Vacation to me, starts the minute you walk out of your house, and the first day of any holiday is unpacking all you have packed and finding a home for all of your belongings. Depending on how long you are going to be gone, it could be 5 minutes shoving things in a drawer, or me, taking an hour finding just the right spot for 18 shirts, 12 pair of pants/shorts, 4 dresses, 6 pairs of shoes, and 2 oversized overnight bags full of all required items to keep me fresh and clean and face done up.  Once we boarded the ship, we had lunch and had to wait for our suitcases to be delivered before we could make our cabin homey. We had been up since 3am for our long haul to the ship, and while I waited and had a full belly, I took a nap. Nothing had come by the time we were ready for dinner, so down for dinner we went. I was not impressed with the food this time, which surprised me because the food and service are usually good with Royal Caribbean.  I love sitting in the window seats at dinner each night so I always send an email, 2 weeks before each cruise, and ask for window seating. Eating dinner and watching the gracefulness of the ship sailing across the ocean. Prime rib, baked potato, Caesar salad, and cheesecake for dinner.  When we finished dinner, we went for drinks in the Suite lounge. Yep, spend extra money on your room, and they give you free alcohol. Nothing better than a chocolate martini that only costs the extra $2000 you pay for the room.  Getting back to the cabin we now call home for the next 13 nights, we still only have our small suitcase which has my work laptop in it, and clean underwear for my husband. 8:30pm, doorbell rings. Yep, we have a doorbell too.  The room manager, Charlie, has 1 suitcase, mine. Said he was still hunting Chris's down. 15 more minutes pass and another ring at the already annoying doorbell. He found Chris's suitcase. It was searched because Chris tried to get away with bringing 5 bottles of alcohol on the ship, called contraband. You would think he was a roaring alcoholic with as much as he had!! But alas, they confiscated all they found.  We have 3 small bottles that, as of day 2, have not been touched. Asleep by 10:30pm.           

Once we played catch-up and finally settled down, it was already time to go. We had to change the time on our watches so often on this trip, that not even the phones could tell us what time it was. They walked us through the terminal so that we didn't get lost, stood in line with us while we checked in, and then it was time to say our goodbyes. This was the hardest part. We knew it would only be a matter of time before we saw them again but it was the hardest part. See you again soon is all I could get out. Love to you both. Chris had said several times to try and rest or sleep on the flight but I couldn't do that, with loud kids, plane turbulence, and people moving about the plane. No, I will wait until I make it home. Now on the first flight, it was crowded, and smaller and Chris and I were given our own row to manage. I sat next to the window, Chris sat next to the aisle and we were only on the plane for about 2 hours. The next flight was a HUGE airbus. It had 3 seats, 4 seats, then 3 seats going across the width of the plane. It was not full by any stretch of the imagination, so I got my own row of 3 and Chris got his own row of 4.  For a girl like me, this was luxury at its finest!! Video screens on the back of the seats, lights out the whole trip, water, food, and snacks available, and no turbulence!!  This was a 9 1/2 hour flight and the flight attendants kept busy. I saw 2 movies, played games on my phone, and entertained myself as best I could. 9 1/2 hours later, the plane landed and we were home. Florida home, EST time zone home, hot and muggy air home.  When we got off the plane, we still needed to get our luggage and get to the shuttle pick-up. Chris went to get the luggage and told me to stay where I was. 45 minutes later, the flight attendants that got off our plane, got their luggage first, then Chris waited and waited, and waited. Finally, we are on the path to get to the car. That is all I want. 6 hallways, 1 shuttle train, and 2 more hallways and we are out of the building and in the shuttle line. After 3 airports and all the walking, my Fitbit said I walked more today than I do for 3 whole days put together!!  The shuttle line. This is where the chaos begins and the circus enters town! Chris had already let them know we were there and ready to go. Call, wait, call wait. There are at least 8 parking spots for pickup and every company had their own spot. There are probably 400+ people waiting to be picked up. While Chris waited and called, I observed an older couple who were most likely in their early 70's. He was tall and lanky and with a walker, she was short at about 5 foot and thin and could walk with no issues. They could not remember which shuttle service they used before the trip they were home from, so every time a shuttle service showed up, she would fight the passenger traffic and go up to the driver and ask him if they were to get on their van. You could see her from a distance each time, showing the driver her phone and asking questions. Each time she came back and told her husband that they were not the company. This went on for at least 8 runs while we waited for ours.  Next on my left is a guy who said he was waiting on a specific shuttle van. He knew who they were but back to how many humans there were in this small, hot, outside area, every time he went to get onto the shuttle, they were full before he got to them. He had been there for 3 hours.  The mass of people getting into these vans was unmatched. We saw our shuttle and before we could even gather our things, the shuttle had 40+ desperate people ready to load the van. Chris was pissed. Now what? It is crazy humid, and it is late, with the time difference and the 3am wake-up call, we have been up 24 hours and still have a 2-hour drive home once we pick up our car and Disney closes soon so then there is that traffic. We have to be through Orlando quickly so that 2-hour drive doesn't turn into 3 1/2 hours. We need a cab. So quick to think on his feet, we went into the airport and walked around for about 3 minutes to realize we were in the right place for a cab. Back out the door and to the left was a huge area and 4 cabs sitting and waiting for their next victim to collect fare from.           

