Cruise - Venice p1

Ahhhh, Venice - the City of Love.    

NOT! I hate this place. It is filthy. It looks as though the patrons dump gallons of trash into the water on an hourly basis. I exaggerate - I didn't hate it per say; it just wasn't what I thought it was going to be. There are beautiful parts of the city. It is old, and the history is fascinating. The buildings have so much character. There was one point when Joel and I were resting and I saw a staircase going down into the water, and I wondered - where did this city all start? I could see at least 6-7 stairs below the surface of the water. I wish that I could scuba dive through Venice. Now that would be amazing.

Things we learned:

1. Venice is not as cool as everyone says it is.

2. Shop around for a Venetian mask. At one shop it is 80 euro and the next 30. Cheapskates...

I want this one when I'm rich and famous.

3. I lied about the pizza in a foreign country - Italian pizza is AWESOME! Maybe it's just the French that suck.

4. The girl who was taking a picture of the foaming-at-the-mouth stray cat is retarded. Who gets that close for a picture of a stray?

5. We miss American food. Who would have thought I would beg for a taco time?

6. San marco is pretty sweet.

7. I could never live in Venice! It takes twice as long to get anywhere because the boats are SO much slower than driving.

Knives and briefcases...?

BAHAHA! I almost died when I saw this!

I wish our street signs were this cool...

 Joel and I stumbled upon this musical museum that had some instruments played by famous Italians. There was one as old as 700 AD!

Cruise - Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik was easily the most gorgeous place that we visited on our trip. They have had a revolution in the past 50 years, and all of the buildings that were damaged or destroyed now have orange roofs (which is the country color). It's pretty amazing to look over the top of the city and see that 90% of it has an orange roof. Breathtaking. Joel and I got into the little city first thing in the morning before all the shops were open, and it was so gorgeous and peaceful. There is a fort on the coast that has an entire city within its walls. We walked the circumference of the city as the sun was rising. I think that walk will be forever engrained in my memory. It was perfect.

Things we learned:

1. Dubrovnik has the best slushies in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE!

2. Apparently, the man at the shop on the wall thinks it is Christmas all year round.

3. Get to the old city first thing in the morning to walk the wall. It was amazing.

4. Croatia is the most beautiful city we have been to yet.

5. You know those pictures where the ocean seems too blue and too clear to be real? Yeah. It's real in Dubrovnik.

HCG diet.

To all those people who ripped me apart because I KNEW THE HCG DIET TO BE A HOAX:

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm282334.htm

I would like to quote my favorite part-

"There is no substantial evidence HCG increases weight loss beyond that resulting from the recommended caloric restriction. Consumers on a very low calorie diet are at increased risk for side effects including gallstone formation, electrolyte imbalance, and heart arrhythmias."

I hope that this can help people trust a medical professional about medications.

Cruise - Naples

Still relatively tired from Rome, we didn't do anything TOO exciting in Naples. Naples was one of Joel's favorite places. It was very much like NYC - Busy City. This is one of the fashion districts of the world. I wish that I would have taken pictures of the alley ways with HUNDREDS of illegal vendors. Needless to say, we did most of our shopping here. Naples was nice. I liked it okay - it was a little too dirty for me, but there you go.

Things we learned:

1. America may be obese, but Italy SMELLS!

2. Downside of men in Italy wearing tight pants = everyone has a crack

3. If you see a Nazi symbol painted on a nearby wall, that may be a sign that you've gone too far into the city...(I wish I took a picture of it, but I got a little frightened and bolted..)

4. The young women here are gorgeous, but then they all have to put a cigarette in their mouths. No wonder people from foreign countries don't smile in pictures - they've all smoked since they were teens!

5. If they want 50 Euro for the fake Prada bag, just walk away. The guy two stalls down is selling it for 15.

6. Never watch the "family friendly" magic show on the boat. I have never seen so many thongs in my life. These people who established the show as "family friendly" must not have families.

7. Never order any beverages to be sent to your room on a Carnival cruise. Even though you have a beverage package, they still charge you 4 dollars to have it sent to your room.

8. Siesta still exists in parts of the world.

9. We never knew that formal night also meant naked night.

10. People in Italy are somewhat smart people - they actually wear helmets. I actually think that they are a fashion statement here.

So, funny story to go with this pharmacy. I saw these kind of pharmacies ALL OVER THE PLACE. I was looking at these pictures last night and I said that second word out loud - omeopatia..."Joel, that kind of sounds like homeopathic..." Joel: "it is. I just didn't want to tell you then because I didn't want you upset on the trip" BAHAHAHA! He is so cute. He knows me so well... :)

Feel of the Streets

"yeah, I'll have some swordfish, please" *whack*

Guess he didn't want his car stolen...

Cruise - Livorno/Pisa

Been so absent. Been SO busy. There it is.

We got to Pisa on day 4, and we were SO exhausted and sore from running around in Rome the day before that we saw the leaning tower and went back to the boat to relax the rest of the day. I had no idea that Pisa was a college town. It was a nice place, but I don't feel too bad about just going to see the tower.

Thing we learned:

1. Leaning Tower of Piza = awesome!
    Slushie bought at a near by restaurant in 90 degree weather = priceless

2. Never plan to spend an entire port day out and about then the day before you killed yourself in Rome and you are more sore than you have recollection of being in your entire existence.

3. Piza is a college town. No high end cars, and WAY more bicycles than scooters.

4. Plan on spending half of your money on transportation.

5. I will never be more grateful for Walmart than I am right now. How do these people survive without grocery stores?!?

6. Don't worry if you get lost - you look like a tourist and the locals will direct you to the nearest monument.

7. When the guy at the train station tells you that it is a 20 minute walk to the tower, make sure you take the bus because it is a 40 minute walk.

These actually flipped when the times changes - like in the movies :)

College Town - Evidence #1

College Town - Evidence #2

We wanted to get back to the boat...

Amazing.

College Town - Evidence #3