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Ok… so I NEVER, in a million years, would have booked a cruise. I’m kinda terrified of the idea of open water (well I was anyway 😉). Maybe it was the 30 or so times I watched Titanic as an impressionable teenager or all the episodes of The Deadliest Catch but in my mind ship+ocean= watery grave. If it hadn’t been for some friends of ours, we would have never tried the “Cruising” experience and we would’ve missed out on a fantastic new way to travel our whole lives!

Like with almost everything else in life, I had preconceived notions as to what the cruise would be like. I always thought that cruising was for old people. That there would be copious quantities of sun visors, new balance tennis shoes, shuffleboard and water aerobics. Man was I ever wrong. Sure there was a generous amount of older folks, who were very versed in the cruising lifestyle (I’m overly friendly and talk to, like, everyone. Ask my husband, it drives him crazy.), but I was blown away at how many families there were! And Royal Caribbean did a great job of making a ship so inviting for kids. From the water slides and rock wall to lazer tag sessions, a wave rider, sports court, arcade, carousel even a zip line, not to mention the 8 story slide. It was a playground for kids and adults, alike, in every way.

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There was plenty for adults to do as well. You could challenge your problem solving skills in the Outer Space Escape Room, participate in an exhilarating art auction, enjoy some much needed pampering in the Vitality Spa, roll the dice with lady luck at the Casino Royale or even just relax in the sun out on the Adults-Only pool and sunning deck. My favorite place was Central Park. The exquisitely beautiful and romantic park replica on the 8th deck. There was nothing like walking out of the sliding doors to the warm, tropical morning air and stepping into a secret garden in the middle of a 225,000 ton ship sailing the vastness of the ocean. It was like being on a planet within a planet. Totally surreal and absolutely enchanting.

A lot of people have asked, and it was kind of a concern of mine too, “did you get sea-sick?” or, “could you feel the ship rocking?”. I, personally, didn’t get sick, nor did I see anyone else get sick and I was kind of worried about that cause I have a tendency to get motion sickness. We litterally, and everyone else on deck around us, had no idea that the ship was even moving until I looked over and gasped, “We’re sailing!!” as I saw the skyscrapers going by. You could feel it a little bit every once in a while; a gentle sway from side to side at dinner or at the casino but it was most prominent in the shower, where I was in a confined space, or when I was doing my make up because I needed a steadier hand haha.

The accommodations were, surprisingly, roomy and comfortable. I was panicked that I packed too much (a common mistake from the many blogs and websites I read) but I’m a master at rolling clothing so I fit a lot into a backpack and 1 giant suitcase. The staterooms offer clever storage, and plenty of it, so as long as that’s utilized wisely the space never seems small. The bathroom is a little on the small size maybe, but totally workable. Although the bed was a king, it was 2 twins put together; which makes sense, as getting king sized mattresses through the hallways and doors would have been next to impossible, but while it was spacious and comfortable to sleep on it wasn’t the greatest for cuddling in the middle of.

Finally, let’s talk about the dining. We didn’t purvey any of the additional-cost restraunts. We just stuck to the already included dining options and, overall, it was fantastic. I have to say I didn’t love the food at the buffet but the Main Dining experience made up for that and then some. The ambiance of the Main Dining atmosphere was 5 star. Romantic, elegant, attentive service and I, of course, LOVED getting a chance to dress up every night for it!

The meals were delicious. 4 courses (sometimes 5 or 6 if you ordered an extra entree or starter) of beautifully plated, mouth watering sustenance was offered every evening with a generous selection to choose from. From shrimp cocktail, escargot, crabcakes and several specialty items throughout the week as starters, to Lamb shanks, Prime Rib, lobster tail and even a vegetarian option for the main course. The ship’s Spaghetti Bolognese was one of the best I’ve had since going to Italy! It was so good I forewent trying the special on our last night and had it again. There’s a reason why they say people gain an average of 7-10 pounds on a cruise. The food is plentiful, and with Royal Caribbean, it’s good too.

With so much to do on the ship it’s hard to believe that in addition to everything I just mentioned, and so many more things I didn’t even go into, that there were still 3 different countries we visited along the way! Those stories will be headed to the blog soon too, but for now, the take away is this… don’t keep a closed mind to anything, you never know when might be pleasantly surprised!

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Maybe it was learning about the Holocaust in school. Maybe it was watching the Berlin Wall coming down on the news. Maybe it was hearing stories of my German Great-Grandmother and how mean she could be… I don’t know, but the fact is I was a little trepidatious about venturing to Germany.

Everything I had ever derived about Germany and the people was that it’s a controlled and calculating place; churning forth the best engineers in the world and, even decades after Hitler’s atrocities, reminding us that intolerance and segregation where deeply rooted in the country. Even the language seems harsh. Vowels and constants alike are mashed together and sent with force from the back of the throat. Germany was the birthplace of the word fuck. In the US that’s one of, if not the most, offensive words ever created, but in Germany it’s so common that you’ll hear it spat out by a man at the front of the line to the Biergarten when the server hands him a pint and a wave of the golden liquid sloshes over the side. You’ll hear it unexpectedly, but discernably, over the radio in many songs. You’ll hear it when the lady at the front desk sees your husband driving the wrong way down the side street of the hotel you’re checking into. Opps! I loved it; fuck is my favorite sentence enhancer. Want to blend in? Don’t react to it’s use, maybe even say it yourself. Most Americans are easy to spot in Germany, just look for the red faces around you when you hear it. Anyway, despite all of what I imagined it to be, Germany would not be avoided as there was only one place that was a requirement for me to see in Europe and that was the “Cinderella Castle”, but that experience deserves it’s very own post.

