Europe

Well I know this took long enough, but we hit the ground running when we got back into the US and haven't stopped since.  Frankly I don't have time to blog now either, but I'm making time!

Our trip was 16 days, so I will try to fit as much of it in without writing a 30 page blog.  Here are the highlights:

Day 1/2: Three long flights, then landed in Rome.  Saw Coliseum, Forum and Trevi Fountain.
Day 3: Enjoyed Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Spanish Steps and I began the slow process of dying.
Day 4: Lugged our luggage through the metro and the train station to get to Civitavecchia to catch our ship.  (At this point, I'm really dying).  Enjoyed exploring the ship.
Day 5: At Sea- I woke up with the worst fever of the past three days and decided to go see the ship's doc.  $200 later, I had a Z-pack and hopes of not dying.  Spent the rest of the day in our cabin mostly unconscious.
Day 6: Docked in Athens, Greece.  Overall, we weren't really that impressed with Athens.  We thought this would be one of the highlights of the trip.  We took a walking tour of the city and saw it all, but everything was covered in scaffolding and frankly, there just wasn't that much to see.  Also, I was still feeling a bit puny this day.
Day 7: Docked in Ephesus, Turkey.  This was one of the places we were most looking forward to, and it lived up to our hopes.  We walked through the ancient city and could feel what it was like to be Paul and Timothy walking those roads or to be a spectator listening to them preach from the auditorium.  Also, my favorite book series, The Mark of the Lion by Francine Rivers is partially based in ancient Ephesus, so I could better connect with what I was seeing.  We also got to see a working factory where they make the famous Turkish rugs.  The work involved was insane!  We also saw the house that is rumored to be where the virgin Mary lived while in Ephesus with John.
Day 8: Docked in Rhodes, Greece.  This place we knew nothing about before getting there.  However, it was so pleasant.  The town was once owned by England and so there are many buildings that were previously inhabited by knights, thus it was a very medieval-looking place.  It was a nice day to just walk and enjoy the sights.  We also ate a TRUE gyro that was the best we've ever had!
Day 9: At Sea- another fun day to play on the boat.
Day 10/11: Istanbul, Turkey.  Originally when we booked this trip, we were supposed to go to Egypt, which was one of the main reasons we signed up for this particular cruise.  Unfortunately, with all that happened there in late January/early February, they re-routed us.  Neither Josh nor I ever had a real desire to visit Istanbul.  It was fine, but definitely no Egypt!  And definitely not for two days.  It didn't help that it was FREEZING on day 2 and I did not bring any clothing for that type of weather.
Day 12/13- At Sea.  While we were on the boat all these days at sea, Josh and I often found ourselves reading by the pool (fully concealed with layers on since it was no more than 65 degrees each day), playing putt-putt or games on the game deck, watching movies in our room, watching the shows on board (some of which were great while others were merely mediocre), and EATING... A LOT!
Day 14- Naples/Pompeii, Italy.  This was another of our favorite days.  I had already visited Pompeii when I did my study abroad years ago, but I hadn't hiked Mt. Vesuvius.  Therefore, Josh and I got to to that together for the first time.  It was pretty incredible!  Then we toured the city it destroyed in Pompeii. When I went before, I wasn't on a tour, so it was nice to get more history and information about the places and things I was seeing.
Day 15- Returned to Civatevecchia and then back to Rome for our last day.  We spent the day in Vatican City.  We saw the Vatican and Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Cathedral before walking back to our hotel to spend the next couple hours watching the royal wedding that was happening just a few borders away.  At this point, we were exhausted and ready to head home, so after dinner, we hit the hay.
Day 16- Another long day of planes before finally getting home-sweet-home.

Josh took nearly 1300 pictures, which we still haven't begun to sort through.  I promise they will come eventually, though it will probably just be a link to a facebook album.  We had a great trip, but as with the end of each trip, it leaves us anxiously awaiting the next one : )