Rome Day 2

This morning we left early to see the Vatican. I didn,t think I would enjoy it as much as I did. Lots of walking, Many old statues, paintings, and tapestries. So much interesting history. We saw the Popes Tombs, very eerie. The Sistine Chapel, on the small side compared to St Peter,s Basillica. Yet awesome to view in person. We are tired and lots of sore muscles. We returned tonight to the same quaint outdoor cafe. We enjoyed wine, minestrone soup, pizza, and a small dessert. All were excellent. Interesting though, you can not order dinner until 7:00 pm , but you can sit there and drink until 7pm. We also saw the Coloseum. Very Big and amazing. So old yet still standing.
Pam got one of their two bags. The other one is missing and no where to be found. We are hoping and praying it will make the ship, but it looks slim. Tommorrow we move on to Venice, taking the train across the countryside.
The weather is warm , but not too bad. Just very humid, we are soaking through our clothes! Pictures will have to follow. Ciao for now

We Are Here Now- Rome

Wow , 18 hrs and we are here. It went well, although Pam and Eldon dont have their luggage. We have seen the Trevi Fountain and The Colloseum from the Van. We had Great pizza at a small cafe. The Cafes are every where, and oh yes, gelato, yummy. The key board im using has many different characters on it. And blogger shows up in Italian. Its 10 pm and people are out every where. More later , we see the Sistine Chapel tomorrow very early. Ciao-
PS WE SHOULD OF LEARNED MORE ITALIAN !!!!!

The Bridge Cam

Here's the Bridge Cam, the best time to view it is early morning because of the time change.

Our Big Trip is Finally Here!!!

We are so excited about our upcoming vacation to Europe. We leave July 25th. We hope you check back to see where we have been. If we can post along the way we will try , but no promises.
Here is where we will be and when. Also check out the webcam on the Emerald Princess , You can see 1st hand where we are. The best time to check it out is early morning.

July 4th at the Beach

It was a good day. This year early in the morning we staked out a beach site (on the sand). Then watched hundreds of others crowd in around us. It was nice as different people in our group came down , we were able to be together. Dave encouraged me to also get an early morning lawn place, as is our long standing tradition. I wasn't sure I wanted to fight for that spot this year. There must be a turn over of occupants at Carlsbad Inn,as not many where there for the table and chair race at 6:00am. So we tried something new. We got a table way out in between the gate to the beach and Condos. It was a great choice, a little more secluded, quiet, close to the performers, and in those wee hours that we stay holding the table we could see the beach and the waves, as well as beautiful flowers directly in front of us. I think this is a new favorite spot.
It was funny though as Becky and Dad looked out the balcony for us the 1st time and they were looking and looking before spotting us!!!
The day was overcast, but that was ok, since we were outside all day. The tempurature was very pleasant. We hit the BBQ's around 5:30, and enjoyed our usual potluck with the massive group. The whole Geary family, including their new grandson, all the Carroll's, Ken and Christi, and their friends, Stella, Don, Mimi ,Ralph, Several of Becky's friends, as well as the Collins kids and friends. The beach in the evening was very crowded. After all the days events Ken,Denny and Don played a round of poker. No hour of the day was wasted on sleep, that is for sure!!!

Sitting at the beach

It's early morning , I'm on the balcony at Carlsbad Inn. I know you can visualize this. The weather has been nice. Friday we went to Sea World and had fun seeing all the sea animals. I bought a neat sweatshirt with a Shamu tale embroidered on the front, and the outline of hundreds of mini-tales line the hood. Even the zipper pull is a silver look tale. We stayed at a great hotel, then Saturday morning visited Seaport Village. Mid day we drove to Carlsbad Inn, The sun is out and we waited patiently for our room.

My long lost cousin, Emilie came to meet us.Stella and Don were there as well as Christi. Ken and the kids were enjoying the beach to the fullest. We had a delightful visit catching up.
Then soon Dave and Becky came, as well as Dan and Gale. Sunday we went to the beach to soak up the scenary.
Manna came, as well as Joy, Nakiska and Torin, we also had a patio lunch at Fidel's. My cousin had brought a Cold Stone Creamery Ice Cream cake to go with dinner. It was pretty big, but oh so yummy. Of course any one who walks thru our door has to help consume it..No one has complained!!!!

Today for the afternoon our visitors will include Richard and Helen, Mimi and Ralph.
More cool sunshine to enjoy. The weather is about 75 degrees. OK time to finish putting up all my red,white and blue!!!