Unfortunately, I have been dreading October this year because it marks the one year anniversary of losing my 17 year old, Mason.
I don't think my husband planned our cruise with that in mind but it was a helpful distraction early on in the month because I was preoccupied with packing and preparing to take our kids and I across the world to Europe.
Distractions and denial are the only things that have kept me sane this year. But up until a few days before our cruise, I wasn't even excited or happy to be going. I tried explaining it to my therapist. I told her that before I lost Mason, this cruise would have me in ecstatic vacation mode all month long. But I just have felt ....well nothing. I honestly felt a little put off having to even go. My therapist asked if it was because I felt like i didn't deserve to be happy. I do not really think it is that either. I just have trouble looking forward to anything- maybe because I know Mason will never get the chance to experience these things. And if he can't- I don't want to either.
With that being said- I am very grateful for the opportunity to go on such an extravagant vacation. Before my loss, I had always wanted to go to Italy. It was an ultimate bucket list experience.
We left on Friday October 11th, around noon and drove to Orlando. My husband got cheaper tickets flying from there to Amsterdam. Our flights were around 9:50 pm. We figured this would allow the kids to sleep. We were flying on Delta, which normally I really like. We arranged to park our car at the Hilton closest to the airport because it was cheaper than paying for airport parking.
The car ride to Orlando was about 6 hours. And NOT fun. My 10 month old daughter, Emerson DOES NOT like the car much. And even though I was sitting next to her, she had several melt downs where she just wanted out and for me to hold her. She is exclusively still breast feeding as well and will not take a bottle. It has its benefits and its drawbacks- and being in the car is one of them.
Despite a weary little baby, we made it to Orlando and got the car situated and headed to the airport on the shuttle. My husband had TSA precheck and it helped us speed through security. Initially my husband wanted us to try to carry on all of our bags but upon getting to the airport with all of our bags and compact stroller AND his work laptop- he said we could check our suitcases. I was REALLY frustrated because had I known that we were checking bags, I could have brought my larger suitcase! Honestly looking back on it, I probably didn't need to pack more but I definitely would have had I known.
After getting to our gate, we still had plenty of time to eat so we got a table at the Bahama Breeze. We were starving so we ordered a salad, loaded nachos, and shrimp. I am still using Weight Watchers to track what I am eating and that dinner used up all my points but was well worth it.
Boarding a plane with a baby is nice because they call you pretty much after first class. Our seats however were SUPER CRAMPED. We were sat behind another couple with a 1 year old baby. They were RIGHT behind the bulk head and the stewardesses brought them some type of bassinet that hooked onto the wall in front of them. At first I thought, well that's cool. But Emerson loves being held so no big deal. Well little did I know that - yes my little adorable 10 month old was going to sleep through the entire flight BUT that I would have to stay awake and hold her the ENTIRE TIME. So that meant no sleep for mommy and an aching back- and numb legs, arms from holding her. I was MISERABLE and kept looking up at the baby sleeping in the bassinet in front of us with envy! I told my husband that we BETTER GET THAT SEAT - with the bassinet on the way back or I was going to LOSE IT! So if you are going to be flying over night or that long with a baby- GET THOSE SEATS (I think they are first come first serve so you have to get to the gate early.) I also heard that there is something called a SkyPal? sky bed for babies. I really wish we would have known about this before we flew! https://www.amazon.com/Inflatable-Airplane-Available-Adjustable-Toddlers/dp/B07DQBY83F/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sky+pal+baby+bed&qid=1572447887&sr=8-1
We somehow survived the 8 hour flight- I nodded off a few times and Jamey held Emerson (so I wouldn't drop her) We didn't have much time between flights so we made our way straight to the gate and were flying with a Dutch company called KLM. Luckily the flight was shorter and we had more space where our seats were. We landed in Barcelona in the afternoon and went to retrieve our luggage. After that we hailed a cab to take us to our hotel, Alexandra.
