Disney Mediterranean Cruise - Part 2

If you missed Part 1 on my Mediterranean Cruise click here.

Day 5 - Naples, Italy

Naples was the first port where we needed to take a tender from the ship rather than be docked in a port. This was also the first day that we had a scheduled tour set up.  We booked the tour through Disney and it would take us to Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii.  It was spectacular.  We started by taking the boat you see in the photo to a smaller boat that would circle the isle of Capri.  It was a little windy that day.  It was approximately a 45 minute boat ride to Capri.  My son Alex felt a little sea sick during this ride.  Luckily I had dramamine with me and gave him a half a pill.  Enough to get rid of the yucky feeling but not enough to completely knock him out.  I'm happy to say that it took effect pretty quickly and he was feeling much better before we had to get on an even smaller boat to circle Capri.

Capri is absolutely gorgeous.  How cool is the "face" you can see in the rocks?

Look at the natural caves.

We had the same tour guide for the entire day.  From Capri we took another boat ride to Sorrento.

There we indulged in a six course lunch.  Yes...six courses.  There was more food in this one lunch than I usually eat in an entire day.  It was part of the tour and the menu was pre-set.  Food just kept arriving at our table.

The french fries confused me a little bit...but the rest of the meal was completely authentic Italian...and so YUMMY!
After lunch we boarded a bus and headed to "lost city" of Pompeii.

My kids thought Pompeii was so cool (as did my husband and me).  

It's an entire city that was destroyed after a volcano long, long ago.

Yep...that's what you think it is...it's the bodies of the inhabitants of the city on the day of the volcano.  There bodies were carbonized and basically frozen in time at the time of their deaths.  Very dramatic and powerful.  It was a long but amazing day.  Got back to the ship late...but because we were on a Disney tour they actually held dinner for us.  Nothing better than to walk into the dining room after a super long day and have all of your favorite things waiting for you.

Day 6 - Civitavecchia (Rome)


Now this was the day my kids were waiting for.  My son especially has been wanting to go to Rome for years.  However Rome is a 1 1/2 hour bus ride from the port of Civitavecchia where the ship was docked.  We signed up for the tour Rome on your Own through Disney.  This provided us with transportation from the ship and a tour guide on the bus who gave us information about the city and some tips.  Once in Rome we were on our own.  My husband and I have been to Rome before so we felt confident that we could do the actual tour of Rome on our own.  We did pre-purchase tickets for the Vatican on the internet before we left.  Best decision ever!  The line for tickets was at least a two hour wait otherwise.  Literally we got off the bus and were in the Vatican in less than twenty minutes.

Vatican City is really something special.  St Peter's Basilica is incredible.  We did the Vatican tour and then on the bus our tour guide had given us a tip that if you leave via the right most door at the end of the Sistine Chapel you end up directly in St Peter's Basilica without having to get on another line.

Inside St Peter's Basilica are the tombs of all of the past Popes.  

After we were done touring the Vatican we walked to Trevi Fountain.  Of course we all threw a coin in the fountain...hopefully insuring a return visit to Rome.

After the Trevi Fountain we walked to the Spanish Steps.  My kids had a race up all 138 steps.

From the Spanish Steps we walked to the Colosseum.

Incredible!

From the Colosseum we walked to the Roman Forum.  When we were done walking through, it was time to head back to catch the bus back to the port.  At this point we were all exhausted so it was time to hail a taxi.  We jumped into the first taxi and luckily we asked how much...he wanted a flat fee of 25 euros.  We knew that was ridiculous so we all jumped out.  We went to another taxi that had a meter.  The fare turned out to be less than 10 euros.  

Again we were late for dinner, but again since we were with a Disney tour (even if it was just the transportation) they held dinner for us.  

Hope to see you Monday for Part 3 of my Mediterranean adventure.  Have a great weekend.

-Judy

Disney Mediterranean Cruise - Part I

We just got back from a ten day Disney Mediterranean cruise.  Words really can't do the trip justice.  It was absolutely amazing.  

We left New York on Tuesday June 28^th and took an overnight flight to Barcelona.  I had some concerns about my kids sleeping on the flight, but both of them were like pro travelers and slept the entire time.  My husband can fall asleep anywhere... and as for me...well I slept the entire flight, thanks to an eye mask, ear plugs and an Ambien.   

Let me tell you…that is the key to reducing jet lag…sleeping on the flight helped tremendously.  We landed in Barcelona at 10:30 in the morning. (4:30am New York time)

We went to baggage claim and waited for our bags. The first two bags came off the conveyor belt almost immediately.  Unfortunately, only three of our four bags arrived.  Yikes!!  I quickly opened each bag to figure out which of the bags was missing...it was my son’s bag that was missing.  Quite frankly, of all the bags to be lost, his was the best case scenario.  First of all he is very easy going and second of all I spun the situation to be very positive telling him we would be going on an adventure.  After going to the lost luggage claim area and filling out a bunch of forms, we were off to the port.

When we arrived at the port my daughter and husband boarded the ship and my son and I arranged with Disney for a bus to a Barcelona mall to buy my son some clothing (we had less than an hour to shop because the ship would be departing soon). 

