We are so grateful to mom and dad Justice for making this all possible, and to mom and dad Malarsie for taking the majority of the time with our kids because otherwise there's no way we could have gone. It was an amazing experience and one that took an army to make possible. I'm so grateful.
Since the trip, Julie has made an incredible trip book with all the details and pictures so this here will just be a quick snippet of highlights so I don't have to recreate all the work she has already done. So enjoy this highlight reel, and find Julie's book to get all the real in depth info from the trip. It sure was amazing.
Day 1 - travel to Barcelona
We got to hang out in the lounge with all the fancy people while waiting for our flight. We flew to Chicago, and then on to New York City where we met up with the rest of the family.
Around 7:30am Barcelona time, we landed and happily got off that plane, found our driver and went to find our hotel to change clothes and leave our luggage so we could begin our adventure!
While waiting to check into the hotel, we ate some food at a buffet in the back lobby, which we later found out was for a group event happening there, not us. We were hungry though, so we ate and nobody stopped us!
Turns out there was a mixup with our reservations so we didn't have rooms ready until later in the day. We then grabbed a quick change of clothes, brushed our teeth and combed through our hair in the lobby bathroom, set our luggage in a back storage room and left to hit the town!
That day in Barcelona we had a private tour to see some of the highlights of Barcelona. The architect Gaudi and some of his buildings became the main stops of the tour. Our first stop was Park Guell, which was supposed to be a master planned community that ended up failing. But he left behind some pretty beautiful architecture!
Our next stop on the tour was the very famous Sagrada Familia Cathedral which has continued under construction since the 1800s. The sun shining through the stained glass windows in here were one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
We then stopped for lunch and it was definitely a memorable one. We were feeling the jet lag at this point and we were really looking forward to a break and some good food. This lunch was included with our tour, so there was no choice from a menu that day, and we were served a traditional Spanish lunch of paella. Needless to say, we all left there still feeling hungry.
Since we didn't spend a lot of time eating, we had some time to kill before our driver came back for us, so we walked down to the beach and got our first toe dip in the Mediterranean Sea!
Our final tour stop in Barcelona was Casa Mila, also designed by Gaudi.
We were very happy to get back to the hotel that night, eat dinner, and go to bed. We were exhausted from basically going for two days on our short "nap" from the plane ride. It felt really good to get into bed that night.
Day 3 - Barcelona and embarkation
The next morning we got up early and left with the Petersons to go see Camp Nou, the soccer stadium for the Barcelona soccer team. It was so cool to see! I was wishing my fellow soccer fan Bentley was there with me.
After our quick tour of Camp Nou, we were off to board our cruise ship! We could tell immediately that this cruise was going to be unlike anything we have ever experienced before. I was loving that it was very small, very quiet, and very relaxing.
We tried to call and FaceTime with the kids as much as possible. They thought it was cool that our soda cans weren't in english. And quick shout out to that awesome snaggle tooth of Bentley's.
The food on this ship was amazing. It was like eating at a fancy, high end restaurant every single day. It was all so so good, not typical cruise food at all.
Our first stop in Palma De Mallorca was James Bellver Castle. It was so cool to walk through the rooms and hallways, and the large open center courtyard was beautiful. Nothing could beat the view from the top of the castle though.
After the cathedral we were able to walk through the streets and check out some fun shops and enjoy some tasty gelato. After a fun afternoon of wondering the old streets, we headed back to the ship and enjoyed some down time before dinner. Normally the cruises we go on are so crowded in and around the pool. This cruise Brad basically had the pool to himself and all the old folks and me sat pool side with our books, and occasionally I made my way to the gym and got some exercise in.
We got fancied up a little and went to dinner again at our favorite Compass Rose.
This beautiful Saturday morning we woke up in Marseilles, France! Our excursion wasn't until the afternoon so we all spent the morning in the spa getting massages. It was one of the best massages I've ever had and my praise of the massage therapist landed her several more massages for our group throughout the rest of the week. Then off to our bus we went!
We started the day on the creepy little tender boat to get us to the shore of Antibes, France. Our excursion today included a drive up the French Riviera, down the Golden Corniche highway that curved along the coast of France, and ended with a walk in the infamous Cannes.
