5 year Anniversary Cruise

We had the best time on our vacation. It has been a dream of mine to go to Europe for so long, and it did not disappoint! We missed Mason so much, but it was so nice to have time for just the two of us. It was great to be able to do what we wanted when we wanted without schedules and work in our way. We decided that we wanted to do a Mediterranean Cruise so that we could see as much as possible in a week. We had some long days, but it was worth it. We went to Naples, Rome, Florence, and Nice and Cannes, France.

We left on Saturday and flew all night to Barcelona. We landed at 8:30am on Sunday morning and went straight to the boat. We took a long nap and then got up and explored the ship. We had a balcony room with a great view of the ocean. Monday was a "sea day" so we took advantage and got some much needed sleep! The jet lag was killing me!

Tuesday, we woke up in Naples, Italy. We took a boat tour of the Amalfi Coast and then went to Pompeii. The Amalfi Coast was beautiful and we enjoyed walking around in the town. We almost didn't make it because our alarm didn't go off so we woke up at 7:28am and we were supposed to meet our group at 7:30! We got ready so fast and made it down there at 7:42 an the bus was waiting on us. Talk about a close call! We were starving when we got to Amalfi, so what is better for breakfast than gelato and a croissant?! It was soo good! We both really loved Pompeii too. We could have stayed there all day!

The view from our boat looking at the Amalfi Coast

Cute little cafe enjoying our gelato and croissant

The streets of Pompeii

A room with bed and pillow still intact

Looks like he is praying

We then went to Rome. This was our longest day, but definitely one of the highlights. It was amazing to see all the history.

The Colosseum

Inside the Colosseum

the Trevi Fountain

We each threw 2 coins in the fountain. The first means that we will one day return to Rome. The second was for a wish.

Vatican

Inside the Vatican museum. Amazing!

This is the view looking out from St. Peter's. The stage is where the Pope had been speaking earlier in the day.

The Holy Door. This is the door that the Pope enters the church. It is only open every 25 years for the public to enter.

inside St. Peters. Beautiful!

St. Peter's

This is the view from our balcony.

We had to tender the ship in Nice. This is the view of our ship from the coast.

Our 5 year anniversary in Nice, France. Can't get much better than that!

Our room on the ship

the Promenade

We didn't get to port in Saint Tropez because of the weather. I was pretty disappointed because that was one of the places I was looking the most forward too. Maybe we can go back someday. We ended up having an extra day at sea, so we spent more time on the ship. We played putt-putt, gambled, and ate WAY too much!

On Sunday, we got off of the ship and had planned to stay an extra day so we could explore Barcelona. We didn't realize when we planned all of this that everything is closed on Sundays! It was also pouring down rain most of the day. We decided to make the most of it and got an umbrella and walked the streets. Even though nothing was opened and it was miserable weather, we loved it! We definitely want to go back there someday. It was such a neat city. We stayed in an awesome hotel that had a rooftop bar with the best view of the city. We found a fun restaurant and had a bottle of wine and the best salad and pizza.

The Hotel Majestic

the Las Ramlas (a big tourist shopping area)

After 10 days, we were definitely ready to come home. It was a LONG 11 hour plane ride back to Dallas. I was anticipating our reunion with Mason for days. I was picturing him running to me screaming "mommy" and him so excited to see us. Well, that is not what happened! Donna and Sarah came to airport to pick us up. Sarah got Mason out of the car to come meet us. When he saw us, he flipped out! Crying and holding on to Sarah and not wanting to come to us. I had to pull him out of Sarah's arms all the while he was crying and screaming for "aunt b" and trying to get out of my arms. I guess he was punishing me for leaving him for so long. He finally warmed back us to up, and by the next morning he was wanting me! Little stinker!

We are so thankful for our families and that they were willing to keep our little guy so we could go on this amazing trip. Mason spent time with Granna, Pops, Aunt Caroline, Aunt Sarah, Mimi and Papa. He was spoiled rotten by everyone and I know he had the best vacation himself!

I can't even begin to describe how much I loved just being with Matthew. He truly is my best friend and I am so grateful we had this time together. We made several "5 year" goals when we first got married, and I am happy to report we met every single one of them. I can't wait to see what the next 5 years has in store...