Cappy's Corner

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

Written by Captain Mary on Saturday, January 27, 2018

I can't believe it has been more than a year and a half since I posted anything to my precious blog. So much has happened and I don't know where to begin. So perhaps I should start with my last vacation.

A trip to Europe with family. I love so much traveling with family, in the end they will always be the most important. My travel agent sister, Cher, hooked up the family with a cruise around the Mediterranean. In attendance was my son Jason, my granddaughter Shy Anne. My sister Cher and her daughter Elise, and my brother Charles and his family, Mel, Connor and Haley, along with some friends.

As all trips begin, we start at the airport and begin the adventure there. All the family members were on different flights with us meeting up cruise day in beautiful Barcelona, Spain. My granddaughter was a bit nervous, her first overseas flight, that she managed to use up all her barf bags and some. I felt so bad for her, after we landed first in Portugal, each flight after that was a breeze. It was so exciting to get the opportunity to have so many of us together for a week.

My life is about travel and experience. When I get the opportunity to share this with my family it only makes it better. My granddaughter, Shyanne, wanted to go to Europe as her gift from me for her graduation. It took awhile to get there, but this was to be her first trip out of the country. Shyanne got to experience people, places and things that changed her life. I now have this in common with her and enjoy sharing these stories and experiences with her. My son, on the other hand, did not want to go to Europe, he thought it would be without our usual adventure. My son, Jason and I tend to go on more nature based trips, this one is out of the box. It didn't take long for Jason to see what I was so excited about. Now when we talk about this experience its a different story. We fell in love with people and the sheer social experience of a culture that is without the crap we have in the USA.
Our trip began in Barcelona, Spain, then on to the cruise ship, that would take us around the Western Mediterranean. Our first stop would be Sicily, a little island from which our heritage began. So much to see and do, and we wanted to do it all.
The Amalfi Coast and Sorento was breathtaking and one of those places that you have to be there to explain what it was like. The beauty and feeling of this seaside village was what dreams are made of.

Florence and Pisa is next on our itinerary. We got on a train and began our adventure.
The white marble of the Tower of Pisa was much more beautiful than any photograph that you will see. We had to almost run to catch the last train to our ship. It was exciting and stressful at the same time. It was definitely worth the effort.

Our time on the ship wasn't without a ton of fun. That was the time we could spend with the rest of our group of family and friends. Each time we hit a port, our group went in different directions. We had fun, maybe too much fun while on the ship, talking about the adventures of the day. Everyone with a different tale of their excursion around beautiful Italia. Another excursion is in our future before we venture back to Barcelona, Spain. Our next stop is the seaside village in France, Marseille.

We began walking the streets into the open fish market, where the days catch was displayed on tables. The live octopus wriggling about on the tables, along with strange species of fishes I had never seen. The language as people spoke was so beautiful. I found while traveling if you learn a few words of the language, the local people are much more receptive to your presence. I also learned that most places don't really like Americans, so the thing to do is not act like an arrogant American and just be part of the fun. We sort of lost our group and myself, Jason and Shyanne ended up off the beaten path away from all the places that the tourist visit. Sitting along the streets under our umbrella we ordered our meal. Knowing what ever we ordered would be grand, I noticed that food without chemicals and additives never left me bloated, everything was always made fresh. While here there is never a rush to get away from your table, because the table was yours for the day if you wished.
 There was one last excursion and my small group decided to stay on the ship and relax. The rest of our gang would be heading toward America and we needed a day of rest for our next week. Me, Shy and Jason were heading to Ireland, for a little taste of rest and drunken debauchery. Sad to say good-bye to the beauty of what we had just seen our trip was only half way over.

We stayed the night and another day in Barcelona so that we could really enjoy this city. It would be the first experience for Jason and Shy staying at a hostel, and it was not a good one. Without getting into too many details, we were glad when it was over. Off to Ireland on a short plane ride, arriving in Dublin and into our next shot at a hostel. Which ended up being fantastic, with friends and fun. We walked and walked. It's just what the natives would do!. The most fun about Ireland is definitely the people. The weather is wet and cold, but ignored by the big smiles you see on every face you pass.
 The Malahide Castle was beautiful and we had complete access, because it was closed, but they don't lock the doors. We laid on the grass, we explored the queens garden and chased rabbits all over the place. A beautiful day. Another day we enjoyed cliff walking in the rain and eating at amazing restaurants along the waters edge. Watching sea lions as they begged for hand outs when the fishing boats unloaded their catches. Shopped at fish markets, just to see what it is we would be eating. We enjoyed days in Ireland and mostly enjoyed each others happiness. So much to see and we only touched a small part of this part of the world we call Ireland. Our adventure soon to end still gives us a bit of a layover in Barcelona once again. We went to our favorite little restaurant and found a friend we met previously on our trip. Just enjoying the last days of this journey, I wish that my life was full of these journeys, especially when I get to share them with the people I love most in this world, FAMILY!