There are not many people who can say that they have been to Switzerland and the Mediterranean in the same year. You, dear, have been blessed to be brought up in a family of world travelers! To see the look on your face, and the hear the audible expressions of awe and wonder. To watch you walk through the cobblestone streets of Italy, Spain, France, and Portugal. To hear your laughter, and hold your hand... this is why we travel the world.
We traveled as a family of sojourners, to destinations previously unknown. You are learning at a young age what it feels like to suffer from jet lag and to lose luggage at the airport. How to navigate the gates and ports and taxis and subway systems in different languages. You are learning about South, East, West and the Truth North of your heart.
So last week we spent as a family, to celebrate Gramma & Grandpa's 50 year anniversary; a Mediterranean cruise through various ports in Europe.
Day 1 - Driving in horrendous wind and some snow from Holland to Chicago, in a beat-up old church van that kelp shaking in the wind. We flew out of Chicago on a red-eye flight, sleeping on the plane overnight. We landed early the next morning in Lisbon, Portugal. You girls immediately got ready in the bathroom at the airport, because we couldn't check in to room until later. We'd drag our luggage all over town, sometimes in the wrong direction... up hill, down hill, and in circles. This of course set Grandpa into a tailspin of frustration and snarky comments. He was too fat and grumpy and confused to know any better. He made some negative comment and I yelled at him. You girls all decided to walk to a nice restaurant, leaving me and Grandpa behind with all of the luggage. After a couple of hours, you returned and we were able to get into our room and unload. Once we got settled into our room, we unloaded our luggage and then made our way back to the city center to take a "Tram 28", as a tour bus to see the sights of historic Lisbon.
Eventually we stopped at a cliff overlooking the sea, and we all got out to take pictures. As the sun was setting, we began to follow Teresa's GPS on her phone to find a restaurant. We found the "Taste of Lisbon" on the map and followed it on foot through the back alleys and borderline/straight up s k e t c h y streets of Lisbon. At one point, I looked back and Grandma Judy had tripped and all I saw was two little legs and tennis shoes. (I thought, "Hmm, a little boy must have fallen" because she was behind a car and all I could see was two feet dangling!). She hopped up with a scratch and kept going... Then we finally made it the neon lights pointing down a back stairway in a dark alley to the restaurant!
Once inside, it was all Indian Food - we were starving and ate them out of business. Walking back through the streets, Ambria and Mariah locked arms and felt nervous around all the strange eyes watching them. You grabbed my hand, and I walked with you for a few miles... it was a long, beautiful, strange, exhausting day!
Day 2 - Airplane flight from Lisbon to to Barcelona! This would prove to be another frustrating day, but ultimately beautiful to explore this city. We had a hard time navigating the underground subway system, but eventually exited the airport and took the tunnels to the neighborhood of our Air B&B. Of course Grandpa was tired, but he'd learned to keep his negative comments to himself! We got the keys and went up to our room, unloaded our luggage, and then bolted back out to the city. My dad fell down the stairs, did the splits, and after about 20 minutes made it back to his feet... We went back to the subway and found an awesome "Hop on-Hop off" bus that took us on a tour through the city. You rode next to Grandpa, and cheered him up. We stopped to see the La Sagrada Familia Cathedral, and had our heads explode. After riding around the city, the sky grew dark and went hopped back on the tour bus and watched the sunset over the city lights...
Day 3 - More frustration with directions and getting lost in Barcelona. We were able to take another tour on the bus and then eventually brought our stuff to the Cruise Ship in the port. We unloaded everything onto the cruise ship and then slipped back out to catch an Uber back into explore the rest of the Barcelona neighborhoods. Apparently in Barcelona they don't allow 5 passengers in the Uber, and the FBI SECRET SERVICE cops stopped the young uber driver and he got in big trouble! Man, we were making a splash in Barcelona! We had to get out and then a Taxi brought us instead! The taxi driver showed us a picture of the stop and said everyone was talking about the Uber stop and we were going viral. Of course. Once we got dropped off, we immediately fell in love with the gothic neighborhoods of Barcelona. The tiny alley ways and towering flats, the flowers and the markets and the ancient buildings and the cobblestone streets... all of it was so romantic and fresh and adorable! We took lots of pictures and then eventually made it back to the cruise ship for our nice, warm beds!
Day 4 - Marseille, France. On her first step off the cruise ship, Ambria shouted, "Viva France!" and then simultaneously slipped and fell down in the torrential rain! It was the funniest thing I'd seen in a long time... We had no choice but to embrace the cold rain and walk around the beautiful, historic city of Marseille. Other people in the cruise ship wandered around and followed us because nobody else knew what they were doing and Teresa seemed to be everyone's tour guide. We finally found a trolly-train and winded our way up to the top of the cliff to check out the massive, historic church that overlooked the city. It was breathtaking! We took a lot of pictures and then made our way back down to wander the streets and shop all over. Gellato and pastries were offered on every corner, and the "cappuccino" was a big hit, full of foamy goodness. We made it back to the cruise ship and got dressed up for a fancy dinner where we were introduced to our waiter for the week. He was the nicest guy names Akhilesh, and he absolutely loved our family! We were all so tired, it was time for another early bed.