The driver was going super fast but we were still able to see a lot of the city. I especially wanted to see the Gaudi architecture throughout the city.
Our hotel in Barcelona WAS AWESOME! It was on the 7th floor (I think) and had a nice balcony overlooking the city. We got changed, put away our luggage and headed out to explore the city on foot.
We found a great tapas place and ate a few different appetizers.
As you can imagine we were exhausted so we didn't stay out long and headed back to the room. The next day we showered, got dressed and got a taxi to the port in Barcelona where we were boarding our ship, The Brilliance of the Seas. It is a smaller ship compared to others but we had a very nice junior suite and a large balcony overlooking the water. It was plenty of space for our little family.
We left on Friday October 11th, around noon and drove to Orlando. My husband got cheaper tickets flying from there to Amsterdam. Our flights were around 9:50 pm. We figured this would allow the kids to sleep. We were flying on Delta, which normally I really like. We arranged to park our car at the Hilton closest to the airport because it was cheaper than paying for airport parking.
The car ride to Orlando was about 6 hours. And NOT fun. My 10 month old daughter, Emerson DOES NOT like the car much. And even though I was sitting next to her, she had several melt downs where she just wanted out and for me to hold her. She is exclusively still breast feeding as well and will not take a bottle. It has its benefits and its drawbacks- and being in the car is one of them.
Despite a weary little baby, we made it to Orlando and got the car situated and headed to the airport on the shuttle. My husband had TSA precheck and it helped us speed through security. Initially my husband wanted us to try to carry on all of our bags but upon getting to the airport with all of our bags and compact stroller AND his work laptop- he said we could check our suitcases. I was REALLY frustrated because had I known that we were checking bags, I could have brought my larger suitcase! Honestly looking back on it, I probably didn't need to pack more but I definitely would have had I known.
After getting to our gate, we still had plenty of time to eat so we got a table at the Bahama Breeze. We were starving so we ordered a salad, loaded nachos, and shrimp. I am still using Weight Watchers to track what I am eating and that dinner used up all my points but was well worth it.
Boarding a plane with a baby is nice because they call you pretty much after first class. Our seats however were SUPER CRAMPED. We were sat behind another couple with a 1 year old baby. They were RIGHT behind the bulk head and the stewardesses brought them some type of bassinet that hooked onto the wall in front of them. At first I thought, well that's cool. But Emerson loves being held so no big deal. Well little did I know that - yes my little adorable 10 month old was going to sleep through the entire flight BUT that I would have to stay awake and hold her the ENTIRE TIME. So that meant no sleep for mommy and an aching back- and numb legs, arms from holding her. I was MISERABLE and kept looking up at the baby sleeping in the bassinet in front of us with envy! I told my husband that we BETTER GET THAT SEAT - with the bassinet on the way back or I was going to LOSE IT! So if you are going to be flying over night or that long with a baby- GET THOSE SEATS (I think they are first come first serve so you have to get to the gate early.) I also heard that there is something called a SkyPal? sky bed for babies. I really wish we would have known about this before we flew! https://www.amazon.com/Inflatable-Airplane-Available-Adjustable-Toddlers/dp/B07DQBY83F/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sky+pal+baby+bed&qid=1572447887&sr=8-1
We somehow survived the 8 hour flight- I nodded off a few times and Jamey held Emerson (so I wouldn't drop her) We didn't have much time between flights so we made our way straight to the gate and were flying with a Dutch company called KLM. Luckily the flight was shorter and we had more space where our seats were. We landed in Barcelona in the afternoon and went to retrieve our luggage. After that we hailed a cab to take us to our hotel, Alexandra.The driver was going super fast but we were still able to see a lot of the city. I especially wanted to see the Gaudi architecture throughout the city.
Our hotel in Barcelona WAS AWESOME! It was on the 7th floor (I think) and had a nice balcony overlooking the city. We got changed, put away our luggage and headed out to explore the city on foot.
We found a great tapas place and ate a few different appetizers.
