La Spezia and Pisa

Our 4th port of call was La Spezia, Italy. From here you can explore Tuscany, Florence and Pisa. This was our first port where we were tendered. That means that the ship docked in the bay of La Spezia and then boats would take the passengers off the ship in groups to the shore. It was a short boat ride- maybe 10-15 minutes.



Grandpa, Grandma and the kids on the boat.

La Spezia is where the Italian Navy have their ships.


More of us as we are tendering in.


This picture doesn't do it justice. It was beautiful.

When we went on our other cruise, the kids stayed on the boat while we toured around Pisa and Florence. We thought they would enjoy Pisa. Plus- you can't be this close to Pisa and NOT see it.


There is more than just the tower here. From L-R: The Baptistry, the Basilica, and the tower.
There were lots of people there- but I think it is just beautiful.


My three eldest daughters. Aren't they cute?


They were really good at recycling! They used the old marble bricks to build the new buildings. (You can see something in latin on this brick here. They used the parts from the Roman temples, etc.)


All the Carrells


Here we are! It was a beautiful day and so fun to be there with everyone. (Of course we have pictures of all the kids holding up the tower- but I chose not to put them all here.)

The Italian countryside is just beautiful. We saw the mountains where they get Carrara Marble.

We also saw this beautiful village on top of this mountain. Again- my camera didn't do it justice.

We walked around La Spezia for a few minutes after our tour of Pisa. Sadly, the only thing I wanted from Italy was a few boxes of Cioccolata. (The hot chocolate that calls my name in several different languages...) We couldn't find a supermarket close by and I decided against getting a taxi and spending any additional money. So, I left Italy without my beloved cioccolata BUT- we had fun in Pisa. Then we headed back to the ship.


Emery, Madi and Grandma with our ship in the background.


Disney MAGIC!!!

That evening, after the ship started sailing, Emery and Claire and I were in our room and we looked out to see what we were passing. It was beautiful!


Cute Emery with some cool islands behind her.


I love this picture! They really are sweet- but the background looks completely fake! It wasn't! And the sea looks as smooth as glass.

Thanks for another wonderful adventure Italy!

Back to the Cruise... Civitavecchia

Civitavecchia is the port nearest to Rome. Since we had already visited Rome, we decided to just stay on the boat. Kailey, Grandma, Grandpa and I did get off the ship to do a bit of shopping. Sadly, we left in the early afternoon when EVERYTHING was closed! Oopsy. We were able to find a nice little leather store and Grandpa got a belt and we found a lovely gelato shop. So, our time off the ship wasn't a waste of time.

During dinner, some very exciting people stopped by our table.

Cinderella with Claire and Kailey

Snow White with Emery, Madi and Jake is trying to be invisible.

Madi, Belle and Emery

All of us in a port hole. (I am so sad that the lens of our camera was smudged! This would be a great picture if it wasn't for that. Darn.)

The WHOLE family. We're so glad that Grandpa and Grandma came on the cruise with us!

Later in the evening, they had a family dance party. Most of the people who danced were under the age of 8.

Daddy and Madi showing off some serious moves!

Leave it to Danny and Cheri to get some real fun started!

CONGA!!!

Ah, the memories. Love them.

The Amalfi Coast

Our third stop was Naples, Italy. We decided to do an adult only day trip. The kids were thrilled to be without their parents and Kailey was well compensated for her efforts. (Madi spent time in the nursery and with the kids.)

We booked a guide and a car in advance and they took us to tour the Amalfi Coast. It was a beautiful day and the sights were gorgeous.

Danny and I overlooking Sorrento.


The "Beach"


No sand- but a lovely place to enjoy the sea and the sun.


I loved this statue of a mother and baby in Sorrento.


Cheri, Dan, Danny and I with Positano behind us (wish you could see the road that winds above and through the town)


Lunch at La Conca Azzurra (what a gorgeous view)


Amalfi- another beautiful town


The Duomo at Amalfi (I am still a little sad that we didn't have time to go inside.)


On the way to Ravello


Leaving Naples that evening on the ship.

