Our Trip Part 1: Sights of Barcelona Spain/Cruise ship life

Marv and I were given the amazing opportunity to take a nine day trip to see some of the most beautiful parts of the world in the Mediterranean Sea on a cruise ship. Neither of us had ever been on a cruise before, so we were both excited. I forgot to mention that this trip was F*R*E*E! I'm so thankful to our friends and family who made this possible by loving on our kids while we were gone and encouraged us to go.


Our trip started out on a plane from DFW to Newark for 3+ hours and then heading straight to get on another plane for 10+ hours we got off in Barcelona, Spain. There was bad weather on the east coast so that created delays, etc...but we were thankful to finally get back on ground after such a long flight. I had never been on a plane that long! I must say it compares a little bit to child birth with the swollen ankles and calves for me.

We were able to have a quick breakfast provided by David Weekly(provider of the trip) and then Marv and I exchanged some American money for some Euro($1.50 for 1 Euro-not a bargin!) and jumped in a taxi to head to see the Sagrada Familia Antoni Gaudi Cathedral in Barcelona Spain. Our taxi driver spoke no english at all so we pointed to it on a map and prayed that we would get there for a price we could afford! It was beautiful to gaze at ,but it was so crowded we had to be on the look out for pickey pockets as our guide called them. She spoke english pretty well, but gave us our first taste of many tour guides we had that whole week.

We only had a couple of hours before we had to board the ship so I was snapping pictures the whole way to the port in the tour bus. I was a little nervous about the whole sea sick thing, and tried to be prepared. I think until you do it you just never know how your body will react. I've had some vertigo type issues, and get car sick if I try and read. There was lot's of advice, patches, and drugs available to help with any real rough days at sea. For the most part just getting started out on the waters the first night was sending me to bed...well and I was so pooped from not getting any sleep the night before spent packing. Marvin on the other hand was out on the balcony yelling to me to come here...you gotta see this Tiff...it's so cool! Just sitting up on the bed was enough to make me want to jump overboard, so I just let him give me the play by play of how we were pulling out of port at Spain(same one that Christopher Colombus left from to find America) and heading out into the wild blue sea.

Once on board we got a quick snack...wow the food is amazing and available 24/7! I forgot to pack my wheelbarrow so I was good about the amount of food I ate ,and we walked alot! We then headed to our cabin and began to unpack. We found a plate of fruit (fiber would keep us going on this fast paced trip!) As a reward for getting unpacked we decided to grab a quick nap. Not long into the nap we hear the command that it is time to grab your life jackets and be counted on deck! So we headed with absolutely everyone else on the ship to our assigned deck for a muster drill I thought they kept saying Mustard drill, but anyhow... I was so sleep deprived by this point that I felt as if I was in a deep fog, but Marv led me, put on my life jacket and propped me up against a wall until it was all over. I finally got a little more sleep and took a nausea pill to help ease my stomach. We showered and headed to our assigned dinner time and table at 9:15. We sat with a lively group, all from the group of around 100 people who were on this same trip thanks to David Weekly homes. Many were feeling great and decided to stay out later that night, but Marv and I did the old folk thing and headed to bed!

I will try and post on each day and include pictures over the next week. If you ever get a chance to take a cruise I can highly recommend the Royal Caribbean Cruise line and this specific cruise ship...Voyager of the Seas with Captain Frank. (Marv does a great impersonation of him!)

Buongiorno!