the deck to look at Sicily which could be seen as we were sailing.

We then went to the That’s Entertainment Theatre to watch the show. Today’s show, String Fever, was excellent. It was a group of talented and funny musicians with three playing the electric violin and one playing the electric cello. They took many known songs, played it beautifully and still managed to make us laugh.

We also saw the Gala Midnight Buffet, which featured a selection of food and many ice and chocolate sculptures. We went back to the room afterwards and took a long rest for tomorrow arrival in Naples.

July 5, 2007 - Naples

This morning we docked in Naples. Naples is the capital city of the Campania region, located in Italy.

Alex was well enough to go off the ship. We ate a buffet breakfast and then went off the boat. We were greeted by many taxi drivers looking for stupid tourists. Mom was really persistent to go to the train station and we ended up getting off a taxi we were going to ride. When we found a good taxi with a good price, we first wanted to just go to the train station and then take a train to Pompeii, but Mom was finally persuaded by the driver to take the taxi straight to Pompeii.

Pompeii is a ruined Roman city; it was destroyed and completely buried during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano, Mount Vesuvius. We bought tickets and entered the ruins. First we rented two audio guides to give us information of certain part of the city. It wasn’t as hot as we expected because it was still the morning. The ruins were very interesting and were spooky because of the many people killed during the eruption.

While we were walking we saw many stray dogs living in the ruins (maybe people from Pompeii reincarnated?). We saw a scary body cast of a victim of the eruption, it was filled with plaster because the body was decomposed leaving a hollow mold a human. We saw many typical Roman architect and building, such as: the theatre, the roman bath, temples, etc.

After our tour we took a local train to Sorrento, with an Asian tour group that followed us from England, to Rome and to here (suspiciously). Sorrento is another city in the region of Campania, known for their abundance in lemon trees. We ate lunch at a nice Italian café. Dad stated, “I love my pizza, so much better than Margherita,” but it turned out at that moment, he was eating a Margherita pizza! We then walked to the main square to buy souvenirs. Then we went to look at the Grande Marina, to have a view of the bay.

Then we took a hydrofoil to Capri; Capri is an island on the edge of the Gulf of Naples, with scenic spots. The hydrofoil made me have a headache and it was uncomfortable. When we got to Capri, we didn’t have enough time to take the cable car to the viewpoints of the island, so Mom immediately bought new tickets back to Naples (wasting money). We just bought souvenirs of an island we didn’t explore, but we still bought good gelatos. This boat ride back, we had to sit in the inside compartment of the small hydrofoil; this time, the girls got seasick. We made it back on time, but Dad almost missed the departure because he was too busy buying another hat from Naples for his collection. Then we went for dinner, but we were late AGAIN.

Mom didn’t watch the show today so that she could pack the luggage for the crew to pick up. Today’s show was really weird and not very amusing; it was this circus acrobat doing stupid things. Afterward Dad, Alex and I went back to the room to rest for the return to Rome. Also, I built a towel manta ray for Vincent and he made a pitiful crab, so I won!

July 6, 2007 - Rome

Today is the day we finished our cruise and almost went back home. We didn’t have to carry our luggage off the boat ourselves because the crew already put it on the shore. We took a shuttle bus out of the docks and then walked to the train station. We took a train to central Rome.

Dad wanted to stay at the train station because he knew he was going to be bored all day. Alex, Mom and I took a subway to a station near the Vatican Museum. The line-up to get in was huge! It stretched many blocks and close to St. Peter’s Basilica, but it didn’t take as long as we thought it would; about a half an hour. The Vatican museum is a museum filled with many famous artworks from Italy, Greece, Egypt and many other countries. It holds the famous Sistine Chapel, and artworks by Raphael and Michelangelo.

We admired the many statues and paintings and got information of some pieces from an audio guide that Mom rented. We saw the Sistine Chapel at the end; the Sistine Chapel is the official resident of the Pope, it is decorated by famous artists and Michelangelo’s legendary ceiling. It was crowded but the artwork was magnificent, especially the Last Judgment.

When we got out of the museum we went to eat lunch at the same restaurant that was closed because the owner was sleeping. I ate many breadsticks and spaghetti. We went souvenir shopping for the last time and then took the subway back to the train station.

When we joined Dad, we were shocked to figure out that our red bag was stolen. There were 10 apples, 7 hats, Tylenols, and a Banana Republic shirt; my basketball shorts were in there but they got spared because Dad took it out to sit on.

We then took a bus to the airport, checked in and went to our gate. Our flight to back to London was again easyJet and once again it was delayed. When we finally got on we were seated in front of loud obnoxious British that wouldn’t shut up and a kid that wanted to pee his pants. After our uncomfortable ride we took a taxi to another Premier Travel Inn near the airport and slept like logs.

July 7, 2007 - Toronto

This morning we ate another buffet breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant. We then packed up and took the shuttle bus to the airport. We checked into our flight and had to go through the atrocious security line-up. Next, we boarded the flight and got lots of empty seats and room to relax. The flight was still long but in the end it was worth it to go back home, and relax on my comfy bed.

Conclusion

The Nguyen family had lots of adventure over the years, but this one takes the cake. We saw many famous and beautiful building and artwork and for the first time, we thoroughly explored important parts of Europe. We got to enjoy another cruise and in the end, we still can’t wait to have another fantastic adventure.

The End Or is it….?