Once we got into the cab, Chris started begging the driver to outrun the shuttle we should have been on. "That van, right there! Please get to this address before they do!" Well, that didn't happen but Chris gave me the credit card before we pulled into the lot and I asked the guy to stop the van the moment that we pulled onto the lot so that Chris could go into the building and do his big guy yelling. He was number 2 in line. As I waited for Chris to come out, I paid and tipped the cabbie, and helped him unload the trunk. He was kind enough to help me get everything unloaded and to the other side of the drive so I didn't get hit by a car. And now I wait. Well, that didn't take long! Chris comes out the door and points to the irritated guy walking out behind him. "He is going to get our car." Words I have been waiting to hear for the last 24 hours. We loaded the car, packed our hatchback, and started on the long trek to see our 4 legged furball and for me to go to bed so I could go to work in the morning.  We need to stop for gas, drinks, and food. Airplane food is kinda like hospital food. You take what you get and eat it because it is the only food there is. The nearest WaWa was 10 minutes away, which seemed like an hour away at this point. Water, soda, subs, chips, and the knowledge of finishing this long journey were just enough to get me through the lengthy drive home. Pulling into the drive, 25 hours after we started, I hear a cat cry, feel my body shut down, and my brain beg for sleep. It is 10:45pm EST in Clearwater, Florida and I patiently wait for the jetlag to kick in. 3 days to the weekend and I may not wake up until then. Good night!          

Now that we were on the plane, I can tell you, that my feet, knees, and back hate me. We walked in, stood in line, walked up, across, down, over, up some more, and then once more over, to get to the gate. At 4:30 in the morning, I had a lack of sleep, lack of coffee, and a lack of food for this kind of journey. Oh well, I am looking forward to the end result. Let me tell you a quick story of a blossoming friendship. 2 years ago March, so March 2021, Chris took me on an 8-day cruise for my birthday and we went out of Miami to Labadee, (Royal Caribbean's private island) San Juan, St. Marteen, Antigua, and then back to Miami. When we cruise, we usually find the Facebook page for that cruise and then meet new people that, eventually, we will spend 8 days on a ship with. I had met one lady who was from Scotland but moved to Ireland a few years before. I have a family history from Ireland but we also shared a birthday! Well, sort of. Her birthday was the day we left, the 12th of March, mine is the 14th, just 2 days later. We connected and promised to meet at Sail Away and have a drink to celebrate her birthday and the cruise as well. The only thing I could remember about the last conversation was a picture of her husband in a green Irish shirt. She said, "I will be easy to pick out of a crowd, my husband will be wearing this" Lo and behold, 10 minutes on the ship we met! We hugged, we chatted, we split up to check out our rooms, then we met up with them as promised at Sail Away. Or at least we were headed there but never quite made it there. It started raining so we stayed under the overhang and in the back of the ship area and just talked for over an hour. We were inseparable after that. I have never enjoyed someone's company as much as I did theirs. I called her husband Thomas based on his Facebook name, the whole trip and then found out later he goes by Tam. Well after our trip, we promised to stay in touch. We exchange holiday gifts, and we wished them happy birthday and anniversary, but alas, we have not seen them since March 20, 2022. They were going to go on this trip with us, and then they were going to meet us in Barcelona, but sick pups, weddings, and a loss in the family, they were not able to join us. BUT, they took the day off work, and drove 3 hours round trip to Dublin, to buy us a traditional Irish breakfast. The hugs were tight, the tears almost showed up instantly and the conversation picked up like we had just seen them yesterday. You can really tell a lasting friendship when you can be gone for 2 years and feel like you have never been apart. We made plans for 2025 when we come to see them again. Maybe this time for 4 days, not 4 hours, we hope, eventually we will have a bigger place to live so we can have them come to Florida and stay with us. Thank you Melissa and Tam for a wonderful, lasting, long-distance friendship! We love and miss you both!!          