As you can imagine we were exhausted so we didn't stay out long and headed back to the room. The next day we showered, got dressed and got a taxi to the port in Barcelona where we were boarding our ship, The Brilliance of the Seas. It is a smaller ship compared to others but we had a very nice junior suite and a large balcony overlooking the water. It was plenty of space for our little family.
We took the kids to dinner on the first night with us to Chops- one of our favorite specialty restaurants. It was actually the restaurant where my husband proposed to me in 2017!!!
The first port we were arriving at was VilleFranche, France. My husband is a total type A Virgo so he had our entire trip planned down to the minute! He even put it all in a binder ! LOL This is the total opposite of me and I truly appreciate all his work and preparation. France was beautiful. We took a train to the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco . We had lunch at the top of the museum. We walked around the whole city but had to get back to the train station and ship before 6 pm. Not a lot of people speak English in Monaco and we had to ask for help to hail a cab!
That night we ate at the Izumi restaurant and had sushi!
DAY 2- October 15th :We were originally were supposed to dock in Portofino Italy but because of bad weather we had to go to Genova Italy instead. We didnot have anything specific planned for that port so we just got off the boat and walked around the city on foot. We found the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, which was kind of neat to see. It was rainy and chilly so not the best weather but the architecture in the city was really neat and we ate at a delicious little place I think called Foccacia? I think.
DAY 3 - FLORENCE!!! This was one of the coolest days of the whole cruise for me. Florence is a center for the arts and home to many amazing historical artists such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, etc. The city was beautiful and Jamey arranged for us to have a walking tour guide named Barbara. She was great and showed us some many interesting places and unbelievable art work.
DAY 4 ROME October 17
Rome was a huge city. We walked around the city and made our way to the Vatican City. We went to the Vatican museum and saw the Sistine chapel! It was very crowded but the artwork was breathtaking. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the Sistine chapel but other areas were okay.
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| Italian Gelato is AMAZING! |
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| There was a lot of contemporary art housed in the Vatican as well. Here is a Matisse! |
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| Ciao Baby! |
Almafi Coast
The hike of the Path of the Gods was by far my favorite part of the whole trip, although I loved ALL of Italy. My husband arranged our hike through a company called Joe Banana Limo. The driver picked us up at the port in Saverno, Italy. The weather was gorgeous and he drove us about 35-40 minutes up to the beginning of the path- along the coast. I could even see Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii- although we didnt have time to actually visit that area. We met our hiking guide, Luca at a small cafe. My husband and I love hiking and have hiked in Maine, and other areas but the views we saw on the Path of the Gods were unlike anything we had seen before. I was carrying our daughter in her baby carrier so it was quite a workout. We had walking poles but some parts were pretty technical and we had to use our hands. I was trying to be extra careful and slow because any type of fall would have been bad for my little one. Our 8 year old son, Rudy did a great job. He talked to our guide A LOT - (about Minecraft) we had to cut him off a couple times lol. The hike led us to a gorgeous restaurant in the side of the mountain called La Fattoria. The food was amazing and we were starving. I have to say that I have never been a huge fan of Italian food but you just can't compare the food in America to the authentic hand made food you get in Italy. My Weight watchers went out the window and I just devoured as much pasta, dessert and even wine that I was served!
After lunch, our driver took us to the little town of Portofino and we got to walk around the shops and see the beach. I got Emerson a cute dress and Rudy a shirt. There was a really neat church that we went in to and I wish I would have brought some of my son's ashes or one of his memorial notes. I thought about him, told him I missed him and said a prayer for him.
We were exhausted by the time we got back to the boat. I think we just ate at the Windjammer that night.....
Overall I loved our vacation and got the opportunity to see art work and things that I have always dreamed of. I definitely could live in Italy. It is such a beautiful county. I think we both felt like we needed more time during the day to explore each area we stopped at. For that reason, our next trip will probably not involve the cruise part. There is just too much to see and do and not enough time to get back to the ship.
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