We have been talking about a cruise since we moved here simply because it's a relatively inexpensive way to see several places within a week. So, in June when my friend asked if we wanted to join her family, we said sure. The cruise ended up being the week of my birthday, so that gave us all reason to celebrate :). As the months past, Juju and Lauren joined in on the cruise and when November 10 rolled around 8 of us, yes 8....4 adults and 4 kids, piled into the Odyssey for the 9 hour drive to the port of Genoa to board the boat. The drive was long, but we made it with no killings issues.
Our first stop was Barcelona, Spain.
Next up was a day at sea, then we were supposed to port at Tunisia, Africa. However, the sea was rough and the port was closed. This was a big disappointment to all of us, we were really excited to visit Tunis.
Next, we stopped in La Valletta, Malta. While in Malta we visited the Hagar Qim Neolithic Temple, which was really interesting. Malta was by far my favorite stop.
Next up was Sicily.
And lastly, we docked in Rome. Our day in Rome was PACKED. John dragged walked us around the entire city, seeing all the major sites. We had a little drama getting everyone back on the boat, but we all made it :)
On Saturday before heading back home we made a short visit to the aquarium in Genoa. It is the largest aquarium in Europe and it has the largest variety of fish/animals in the world. The kids loved it!
All in all, the trip was good. I'm not sure that I would recommend taking two small children (under 4) on a cruise, but it was an experience I won't forget!