Once we finished dinner, it was time to go back to the hotel, get organized, packed, and ready to go home. The place we left 18 days prior, left our 4-legged baby, where we will unload our suitcases until the next adventure. Home.  We have so many hours ahead of our trip. But the best part of our journey home will be seeing our friends in Dublin. More on that later. Took us quite a while to absorb we were headed home, but we packed, repacked, and then swept the room, looking for things we may have missed. We needed to be up by 3am to shower, gather the rest of our belongings, dress, and head out the door. Yesterday, Chris asked the front desk of the hotel to order us a cab for 4am. Gave us an hour to get everything ready and be downstairs to wait.  No coffee, no breakfast, no water. Just pure exhaustion and ready to get the day done. We headed to the downstairs of the hotel with 10 minutes to spare, and told the front desk guy we were waiting for our 4am cab. He offered us a seat and said they are usually on time. We waited on a very comfortable bench in the lobby. When the cab arrived, we climbed in, sighed heavily, and then on we went.  Once our cab arrived 40 minutes later, we were at the airport, and it was massive. You would think at 4:30am it would be empty? Nope, apparently people like to travel EARLY! I am more of a come early, leave late kinda gal, but when it is all day traveling and you are supposed to be back to work the next day at 7:30am, the stay late was not going to work this trip. There were people EVERYWHERE! Well, that early in the morning, several thousand people were waiting to check in and it looked like there was no method to the madness. Our flight was with a company called Vueling and they do not travel far from home. Once we walked through the door, there was a woman to greet us. Pointed the direction we needed to go, and Chris did the exact opposite. For the most part, Chris usually does what he thinks is right and very seldom is he wrong. She told us right, Chris went left. Now before I move on, let's talk about a couple things. First, no airport I have ever been in had someone right inside the door, making sure you're headed in the right spot. Second, the lady who greeted us again spoke English but also had a roll of saran wrap in her hand. I thought that was really odd but whatever, right?  Well come to find out later, she was asking us if we wanted to wrap our luggage. Not sure why, but while we stood in line with 300 other people checking in, many were on the floor wrapping their suitcases like a Christmas tree. Not only were there 300 other people in line but there were only 2 agents checking passengers in for the first 30 minutes in line. They added 3 more at 5am. Total time waiting, 1 hour 10 minutes. Now, when flying out of Columbus International or Tampa International Airport, you know what gate you are leaving from ahead of time. Not with Vueling!!  You get to wait around until 30 minutes before the flight left and pray to God it was not on the other side of the world........Which it was. Somehow, some way, we ended up getting front-line TSA tickets so we got on the plane first. So happy at that point.           

