My Portion & Dessert

Cruising was good. Will I cruise 10 times a year and vacation no other way? No. But I did enjoy not cooking, not cleaning and seeing cool places while staying in one place. That was really the best part. And the staff actually do customer service, all the time. Dubrovnik was the coolest, Santorini the prettiest, and Kusadasi/Ephesus the most interesting. And Venice I just loved with all the time we spent there. I gained 5 pounds and one truly authentic Turkish rug. I plan to hang it on a wall some day soon.

Hope mom & dad enjoyed it. We did. And we're really glad they came. One of the surprises was the quality of the nightly entertainment - only 3-4 of which we caught. Full of talented dancers and singers that put on rousing shows I liked. The biggest disappointments were corny 'directors' (of the cruise experience, of the port experience) who were full of themselves and sounded like infomercials. We ignored them. My experience proved my practice... heavily research, plan, and negotiate your own vacation - no matter the 'all-inclusive' promises and deals. You will always come out better in the end - financially and experientially.

After a long battle in which I finally vanquished the laundry pile, we returned to normal life. The St. Martin Lantern Walk with the kindergarten (kids eat giant bread-men and adults drink strong wine after), Parents' Night for Eli's class (he is one of the kids they have zero worries about), Mary's first hair trim (she watched daddy and Eli go first so no problems), and organizing the growing local John Deere expat group. I missed a lot of regular neighborhood thingys and friends over the last 6 weeks so have been catching up socially and getting back into homeschool with Eli - who begs constantly to do math, of all things.

Somewhere in there we had a genuine Thanksgiving Dinner at church with yum yum turkey and stuffing. I had to bring the homemade Mac-n-Cheese.... huh? They swore it was traditional in the South. New to me but I followed orders and the crockpot was empty at the end of the night.
But mostly I have been preparing for CHRISTMAS! I think it's more exciting when you have excited kids. I can't wait for the kids to open presents and have been diligently preparing by tossing old toys and looking for a new toy cabinet. More to come.

Mary's Portion

The life of a celebrity is so very demanding. On this trip I perfected my 'camera smile' and 'goodbye kiss' for my fans (cruise staff) and the paparazzi (other tourists). I caused grown men to sigh and ask for pictures and consented to hair-touching by strangers from around the world. Mom is threatening to dye my hair a very dark color. I also learned how to be very certain I get the attention I require... I hit the nearest parent and yell MOMMY! or DADDY! repeatedly, loudly, relentlessly. It works quite well. I tried to hurt myself in a variety of ways climbing the ladder to "Eye-Yigh's" bunk on the ship (that's how I say Eli) or going down the stairs (do NOT help me) and asserted my independence to the great amusement of Grandpa Wanders who kept saying "She is a piece of work!" to my mommy. A college student we met in Venice (as she was taking my picture and talking to Grandma) was majoring in Child Development. She said "try to keep her alive until she grows up and becomes the President or a CEO, then you'll be fine." I don't know what that means but mommy and daddy went to bed exhausted every night.

Our first sea day I woke up with a fever and it stayed with me all day. All I wanted to do that day was sit in mommy or daddy's lap. I didn't play with toys, eat, or walk around. Given my usual persona this was highly alarming to my parents. But I was fully recovered after a few naps and a full nights sleep for our adventure in Ephesus the following day. Phew! Too much travelling and excitement for me, I guess. On a few occasions throughout the week I allowed Grandpa (with ice cream) or Grandma to hold me or take me on a walk. I liked mini-golf, climbing rocks, and spotting animals (cats absolutely everywhere in Dubrovnik and Ephesus; dogs in Santorini, fish in Venice) wherever they could be found. I'm turning into a good traveller (even on plane trips! SHORT plane trips!) and invite (dare) you to come and try it with me.

The Main Course: Eli's Portion

My favorite activity in all our mediterranean stops (especially in Venice) was chasing pigeons. It was my goal to get them to fly away but they were too well fed and too used to people so I had to work hard! Here's a video of me in St. Marks Square.