Our first stop was the French Riviera town of St. Raphael. We walked along the boardwalk, looked at some fun and unique shops, and dipped our toes into the sea.
We had a bit of a bathroom situation when we couldn't figure out how to close the door on these stalls. So fortunately for Heidi and I, we had some body guards who made a human door so we could quickly use the bathroom. Thank you secret service.
We checked in on the kids back at home and all was going well, though they were missing us a bit.
Bentley was all smiles though - a big gummy smile actually because he finally lost his super snaggle tooth.
Monday morning we woke up and looked ashore to to the life of the rich and famous in Monaco. This tiny country nestled in the alps of France is a place where people live a very fancy life. We have never seen so many huge yachts and very expensive cars. It was gorgeous there.
On day 8 we arrived at the port of Livorno, Italy. We had a full day of sight seeing ahead in Florence and Pisa. This is where the weather took a turn on the trip. We weren't prepared for the chill that crept in and we all ended up buying sweatshirts from the vendors in order to make it through. It was cold and definitely put a damper on our time in Florence. Despite that though, Florence was a magical place. We met up with a local tour guide and walked the historical cobble streets and saw the many beautiful things there. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to go inside some of the museums, but we got a very good taste of Florence.
After our long 11 hour day in Tuscany, we were all grateful to have a day at sea to just relax, read and play games. It was a rainy day which made for some beautiful views off the ship. We also rode past an active volcano named Stromboli.
Today was another amazing day, full of beautiful views and amazing history. We did a short morning excursion out to the Dingli Cliffs, which was gorgeous. We then traveled on through Rabat, stopping off at St. Peter's catacombs, then onto the walled city of Mdina.
The view from the Dingli Cliffs was breathtaking.
In Rabat we passed by a church where the Apostle Paul had been imprisoned, then took a tour through the slightly claustrophic catacombs. It was really interested and creepy.
After Rabat, we toured the walled city of Mdina. It had a very fun vibe with the beautiful old buildings, cobble streets, and old shops. We also toured the Cathedral of St. Paul.
This concluded our excursion for the day so we went back to the ship to grab lunch, and then ventured back out to the Old Town of Valetta to walk around and shop. A storm was rolling in, but despite getting caught in the rain, we had a great afternoon out and about.
On our way back to the ship we got to stand by and watch "the Saluting Battery" which is their daily routine of shooting the canon. It was a really cool experience to watch this old tradition, and the beautiful rainbow in the background made it even more magical.
That night we finished off a great day with an amazing dinner and dessert to celebrate Jeff's 44th birthday.
This morning our excursion was a short 3.5 hour tour of the highlights of Messina. This city was definitely different from the old historical feel of most places we had been. Unfortunately a massive earthquake in 1908 destroyed 80% of the buildings and architecture, and then a whole lot of bombings in World War 2 caused them to have to rebuild yet again. It was still such a fun adventure though.
The bus pulled over for a very quick stop to take a picture of mainland Italy just across the bay. They said we didn't have time, but Heidi and I really wanted to dip our toes in the Mediterranean Sea so off we ran! They didn't leave without us.
We did stop in the main square of Messina, did some shopping, ate some authentic Italian pizza, and saw the display of animations in the clock tower.
Our excursion today took us outside Naples over to the gorgeous, scenic city of Sorrento. The beautiful Amalfi Coast, quaint shops, and amazing weather all made for a perfect morning. We got some cute sundresses for the girls, and yummy smelling lemon soap. I could have stayed here another week. I'd love to go back to Sorrento.
Preserved ruins from a city destroyed in the 8th century BC. So crazy!
That night as we were hanging out at the puzzle table waiting for dinner, I received a text from my mom that in general conference that day, President Nelson announced that there would now be 2 hour church. This was a huge monumental change and we all had a little celebration before going to dinner.
What a fun memory to associate with this cruise!
Goodbye Regent Cruise ship - we loved you!!
The first stop was this Basilica designed by Michelangelo.
The Unification of Italy building was so grand!
The Capatoli.
It such was a special treat to have those seats that lay down on the flight. I did happen to get some pretty good sleep on our long flight home. I couldn't wait to see my babies!