Not that I am bitter, but my vacation is one that we only dream about, for the most part. 17 days of travel, experiences, and enjoying life, is hard to come by in real life unless you are retired. But this is one for the books. Longest vacation I have ever taken on a cruise and honestly, one of the best. Chris and I always enjoy each other's company, which makes for a better time.  On the last day, before we left Spain for a while, we decided to walk around the Gothic Quarter. It is what Chris has been wanting to see since we got here. Now I have been limping with a bad knee since day 3, so randomly walking around in an area I am not familiar with, no direction and it is alleys and roads with no end result, half the stores are open, the others were not, and this was not my cup of tea. But sometimes, ya just gotta do.  So we woke up and got ready, had breakfast in the hotel one last time, and decided to walk to the Quarter. Now just to give you an idea, we were staying in a hotel on the very rim of the Gothic Quarter. We really didn't have far to walk to get into the heart of said area, we just had to walk.  There were stores open, churches and beautiful architecture, people, and table sales. There were 2 small rows of tables where people were selling their antiques, family heirlooms, and silver jewelry. So much silver!!  But it was nice to see what they had.  I got my picture taken with a white-faced balloon woman who demanded $5 (I had no idea) and Chris found a shoe store. The lady was very sweet and helped me pick out a pair of shoes that I love. We found a little store with snacks to take on the plane and then we found one of the biggest markets we have ever seen! 5 rows of nothing but meats, snacks, fruits, and restaurants wrapped around the perimeter of the market. Now something I have not mentioned but I noticed the whole time being here and any other place we went, when you pass a restaurant, someone is always outside asking if you want to eat here and has a few menus in hand. Almost like what I have seen in the US for new mom-and-pop restaurants but this is something they do all day, every day to bring people in the door.  So we have snacks in hand for our trip, we have walked about 4 miles, new shoes in hand, and major exhaustion that I have never experienced before, it's time to head back and take our last vacation siesta before our last dinner in Barcelona. Now one of the things I try to do is make sure I try local food while I am anywhere. I had Curry goat in St. Marteen, Jamaican beef patties in Jamaica, and plan on an Irish breakfast in Dublin. We had Paella in Spain. When we decided on dinner, we found another local restaurant we had been wanting to try and weren't sure what the local take was there, but I was paella'ed out. Chris said he wanted to order a bottle of wine and I should drink 1 glass. I am not a huge wine drinker. Actually, I am not a fan at all. But I told him I would try.  When ordering at this new place, (honestly there are no signs anywhere to tell us the names of any of the restaurants we visited.) I again wanted to try local cuisine. Not sure what that meant but the prices were pretty good. We ordered a bottle of wine and I thought we should order an appetizer but I wasn't sure what to order. We decided to order spicy potatoes that were hot and yummy. Dinner was a little less than Spanish cuisine but I had the Spaghetti bolognese with chicken cutlets and an egg. Yep, no misprint here. It was a fried egg. Now it wasn't on top of anything. It was on the side, by itself, looking like it didn't belong. But it did. That is what I ordered. It was a whole meal, and very good. I have had better, but for sure, it was good. Chris got another menu item. His was grilled chicken, (I already had 16 days of crappy eating. Grilled chicken and salad was not what I had in mind!) a small salad, and a Spanish omelet. Yep, eggs on his plate too!  I do not mind eggs at any meal. Chris is not a fan. Food was good and filling and now to venture back to our "home" to get ready to go back to the states. I have never been able to say that before. Kinda nice now I can.          

After going 4 1/2 hours to the church, I was ready to rest, but we still had a ways to go. We hopped onto the hop-on/off and headed back to our hotel area so we could have dinner. We have not eaten since breakfast. So while on the bus doing laps, we talked about the Paella we had for dinner the night before and how great it was but one of the things the waitress had said was she liked the seafood better than the meat lovers because she doesn't like all of her meats together. Challenge excepted! We decided to go back and have the other version of the Paella. Chris ordered the house beer and I ordered water, more water, and a Coke light. I asked for ice and the guy laughed at me! No other restaurant gave ice when I asked for water and they have signs everywhere for water conservation. Laugh all yeah want buddy! No one laughs at me more than the girls at work!!! Anyway, ice with my water and the all-meat Paella. So freaking good!! Now, let me break it down for you. The seafood paella was creamy, you had to work for the meat and had a lemon to brighten it up. The meat was sour cream instead of lemon and we could just eat it. There were short ribs in it but they were small and tender, so no real working for it but I would have still liked the lemon. Really, the 2 best bites of food in Spain. We ate until we were going to explode. So good!! We walked back to our hotel room and shut down for the night. Tomorrow is another day.          

Rubber ducks. On cruise ships. Hide and seek. In 2018, an 11-year-old girl decided she wanted to Hide rubber ducks on her Carnival cruise to make others smile if/when they found them. In 2024, there are duck hunters and hiders across many cruise lines, all over the country and world. There are multiple Facebook pages dedicated to connecting the hider and the seeker. You can buy all yellow, multiple colors, dressed for the holidays, all different sizes.  This cruise, my husband decided he wanted to hide ducks for kids on this cruise to practice for when he can hide them with Everly, our granddaughter in October 2024. It will be a Halloween cruise so he is excited to hide the Halloween ducks with the grand little.  On this cruise, he had about 100 to hide. Why did some of the ducks come back? We found that we left our cabin and forgot to take them so we could hide them along the way. Now we have 130 for our next cruise.        

