June 27, 2004: Genoa to Paris

We left the ship around 8:30 a.m.  I was quite impressed with how easy it was to get off the ship.  It was actually organized. Wow.    Our bus to the Genoa Airport had no AC so it was pretty hot in there. It had just gone out at the port.  Luckily, it was only a 45 minute ride there.  We flew Air France from Genoa, Italy to Paris. It was about a 1 1/2 hour flight.

We got to Paris around 3:30 p.m. and of course, there was no rep from Costa there to take us on the bus from the airport to the hotel, so my aunt called the hotel and they had someone come with a van to pick 7 of us up.   So, we waited 2 hours at the airport for our ride to the hotel.  We finally got to the Hotel Sofitel near Bercy Village in Paris.   Then, the driver gave us the bill.  We were shocked. They wanted $170 Euros for the ride which is over $200 in American money. 

My grandpa's girlfriend charged it and then we got a copy of the bill to give to Costa Cruise line as we intend to get reimbursed as they never showed up once again for our transportation.

It was 7 p.m. by now so my mom and I went to the concierge and signed up for tours. Grandpa, Beulah, my mom and I walked across the street to Bercy Village which was a hang out place for the young people.  We dined at an outdoor cafe and watched the people walk by.   It was an interesting experience seeing how they dress and carry themselves.    Grandpa, Beulah, my mom and I went to the 11 p.m. Moulin Rouge show. It was fantastic.    The dancers were wonderful as well as their costumes. It is something to see if you go to Paris.   We got to bed around 1:30 a.m. and had to get up early the next day for our adventure of Paris.

June 26, 2004: Marseilles, France

We went to Marseilles, France after Barcelona, Spain.   Then, we took a bus ride up to the city, Avignon, which is about halfway between Paris and Marseilles.   It is a beautiful town.    There is this huge palace in Avignon where another Pope used to reside hundreds of years ago. I didn't know there were two popes way back then.   There was a struggle with that in both France and Italy at that time.  It was due to alot of politics.   We went on a guided tour of this magnificent palace.   Then, we had lunch at one of the outdoor cafes in the town.   It was a charming little town.    There was also a double deck carousel in the town which I have never seen before.
We did a little shopping here and then took the bus back to Marseilles and toured the city.  We went to a cathedral at the top of this mountain that overlooked the city.   There were quite a few steps to the top. I was worn out walking up there.
I started coming down with a sore throat on this day so I was starting to not feel so good, so after the tour, I went back to my room and rested most of the evening.   I had to pack my bags, too, as we were getting off the boat the next day.  
My aunt came down with a cold, too, that same day.   My cousin had been sick in the beginning of the cruise and so was another person that was with us, so that is probably how I got it.   Plus, being on the go so much, I probably lost the resistance to fight off the cold.
Sunday,  we got off the ship and flew from Genoa to Paris.

June 24, 2004: Palma de Mallorca/Marseilles/Barcelona

Yesterday, my mom and I went on our own in Palma De Mallorca. We took a bus along with a bunch of other tourists and got off where everyone else did, which was the wrong Plaza. There are plazas all over in these cities. We walked around and found some gelato ice cream which is wonderful. I love Italian ice cream. Then, we asked an Italian man to show us how to get to this cathedral and he showed us the best he could, since he didn't speak English and we don't speak Italian.

Palma de Mallorca is a beautiful city. It is very upscale. We saw the store Escada which is an expensive brand of clothing. Plus, we saw more shops and cafes. We were there in the afternoon which is when their siesta time is.  They usually go home for a large lunch and rest for 2 or 3 hours in the afternoon and then their stores stay open until 7 or 8 in the evening.


We saw this gorgeous cathedral that overlooked these gardens. Then, we walked along the water where there were hundreds of boats and large yachts. This is surely a rich man's town. I guess Michael Douglas has a home here, so we can see why.