We saw lots of lemon trees (something they are famous for in Sorrento), drove LOTS of winding roads (I got car sick but it wasn't horrible), enjoyed everything (Danny even shared his gelato with me) and the kids had a great day too!

Tunis, Tunisia

For some reason, when I have been thinking about Tunisia, the lyrics from an old Brooks and Dunn song pop into my mind... "It's kinda like lost and found in a border town- lookin for a diamond ring..." We weren't looking for diamond rings- but they would have tried to sell them to us if they thought we were interested. (Many men tried to sell us lots of things even though we weren't interested at all...)

My father in law summed up Tunis really well when he remarked that it reminded him of Tijuana. (Think of it as a fascinating place to visit, but maybe you won't want to stay there a real long time.)

Tunisia is a predominately Muslim country in North Africa. It reminded me a lot of our little day trip to Morocco. We enjoyed shopping at the Souk (the market) in the medina (the old city).

The entrance of one of the stores.


This is typical of what the streets look like in the souk.

We went into one store and the little girls found little belly dancer outfits that they needed.

Madi had to put hers on and wouldn't take it off. We quickly found out that Shakira made a music video in an outfit similar to this one. As we walked along the street- all these men would point to Madi and call her, "Little Shakira!"


Cheri is perusing the merchandise...


Outside of the souk where there is actually a little open space! (Little Shakira was exhausted from her shopping adventure.)


Dan looks he is having a marvelous time. (You see very few women along the streets and in the market- so it is nice that I have a picture of one. Most women wear the traditional muslim clothing- long dresses, long sleeves, hair covered.)


This was a very nice section of town. Look how pretty the white buildings are!


We were in a home that would have been owned by rich people. (It's now a boutique.) You can see that they are thrilled! (Listening to our guide...)


Papa and Grandma with the grand kids. (Tunis really was pretty- you just can't compare it to Malta.)

Shelby in front of one of the Government buildings.


Grandma and Kailey


The photographers decided that they favorite views were each other.

Malta the Magnificent

Malta was our first port of call. We had no idea it was so gorgeous.

Malta has a very strategic position in the Mediterranean so it has been occupied by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, etc. The most famous time in Maltese history was in the 1500s when the Knights of St. John controlled it. They were attacked by the Ottoman Turks in 1565 and amazingly the Knights and Maltese beat the Turks. The Knights ruled Malta until Napoleon came and tricked them in 1798. The French only controlled Malta for a couple of years as the Maltese hated them and other countries were only too happy to help them. Malta became part of the British empire in 1814. Malta is half way between Gibraltar and the Suez Canal so it was very helpful to the Brits. Malta was important to the Allies during WWII. It was heavily bombed for two years and the Maltese were so brave that they were awarded the "George Cross" from the King of England the highest civilian award for gallantry. It is usually given to individuals- but King George VI said, "to honour her brave people, I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history."


Look how calm and beautiful the water is.


At the Upper Barracca Garden- overlooking the port.


Emery- you can see Fort St. Angelo in the background. This is the fort where the Maltese and the Knights defeated the Turks.


Dan, Danny and Cheri


So beautiful.


Our ship. The city of Valletta all started out as a fortress.


Emery was whispering something in my ear...


Upper Barracca Gardens. I think the arches look great.


Clearly, Jake did NOT want his sisters encroaching his space. We started out exploring Malta on a Disney Tour- but it was dumb and we weren't learning anything. SO- we left and explored on our own.

We found the St. John's Co-Cathedral. It doesn't look like much on the outside- but look at the inside!

Wow! It's the home of the Knights (Grand Masters) of Malta. On their website they describe it as "a gem of Baroque art and architecture." I would totally agree. It's incredible! They also have a painting by Caravaggio of the beheading of John the Baptist. (It was also amazing.)


The Carrells on a street in Valletta Malta.


Every day at 12:00 they fire a cannon. Very cool and very loud.


Four cute girls.


The Carrell Men


We loved Malta. (Too bad Madi had to stay on the boat. She was too young to go on our tour.)