Day 5 - Genoa, Italy. We were (always) the first ones off the boat and immediately hit the streets to explore the city. We had a difficult time finding the historic areas and wondered around for a while before taking a short tour bus around the city... Eventually it neared the shoreline, and we hopped off the bus for a little excursion of our own. We were so glad that we did, because around the corner were some of the most breathtaking views ever! We stopped to take a lot of pictures... the quintesessential village on the cliffs overlooking the city had the colorful backdrop that we see in the movies! This is what we've been waiting for! You went down to the "beach" and picked out some rocks and pebbles.
I just kept spinning in circles at the 360 degree views! Pictures, pictures, and more pictures! Once we hopped back on the bus, we were dropped off back at the city center. While waiting for our gelato, we heard Gramma Judy shout - "Hey! Give that back you naughty boy!" and she was lunging at a man who had stolen her iPhone right out of her jacket pocket! We were all swarming around him like flies, and I pinned him against the wall. Everyone was shouting and pointing and I didn't know if I should punch him or what!??! Mariah was ready to slap him, Ambria was ready to kick him in the gonads. You were just laughing. Gramma Judy just kept saying, "You naughty man!", then Teresa comes out all unassuming and oblivious to it all - "Here's your gelato!" (Let's just say, Gramma Judy getting mugged by a thief was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life!). We wondered around the streets some more and found graffiti: "Tourists go home!" and we avoided the grates (almost lost some lipstick!) and made it back to the cruise ship with some good stories to tell our kids someday... Dinner was amazing, and the show that followed was pretty epic as well!
Day 6 - Cinque Terre, Italy. This was the highlight of the trip. To see the 5 cities along the Amalfi Coast of Italy, each of them unique in their glory! We knew were had to race against time, but we hopped on the train to the furthest city point, and worked our way back through each one. There were colors and sounds and sights and smells and our hearts were mesmerized and our minds were blown and our breath was taken away by the beautiful creation! Pictures and more pictures, imaging what it was like to live there! On a couple of occasions you would disappear, no doubt exploring your corners of the world - only to reunite with us as we scurried to the next city! There's not much to say, only to listen and watch the rhythm of the coast, the landscape and the trains and the cobblestone streets and the quaint shops and the language barriers and food and the coffee and thank you Jesus!
Day 7 - Naples, Italy (Pompeii) As a last minute addition, we decided to make the venture out to see the ruins of Pompeii - an ancient civilization that was totally buried by volcanic ash in 79 AD. We took a taxi to about 20 miles outside of town, keeping an eye on the historic Mount Vesuvius which erupted two thousand years ago... Once in Pompeii, we elected to hire a tour guide to walk us through the ancient ruins of this city. It was AMAZING! The agora streets and marketplace, the graffiti and government propaganda was still etched into the stone walls. The tour guide took us into the theatre, through the tunnels, and explained that there is evidence of Early Christians that were tortured in this amphitheater. We walked through the town ruins, into ancient homes, and gardens. The tour climaxed with a a small room where several bodies were discovered, trying to outrun the volcano ash. The immensity of the coverage actually preserved them in graphic details! It was awe inspiring to know that Christians lived and stood strong in such a pagan atmosphere...
Day 8 - Day at Sea - Lots and lots and lots of sleep!
Day 9 - Palma de Mallorca Island in - town of Soller, Spain. On this final day of the Mediterranean Cruise, we opted to exit the boat and hop on an historic train that would lead us about an hour across the Spanish landscape to the posh vacation destination of Mallorca! The ride itself was beautiful, and sensory overload through the mountains and tunnels. But once we arrived at the seashore, we all wondered the area looking for stores and shops. You bought a bracelet and a necklace. We ate a great meal at a nice restaurant on the waterfront, with the sun shining through the windows... We walked the small beach, and sat under a Palm Tree. I went across the street and sat with a cup of coffee as I watched Teresa and you three girls taking pictures and laughing and pointing and being all Insta. I soaked up the moment and said, "Is this for real? This feels like heaven."
Day 10 - Final day - Barcelona! We were met with a torrential downpour of cold rain. But we had already purchased tickets and determined to tour the La Sagrada Familia Cathedral! We took this crowded tour with a headset to listen to the tour guide explaining the historic building, designed to radiate the sunlight and create the ambiance of Heaven meeting earth. It was actually pretty mind blowing to see the history and the beautiful and architecture of a building - and to be reminded of our Jesus who said, "Tear down this building and I'll rebuild it in three days!" We made it back to our room in Barcelona and packed up our things for the 3 am flight back to Chicago...
Overall, it was the greatest week of all time! All the sights and memories as a family! I am so grateful that we all have our health, and that we have created a diary full of memories... One day you will share this with your own children, and teach them to chase the earth and pursue the glory of God around every corner!
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