that's a wrap!

We returned to Venice in the morning and had the day to spend before we made our way to the hotel near the airport. We took a water taxi back to the Grand Canal and found out the Grand Canal was closed for the day. They were having a big boat race on the Grand Canal. We decided to grab some pizza and watch the race. It was really fun to see all the entries (most with matching outfits or costumes).

We joined the rest of the family at St. Mark's square and the kids had one last playdate with the pigeons.
The corn man was there selling corn kernels and those pigeons sure loved them! They would perch on anyone near to get some kernels. I was happy to be the cameraman.

I have to say, the pure joy and glee in the kids' eyes was really fun. They could've spent all day playing with the pigeons. But we said goodbye to Venice (and Italy) and went to our hotel to prepare for our very early flight home to Utah.

I did have one last Pera (pear) juice. I will surely miss those!

I have been asked what my "favorite part" of the trip was, and I really don't have an answer. We have had so many different experiences and been to so many different places, I truly have loved them all. I have found the Italian and Greek people to be very warm and inviting. We really did make some friends that I will miss. I have found SO many places to be just stunningly beautiful. I loved both the Greek and Italian foods. This has been a trip of a lifetime and I am grateful for the gift we were given of the cruise which started the whole journey.

The thing I will miss probably the most is spending uninterrupted time with my little family that I love. It was so fun to hang out together every day, sharing new experiences. That for me was priceless time that I am so glad we took.

Dubrovnik, Croatia....

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Dubrovnik. I was pleasantly surprised. That place is gorgeous! It is a very old city built with a wall around it. It used to be a contender with Venice as the center of commerce in the medieval ages. Venice won, but Dubrovnik remained a large port city.

When we entered the city walls, we found this sad, little playground. As we looked at the old, broken equipment, Lauren and I laughed at the attempted entertainment.

I mean, look at this merry-go-round - not exactly hours of fun there!

But when the boys saw it, all they saw were the swings and they ran over and joyfully started swinging. Reminded me to look at the positives!

This guy was sitting in the main plaza playing his instrument and tapping his metal-toed shoe onto a piece of wood. He was actually pretty good!

Andrew was excited to wear his Greek soccer jersey. Yes, I know it looks like a jersey from Ireland, but that is really a Greek team!

So we began our ascent to the top of the walls - and our walk around the city. In the war years of 1992-1995, a lot of the roofs of the homes were destroyed. 80% of the roofs were then replaced with the bright orange roofs we see. I think it makes a really charming view of the town from the top. Here are a variety of pictures from up above.

This is the main street of the town. There are many cafes and shops all along the way.

This is the Croatian flag.

I love clothes lines. Nobody has dryers, so of course, they hang their clothes out to dry. I loved how people were so comfortable to display their drying clothes to the world. After using the same method many times on our trip, I must say it dries very nicely that way!

As in all towns we went to, the markets were open for business. We bought produce to make our own Greek salads when we returned back to the ship. The farmer kept handing us free cucumbers and onions.

These guys were playing in a piazza. They were really good - I bought their cd.

We ended the day eating Croatian and Turkish sandwiches. They were delicious! Fun day in Dubovnik!

Corfu...

I had heard that Corfu had great beaches, but I had no idea how beautiful they were! We went to an area on the island that was full of little inlet beaches surrounded with trees and plants. We rented cars so that we could visit the beaches and stay as long as wanted.

We rented a little slide paddle boat for the afternoon. It was so fun. The kids could slide right off the boat and into the water.

Andrew got a lot of confidence from the lifejacket. When we were bringing the boat back to shore, he said he was going to swim back so he could show the boat where to go... He swam the whole way back!


We took the boat into a little cave we found along the water.

Jon and Matthew rented a kayak so that more of the kids could use the slide boat.

What a great day at the beach! On the way back to the cruise ship, we stopped in a local grocery store (we love to see what the locals eat) and an olive wood store. If we only had a few more hours here!