Then, yesterday evening, my Grandpa, his girlfriend, my mom and I took a tour which was a dinner and show. The food was delicious and the show was fantastic. It is called Son Mar. It was in an old Spanish home. The dancers were professionals and wonderful. They did Irish dancing, Spanish dancing, etc. I have never seen anything so professional like that in my life. The Drifters which are from the 60s or 70s sang for about 45 minutes. They were fantastic. I heard a bunch of good comments from everyone who went. Of course, my Grandpa complained and he did fall asleep during part of the show.
We had to nudge him as he was sitting in the front and that doesn't look too good.  He has trouble hearing so I think that is a big reason why he complains. But, the rest of us loved it.


Today, we were in Barcelona, Spain. There are about 4 million people who live in the city and about 4 million who live in the suburbs. They primarily speak Spanish here. We went up to Montserrat which is a monastery. About 80 monks live there and choose to live their entire lives in silence and prayer. I don't think I could live in silence.
We were hoping to see the boys choir there in the cathedral but they had just done their 4 years up at the monestary and were about to go home to their families.


Tomorrow, we are in Marseilles and will take a tour of the city as well as Avignon. Then, Sunday, we get off the ship and fly up to Paris to spend a couple of days. I am looking forward to that, as I want to do some shopping there and see some things that I didn't see last time.


We haven't been real thrilled with this cruise ship, as I have mentioned before. I wouldn't suggest going with Costa. Our steward didn't do a great job with cleaning our room. One day, she didn't do it until 4 p.m. We have been on 7 other cruises and had excellent service and food, but this one is mediocre, so I will be listing my comments on the comment card at the end of this cruise.
All of our other cruises have been excellent. I will say that our excursions have been quite good on this cruise. The only exception is the organization of the tour in Capri which was a mess.


I will be glad when I don't have to listen to another Italian. I swear they never shut up. On the bus today, there were two in the back who kept talking when the translator was telling the English people things. Plus, they are quite rude people and push their way into lines and cut in line. One Italian yelled at another for doing that yesterday. It was funny. Of course, I don't let them in front of me. I hope I didn't offend anyone who might be Italian, but that is just what my whole family sees about them. We love the sound of English now.

June 23, 2004: Tunisia, South Africa

We took a tour of Tunisia which is the northern part of Africa. The buildings are all white with blue shutters. It is supposed to be 95 degrees today. That is why our tours were early in the morning. I didn't notice a lot of women dressed in Arab gear. This country is more liberal. 55% of the women go to college so that is pretty high for here. They used to have a law where women students could not wear their Arab gear to school, but that has since been changed in the past few years.


I don't think I would want to be stuck here, though. It is real humid and hot, and there isn't much air conditioning. People here are quite poor and constantly beg you to buy their goods. But, it wasn't as bad as it was in Mexico at the Pyramids, when my mom and I went several years ago.


My aunt and her friend did get their luggage Monday night.  So, they were happy about that. It was found in Nice.


Everytime I see a dog, I think of my Maggie. I sure do miss her. She always brightens my day.


Tonight is our formal night so we will all get dressed up.


Like I said before, we haven't been too pleased with this cruise line. They are so unorganized, not really service oriented like the other cruises we have been on, and they don't put chocolates on your pillow at night. This is a first since we have always got a piece of chocolate on our bed. That must not be a tradition for Europeans.
There are quite a few Italians on the ship. They are all thin and good looking people, but boy, they are chatter boxes. They never shut up. We were at this house in Capri and behind a bunch of Italians and they were so loud. I think that would drive me crazy.


My grandpa is happy that I am going to type up his diaries of when he was in World War II. We were talking about it since he was in Italy, Sicily and northern Africa when he taught. It will be a big project, but I think it will be worth it in the end.


I am going to take a snooze before dinner. Tonight was our formal night. Tomorrow, we will be in Pallma de Mallorca. I heard that Michael Douglas has a big fancy home there.