We finished the church and moved on to the towers. Now a little background story. When Chris and I got together, we went to St. Augustine to celebrate his birthday.....in August. Well long story short, we decided to go to the lighthouse and I wanted to climb to the top. Up, and down, no elevator, August heat. I did it. I stopped and rested a few times going up, but I did it.  So when we booked tickets to the towers of the Familia, I didn't care how many steps. I have done it before, I could do it again. Period.Well, that was before day 3 on the cruise and I twisted my knee. I limped for the rest of our vacation. And it was swollen. Like a soccer ball.  Climbing the tower was going to hurt. Agnes, my favorite tour guide, told us that there was an elevator to take us up to the top of the tower and then 400 steps down. I was okay with that. Until we had to stand in line for an hour. We went up into the elevator and my vision was not what I saw. Narrow staircase, no place to rest, and too many people forgetting there are others behind them, I finally get to the steps and I just go. No stop, no rest, no Chris's hand. Just go. About halfway down, Chris asked if I wanted or needed an elevator ride down. I blew past him and said absolutely not. I was walking down.  Once I was down at the end, and I had made it to the end of the line, I was so happy but tired. Chris wanted me to rest but I couldn't. I knew if I sat down, I wouldn't get back up. Just get me on the hop on. I can sit for an hour or so on the bus. Nothing made it better and everything made it worse.  But I made it! And then the last thing Agnes, the funny, friendly, English-speaking tour guide haunted me again. The last thing she said was to stretch before you go down the steps. Your calves will thank you. I didn't listen. My calves have hated me until today.  May 16th. 4 days later. Whatever. I did it!      

Day 2 started off very rocky. I swear, I am the only one who gets sick while on vacation! Calories don't count when on holiday, why am I allowed to get sick?? Didn't matter, it happened. My mom calls it a petri dish. This is when you are locked into a small space with someone or someone's and they are sick. Now I am sick. Chest, head, tired, miserable. We woke up and I was very slow moving. Chris, the gentle giant that he is, got ready and showered while I lay on the bed feeling like death. We finished getting ready for breakfast. The hotel offered a lovely breakfast buffet and coffee to drink and we were full. 12 Euro for all you can eat and coffee. We still had an hour before we had to catch the hop-on/hop-off to visit the Sagrada Familia. I needed to rest. I really need to put my head on a pillow. Just 10 minutes. I slept almost an hour and I think I fell asleep before I even hit the pillow. Just to give a little background, this church is not complete. They have been working on it for 138 years. They get donations, they build. Donations run out, they stop. They finally opened it up to tours for the public and now they have a finishing year of 2026. When it was time to go, we walked over to the hop-on and found some seats at the bottom of the double-decker since it was chilly and wet. Once we arrived, there were SO MANY PEOPLE! WOW! Like WOW! I have only seen this many people in the same place for football or baseball. Never a church! We went on Mother's day and when we bought the tickets 3 months before we left, there were only 4 time slots left. tells you how popular it is! We got off the bus and worked our way through a few gift shops and I found a few things I was looking for and then we headed over to the church. The security there was unreal. It's not that I didn't expect security, but I didn't expect it to be so overwhelming and congested. We had 20 minutes before our paid walking tour started so Chris and I went into the church and started taking pictures. I will tell you, the pictures do not do it justice. So much to see and so many angles to get many pictures. There is a tower we can go into, but that is part 2. When the time came for the tour, we were given an English-speaking tour guide. Agnes. Agnes who spoke great English and a great sense of humor, took us to a few places, all around the grounds, and for 50 minutes, we learned so much about this beautiful gift to Barcelona. Please look for part 2. Tower, Paella, and sleeping.    