Keep in mind neither myself or my son speak any Spanish but we were able to get by with alot of hand motions and facial expressions.  Luckily we found a H&M in the mall.  I bought Alex enough new summer clothes to get him through three days (thinking that would be sufficient…spoiler to the story…the luggage did not arrive until day 9 of the cruise).  The only thing we couldn’t get at H&M was a “formal” outfit for formal night. 

This photo is not of the Zara we shopped in...
we took the picture later because we started to see this store in every city

We went to a store called Zara and got him khacki’s and a button down oxford shirt.  With that bit of business taken care of it was time to get back to the ship and start this vacation. It's so exciting when you step on board of the Disney Magic.

They announce your family (okay...that part was a little sad since half of our family was already on board when Alex and I arrived).   We immediately knew this was going to be an amazing cruise.  We made our way to our stateroom and to find the other half of our family.  When we got to the room I was so happy to see a cell phone (that only works on the ship).  My husband and daughter had the other one so it was so easy to find them.  Having the cell phones also made giving my kids freedom on the ship that much easier.  Everyone lasted through dinner and the show...although I did nod off a few times during the show that night.  By 9:30 pm we were in bed and no one woke up until 9:30 the next morning.

Yes...we were all exhausted.


Day 2 - At Sea


Personally days at sea are my favorite.  I know we are there to see Europe...but it's really nice to just sit back and relax on the ship.  There are so many activities to chose from or you can just relax by one of the three pools.  My kids headed directly to the Edge club where they met so many kids and had so much fun.  The best part was they came and went from Edge at will and had more freedom than they have ever had before.  My husband and I went to relax by the adult pool.  Later that day my husband and I went to the gym to workout.  Now in real life I work-out 4-5 days a week.  On this cruise...I only saw the inside of the gym one other time (on the only other day at sea...day 10 of the cruise).  My favorite time of each day was dinner time.  There is something so special about dinners on the Disney cruise.  First of all the servers wait on you like royalty.  After the first night they know your preferences and have it ready for you (ie I like club soda, my son sprite etc).  Second, each night they greet you like family.  This became so important to us...especially after the long days in Rome and Florence when you are beyond exhausted and there's nothing better than seeing your server's smiling faces. Each night after dinner there was a show.  Three of the nights there were Broadway quality productions, another night there was a magician, another a comedian etc.  Each show was spectacular.


Day 3 - Valletta, Malta

When we woke up that morning and looked out our port hole...this is what we saw.

Malta is incredible...just look at the architecture.  Really beautiful.  This was a short day...easing us into what was coming.  We were able to walk from the ship into town.  Getting into town was easy.  Getting back to the ship proved to be more difficult.  We could see the ship, but couldn't seem to get to the ship.  The roads are curvy and come to dead ends.

There was an incredible church in Malta (only a taste of what we would see in the other ports).

There were also these amazing bell towers all over that would ring exactly at 12:00 noon.

Day 4 - Palermo, Sicily

Palermo is equally amazing.  We were told to find the markets which were a long walk from the ship...but well worth the walk.

We ate fresh mozzarella, bread and prosciutto. A-MAZ-ING!!

Like I said it was a long walk to the markets and once you walk through the markets you kind of lose your bearings.  This photo is very representative of my husband and I most of the day in Palermo...constantly trying to figure out the map.

Stop back tomorrow for Part 2.  Hope to see you then.

-Judy

Sizzle into Summer - It's a Party #23

I am back from our Mediterranean Cruise.  It was the most magical experience.  On Thursday I will be sharing all of the details.  Thank you to all of you who joined in my Sizzle into Summer parties the last two weeks while I was away.  There were so many awesome links to choose from, but here are my features for this week:

This one really caught my eye...especially since I am still in travel-mode.  How clever to decorate with maps.  You must stop by Dorothy's blog to check out the whole room.

I love this pom pom pillow that Shannon Sorensen Designs created.  She also has an etsy shop with more beautiful creations.  Hope you go and check it out.

Look at this awesome script table created by Patti from Pandora's Box.  She got the table for free.  You must stop by to see the before and after.

How about a chalk paint project?  This one is just gorgeous done by Northern Nesting.  Check out her blog to see the before and after transformation.

I just love this by DIY Design Fanatic.  This is a before and after you have to check out.  She created this with things she already had.  Love it!!


If you were featured, please grab an "I've Been Featured" button (you can now find my buttons by clicking on the buttons tab right under my header).  Now let's get started with this week's party.  I can't wait to see what you have been up to.  Link up anything you have been working on...home decor, sewing, crafts, organizing, baking, recipes etc.     I will keep this link open through Friday.  

<a border="0" href="http://www.diybydesign.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXqgDYi2iCi1MWNSv6ByCItXuxHik0aUWJqmvWv9HcSDdvlIcNJDrsUwNefuLOdeJ3het1l6dtUKSD9IKmP-CCdwBrQhV-4Lt27GZrHZJ19VohtBgzm9CYePpvnS7IfIC0cQd7XL5gtgN/s128/14898620382.jpg" /></a>

A few rules:

1.  Please become a follower.  

2.  Please grab my party button above and display it either on your sidebar or somewhere in your post.  This way word can spread about the party.  The more people at the party, the more fun we will have.

