Santa Cruz, California, October 28th, 2014

Santa Cruz, California, October 28th, 2014

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Europe. Day Dos. TONNES of photos!!

When we last left our intrepid heroines, we were thinking about Roma!

But let's back track, shall we?

We arrived at Barcelona's cruise ship terminal after our lovely stay at Hotel Dante.

The terminal was HUGE!! We made it through all the security and porters and luggage drop offs...




Then...we set sail!! Or "gunned the engines". Whatever. We were leaving port! 






A fortress at the harbour. Totally spelled that properly.









Some flaggy things that mean something.

Maybe they said "Canadian Hillbilly on board! HELLLLP!!"







Sailing past a smaller cruise ship. Waving like maniacs. For some reason, in our culture, making eye contact is frowned upon, but waving like a circus monkey on Red Bull is perfectly acceptable.

I had a song in my head, though. It went something like..."nyah nyah nyah, we're bigger than youuuuuuu!!"







But then it happened...after wandering around and exploring our new digs, it was time to watch the sun set over the Mediterranean. All my life, I dreamed of seeing such a thing. And here we were, mere mortals, in front row seats watching God paint His love for us across the sky. 

Each moment, each second, a new whisper of His glory. 
 Absolutely...






Breathtaking.






Good night, Father...and thank you!






Our first full day at sea was a bit rough, but we were headed to Civitavecchia, the deep harbour port nearest Rome.






By late afternoon, the seas calmed and I took this shot of our balcony.  Yes, the sea is that blue. Yes, Mom said the extra money for the balcony was worth EVERY penny.



Then...it was time to watch God dip His hand in the sun and light the skies with fire. 


Stunning...

Mesmerizing...






But, wait!? Where is this??


ROMA!!










And Gwen?? I bit my lip so I wouldn't cry like a baby!!







The Number One Spot on my life long bucket list??

The Colosseum.

Enjoy.... 


















Gwen? When I put my hand on the marble, I whispered "Gwennie, this is for you. One day, my friend, you will see this place." 








Then it was off to the Vatican. Where these nice Swiss guys get to serve for 2 years as guards of the Pope. They carry their duty with great honour. But it was about 100F, we all felt bad for them!! And right before this photo was taken, they'd posed with about 6 kids. Nice young men, even though they're dressed like, well, umm, anyway....









Next?


Hmmmm...come back and see!!






12 comments:

  1. Oh, Jenn! What can I say??! What can I possibly say after soaking up those wonderful, beautiful pictures? Well, I will say this. THANK YOU. (As if you posted them just for me. ;-) Those pictures of the Colosseum gave me a new, fresh sense of what Pearl must have felt when she was walking the road to the Domus Aurea. Yes, one day I will see it. I'm standing on that.

    Oh, and those flags were a total SOS. LOL! They knew they had a live one aboard. (Seriously, I know you bring fun with you, wherever you go. It makes me want to go to the ACFW conference even more ;-) Bless you my friend!

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    1. I DID post them for you. I took as many as I could from as many angles as I could. I had to be there for both of us and bring home what I could for you. And I totally thought "Oh, poor sweet Julia! Pearl! Don't do it!" I almost said it out loud, too!!

      Yup, a definite SOS to save the ship from the Canuck!

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  2. Ha ha ha ha. "Canadian hillbilly on board" Very funny, but honestly, after she went all out and got you room with a balcony, is that something you want to say about your mother? I'm telling.

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  3. AHAHAHAHA!! She will keel over laughing when she sees this!!

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  4. The Colosseum!!! WOW!!!! Great pictures!!!!

    Now while I think of it, when you go to submit your novel for publication and when you meet agents at conventions, you will now be the galadiator and the agents will be giving you the thumbs up (hopefully not down)!

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    1. Hahaha! Exactly!! Hopefully Russell Crowe can be my back-up, as long as he doesn't mess up and get blood all over everything.

      BW, who are you??

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    2. BW does not mean Book Worm or B#$%&* Woman. It is my dog's initials. Her name is Blithe Westie, she's 13 1/2 years old, and has been a diabetic for over four years.

      I've added my real (nick) name at many of your blog postings when commenting. It is Lori. I also follow and comment on Books and Such too as just "Lori". Though I haven't been commenting as much I used to at that site. Occasionally I have commented on Rachelle's site. First as BW and then as Lori.

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  5. I knew you were 'Lori'...but 'BW' always intrigued me. And now you've shared what BW means, and it's a sweet secret identity.
    If I used my dog's name, people would just say "Ohhhh, yeah, we knew THAT." His name is Tippy.

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    1. You could use TP for Tippy Puppy. I always consider Blithe my puppy. I got her when she was a puppy so she always been my baby. Blithe means happy, cheerful.

      There was a play by Noel Coward called Blithe Spirit (thinkg Happy Spririt). Hence the term Blithe Westie which is her actual full name.

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    2. TP would be a cute name. But here, we use 'TP' as a code for bathroom tissue. :)

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  6. Did they let you dive from the balcony into the ocean? (I mean, when the boat was stopped!)

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    1. Yes. Totally.

      Of course not!!

      And ships are 'at anchor', you land lubber!

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