I loved our cruise! Especially Club Ocean. It was so much fun. The teachers blew up a volcano and took us on lots of fun walks around the ship like the Pirate Parade, the Alien Hunt, and Trick-or-Treating on Halloween. I made lots of friends there and other places too. Marie was also from Germany but the teachers didn't speak German so I helped them talk to her sometimes. We even had kids' dinner two times. Plus movies, crafts, toys and songs. Heaven!


I could have hot dogs, cookies, and apple juice all day long on the ship. One day I played Dominoes with Grandma in the library. And we played miniature golf a few times too. All the workers were really nice and always gave us stuff... like chocolates before bedtime and animals made out of towels in our room. I needed a nap every day since I was staying up so late at Club Ocean (10pm most nights) and walking all over the place when we docked. One day we walked 12 kilometers (that's 8 miles for you folks on the US system) across the island of Santorini in Greece!! Two dogs followed us the whole way. They were nice but I was nervous for awhile around them. It was a very hard hike but I'm a 'trooper' said mom and dad and I made it.

Mom and Dad were laughing because I make friends (blond women in their 20's; children of all ages) wherever I go and strangers always seem to know my name. Greetings come my way at the weirdest places... an out of the way restaurant in Dubrovnik, Croatia (blond girl I met walking around the ship); the palace in Venice (Marie from Germany); and at the airport just before coming home (some kids from the club). And I made some moves on Holly, the just married young woman at our dining room table. Her new husband, Michael, was laughing because I asked Holly to sit with me by the window for awhile and told her secrets and smiled at her.

I loved all the boats in Venice and riding on the Vaporettos (like public buses) and the Gondola. In Turkey I learned how to make rugs and roll them up and even saw a "flying carpet." Sometimes I rode on Grandpas shoulders or held Grandmas hand while we walked. It was a wonderful vacation.

An Appetizer

For a brief period B.C. (Before Cruise) we did a few day trips... Heidelberg, Germany; Beaufort Castle in Luxembourg; and Bastogne, Belgium.

This is your appetizer before the main course - which will be delectable cuts of personal cruise vacation perspectives embellished with superlative gravy on a bed of anecdotes. Enjoy with your choice of 'whine.'

Poor dad. He flies into Frankfurt and has to wander around looking for us in a mess of an airport (fog, accidents, traffic delays) and then gets dragged out for the day to Heidelberg: a beautiful city he probably barely noticed due to yawning, sleep-deprived eyes. BUT once I got there (again, slightly lost) we had a nice couple of hours people watching and walking in central Germany. The highlight for me was the student prison, used from 1798 - 1910 to hold unruly students for 3 day detentions for such crimes as snuffing out street lamps or chasing pig farmers through the streets. Silhouette graffiti art made with candle soot was actually pretty cool. We bribed the kids with ice cream and a giant gummy bear to keep them going. The catechism was written here, a welcoming town for Protestantism when it was still a new and rebellious idea.

A few days later we drove out of miserable weather to Luxembourg and explored a fabulous ruins castle with cellars, passageways, and fun rocks to climb before continuing to Bastogne in Belgium. Dad's uncle was a 'Bastard of Bastogne' in one of the most significant WWII battles and we saw the interesting museum and memorial there. We all had the audio-tour guides (like a phone you hold to your ear as you walk and listen) BUT mine was irretrievably stolen by a little blond thief in need of entertainment. The movie about the battle of Bastogne was really, really informative and inspiring and made me proud of America. Had dinner in a cute little cafe where I had to practice my French before heading home. it was a great day all around.

My pastor came for dinner one night and talked with dad, lots of fun, and we all went to the Kite-Fest for Eli's class in the hills above our house on a cold, windy day before heading for the warmth of the Mediterranean.... and with that last tasty morsel, be on the lookout in days to come for more good stuff.