After our ox burgers and fries, we decided that we needed a nap because we were up too early, and the time change is kicking my ass. Off to the hotel, which is right around the corner from the coffee and burger joint.  Once we put our heads down, we were exhausted and out like a light. Done. We were only going to sleep an hour. 60 minutes, 3600 seconds.... 3 hours later, because neither one of us set an alarm, we woke up. 8:15pm. WAY passed dinner time in our book. Well, we needed to find a dinner spot, and I didn't want to go back to the same place. I wanted Paella, and I saw the restaurant next to our coffee burger joint had it on the menu. Let's do that! We walked to the restaurant. I ordered a Pina Colada and Chris had wine.  We had several Paella choices so we started with nachos with the works and the seafood paella. The weather in Barcelona was cool, especially in the evenings. We ordered and Chris was nice enough to run back to the hotel, (literally 200 yards from where we were eating) Once he got around the corner, Nachos were brought out. Once he got back, dinner was served.  OH MY WORD! We received a HUGE pan of Paella! I was so excited I didn't get a picture of the setup but I did get a picture of the food. Now for the taste.  For starters, it had muscles, cuddle fish, and large prawns. Paella is a rice-based meal with loads of flavor and a choice of meats. Since we got the seafood version, we had to break down the prawns and muscles before enjoying it. Cuddlefish was already in small chunks. I do not like lemon on my seafood but they put it on the plate, so I used it.  Honestly, it is hard to describe the creamy texture and the flavor like I have never had. The lemon was a perfect addition to an already delightful taste. I am a very picky eater and I wanted more. So, so good.  Once we were done with dinner, we were ready for bed. I am feeling a little congested and the time change is making me a lot more tired than I expected. More to come in the morning! Off to bed.       

On our last morning on the ship, we hustled around trying to make sure we packed everything. Clothes, jewelry, shoes, and such, no item left behind. Passports, credit cards, wallets, and sea pass cards. All needed to be out of our cabin by 8am so the cleaning could get done and the next group of duck hunters could come aboard. (Duck story to follow)  We headed up to Chops, for our last meal and Kenny was gone. Nowhere to be found. How is it, that my favorite staff member, who has taught me so much, who has gifted me all that I wanted for breakfast, is not here to bid farewell? He was off giving a speech in Spanish in the Windjammer. Until next time Kenny!!Once we were filled with breakfast and water, we headed back to 1568 to view the room and balcony, and the countdown started for our next adventure!We got off the ship, went through immigration, and customs, chased down our bags, and out to hail a cab in a city that speaks about as much English as I speak Spanish. Our hotel was 3 or 4 miles from the port and when we got to the area of the hotel, there was construction going on. The cab driver couldn't drop us off at the hotel entrance so we had to walk.....through the construction......with 3 bags......and no real direction due to the language barrier. FOUND IT!!One of the nice things about our hotel was check-in was at 4pm but they stored our luggage until we could check-in. Once we dropped off our bags, he let us know the room would be ready at 1pm instead of 4. Score!!!Now on the hunt for coffee! We found a little place on the back side of the hotel and sat down. Coffee is not the same in America as it is in Spain and honestly, they do not drink it as I do. More cream than coffee is best for me. Is that coffee? I don't know but I like it. Chris ordered an espresso and I ordered a cappuccino. The cups of black liquid gold could put hairs on your chest. I added the packet of sugar she gave me for my coffee and took Chris's as well. Still very bitter but I drank it. For 4 Euros, it was worth it.  We found that the hop on/off was right near our hotel so it was time to explore. The hotel wasn't on the water but the marina was just across the street. The sky was clear and bright and I could not have asked for a more glorious day. So again we mapped out our day and wanted to see all we could. The shuttle started at 9am and ran until 7:30pm. We jumped on the shuttle and toured the town. So many people and lots of stops. We wanted to just take in all we could and figure things out later. We wanted to get something special for lunch and dinner. I was on the hunt for Paella and was given a recommendation by Nicolas, the hotel guy who checked us in. The only problem was it required a cab and a 20-minute drive and we paid for 2 days for the hop-on/off shuttle so I was not ready to spend money for a taxi. We made it around Barcelona the first time and now we wanted to eat lunch and add more hairs to my chest. We headed back to the restaurant we just left 2 hours ago, on the hunt for something we had never had before. I ordered the Americana burger with bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, mayo, and BBQ sauce. Chris ordered the Roto burger. Egg, onion, mayo, tomato, and bacon. Fries on the side. Now, before you get your panties in a bunch, I didn't say hamburger. I said burger. Ox burger. We both liked what we ate and Chris's bun had a hole cut out of the top for the yolk of the egg. Great meal and plenty of protein to hold us over until dinner.