June 22, 2004: Pallermo, Sicily

Today, I am in Pallermo, which is on the northern part of Sicily. It is around 4 p.m. right now (6 hours ahead of you). We took a tour today of the city and got to see the catacombs. It was an eerie place to go. Hundreds of years ago, the wealthy people in Europe used to have their bodies kept in crypts so that their families could come and visit. There are about 6,000 corpses in this place. Some still have the skin on them and there are clothes over them. They had the women in one room, the men in another, and the little ones in another. To me, it is pretty disgusting to preserve a body that long for people to come to see. But, they didn't have burials like we did back then, so this is how it was done. I wasn't supposed to take pictures, but I snuck and took some. Then, I noticed on my way out, that there was a security camera.


We also saw some beautiful churches. We stopped at the big Opera House which is beautiful. Then, we stopped at a local outdoor market and saw them slicing tuna. It kind of makes you not want to eat it.  I am not a seafood lover, anyway.


Their zuchinis are long and skinny and their raspberries are smaller than ours. I got a picture of a cotton tree with cotton on it which was interesting.


Last night for our entertainment, there was a man and a woman who did impressions of famous people using their hands in front of light. They did an excellent job. I don't know how the guy was able to do this, but it was pretty amazing. It might sound cheezy, but it is a talent, if I might say.


This afternoon, my mom and I went on the curly slide on the ship. My mom was scared to go, but she went and loved it. She went down twice and I went down 3 times, since I am a kid at heart.


Tonight is casual night and tomorrow night is our first formal. Tomorrow, we will be in Tunisia which is the northern part of Africa.

June 21, 2004: Naples, Italy

Well, my aunt and her friend, Marnie still don't have their luggage. Costa thinks it is still in New York, so they have been borrowing clothes from the rest of us. No one has even told them they are getting money to buy new clothes.

I am having a good time on the trip, but I suggest that no one take Costa Cruise line. This particular trip with Costa caters to the Europeans. There are only 75 people out of 3,000 that are Americans on the ship. You waste time waiting for people to tell us stuff in several different languages.

Today, we went to the island of Capri which isn't far from Naples. It is a cute little island. Of course, we didn't learn a whole lot because of all of the languages. We have never had this problem with other cruise lines because they always spoke English and I think they catered to us.

One thing I will say is that Costa is not very organized with some things. It's very strange. We have been on 8 cruises now and this one is the worst for organization.

But, the food on the boat has been really good. I don't know what they do with their scrambled eggs, but they are sure good.

We had already gone to Pompeii on a prior cruise, so that is why we wanted to see Capri. Oh, the boat over to Capri was rocky and some people barfed. They gave everyone barf bags, if you can believe that. I felt queasy on the way over, but it was better on the way back. I don't get sick on these big boats, but sometimes, I do on the smaller ones. When we go on the ferry to Milwaukee in July, I am going to take some medicine, as I heard it is a bit rocky and 2 1/2 hours would be long feeling queasy.

We got some good Italian chocolates in the store on the boat. They don't put chocolates on your pillow at night like on the other cruises, so we had to treat ourselves.  The chocolates were actually quite mellow and tasty.

January 2004: Maggie's Debut

Betsy Floyd, a nurse I work with at Muskegon County Health Department, was giving away some pekingnese/pomeranian/poodle mix puppies.   In the beginning, Jean Chang, our epidemiologist, wanted the white puppy, but then decided against it, which was great for me.
Maggie was born on November 30, 2003, underneath a computer.   Betsy brought Maggie to my house at 6 weeks old.   She was only 3 pounds and so adorable.   I have never had a pet in my life, so this was all going to be a new experience for me.   Maggie looked so chubby.

Maggie had a bunch of visitors on her first day, including Patty Kmiecik, Beth Short, Matt Tomasiewicz, Cody, and Conner Schotts.     She ran all over the house, trying to hide under the lazyboy or behind the refrigerator.

My mom left to do some errands, so I was alone with Maggie and she got behind the refrigerator and I panicked.    I had no idea what to do and was scared she was going to get hurt, so I called Betsy.

I called Betsy many times during the first 6 months with questions.     Maggie is so loveable with everyone. I have never seen such a friendly dog.

Maggie truly has been a blessing to me, for which I am very thankful.   Now, I know why 'DOG' spelled backwards is 'GOD'.