Nate, however, was quite excited to go to Germany. Being the kind of human who is thrilled by the dangerous combination of machine and speed, he was drawn to the mythical autobahn like a moth to a flame. Even I had heard the legend of Germany’s road without speed limits. I had always thought it was a specific place; a track, or a designated stretch of highway used for races similarly to that in Monte Carlo, but it turns out the autobahn is the entire roadway system in Germany. It’s no track or particular stretch of road. It’s no 8 lane super-highway. It’s not where you would see Lamborghini’s or Ferrari’s speeding past you at 200 mph, go to Italy for that. While there are no speed restrictions on much of the autobahn, it is only on the long stretches of countryside between towns and many times other vehicle traffic prevents the ability to drive as fast as you can. And Germans are practical. While they drive fast, much like their Italian counterparts, it’s rarely excessive, unlike the Italians. Their cars aren’t flashy or even very distinguishable, almost all of them in various shades of grey save for the occasional white or black. Their intent is not to escape through adrenaline and the exhilarating roar of a maxed out engine, it’s to get from one place to another with swift purpose. Calculated and controlled. Despite the diminished conditions for Nate to go as fast as he wanted, he was still able to get our unassuming Volvo crossover in excess of 200kmp, which roughly translates to about 125mph. Ultimately it was exciting, and frightening, but somehow a bit muted and still reserved, like the non-descript grey chassis surrounding us.

As we drove from Munich down to Schwangu the landscape went from fairly flat land, to rolling hills and wooded thickets to unimaginably steep and jagged mountains. Mountains justaposed sharply perpendicular to the horizon; the likes of which no picture can truly portray. As we drew closer to them, I began to find more comfort in our surroundings, and the closer we got to the Bavarian region the more everything seemed to soften. Sure, the mountains still rose up like unruly teenagers; but homes and shops in the little towns went from being uniform, dark wooden boxes to dotting the landscape with splashes of yellow, green and even pink. I could feel the atmosphere shift back to that which felt familiar, that of a sleepy little town.

We arrived late and to find that restraunts and gas stations were closed. They were old school here. No round the clock hours. Everyone home except for the few handfuls of rowdy bunches spilling out of or venturing into bars. Getting a bite to eat was out of the question at 9:00 pm but the bar was open so a drink would have to suffice. There we were served by a man named Peter (pronounced more like Peter-er but very quickly). He and his wife were natives of Poland but had moved from their home country due to crime and lack of economic opportunities. They had 2 children. Peter’s face beamed as he spoke of them. Peter was fluent in 3 languages; Polish, German and English. Although he said his English wasn’t very good and that he was happy we came in, so as to give him the opportunity to practice, I found his communication superb. We talked about Bavaria, the tourism, the legal system, the healthcare system and the costs of building a house (Peter was hoping to build a house for his family soon). We could have stayed and talked to him all night but instead we finished our drinks and went to our room so he could close up and get home to that family he lit up over. I’ll never see him again but I sure do hope he builds that house.

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Nate and I didn’t have a wedding, or a honeymoon. We always said we would… someday… maybe for our 5 or 10 year anniversary, ya know. Well they both came and went and we did nothing. When my Papa died that idea died with him. He wouldn’t be there to walk me down the aisle, with my uncles; all the men who raised me when my father turned deserter. I would never have pictures of him and I together for a Father-Daughter dance. And I would never have the item I coveted most; one of the poems he would write about the happy couple as part of his wedding gift. I waited too long and made the terrible mistake of believing that there would be time.

Early 2019 was a huge wake up call for me. The general awareness of mortality had stepped out of the shadows to knock at the front door of those close to us. A beloved uncle of mine had become incredibly sick and almost died. A family friend received a grim prognosis and would not see out the year. Both of these men were pinnacles of honour, kindness, intelligence and leadership. Both had spent their lives doing all the right things and never being selfish or unjust. It was so unfair. Although my uncle recovered, our family friend did not. He had been patiently waiting for his wife to join him in retirement so they could finally go do all the things they wanted, but they would never get the chance. They too made the terrible mistake of believing they had time.

It was heartbreaking, and yet somehow fortifying. It shook me awake to the fact that no one is promised a tomorrow and strengthened a resolve to STOP WAITING! The facts of the matter are that there will never be enough time. There will never be enough money. The perfect conditions do not exist. If there is something you want then you just have to make it happen. So, I threw caution to the wind and booked 2 flights to Europe for our anniversary. I had always wanted to, but was waiting for the right time. In 2019 I stopped waiting, and now I’ll never look back.

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I fell in love with Paris. I mean head-over-heels, borderline obsession, run-away-from-Sparta-like-Helen in love with Paris. It took me by surprise, which probably only added to my amour.

I grew up very proud of my Italian heritage so seeing Italy was my end all, be all place to visit. France was never on my bucket list or even really on my list of ideas, but when I planned a trip for my husband and I to Europe this year I discovered that we could fly into Charles De Gaulle for 1/2 the cost of tickets to Switzerland, which was the original idea for going (a funny story as to why we never made it to Switzerland will be for another excerpt). Paris was just supposed to be our entry and exit portal on this journey but I was immediately smitten and, fortunately, the universe knew it, as it conspired to extend our stay. More about that later on as well.

The food, the fashion, the history but most importantly, the architecture, was completely enrapturing. I had never before felt so at home in such a foreign place. It was unusual and yet comfortable in a way I could never really relay properly. Beautiful and mysterious, Paris will forever more have a hold on my heart.

Testing testing 1… 2… 3…

Big families mean big adventures!! But it also means keeping track of 7 passports, 7 flight itineraries, 7 sets of luggage and 7 people. It can be a lot. I’ll be sharing our adventures but also how we manage such a large family on trips.