3.  Please enter the link to your actual post, not just a link to your main blog page.

4. Please visit others who have linked up.   Everyone works hard on their projects and blogs...let's show each other some love by visiting each other.  Let's have some fun and hopefully make a few new friends along the way.

Ok...Let's Party

-Judy

I Have Only Two Words - Jet Lag

We are back after the most amazing trip ever!!

I can't wait to tell you all about it.  But for now, we are completely jet lagged and my house is a disaster area with all of the laundry being done.  Tomorrow night at 8pm EST my Sizzle into Summer party will be on as usual with features from the past two weeks. Hopefully by then I will have myself back to this time zone and be able to share with you all the details of the most incredible vacation we have ever taken.

Hope to see you then.

-Judy

My Daughter's Room - The Big Reveal - Repost

I hope you have enjoyed all of the guest posts this week.  A big thank you to all of my blog friends who came to my rescue while I was away.  I thought I would end the vacation week with reposting one of my most viewed posts...the makeover on my daughter's room.  I thought it would be fun to "re-air" this one.

As you know I have been working on redoing my ten year old daughter's room for some time now.  I have tried every furniture configuration you can imagine (thanks to those handy gliding furniture movers).  I think I have the best layout to maximize space in her space challenged room.  I think I have also made it a pretty, calming space for my ten year old taking into account the colors she wanted (it all started with her wanting a room with aqua in it) and that she wanted to keep her daybed.  Here is the final reveal.

Much of what you see I made in her room.

That beautiful chandelier is a Schonbek we purchased for her a few years ago.

The bedskirt and the euro shams were easy projects.  You can find out how I did these here and here.  For now I flipped her quilt over to the striped side.  The other side seemed to be too busy for the new pillows and bedskirt.  For now I think it works.  The lamp on the left is from Home Goods and the lamp on the right (on her desk) is from Target for the base (shabby chic) and Pottery Barn Kids for the lampshade.

The drapes are from Target's shabby chic line and were very reasonably priced.  The curtain rod is from pottery barn kids.  You can see a closeup of the rod and how to hang drapes like this here.

The pink wall was stenciled by me.  That wall alone took almost five hours.  Click here to see how I achieved the look of wallpaper with a stencil.  The memo board was made by me.  Click here to see how I made it.  Super fast and easy project for less than $20.  The desk and chair I found up in my attic.  I moved the desk next to her bed and it really opened up her room.  Using fabric I already had I recovered that chair.  Click here to see how I transformed the chair.

Ultimately this desk got moved next to her bed as seen in the pictures at the top of the post.

The word art I made as well.  The flowers and hearts on the word art were made using paint samples from Lowes.  You can check out how to make the word art here.  The vines and birds are decals from Home Goods.

I replaced the formica furniture she had (which was a hand me down from when we were first married) with a find I got at the Ethan Allen annual warehouse sale.  I got the armoire for 40% off the regular price.   It's a perfect fit for her room.  I got humpty dumpty to come off the wall...my daughter wasn't willing to completely get rid of him...so for now he will sit on top of the armoire.

The banner behind her door was made by me a few years ago.  I totally copied the idea from a banner than posh tots sells.  I just did it for a fraction of the price.  The little heart table with the dolls on it was painted by me as well.  I got it at AC Moore when I was pregnant with my daughter.  The "S" door hanging was also homemade by me.  You can check out here how I made it.

up close picture of table...I stenciled her first and middle name on each leg

This is her wall of closets.  Makes it tough for furniture arranging when one entire wall has closets.  Also, I would love to remove the bypass doors and replace them with french doors.  The downside to that is that the doors would then open up into her room...using up even more space in her space challenged room.

The birds and flowers on the doors are decals from Home Goods.  

The mirror you see is from Home Goods.  I didn't mind putting her beautiful armoire behind the door since you can see its reflection when you walk into the room in this mirror.  This mirror is huge and heavy.  It was only $39.99 at Home Goods! (I still think it had to be mis-marked - Home Goods was selling the same brand mirror in half the size for twice the price).    The little side table is from Target's shabby chic line.  The lamp shade was embellished by me.  You can check that out here.
The chair in her room didn't start looking like that.

It started out looking like this.

The chair was reupholstered to look like this.  Pretty amazing, right?

The "dream" and "imagine" are also decals from Home Goods costing $9.99 (the rest of the decal was used on the other side of the room near the memo board).

The picture I already had in the house (technically it was under a bed waiting to reappear somewhere in the house).  It seems to go well with the soft feel of her room.

Her door sign started as a heart shaped piece of wood bought from AC Moore.  I decoupaged scrapbook paper on it, painted letters and used my hot glue gun to attach them.  I then used industrial strength sticky back velcro to attach it to the door (I used regular strength first and it fell off the door within two weeks-too heavy I guess).

Here's the before and after:

Before

 I think I am done...or at least for the moment.  Let me know what you think of her room now.  I'd love your feedback.

-Judy


See you all on Monday...I will be very jet lagged but hopefully will have lots of great photos